Shark Legacy Project - Honduras 100% Shark Fishing Ban Enacted

They say big things come in small packages. In the shark world nothing is bigger then governments who enact bans on shark fishing in their waters.

Palau's recent shark fishing ban and the Maldives decision to ban shark fishing in their waters was met with acclaim both in the tourism and shark conservation worlds.

As it turns out other governments were watching, and taking note.

Thanks in part to the Shark Legacy Project headed up by a small and dedicated team in Roatan, Honduras the government just announced they will ban all shark fishing in Honduran waters while they study the issue of shark fishing and the economics of Honduran sharks which, for a Latin American country, is a simply stunning decision.

The next steps will require resources and help from the shark tourism industry and from the research side as well to make this ban a permanent and regional example.

From Peter Wilcox Director of the Shark Legacy Project:

"Thanks Patric - have a major victory down here. After our meetings with DIGIPESCA they pushed up the passing of a bill that has now gone into practice. It puts a moratorium on the fishing of all shark species in all the waters of Honduras! Think that makes Honduras the first in the Caribbean to have a shark sanctuary! Part of the drive behind this measure was to cease use of sharks as a resource until research can be done to evaluate the population/species of sharks here. So finally, a government willing to step in before the problem gets unmanageable. We met with the government this last weekend to discuss how we can assist in this research (as you may be able to guess they do not have much in the way of funding for their own research). We are travelling to Tegucigalpa this week to discuss further research and affiliations to benefit the goals of protecting sharks here."

We would Like to congratulate the Shark Legacy Project and all those who have worked to this point to get the ban in place.

This is very good conservation news indeed.

Australian Shark Conservation - Makos Back on the Grill

One of the most perplexing issues with modern shark conservation is regional and local government buy in. Too often rules and regulations that protect shark species take years of legislative process, time, money, and energy to adopt.

And all too often we see a watering down or outright reversals of conservation rules and regulations. Such was the case in Australia this week, where new laws governing the take of mako shark were overturned by government slight of hand and a shameless buckling to commercial fishing pressures.

That's why we developed and support the Shark Free Marinas Initiative as an effective method to bypass government while enacting shark conservation measures.

The SFMI works with direct source points of shark traffic creating a win-win with local marinas to request that sharks are not landed at their facilities.

The metrics are there. In the USA alone 400,000 sport caught sharks arrive at marinas each year (NOAA) With just 50% of marinas in the USA adopting the SFMI we could save 200,000 sharks a year. Over the planet many hundreds of thousands more while educating fishermen to catch and release ethics making a shark fishery sustainable, without any government buy in at all.

A case study for modern shark conservation and one that has already seen 70% of Fiji go Shark Free with the help of PADI Project Aware, Stuart Gow and others.

Hammers in Love?

Swim at Your Own Risk blog got the scoop from Perth yesterday featuring a video shot from the air of Hammerheads schooling off the coast.

Local experts think this is high seas shark love in action.

We'll let you decide.

Video Here.

