Introducing Screaming Mimi, a very unique Great White Shark at Guadalupe Island

 
During our confinement at home due to the coronavirus, we are introducing you to a few of our favorite characters you might meet when you visit Guadalupe Island through a series of blogs. Today we'd like you to meet "Screaming Mimi"!

At Shark Diver, our goal is to not just take you to Guadalupe to see some Great White Sharks, we want you to get to know these awesome creatures individually. They all have different character traits and behaviors. How awesome would it be when the next time you watch shark week you can say "this is the shark that swam right next to me!"? So that you can identify the individual sharks when you come home from your trip, every one of our divers will receive a copy of our Photo ID to take home.

 We met "Screaming Mimi" a couple of years ago. When I first encountered her, I nicknamed her "Kinky".  She has a very distinct kink in her tail. I have no idea what caused that kink, since she doesn't have any obvious scars or signs of injury. She was named "Screaming Mimi" by someone through the "Sponsor a shark" program of the Marine Conservation Science Institute. That sponsor program is one of the ways they raise funds for the Photo ID database at Guadalupe Island.

Mimi is a very active and curious shark. When she encounters something new in the water, she exhibits a typical white shark trait. Unlike what most people think, white sharks don't just attack when they encounter something they don't know. They swim by close to check it out. It is actually quite funny some times. A couple of years ago, a beach towel blew overboard and started to drift down. 3 white sharks came by to investigate it. 2 of them jerked away and rapidly swam away when the towel moved a little in the current. The 3rd. one kept swimming close to it, jerking away, and getting closer again. I don't know if it eventually bit the towel or not, as I lost sight of both the shark and the towel in the distance.

Watch the video below of Mimi checking out my GoPro camera that was attached to a long pole and handled from the boat.

You can see that they don't just attack something they don't know. The swim by and check things out first.

Screaming Mimi ©Tim Peterson

Mimi also likes to swim really close to the cages and makes eye contact with the divers.

Mimi is around 14' long and not quite mature yet. It is amazing how big these sharks have to be, before they are mature and able to reproduce.

I hope we'll see her again this year. She loves to swim around the cages, sometimes for hours. It never ceases to amaze me that we keep seeing the same individual sharks year after year. It's not like they are resident sharks. They migrate thousands of miles each year but come right back to the same spot at Guadalupe Island.

If you want to come face to face with a great white shark and would like to learn how to identify these sharks, join us on one of our "science" expeditions. We do have some spaces open and would love to introduce you to our sharks.

Call 619.887.4275, email crew@sharkdiver.com or visit www.sharkdiver.com for more information.

Let's go shark diving!

Cheers,

Martin Graf
CEO Shark Diver

About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at crew@sharkdiver.com.

Get to know "Chugey" a Great White Shark at Guadalupe

Chugey is one of the iconic sharks at Guadalupe. We first encountered him in 2004 and he's been regularly sighted ever since. One of his characteristics is his cut caudal (tail) fin. It pretty much resembles the tail of an airplane, with a flat top.

Chugey is a very active shark, to say the least. Being cautious doesn't seem to factor into his actions. He's had numerous injuries throughout the years, but seems to be just fine despite of it.

Just how rough a life does he have? We have talked about the amazing healing power of these amazing Great White Sharks here and it looks like they really need that ability to heal. Chugey, the shark we were talking about in that blog, was back at Guadalupe Island and it looks like that he hasn't gotten any more careful since he got his face bit the first time. While his original wound closed quite nicely, he was sporting some brand new bite marks.

As a reminder, here is what he looked like 2 years earlier.

 

Here is what he looked like with his old scar and new bite marks.

 

This is another picture of Chugey, taken by one of our divers, Marie Tartar.

It's great to see him back at Guadalupe acting like nothing happened. I continue to be blown away by both their ability to heal and never showing any signs of discomfort or indication that they are in pain, when swimming around with severe bite injuries.

