Shark "Documentary" causing problems in New Zealand

Shark diving in New Zealand has been in trouble for a while. The local Paua divers at Stewart Island are claiming that the shark diving activity is causing white sharks to change their behavior and are trying to get it banned.

The Inquisitor writes. "Aggressive Great White Shark! Behavioral Changes’ Spur Proposed Diving Ban In New Zealand " 

The behavior of great white sharks around New Zealand’s Stewart Island has notably changed, according to local Paua divers, prompting authorities to call for a ban on local shark diving in light of the increasingly aggressive predators."

According to them "NZ First MP Clayton Mitchell noted the frequency with which great whites were being observed by local fishermen, asserting that the sharks are seen every day. He alleged that this amounted to a change in the sharks’ behavior, raising fears among the local Paua divers who make their living in the shark-infested waters.

“They are very, very concerned about their safety. It’s not a matter of if there’s an incident, but when and how often,” he noted. “Those close encounters are happening more frequently, to the point where on a daily basis when people are going out there and dropping a fishing line into the ocean, sharks are coming up. That’s behavioral change.”

Entire article here:

 

I'm always amazed that fishermen blame shark diving, which uses some attractant (chum) and small hang-baits (tuna heads) are for "feeding" the sharks and thus making them associate boats with food. They themselves are feeding the sharks (unintentionally) with entire fish. A struggling fish, hooked on a line attracts predators and since they are on a line and not able to swim away, an easy meal for the sharks. Wouldn't it make sense that the fishermen themselves are at least as much to blame for that association?

 

We know that when it comes to sharks, reason usually goes out the window and people argue mostly emotionally. As shark conservationists, we have to take that into consideration and need to be careful not to fuel their fear. And therein lies the problem. The need for some individuals, who claim to be conservationist, to make themselves look like superheros by doing all kinds of stupid stuff with those sharks and making it public, plays right into the hands of those who blame us for their behavior changes.

Today, the New Zealand Herald is reporting that a local group of Paua divers is using footage from a shark week "documentary" to claim that shark diving is to blame for sharks associating boats and humans with food.  They write: "Footage has emerged of the terrifying moment a 6m great white shark lunged at a dinghy carrying an international film crew off Stewart Island.

Two people were on the inflatable craft filming for documentary Lair of the Megashark, which screened on Discovery Channel last year, when they had the frightening encounter." source

In this video that was put online, you can see the filmmakers put a hang-bait right by the boat to attract the shark. When the shark goes after it, they make it seem like it was going after the boat itself. Stuff like that doesn't help to spread the message that great white sharks are not mindless killers.

 This "documentary" is of course by none other than renowned "shark porn" producers ABC4 and Jeff Kurr. 
 
Jeff Kurr is making statements like this: I’ve been wondering about why the sharks in New Zealand are so much more aggressive. and I can’t think of many things more eerie than descending into this inky blackness and being surrounded by three, four, six, eight massive great white sharks. That’s pretty scary stuff. source

So he's making a statement of fact, white sharks in New Zealand are more aggressive than in other places. What an "expert"! (sharkasm intended) Him saying that it's pretty scary stuff to be surrounded by sharks isn't exactly easing the fears of those Paua divers. Of course the titles of their "documentaries" "Lair of the megashark" and "Fins of Fury" doesn't help either.

There are many studies that dispute that shark diving will cause the sharks to attack boats, but like anything having to do with sharks, hysteria and opinions seem to trump facts. When these "experts" and self proclaimed "shark whisperers" fuel that hysteria just to get ratings for their shows, or further their superhero image, they hurt the cause severely.

The bottom line is this, if we as an industry don't speak out against these kinds of shows and actively participate by allowing them to film this stuff off our vessels, we hurt not only conservation, but our own businesses. The operators in New Zealand have been finding that out the hard way.

I have stated this before. You may have mixed feelings about shark diving, but one thing is clear. At Guadalupe Island we have been chasing off poachers in the past. If for some reason the cage diving there gets shut down, there will be nobody looking out for the sharks and the poachers will have free reign.

So let's go shark diving! But let's do it legally, responsibly, safely and in a way that portrays the sharks as what they really are, awesome predators, to be respected but not to be feared!

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 Surfing in NZ, Missing the Mark Completely?

We have to admit when we saw the Facebook video coming out of New Zealand featuring beer swilling locals surfing a dead shark our impression of NZ shark conservation dropped another notch.