Senior Associate, Global Shark Conservation - Job Opening

Senior Associate, Global Shark Conservation

The Organization The Pew Charitable Trusts is driven by the power of knowledge to solve today’s most challenging problems. Pew applies a rigorous, analytical approach to improving public policy, informing the public and stimulating civic life. Based in Philadelphia, with offices in Washington, D.C., and Brussels, Pew produces fact-based research and develops practical solutions to challenging issues. We are an independent nonprofit organization--the sole beneficiary of seven individual charitable funds, with assets of $5.2 billion at the end of June 2008, established between 1948 and 1979 by two sons and two daughters of Sun Oil Company founder Joseph N. Pew and his wife, Mary Anderson Pew. Pew provides an exciting learning environment and the opportunity to work with highly talented individuals. It is a dynamic organization that values creativity and innovative thinking and fosters strong teamwork with mutual respect. The Pew Environment Group The mission of the Pew Environment Group is to promote policies and practices that protect the global atmosphere, preserve large intact wilderness ecosystems and conserve living marine resources. For the past two decades, the Environment group has been a major force in driving conservation policy in the United States, and increasingly internationally. The group’s work is focused on reducing the scope and severity of three major global environmental problems: Dramatic changes to the Earth’s climate brought about by the increasing concentration of greenhouse gases in the planet’s atmosphere; The erosion of large wilderness ecosystems that contain a great part of the world’s remaining biodiversity; and, The destruction of the world’s ocean environment, with a particular emphasis on marine fisheries. Global Shark Conservation Sharks roamed the seas for nearly 200 million years before dinosaurs were on the planet. However, due to the onset of industrialized fisheries in the last fifty years, many populations of large sharks have declined globally by approximately 90 percent. The world's increasing demand for shark fins, used for the Asian delicacy shark fin soup as well as other products, is killing up to 73 million sharks a year—a rate that is highly unsustainable. Sharks are highly vulnerable to overfishing, as they are generally slow-growing and reproduce late in life with few offspring. As a result, entire shark populations may disappear within our lifetime. The Global Shark Conservation is designed to reverse this decline of shark populations through public education, advocacy and research. With overlapping jurisdictions over shark fisheries, the campaign will work within both international governance bodies (such as regional fisheries management organizations and the United Nations) and treaty organizations such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species to secure precautionary, science-based protections for sharks. Domestically, the campaign will work to secure stronger shark management within the U.S. as well as in other coastal nations that still have large populations of sharks left in their territorial waters. Position Overview The campaign senior associate will work with the director of the Global Shark Conservation to provide the information and assistance necessary to design and carry out the campaign strategy. The Global Shark Conservation is designed as a two-year effort which begins April 1, 2009 and will run through March 31, 2011. The position may be renewed, pending its progress and the availability of continued financial support. This position will report to the project director and is based in Washington, D.C.

Responsibilities:

Assist the project director and other campaign staff in developing and implementing campaign strategy. Work with the Manager of the shark campaign to develop and execute outreach events with coalition members internationally and domestically to educate and influence policy makers. Manage special outreach projects for the campaign that raise public, media and policymaker awareness of the need for shark conservation. These projects could include managing video projects, working with film and television producers to secure “calls to action” in nature programming, or arranging speaking engagements for the campaign with target audiences. Work with PCT and PEG communications to develop and implement a strategy for new media outreach. Assist in developing public, policymaker, and media outreach strategies for the campaign in target regions of the world, such as in Asia, Latin America, or the Pacific. Create compelling materials for the campaign, including website content, fact sheets, coalition letters, etc. Research and write campaign materials, such as reports, booklets, fact sheets and web content. Represent the campaign at meetings and on conference calls within Pew, with partner groups, federal agencies, and Congress. Maintain knowledge of shark management activities worldwide.

Requirements:

Four to 8 years of experience in environmental and public policy required. An advanced degree or equivalent experience is required. Expertise in marine issues are strongly preferred. Able to set short- and long-term planning goals in line with program strategy. A task-oriented style, with focus on achieving clear and ambitious goals. Demonstrated ability to meet multiple deadlines by maintaining a high level of organization. Able to develop and move projects forward with a high degree of independence and autonomy. Excellent written and oral communications skills, including an ease in communicating complex concepts in a clear effective manner for a general audience. A detail and results-oriented style with a focus on process and achievement. Recognized ability to meet multiple deadlines by maintaining a high level of organization. Demonstrated strong analytical skills, including an ability to synthesize large amounts of information and to focus quickly on the essence of an issue. A strong commitment to producing measurable results. Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to develop and manage productive relationships with consultants, partners, grantees and others who contribute to the effectiveness of the project. Able to establish credibility quickly and to develop and maintain effective working relationships with internal and external parties, including grantees. Experience with media and other communications strategies to deliver policy recommendations and/or scientific findings to policy makers and the public desired. Fluency in other languages a plus. Knowledge of shark conservation issues a plus. Some travel for this position may be required, including attending international meetings impacting shark conservation, as needed, and/or visiting campaign consultants working around the world on domestic shark conservation measures. Application for job here.

No Caught Shark Allowed - Matava leading the Shark Free Marina Initiative in Fiji

Matava and Bite Me Gamefishing Charters in Fiji are taking a leading role in the international shark conservation efforts, organizing Fiji to become the first country to fully participate in the Shark-Free Marina Initiative (SFMI).