This fall we are heading back to Guadalupe Island for our 19th season of diving with our Great White Sharks. Nicole Nasby-Lucas, who is the person responsible for our photo ID database, will be coming out with us on 4 of our expeditions.  Thanks to her database, we can individually identify the sharks and also have a history of when they visited Guadalupe Island. In 2018 we added over 30 new sharks and are now over 300 individuals that have been sighted, since we first started diving there in 2001.

How many new sharks will we encounter this season? I can't wait to get back there and find out.

What will he be named?

If you would like to come out with us, we only have a few spaces open for this season. We are also booking for the next 2 season and some expeditions are almost sold out. Don't miss your chance for an amazing trip of a lifetime. Call 619.887.4275 or email us at staff@sharkdiver.com for more information or to reserve your space.

Cheers,
Martin Graf
CEO
Shark Diver


About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at crew@sharkdiver.com.

What 's hurting the Great White Sharks at Guadalupe?

 
We are coming towards the end of another great season at Guadalupe Island. Just like last year, we added a lot of new sharks to the photo ID database and saw a lot of our regulars that came back. We definitely see an increasing number of sharks, specially for sharks in the 10-12' range. It's great to see that conservation efforts seem to have a positive impact on shark numbers. We regularly see in excess of 20 different sharks on our expeditions, a huge increase over 10 years ago, when we were lucky to see 10 and often went whole days without seeing a single shark.

One thing that I noticed though is the increasing number of sharks with injuries caused by ropes or fishing gear. A couple of years ago it was "Luca" that swam around with a rope around his body. Luckily his rope was cut and he's doing fine. There is just a black scar left that will disappear in a year or so.

Luca with a black scar from a wrapped rope.

This year we saw a few sharks with either fresh wounds from ropes or still having the ropes attached around them. One of these sharks is a new female.

 

 

 

New female with rope around her

The rope around her body is embedded in the gills on both sides.

Her underside shows a faint scar from the rope that was digging into her. (It' kind of hard to see, just in front of her pectoral fins) The rope goes around her head and into the bottom of her gills on both sides, so it looks like the rope is still inside and the wound has closed around it. She must have gotten that rope wrapped around her quite a while ago, for it to be completely embedded.

This makes at least 3 sharks now that had a rope wrapped around them. Where do these ropes come from?

I hope that somehow this rope can get cut, otherwise I fear that this shark is not going to survive.  We also need to find out where these ropes are coming from, so that we might be able to stop the sharks from getting entangled in the future.

Cheers,
Martin Graf
CEO Shark Diver

About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at staff@sharkdiver.com.

The big white sharks are back at Guadalupe!

 
We just got back from our second Great White Shark expedition to Guadalupe Island last night and are happy to report that the big boys are back in town! On our first day, Bite Face showed up. He has been present every single year, since we first met him in 2001. A little after Bite Face, Chugey made an appearance and chased some hangbaits by the cages. Chugey has been a regular since 2004. On day two, Bruce, one of the biggest males we regularly see came back. Bruce has also been there every season since 2001.

Chugey with the Smyth family at Guadalupe Island

It is absolutely amazing to see how these sharks come back year after year. To think that we see the same individuals for this many years just blows my mind.

Aside from these guys we originally encountered during our first year at Guadalupe back in 2001, some of our other old time favorites showed up as well. Mau whom we first met in 2006, Johnny from 2005, Joker, Drogin and El Diablo from 2007 are all back. That is eight sharks that have all been there every single years for at least 10 years!

Jeanine with El Diablo

Of our more recent acquaintances, Monkey from 2011, Hooper and Luca Arnone from 2013, #186 from 2016 (he needs a name by the way, contact MCSI to sponsor his name) and finally Husker, Mickey and Poseidon who first showed up last year all made an appearance.

#205 Mickey

This season has been different from last year, where we encountered many small females in early August. This year it's been all males. It never ceases to amaze me that after all these years diving with the Great White Sharks at Guadalupe, they keep surprising us. For anyone trying to figure them out, in my experience, I find them to be predictably unpredictable.

Come join us on one of our expeditions and find out first hand that experiencing these amazing creatures in real life is completely different from anything you see on TV.

Call us at 619.887.4275 or email crew@sharkdiver.com for more info.

Let's go Shark Diving!