While global sharkies went to town in a series of cascading outrages, petitions and angry chatter they missed the mark - completely.

How so you might ask?

New Zealand is one of the few Western countries left on the planet that not only allows shark finning, it has set and growing quotas for it. New Zealand is a main purveyor of legal shark fins to the Asian market.

Gasp.

And where is the shark army for that stunning fact? They all know it, and yet NZ seems to inhabit and strange and bizarre bubble of indifference when it comes to outrage against shark fins.

Four years ago we posted, When One Dead Shark Helps a Species, the idea that one dead shark could help turn public opinion. For the hundreds of thousands of dead sharks that get finned each and every year in NZ as part of a draconian quota system, the outrage over this dead shark was hollow, shallow, and completely misguided.

We all want shark finning to end, and yet the lowest hanging fruit of this effort, a western government adding metric tons of shark fin legally to the system remains untouched and unchampioned by the wider shark conservation world while they chase after shadow boats and shark finning in the remotest places on the planet.

Shark conservationists in New Zealand rage at images of dead shark in Japan while the same images, sanitized, legalized, and part of a fisheries profit machine get little to no mention at all.

Because there are no images.These same finned animals, these same quotas, go by the wayside.

New Zealand needs to wake up to shark fin in their own backyard.

The global shark conservation machine needs to wake up to this as well because the outrage over some misguided locals and one shark is a joke, because somewhere in a glass jar at $350 a kilo are the fins of New Zealands legal system. And somewhere in a dusty warehouse are the thousands and thousands of bags of these same fins that say "Fisheries New Zealand" on the side.

We would like to see pictures of those one of these days. It would be a good first start.

More from GrindTV.

Shark Finning Legal in NZ? Peter Bethune we have a job for you

While the rest of the planet is moving in lock step to prohibit the sale and trade in shark fin, New Zealand remains a growing and isolated outpost, completely out of step with global changes.

Remarkably New Zealand not only allows shark finning, it has a managed and growing quota for shark fin with 100% of exports going to Asia.

We happen to know this first hand having spent 2010 in New Zealand discovering this fishery, and the statistics are not promising.

New Zealand protects just two shark species, the great white shark and the basking shark, while 28 of the 79 shark species caught commercially in New Zealand are listed as threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Many of those species are finned and fins are sent to Hong Kong for shark fin soup. Additionally New Zealand exports tons of shark liver oil and shark cartilage as part of this Asia trade.

For New Zealand fisheries this is a sweet, if not ugly deal, as global markets are shutting down, and traditional shark fin regions are declaring themselves shark fin free, New Zealand fishermen enjoy a higher cost per metric ton of shark fin, applying more pressure for higher quotas.

Which begs the question, who's looking after sharks in New Zealand?

Recently Peter Bethune aka ex-Sea Shepherd staff member declared his public divorce from said organization in a very nasty falling out. Peter has moved on to focus on his new direct action organization Earthrace Conservation based in New Zealand.

As we're not in New Zealand, we nominate Peter Bethune to take on shark finning. These are his home waters, this is his backyard, and the perfect stepping stone to launch his new conservation org.

The good news is he has an ally in the Green Party so this should be a slam dunk.

Media Meltdown New Zealand - Ouch!

Occasionally we come across a media moment almost too painful to watch.

This is Ex-TVNZ morning show anchor Paul Henry as he mangles the name of India's Chief Minister in Delhi - Sheila Dikshit.

Realizing he's in a media hole of his own making, and sinking fast, he "doubles down" on the insult by making a racist comment, meanwhile his two show hosts remain steadfastly not amused.

If there was an award for "Blind Moronic Decision Making On The Fly" we would like to suggest Paul Henry gets it.

Henry was fired from broadcast television this week and will be attending TVNV's Clown School in the near future in hopes of getting a job with the TVNZ Morning Show with Muppets:

Captains Log - Clean up on Decks 12-40

Captains Log

"Arrived in port today. Bit of a mess on decks 12-40, actually, the engine rooms got a spot of water in it as well. Come to think of it, we're also missing a few windows, deck chairs, and what is that smell?"

Image of the Week

This just in from a sharky blog reader. One word for this image...Wowza!

A stingray leaps out of the water as it is hunted by a killer whale, whose fin can be seen below the ray, just off St. Heliers beach in Auckland, New Zealand, Wednesday, June 24, 2009.

(AP Photo/New Zealand Herald Photograph, Brett Phibbs)

1000m White Shark - Shark Geek Cool

Let's channel our "inner shark geeks" for a moment and savor the news coming out a small and dedicated group of White shark researchers off Stewart Island, NZ this month.

