Gulf of the Farallones White Shark Policy - Stunningly Poor Management Decisions?

In 2009 NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries enacted a series of white shark viewing and interaction protocols at the Farallone islands that, by any account, were the most restrictive on the planet.

New regulations prohibited "all activities that would attract white sharks anywhere in the Farallones sanctuary. “Attracting” the sharks means any activity that lures or may lure a shark by using food, bait, chum, dyes, decoys (e.g., surfboards or body boards used as decoys), acoustics or any other means."

Additionally it became illegal to "approach a white shark within 50 meters or 164 feet within two miles of the sanctuary (15 CFR Part 922)."

While sanctuary managers were congratulating themselves on these new rules, they were also green lighting a unbelievable hybrid film and television/shark research project that would allow film crew members (not researchers) to actually bait, hook, and land white sharks within sanctuary waters where a team would then drill into the sharks dorsal fin attaching tracking devices.

One of the team members for this project was in fact a Hollywood actor.

White sharks have enjoyed protected species status in California waters since Jan. 1, 1994. Title 14, California Code of Regulations, Fish and Game Code Section 28.06 on page 25 of the California Sportfishing Regulations states that "white sharks may not be taken under a sport fishing license. Commercial fishing operations may not target white sharks, either."

The management team at the Farallones made the decision to allow invasive research within the sanctuary in 2008/09. At the same time they were shepherding in additional rules and protocols for viewing and interacting with white sharks that would keep the general public 164 feet away from these same animals.

Sanctuary Superintendent Maria Brown's staff were also on the film vessel as observers when the first shark was badly hooked in the throat. To release the animal film crew members (not researchers) had to push a pair of industrial bolt cutters through the sharks gills cutting only 10% of the massive hook, the rest was left inside the animal.

When word of this disaster leaked out Maria Brown made the management decision to continue with the project. The next few days saw another shark hooked and tagged within the sanctuary boundaries.

Maria Brown then went on record in an ABC News interview to describe the process "as a minor dental procedure," see video.

As images surface this week of a shark named Junior with what looks like one of the tags that were placed in 2009 and a simply massive infection/tumor on the side of it's face we are calling for a complete investigation of Maria Brown and all documents, emails, contracts, letters and digital media involved in this project.

The public deserve a complete and transparent accounting of how this project came into being and what sanctuary managers were thinking at the time. A recently released and almost amusing "independent review" by Maria Browns office is a case study in political CYA and does nothing to enlighten the public trust in NOAA or the sanctuary system.

Researchers estimate that there are as few as 300 white sharks at the Farallone islands and surrounding region. This underweight animal, if in fact is confirmed as the shark that was badly hooked in 2009 with Maria Brown watching, will not survive much longer in this state. It is no longer a robust breeding animal and as such can be considered a loss to the entire population base.

Will NOAA rise to the challenge for a protected species?

Farallones - ABC News Investigates Tagging Disaster

ABC News I Team investigated the ethics of invasive tagging techniques and the controversy surrounding an extreme white shark tagging mishap at the Farallones. The event was documented by a reality television crew who also fund the research and provide the logistical support for the capture of white sharks.

As far as we know this is the first time in white shark research history that reality television film crews also act as quasi research team members and research funding sources.

We covered our thoughts on this matter in a previous post.

ABC I Team blog coverage post/read comments.

Farallones Tagging Mishap - RTSea Productions

However you want to characterise last weeks tagging incident at the Farallone Islands many within the shark community have unanswered questions.

RTSea Productions added their voice and overall assessment yesterday:

Controversy is now dogging the white shark tagging efforts of Dr. Michael Domeier of the Marine Conservation Science Institute. The SPOT (smart positioning or temperature) tagging began in Isla Guadalupe under the eyes of a film crew for a National Geographic Channel program to air on the 19th. It involves a technique whereby the shark is hooked and reeled on board, aerated with a water hose, while the crew literally drills and bolts a satellite transmitting tag to the shark's dorsal fin.

This is a rather elaborate tagging technique that has generated much concern within the shark conservation community (click here for prior posting about the Isla Guadalupe taggings, and here are two from other sites: click here and here).

Now, Dr. Domeier has moved northward to the Farallon Islands and, with the approval of Maria Brown, superintendent for the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, has been tagging sharks there but with less than optimal success. Apparently, one shark swallowed the hook deep into its throat causing the bait's float to become lodged in the shark's jaws, thereby blocking access for the aerating water hose and requiring the cutting of the hook by working straight through the shark's gills. All in all a disaster in humane animal treatment as far as I'm concerned.

While there are concerns about the stresses this type of tagging places on the shark, there is also the question as to the need for more data acquired in the Northern California area. Dr. Barbara Block of Stanford, Dr. Pete Klimley of UC Davis, and others have amassed a considerable body of data that tracks the migratory patterns of these animals. They and their colleagues just recently issued a detailed report that can be viewed in the Proceedings of the Royal Society, published online on 11/04/09 in the Biological Sciences section ("Philopatry and migration of Pacific white sharks").

I always felt that this particular tagging technique was a more elaborate mousetrap than necessary. Now its efficacy has become controversial, the California data may ultimately be redundant, and the National Marine Sanctuary must defend a decision to allow catching a protected species in a manner that would most likely not be allowed for, say, a protected marine mammal.