Cheers,
Martin Graf
CEO Shark Diver
About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at staff@sharkdiver.com.

Shark scare in Orange County?

A couple of days ago, there was a fake shark scare in Newport Beach, CA.

The Orange County Register reports:  

source

"NEWPORT BEACH – The warning was clear: A big, aggressive great white shark is on the loose along the shores in Newport Beach, and beachgoers are advised to stay away from the water."

Problem was, local lifeguards and the U.S. Coast Guard never heard of any shark danger. 

“I guess it was one of the local guys; someone who wanted to keep the crowds down at a break out there,” Coast Guard search and rescue controller Sandy Needle said about the notice. “There was nothing from the Coast Guard.” 

The warning – which appeared on official-looking letterhead that said “United States Coast Guard” in the notification dated Wednesday – was floating around on Facebook, claiming that three incidents should put beachgoers on high alert.

The article goes on to give the details of the warning which contained the following paragraph:

The third sighting, the notice read, came when two lifeguards got a call about an adult-sized shark that bumped two kayakers and swam away after the boaters struck it “with an oar in the gill area of the fish.”

So far so good, it looks like the media is responsible for once and instead of hyping up a shark scare, are trying to calm the public.

The article then states, how they recognized the warning as fake.

"Although the flier looked official, there were a lot of clues that it was a fake.
“There’s a lot of misspellings, and it called a shark a fish,” Needle said."
Well there you have it. It called the shark a fish!  No self respecting Coast Guard representative would call a shark a fish! Everyone knows it's not a fish, it's a.... hmm, no not that, it's a ...... , I'm stumped! Any of you know?

Maybe I should be asking an expert in these matters.

You can read the entire article here

Cheers,
Martin Graf
CEO
Shark Diver


About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at staff@sharkdiver.com.

Isla Guadalupe 2011 White Shark Season - Quick Report

With our first few expedition trips away to Isla Guadalupe this season divers are writing back to update us on their experiences. Chuck lives in Arizona and when not diving with sharks he's usually found whitewater rafting.

Chuck and his cousin Georgene are now "Official Shark Divers" having spent the last three days in the company of our wonderful white sharks at Isla Guadalupe and witnessing first hand white sharks jumping clear out of the water right next to our boat.

We call it a shark breach, Chuck calls it amazing:

This is from an Arizona desert rat who never ventured deeper than the shallow end of the swimming pool.

First day on Guadalupe the sharks circled the boat and you could hear the "Jaws" music in the background, but none came to the cages.

Next day started with a complete jump out of the water by a 15 foot plus sweetie name "Chugie" (sic) and the fun began."Chugie" gave a second jump that day... sharks o'pleanty all day. No more fins, just beautiful Great Whites coming to the cages for the next two days. Mark, the chef, put 4 pounds on me. The entire crew was fantastic and the trip will be a "bucket list" topper.

Thanks so much "Shark Diver" for a memorable and wonderful trip...CHUCK SHUMWAY

White Shark Cage Diving Guadalupe 2011

With the start of our 2011 white shark season just days away we thought you might like a sneak peek at the island the world has come to know as, "The Island of the Great White Sharks."

This video was shot by Oceans Aloft with the help of Shark Diver at Isla Guadalupe in 2009.

Are you ready for Guadalupe? The 2011 clock is ticking down...

Great White Shark Research Internship S.A

Job Description

Interns will be joining dedicated scientists who are conducting accredited research projects in some of the world's most challenging, beautiful and remote environments. The projects demand significant scientific and practical responsibilities from participants, however, the demands are well within the capabilities of most students, and whilst being challenging, are enjoyable and exciting. As part of this program, interns can expect to be important members of a focused and dedicated research institute and partake in ground breaking research. It is an opportunity to contribute meaningfully to exciting marine research, as well as experience the frustrations, the highs and the lows, and the achievements associated with ambitious and challenging marine research in Africa.