The SFMI works with marinas, boaters and fishermen to develop policy designed to protect sharks as a vital component of the oceans health. The SFMI has a singular purpose, to reduce worldwide shark mortality. Working with marinas, fishermen and like minded non-profit groups, the Initiative forms community conscious policy and increase awareness of the need to encourage shark conservation.

Shark Free Marinas work with, not against, the recreational and commercial fishing community, in order to raise awareness of the importance of a healthy shark population for our oceans, and to contribute to their ongoing survival.

Matava, together with partners in Fiji, has helped many marinas and charter fishing boats become SFMI certified, and Fiji now has more certified Shark-Free Marinas than any other country in the world. Stuart Gow, Director of Matava, said that his team has been actively promoting the SFMI, and distributing information about the Initiative, with the long-term goal of making Fiji “the first country to be proud to announce itself as a ‘Shark-Free Marinas’ Country”.

See the map of current Shark-Free Marinas

The majority of shark species caught by recreational and sport anglers are currently listed by the IUCN as “Threatened” (or worse) and each year, half a million of these sharks are killed in the US alone. It is estimated that 70-100 million sharks are killed yearly worldwide.

See IUCN Red List of Threatened Shark Species

About Matava

Matava is an eco adventure getaway in Fiji, offering a unique blend of cultural experiences and adventure activities in the pristine and remote island of Kadavu, Fiji. Matava is a PADI Dive Resort as well as a Project AWARE GoEco Operator, a title awarded to demonstrate a commitment to conservation and provide customers with experiences that enhance visitor awareness, appreciation and understanding of the environment. Matava is also one of the supporters of the Fiji Shark Conservation and Awareness Project, which aims to raise global awareness of their imminent extinction of sharks and the crises facing our oceans.

With more than 12 years experience in the Fiji Islands, Matava is recognized as a leading educational dive center. Matava is participating in TIES ecoDestinations project (currently featuring “beaches, marine and coastal ecotourism experience”) as one of the Summer Special 2009 sponsors.

Underwater Thrills:Swimming With Sharks: “No Caught Shark Allowed”: Matava leading the Shark Free Marina Initiative in Fiji

Salmon Sharks National Geographic

Back in 2005 I was fortunate enough to fly to Cordova, Alaska and spend a week cage diving with Salmon Sharks, distaff relatives of the Great white. Shark Diver was the first commercial shark diving company to ever drop a cage in these waters and the first to ever work with them on a commercial level.

We were not disappointed.

Fast forward to 2009 and a simply stunning look at these animals in HD by National Geographic:

SSACN Searches for Shark Officer

The Scottish Shark Tagging Programme is delighted to announce they have been awarded a funding package worth £52,000 to help support their data gathering on species of sharks, skates and rays found in Scottish waters, many of which are at risk.

The funding has been offered by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the Argyll and the Islands LEADER Programme and will be used to employ a Shark Project Officer who will work with SSACN to further develop the Scottish Shark Tagging Programme (SSTP – www.tagsharks.com) whose objectives are to :

• Record data on shark, skate and ray species
• Increase public awareness
• Highlight the need for species protection
• Encourage use of “codes of best practice”
• Showcase conservation methods and efforts

Project Director Ian Burrett "SSACN has long campaigned for programmes aimed at regenerating the stocks of Scotland’s sharks; unfortunately the government and fisheries managers say they are unable to act as they say they lack the necessary scientific data and have no programme in place to gather it."

“Thanks to our funding partners and the many anglers who support our efforts, we shall be gathering that data for them.”

Tagging is the only non-destructive means of gathering the necessary data. It will be undertaken by volunteer sea anglers – fishing from the shore, kayaks or boats – who will catch, tag and release various shark, skate and ray species, either as part of their normal fishing trips or during major tagging events coordinated by the Shark Project Officer and SSACN.

The duties of the Shark Project Officer will also include arranging training workshops for anglers and raising awareness of Scottish sharks, skates and rays by liaising with fishermen, and visiting schools in Argyll.