Too many questions, too much controversy. . .

Read article in Bay area bohemian.com.

David McGuire-Shark Talk

David McGuire, conservation filmmaker, a field associate of the California Academy of Sciences and a shark advocate recently took part in a round table discussion with Global Commons radio about sharks and shark conservation.

His film "Sharks Stewards of the Reef" remains one of the best looks at the fate of modern sharks with a strong conservation message. To quote David "It's a bad time to be a shark".

Listen here.

Richard Theiss-Industry Analysis Chumming Perceptions

From the RTSea Blog this morning a critical look at the Farallons commercial shark chumming decision along with the usual stunning shark video:

Recently, federal regulations involving California marine sanctuaries were finally put in place, ranging from expansion of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary to tow-surfing at Maverick's to an expansion of the "no chum" zone at San Francisco's Farallon Islands, as reported by Ken Weiss in the L.A. Times.

Regarding the "no-chum" zone, there was a statement made by William Douros, western regional director of the National Marine Sanctuaries program that disturbed me. About the chum regulations, he said, "We just think it was a bad idea for white sharks to associate humans with blood in the water."

While this makes for an interesting news bite (one that the L.A. Times highlighted in the front section as a "quote of the day"), my concern is whether this is anecdotal or supported by solid quantifiable research. I am afraid of the implication that divers participating in shark diving in sturdy cages are somehow exposed to greater danger because, due to chumming, the shark is viewing them as a food source and would consider attacking or breeching the cage specifically because it wants to prey on a caged diver. This is not a behavior that I have witnessed in five years of filming these animals. And this has been supported by people like Rodney Fox and others.

As a professional nature filmmaker who has spent considerable time filming white sharks, my experiences would be in contrast to the conclusion that William's statement implies. I have yet to see a white shark, made curious by a chum slick or hangbait, exhibit any predatory tendencies specifically towards the divers in the cages. In fact, as a professional I accept the calculated risk of exposing myself to the sharks beyond what is deemed appropriate for the "paying tourists" and have yet to see anything beyond heightened curiosity on the shark's part - not heightened aggression.


Now, I'm no fool. I clearly respect these sharks for what they are: powerful, apex predators - not cuddly puppydogs. And I am a strong advocate of stringent safety protocols and conservative baiting techniques that do not over-stimulate the shark. These are animals with complex sensory systems that respond to scent, vibration, visual, and electrical stimulus - many factors that come into play before a white shark makes any kind of predatory move. It is too simplistic to say: blood equals human prey.

My biggest concern is what William's statement says about shark diving as a whole. His choice of words could be fuel for opponents of shark ecotourism - an activity that both educates people to the importance of sharks and provides an economic alternative to their destruction. There are valid reasons that the Farallon white sharks should be isolated and I wish he had addressed those issues rather than make a statement, whether cavalier or calculated, that could be used to damn shark ecotourism as a whole - right when such activity could do the most good.

It's Official-Chumming Banned at the Farallones

This mornings news is old news for one of the original white shark diving sites on the Pacific West coast. These "new" rules and regulations have been in the works for many years and came as little surprise to the few operations still taking divers to this site:

Under the extensive new rules, federal officials also forbid attracting seabirds by tossing food in the water, as well as other kinds of sea life. Tour boats will have to remain a respectful 55 yards away (length of a football field) when white sharks feed on elephant seals, as they go there to do. That'll make it harder to get a close-up shot, but managers say that whites have been seen abandoning a kill when boats venture too close.

Editors Note: The Farallones as a stand alone shark site was once a good operations site. That was in the days when the Farallones was the only white shark dive site aside from South Africa and Australia. Back prior to rules and regulations operators could tow decoys prompting similar aerial attacks to those seen at Dyer Island in South Africa. That is not the case today. With the opening of Isla Guadalupe, MX and it's guaranteed shark sightings divers who experience the Farallones are often extremely disappointed. This prompts a conversation about the ongoing viability of this site for commercial shark diving operations. The market will determine how long this site stays in business. Our guess is not much longer. Going into 2009-10 adventure travelers will be running to value, in the world of wild animal encounters that means encountering animals.

Farallons White Shark Tours-Add One

On the subject of shark diving...looks like there's one more white shark watching tour option for thrills seekers here in Northern California, Silver Fox.

We got an email from a diver this week asking about these guys, our response was they are new to us. Great White Shark Expeditions have streamlined the experience and do not offer caged encounters, cutting the cost down to $275-125 for the day and relying on natural predations for the actual shark viewing. Other operations have cages, but they are not allowed to chum or tow decoys, so they too are relying on natural predations. We wish the new guys luck:

Witnessing a very large great white shark consume a 300 lb. sea lion can be a very dramatic experience. These particularly violent acts are as natural as the rising of the tide for the shark.During the Fall months (Sept – Nov), thousands of marine mammals migrate to the Farallon Islands, which are approximately 27 miles from the San Francisco Bay to breed and calve their young. This event attracts the largest great white sharks in the World. The Farallon Islands, located in the red triangle, are the known feeding ground for the great white sharks before their long Pacific Migration. We have had many dramatic encounters from great white attacks from the safety of the vessel. These events are purely natural and part of everyday life at these islands. This is an event that is truly unforgettable.