Oceans Research has established a strategic network of two research stations situated within the unique marine biomes of southern Africa, namely, Skeleton Coast Marine Lab and Mossel Bay Marine Lab. At each laboratory, researchers are conducting ambitious ecological, physiological and biological studies on resident marine top predators and their associated ecosystems.
Mossel Bay Marine Lab is the flagship and most established research laboratory within the Oceans Research network. It is also home to the institute's central office and management. The research laboratory is situated along the southern coast of Africa in a warm temperate marine biome that attracts numerous temperate water fish species. At the top of the food chain is the Cape fur seal that resides on Seal Island, the Great white shark that frequents the bay to hunt fur seals, numerous fish species and a semi resident population of bottlenose dolphins. Interested interns can also get involved with our educational program, where we educate mostly underprivileged schools regarding the importance of ocean conservation and the vital role sharks play in both the marine and terrestrial ecosystems.

Skeleton Coast Marine Lab is situated along the desert coast of Namibia at Walvis Bay, a worldwide mecca of dolphin watching and desert tourism. The Benguela current is the driving force behind one of the world's most abundant marine environments and attracts dense populations of marine mammals such as the Heaviside's dolphin, bottlenose dolphin, Cape fur seal and humpback whale. The Namibian coast line is considered one of the most undeveloped, beautiful places in the world. The Namib is the oldest desert in the world and is characterised by the conjunction of large fields of sand dunes meeting one of the world's richest marine environments, the cold currents of the Benguela ecosystem.

• Job Function(s): Agriculture/Natural Resources/Environment

The internship program is aimed at assisting in the development of students training in the area of biological science. However, we willingly invite applications from all students and enthusiasts who have a passion for the oceans and want to extend their

• Desired Class Level(s): First Year, Sophomore, Former Student, Other, Junior, Senior, Graduate Student, Alumni
• Desired Field of Study: Biology, School of Law
• Minimum GPA: 2.50

• Application Deadline: 07/31/2011
• Employer: Oceans Research
• Contact Name: Lezanne Vermaak -
• Apply by Email: internship@oceans-research.com

Requested Materials and Documents

The employer has requested the following documents or materials be submitted with applications.

• Required: Resume

Material/Document Notes:
-

Please note: Positions are submitted directly by the employer and are not pre-screened by the Career Development Center. Posting on this site does NOT indicate an endorsement of the employer by the University of St. Thomas or its Career Development Center. Neither the University, nor the Career Development Center, assumes any responsibility whatsoever for inaccurate or misleading information, nor does the presence of a posting on this site indicate the position is appropriate for any student. Employers posting positions are asked to abide by posting guidelines but the University is not responsible for the non-compliance with its guidelines by an employer. As with any job opportunity site, applicants should research potential employers before applying. Please report any concerns with a particular posting or employer to the St. Thomas Career Development Center.

Big Whites Down South - New Video

If you want to know where to find white sharks always ask the local fishermen, in this case a sizable animal makes an appearance in the Southern hemisphere last week:

Shark Diving Trip Report - Guadalupe Island 2010 "White Shark City"

When we got the phone call from Jan Millhauser this year, we knew we had a special mom on the phone.

She was interested in taking her 19 year old daughter shark diving.

What a mom!

Even rough seas could not keep this NY mother daughter pair down for too long when it came to meeting the "Man in the Grey Suit."

This is Jan's 2010 Shark Trip Report:

Ariel wanted to go dive with great white sharks for her graduation from high school. We researched for many of hours till we found “Shark Diver” and they were rated 5 out of five. I have to say the rating was accurate.

We flew on Jet Blue from JFK on an 8:30 am flight that got us to San Diego around 11:30am, after wrestling with local hotels and a mean front desk clerk and a quick trip to the Gaslamp district we got our ride to the dock where we were greeted by a friendly and kind “Horizon Charters” crew who were totally in control and knowledgeable. My fear of claustrophobia and not being able to get to the head (bathroom) in time in case the sea sick patches were not sea worthy was on my mind.

As we were walking to the “MV Horizon” (boat’s name) the crew Mark and Kyle were joking with Ariel and I making me feel like all was going to be just fine. I took my valium on top of the anxiety pill (which did not seem to be working) to get calm, did I mention I was a bit nervous?