Jane Dodd, SNH Marine Project Officer for Argyll and Stirling said: “We are hoping to recruit a dynamic project officer to lead this exciting project. Someone with project management skills and at least an interest in sea angling and a willingness to do some boat based field work. Quite an unusual range of skills to be found in a single person but we have our fingers crossed that he or she is out there!

Following Expedition Blogs - Mining Gems

If there's an expedition blue blog out there we're probably following it.

The facinating world of our oceans is at your desktop each and every day. You never know what will catch your interest.

This caught our interest.

From the blog Oceans Watch Expedition, this post is called Aid Meets Tradition:

Chris comments: here in Moussau the community is still very traditional. I was interested to see how the fishermen use coral stones to weight their hooks to get down to 30 m where the bigger fish are.

They tie a piece of coconut palm leaf around the stone then put the hook through the leaf. When the stone hits the bottom a sharp tug pulls the hook out of the leaf leaving an un-weighted hook on the bottom. The bait they use is a piece of condom!

The condoms are supplied to the communities free by a family planning NGO. All the fishermen we met used condoms as bait and are very grateful to the NGO for endless free lures!

Sea Shepherd - Your Money Wasted at Auction

As the tragic consequences of a failed eco strategy engulfs Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in Australia - with a recent Federal Police boarding and seizure of all material relating to the reality television show Whale Wars - and in Canada with the $800,000 vessel Farley Mowat going to auction, perhaps it is time to rethink the "direct action" eco movement.

The policy of "direct action" fails when direct action fails to adapt.

For many months we have openly decried the near useless tactics of titular head Paul Watson whose messianic vision of saving the planet has delivered a slew of faked press releases, a faked assassination attempt, dead whales, dead seals, and a vessel now up for auction.

The world has changed around Mr.Watson, the media has changed for that matter as well. What worked in the 1970's has all been abandoned by the rest of the NGO community as they have adapted to a changing world. Meanwhile SSCS continue on a path that has now lost its donors close to $2 million dollars this month as the Farley Mowat goes up for auction.

The change that is needed with direct action campaigns must come from the next generation.

Clearly Paul Watson, who decries corporations and greed, is willing to sell his soul to Animal Planet and Whale Wars. While the horrors of whaling take a back seat to a quick cut and edit, we are transported from a dead and dying whale, into a new living room set and an actor selling us pharmaceuticals, advertisements from Chevron, or chemical maker Dow.

Where does Watson and SSCS think the reality television Whale Wars is anything but an eco org being callously used by big media and big corporations? Or has Watson been so co-opted that he fails to even see it?

Watson has run SSCS into the ground. He was come up against an unyielding wall, and his unyielding program is to bash SSCS against the wall and continue to bash SSCS against the wall until the org shatters. Step one, the loss of the Farley Mowat to a back drop of a continued seal slaughter. This is a tragedy that could have been avoided.

The next generation needs to be savvy, they need to foster new media. Most critically they need to stand alone, clear of one man and his policies, whose time has come to an end. The future of conservation is in the hands of everyone.

Send your money to where it counts and not to an eco org that trades your dollars for advertising on prime time and spectacular financial losses at the end of an auctioneers gavel.

Sea of Cortez - Production Adventure 6

Good friend Captain Greg Grivetto of Horizon Charters is on another eco adventure and this time in the company of the BBC as they film their much acclaimed series,“Last Chance to See”. Biologist, naturalist, writer - Mark Carwardine and esteemed actor Stephen Fry host this series and will be aboard aswe search for blue, sperm and humpback whales.

For the next two weeks he'll be sending us his "notes from the field":

After yesterdays interlude with the squid of Santa Rosalia we were back on "whale focus" today and started off early with an agitated humpback whale. The whale was being ruthlessly pestered by a pod of bottlenosed dolphin and a pair of sea lions that appeared to be playing "Lets see who can get under the big jumbo swimmer's skin!". Their tactic worked, as every couple minutes the whale would wildly swing and thrash it's tail in an attempt to, "Get those damn pesky flies outta my face!".