Data coming back from a series of shark tags are showing these remarkable animals diving to 1000m or 3280 feet:

Up to 70 per cent of the time they are near the surface but this winter one of the whites dived. "We've got what we think is a world record of 1000 metres for a white shark."

They believe it would have gone after a giant squid or phosphorescent fish. At that depth it would be pitch black and the white would have been guided in by the fish glow. A tag on a white shark popped up off Mana Island but its data was partly corrupted. The shark had been north to the tropics for winter and had come back in summer.

Three of six sharks tagged at the Chathams were found to have swum 3000km north to Tongatapu, the main Tongan island.

And you wonder why we love shark science so much?

Complete Story.

The Ocean is a Remarkable Place

As land based humans we are often reminded of the ocean and it's wonderful abundance of sea critters only when extraordinary animals wash up on the shores.

Case in point this remarkable Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) in New Zealand this week.

Years ago we got to witness the rare and wonderful midnight Leatherback egg drop on Dog Island. Sadly this oceanic voyager died of old age and the results of a recent storm. In this day in age that's a remarkable achievement.

Full story here.

White Shark Autopsy Two-The Live Version

If it's an animal autopsy streamed live on the Internet, we're there. Last year we watched the Giant Squid autopsy with fascination and this year it's the Great White shark:

In a broadcast reminiscent of a scene in Jaws, where Richard Dreyfuss cuts open a shark to discover a car licence plate and a crushed tin, scientists will carry out the two hour operation on a 10ft great white shark.

The live dissection will be carried out at an amphitheatre outside Aukland Museum on Thursday.The operation is expected to be watched by an estimated 1,000 people at the museum and streamed live on its website (www.aucklandmuseum.com) to millions more.

Scientists from the museum hope the operation will help add to their limited knowledge of one of the ocean's most feared animals. During the operation, scientists will examine stomach content, measure internal organs and record all their findings for international shark research.

Editors Note: We will be out of the office Thursday-let the science begin!

Shark Conservation-Kristie Knowles

There are many passionate shark advocates out there. What's missing in many cases is "conservation eloquence". The innate ability to distill down complex eco problems and present them in a manner where ordinary people want to take action.

For conservationist Kristie Knowles, getting the message across is par for the course:

Kirstie Knowles: Human predators driving sharks to the brink of extinction

Full story

Sharks are monsters of the ocean - creatures of myth and movie. Or so they say. In reality, they are the victims of the horror stories, not the perpetrators, as shark populations worldwide decline.

Sharks are not the top ocean predators - humans in fishing boats command that spot. A total of 112 species of shark are found in New Zealand waters, 70 of which are caught in our fisheries.

Of these, 28 are listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of species threatened with extinction.

Only one threatened species - the great white shark - is protected in New Zealand. It is ironic that this species, which was portrayed in the Jaws films as a relentless human killer, is now at risk of extinction largely at the hands of humans.

Fishers work under the Quota Management System but there's so little information about shark populations - with good information on only three of the 70 species caught in our fisheries - that it is hard to know if present catch levels are sustainable.

White Shark Scoop-Swim At Your Own Risk

The fine folks over the the Swim At Your Own Risk Blog got the scoop on another shark autopsy in New Zealand this week with biologist Clinton Duffy presiding.

Note:The pro drumline and net propaganda in the back of this image. Worldwide this 1950's solution to shark management is killing sharks at an unprecedented rate and is a major agenda item for pro shark conservation efforts:

If you happen to be in New Zealand this week, the Auckland Museum will be performing a public autopsy on a 9 ft great white shark on Thursday, January 8, in hopes to raise shark awareness.

The autopsy, or necropsy as it’s officially known, will be carried out by Clinton Duffy of the Department of Conservation Marine Conservation Section and Tom Trnski, Marine Curator of the Auckland Museum.

The operation will examine the shark’s stomach contents, as well as take measurements of organs. The public are invited to view the autopsy and come face to face with the shark from 11am-1pm in the loading dock at the south-eastern corner of the Museum.

I’d wait for lunch.

Massive Mako Mother Makes Good Science

So....we missed the flight to NZ but the story remains one of predatory fascination. Turns out this female had recently given birth. More than 800 onlookers showed up:

The 3.6-metre, 460-kilogram shark died in the Mapua channel last month.