This was the first time either of us had been diving, let alone 210 miles off the coast with white sharks!

The 80 foot Horizon had two very large cages on the deck. Upon boarding we met some of the other crew and passengers. Everyone was friendly and supportive. There were a few others with the same fears as I had.

There was Alec (whom I kept calling Eric, he took it in stride) and Lisa his wife from England, Marcus from Ireland, Mark from Canada, Jeff from Tennessee, Steve from Maryland, William from San Diego (who was originally from Panama until he moved to CA at 16; army brat), John from NY with his father Bob from Chicago and Ka-Hay from Hong Kong (best line “I was like what the f@!% is this shit?) That broke the ice for all.

Customs came on the boat went through all the official stuff and then took off for the 16 hour journey to the Guadalupe Islands. Mark and Beth the kitchen crew made us delicious pancakes for breakfast. On the way there we saw whales sprouting but we couldn’t find them so we continued on after a few minute detour whale watching. Spinner dolphins joined us for a while playing in the wake of the Horizon. Two more meals, diving lecture, getting fitted for our wet suits, a few laughs with the rest of our dive partners and of to bed.

We woke up with cages being put into the water and Mark and Beth were taking breakfast orders we had arrived after months of preparation to Isla Guadalupe.

All of a sudden we hear “White Shaaaark”(Ariel was the first person to spot the shark) everyone darted out onto the deck to watch a beautiful great white shark swimming around the boat. It took all the energy of the boat crew to keep all 12 of us from jumping in the water to swim with the shark. His movement in the water was so graceful it was like watching a ballerina dance at Lincoln center. We ate breakfast, lectured on safety rules of appropriate cage entry, exit, picture taking and NO hanging out of the cage for pictures which I must say only a few of the divers actually followed that rule (not Steve, Ariel or myself; we were a naughty shark cage team.)

Martin the Dive Master made a scheduled one hour in the cages one hour out with a half hour for lunch so we got in the cage several times on the first day.

We saw 14 different great white sharks over the 3 days of cage diving.

On my second dive a large great white was coming head in to me and I was just about to do the most “not allowed move” by kissing his snout when my regulator hose broke off my mouth piece and I had to get out of the cage till it was fixed. After I got out Kyle and I were on the side of the boat talking when two sharks had a fight and both breached right in front of us. Of course neither of us had a camera to get it on digital but it will be in our minds eye forever.

I had a few more really close encounters with a few white sharks but none close enough to actually kiss. Most of the sharks came within 1 – 2 inches from the cages.

We were allowed to get in the shark cages before our rotation if we got up early enough. There were a few seagulls swimming in front of our boat when a great white shark came up from underneath it and lifted the bird and its nose right out of the water that someone got video of!

Very cool.

We saw a few sharks 10 – 20 feet below our cages swimming around. We spent one dive where all we saw were mackerel while we prayed for a shark but none came. Steve our dive mate fixed our hoses when they got tangled; we took pictures of each other and played hand games while we waited in the cold water -down time after a hot shark first day. We ate dinner exchanged memory cards to see each other’s video and pictures. The camaraderie was at an all time high and no one refused to share their amazing shark pics.

I got up early to get into the into the cages early and got a wonderful show. A sea lion came up under the boat and to visit our cages. Then he got a visit from a young great white about 9 feet and the seal and shark where playing tag with the seal doing most of the chasing it was amazing. After my allotted time and the first rotation came in a second great white shark came to join the game and we saw a little bit of the play looking down into the water from the boat deck. On our rotations first dive we saw a few great whites not close up but not far either. The second dive we saw nothing and the third dive Ariel and I decided to shower and just watch from the deck, read and relax. It was a very smart move because some rough current was coming in and the cages plus boat started to rock.

Before we left Captain Spencer said we were going to be heading into rough waters. A few of us loaded up on the bonnine and other sea sick pills plus vied for position on the rear deck for a view of the horizon. When we left Captain Spencer drove by the shore so we could see the sea lions and elephant seals then headed back to Ensenada Mexico to go through customs.