The coup de gras, which worked quite well, was a sudden spectacular full body aerial breach that occurred only 100 feet off the starboard side of Horizon! After that, no more dolphin problem...I think they took the hint.

We spent the next few hours drifting in wait as one of Lindblad Expeditions vessels was anchored in the exact locale that we wanted to occupy. The nerve, in a place as large as the Sea of Cortez, couldn't they find someplace else to go? Anyhow, it worked out fine as the BBC needed some down time to film simple shots around Horizon.

The early afternoon was very cool as we made our first landfall in 4 days at the Ancient Whale Bone site on Isla San Jose. Fossilized whale bones, turtle shells, dolphin skulls and clam shells embedded in sandstone decorate the landscape. The surrounding sandstone cliffs are beautiful in hues of brown, tan, red and orange. Mark Carwardine had wanted us to arrive on site before sunrise to take advantage of the beautiful colors that emanate from the rock during the explosion of sunrises first light. Unfortunately, due to the time it took us to make the long 170 mile traverse from Santa Rosalia, we weren't able to make it in time.

Large Sally Lightfoot crabs scurried from rock to rock while crewmember Kyle spotted a puffer fish and large amberjack as he gazed into the water along the shore. It was unfortunate that we had such a short time at Isla San Jose, we all could have spent additional time there.

Shortly after departing Isla San Jose I placed a call to another eco tour company that was whale watching in the San Jose Island Channel. A quick chat provided information on a large pod of sperm whales moving southerly through the channel, so we were off in search of the cousins to Moby Dick. Within the hour we had alongside Horizon 10 of these deep diving champions, seemingly unaware of our presence. The calm of early evening  provided a surreal aire to the scene as we cruised alongside our black wrinkle bodied hosts. Another Sea of Cortez encounter that will not be forgotten!

Tonight we travel south toward Gorda Banks, with hopes of finding more charismatic humpback whales. From what I've been told, the film team already all the footage necessary to produce their show...the rest is gravy to an already amazing meal!

Until Breakfast,

Captain Greg

Sea of Cortez - Production Adventure 5

Good friend Captain Greg Grivetto of Horizon Charters is on another eco adventure and this time in the company of the BBC as they film their much acclaimed series,“Last Chance to See”. Biologist, naturalist, writer - Mark Carwardine and esteemed actor Stephen Fry host this series and will be aboard aswe search for blue, sperm and humpback whales.

For the next two weeks he'll be sending us his "notes from the field":

We rolled into Santa Rosalia right at first light and set about drifting as the sun made it's way over the eastern horizon. Our 130 mile overnight journey to the offshore waters of the town that Eiffel built was in order to come in contact with the oceans ultimate predator...Humboldt squid.

Shortly after our arrival, California based squid researcher Scott Casselle met up with us and proceeded to give us all a valuable lesson on food web in-balance that appears to be a leading factor in the exponential Humboldt squid population explosion. "With the rapid decline in the predatory species, the voracious appetite driven rapidly reproducing squid are expanding unchecked toward a destiny that could lead to the collapse of many of the eastern Pacific Oceans species.", says Casselle. " The salmon stocks have suffered tremendously due to squid predation and rockfish species are not far behind. "

As Horizon's crew set up Scott's squid pen, local fisherman captured numerous squid and deposited them within the pen fastened to the swimstep of Horizon. Scott then donned his wetsuit and protective armor, which today consisted of a fine mesh stainless steel chain mail suit designed by San Diego based Neptonics. This armor is his "light" protection as during dives where he is to encounter large 5 - 8 foot  squid, he dons full protective plates to cover the majority of his body. And even with the heavy armor he has had his shoulder dislocated and his wrist broken on several occasions by the extraordinarily strong squid. "During one dive a squid grabbed my camera from behind me, and as any crazy photographer would do, I held onto the camera at tremendous cost. The squid yanked my arm over my head and dislocated my shoulder. I then had to fend off other squid with my free hand while keeping control of the camera with my bad arm. I was not going to lose my camera!".

Mark and Stephen had a long chat with Scott as he swam with the squid within the pen. As the cameras rolled we all got the sense that even though these animals are truly amazing, a solution to take care of their sudden expansion and overpopulation needs to be devised quickly before it is too late. The lessons learned today during our short stay with Scott will stick with all of us and will sharpen the focus of our message of conservation.

Our afternoon was spent traveling south through the placid waters north of Bahia Conception. It was a quiet afternoon full of thousands of birds foraging on small schools of baitfish. Within two hours of our departure I had spotted pelicans, cormorants, gulls, loons, boobies, shearwaters, petrals and terns. At one point a masked boobie gliding just over the surface of the water suddenly gained attitude as it spotted a small meal of undetermined nature. At that point it, and mind you this bird is cruising at 25 miles per hour, gained 5 feet of altitude and then plunged like a bullet into the Sea...at 25 miles per hour! Approximately 8 feet later it sprung out of the water doing 20 mile per hour, gained enough altitude to keep from dipping its wings, shook off the water with one shake and then started flying like nothing had happened! Absolutely the most crazy thing that I have EVER seen a bird do!

The afternoon only gets better. And "No" I'm not making this stuff up. About 30 minutes after the booby did it's crazy stunt we came upon a huge pod of bottlenosed dolphin, the likes that I in 30 years on the ocean, have never seen. There must have been 400 dolphin within the pod, a number usually reserved for common dolphin not bottlenosed. Mark Carwardine and I looked at one another and stated simultaneously that from a distance we had anticipated the pod to be common dolphin. They put on an amazing show, even better than yesterdays dolphin as up to 6 at a time would launch themselves 20 feet into the air in a side by side formation that would rival the Blue Angels!

I'm truly sorry about the expansiveness of this log, but today was freaking cool. Just thought I would share!

Until Tomorrow from Isla San Jose and the ancient whalebones,

Captain Greg

World Blog Archive - Shark Bloggers

If you are serious about blogging, and that would be any of you industry types who post more than 5 times a week the good news is that Greg Davis has created a new website tailored just for you.

Welcome to the World Blog Archive from the creator of Divebuddy.com.

A few weeks ago we called Greg Davis "The smartest guy in the room". He is and this is why. Blog content is only as good as the eyeballs that see it. The World Blog Archive helps get your content seen.

Now before all you post-every-two-months folks get too excited - this site will do absolutely nothing for you and your lame, sad little blog, that sits like a wet animal you forgot to feed on your back porch. Blogs, like all animals need to be fed, regularly, so go feed your blog!

Kudos to Greg for building this new site.

Wildlife Tourism Expiration Date

On a recent media swing through You Tube we came across this eco tourism "gem". It's always important to keep a predators food source on top of your head when promoting wildlife tourism.

This particular operation is set to expire any day now:

Lovesharks.sg Blog Watch

If you're curious about how the global anti sharks fin campaign is working in Asia you need look no further than lovesharks.sg

With his pulse on events in entire region "Sharkman" delivers up great conservation content.

Today, foodie blog Gastronomic Ruminations (click link) covered Lovesharks.sg new initiative in the foodie world, "veggie sharks fin" and a unique way to encourage those who love the fin to love something a little less odious:

lovesharks.sg invited some bloggers and I to dinner to try a Vegetarian Shark's Fin Soup as part of their pro bono campaign for shark conservation. Their intent was to change the local (well, its mostly the Chinese) mindset about consuming Shark's Fin as a prized delicacy through education and presenting alternatives.

I love Shark's Fin Soup but as a diver, I feel peer pressure to refrain from consuming Shark's Fin. I decided to go with an open mind as it was an interesting cause that has been subject to much controversy. Some say that only the fins are harvested and the shark is thrown back into the water (leaving the bleeding, finless animal to die a slow and painful death) while others say that the whole shark is used.

I guess they decided not to hurt any animals by opting for a vegetarian meal. Hmm, I may love vegetables but I also love to eat meat so I wasn't sure how I would enjoy a vegetarian soup dish that is meant to emulate the robust flavours found in good quality shark's fin soups. Admittedly, the flavour comes from the rich stock as shark's fins are inherently flavourless. Then again, the point of the dinner was about learning to "love" live sharks and not shark's fins.