As soon as the boat left the cove where we were anchored we ran into huge swells and the boat was getting tossed around. I did not know that a boat could move in so many directions at one time and stay erect. The preventative motion sick patch did not help so we added a 5 mg valium that helped for a little bit but we could not get off the back deck being afraid of losing my cookies.

Ariel suggested we go to our bunk and try to sleep, after being in our bunks for about 10 minutes Ariel grabbed the garbage pail off my bed and put it to good use. Ariel lost it 3 times over a few hours and wound up doing the most puking for the trip. I got sick in between Ariel’s illness and Alec stood by me offering verbal support while his wife Lisa was loosing it down below. However 9 of the 11 of us got seasick and one of the crew did too.

It took us 17+ hours in rough-ocean to make it back to Ensenada, Mexico and boy were we all grateful. Only one person stayed ill the entire trip back but for the most part the ride from Ensenada to San Diego the waves were mild but then again so was our entire food intake for fear of a repeat performance.

Overall we had an indescribable experience that words cannot do justice to. Great white shark diving is an experience that must be done first hand to understand the feeling of euphoria.

Jan and Ariel 2010 Official Shark Divers!

That's One VERY Big Critter!

According to the always hysterical shark media in Australia this week, a 20 foot Great white shark is stalking the waters - or at least something as big as that with teeth.

This time though we had to pause for a moment.

The image of a ten foot white shark with two simply titantic bites out of it was enough to make us church going believers in "20 foot sharks."

The thing that got to us was the fact these bites appear to be singular events. What animal on the planet, aside from a killer whale, could possibly take 200-300 pound bites out of prey items in one pass?

Now where's our shark cage?

Oregon - Bagging White Sharks Nets Fine

An Oregon fisherman from the town of Warren will pay a fine of $299.00 for harvesting a 12-foot Great White shark August 8, 2009 and gutting it on the docks at Depoe Bay.

Angler Jason W. Robinson, age 32, of Warren, Oregon, told an investigating state police trooper that he responsible for the shark, and that it become entangled in their crab gear and was pulled to the surface when they were bringing in a crab pot.

An OSP Fish & Wildlife trooper working on routine patrol at the docks responded to the location after hearing about the catch. The trooper saw what he believed to be a Great White Shark that was already gutted, according to Patricia Bauer with the Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division.

"Our investigation indicated there was no obvious self-initiated attempt by Mr. Robinson to contact any authorities after he caught the shark before bringing it to the port. If our trooper wasn't at the right place at the right time then we believe he would have unlawfully kept the shark for his own personal interests," said Captain Walt Markee, director of the OSP Fish & Wildlife Division.

Robinson reportedly told the trooper that the shark had been gutted so it could be eaten.

Prior to seizing the shark to confirm it was in fact a Great White, the OSP trooper reports having shown Robinson a portion of the Marine Zone regulations on page 101 of the 2009 Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations prohibiting the possession of Great White and Basking Sharks and that one must immediately release them unharmed.

OSP Fish & Wildlife troopers took the shark to the Hatfield Marine Science Center On August 9th, where it was positively identified as a Great White by the National Marine Fisheries Service and ODFW.

On October 1st, Robinson was cited to appear in Lincoln County Circuit Court on October 8, 2009 for the violation offense of Unlawful Possession of Great White Shark.

Oregon State Police want to issue a reminder that anyone who discovers a dead Great White Shark or a Basking Shark should call the Oregon State Police toll free at 1-800-452-7888 to report the discovery and obtain further instructions.

Complete Story

Great White - Oregon - Sad News

DEPOE BAY, Ore. -- KATU News has "quite a fish tale" from the Oregon Coast.

KATU viewer Zak Retherford sent us photos after his unusual day on the water at Depoe Bay. Clearly pictured is a great white shark.

A YouTube video shows the shark being dragged ashore and displayed for onlookers (CAUTION, video is bloody in some sections).

Retherford said he had just finished salmon fishing when another boat came in, dragging this 12-foot-long shark. It had been tangled in a crab pot line and was presumed dead.

However, the shark sprung to life in the parking lot pictured, thrashing around and almost biting someone. It eventually died.