Conservation Department shark expert Clinton Duffy, who carried out the dissection, found an empty stomach and that the mako gave birth recently. The autopsy indicated it may have been killed by an encounter with a boat.

There was massive bruising behind its jaws, Touch the Sea aquarium marine educator Richard de Hamel said. "So it may have been feeling a bit sick, then got a bump on the head, and that's really put her on the downhill slide."

The condition of the shark's uterus showed it had given birth within the past few months.

A sample of its spine was taken and its growth rings will be used to determine its age, which was probably about 30. Video here.

Your Chance To Get Up Close To A Massive Mako

Count us in-we're scrambling for frequent flyer miles. Spring in New Zealand with a 12 foot Mako?

Priceless:

11 December 2008 - A mako shark collected as it died in the Mapua estuary, near Nelson, recently will be dissected at an open viewing this Saturday.

The dissection will be lead by Department of Conservation shark expert, Clinton Duffy, one of the country's leading shark researchers.The huge female shark presents an exciting and sought after research opportunity - only one pregnant female mako has even been recorded in New Zealand waters before.

Clinton will examine the shark's reproductive tract to uncover crucial evidence that will help researchers answer questions about the lifecycle of mako sharks. If the shark is pregnant, DNA samples will be collected from the embryos to investigate the possibility of multiple paternity occurring in this species.

The massive size of the shark - over 3.3m long and weighing in at 460kg - means the shark could be close to being as old as makos get. Vertebrae samples could provide much needed clues to help determine the age of the shark. This can then be used to estimate natural mortality, how many pups a female mako can produce in her life time and allows researchers to better estimate growth rates of large sharks.

Members of the public are welcome to view the dissection. The dissection will take place on the car park area near Mapua Wharf (near Nelson), on Saturday 13 December, rain or shine. The dissection will begin around 12.30pm and is expected to take 2 - 3 hours. There is no charge.

White Sharks In Tonga? Update

As we covered last week three "archival pop up tags" have begun transmitting in the waters of Tonga from a group of 6 great whites tagged off of New Zealand's Chatham Islands.

Yesterday one of the tags was recovered allowing researchers a deeper look into the data stored on that tag. To say this latest tracking data is "epic" is an understatement. It opens a whole new chapter into the migratory habits of the worlds foremost oceanic predator:

One of three electronic transponders so far discarded near Tonga by great white sharks tagged at the Chatham Islands has been recovered from the Ha'ateiho Reef.

Details of the sharks that have travelled to Tonga from the Chathams are:

1. 4m long male tagged at Star Keys, 14 April 2008, pop-up location Ha'ateiho Beach, Tongatapu;

2. 4.5m long male tagged at Star Keys, 15 April 2008, pop-up location c. 50 km northwest of Tongatapu;

3. 4.5m long female tagged at Te Awapatiki, 19 April 2008, pop-up location c. 135 km south of Eua. (Clinton Duffy, lead investigator, said that this shark may have visited Pelorus Reef but the tag actually started transmitting over deep water east of the reef, so it could have visited any of the sea mounts in that area).

"This is the first time we have tracked great whites to the waters of Tonga. Previously we have had great white sharks tagged at the Chathams travel to New Caledonia and Vanuatu".

Record year for white shark tagging 2008

Your 401K may have tanked but for the understanding of Great whites and their migratory habits, it's been a great year:

Another tagged New Zealand great white shark has migrated to the Great Barrier Reef off Australia – 1 of nine sharks to be satellite tagged this year.

The 3.5 metre shark, nicknamed ‘Thomas,’ was tagged with a popup archival satellite tag. The tag records information on light levels (from which approximate daily latitude and longitude can be estimated) as well as water depth and temperature so that the shark’s movements can be tracked.

After a predetermined time (six months for this shark) the tag pops off the shark, floats to the surface and transmits the data to a satellite that emails the information back.

‘Thomas’ was tagged by Department of Conservation (DOC) scientist, Clinton Duffy, off Ruapuke Island in Foveaux Strait, in February. The satellite tag popped up at Swain Reefs, off Rockhampton, late in August.

"This is only 100 kilometres from where another tag popped up last year from a shark tagged at Stewart Island after having travelled over 3000 kilometres," says Mr Duffy.

Dual Passports-NZ White Sharks are Aussies Too!

Recent exciting white shark news from tracking teams in the South Island of New Zealand. Much to the surprise of everyone sharks from NZ migrate to Australia and back each season to feed on young Humpback whales:

New Zealand's great white sharks migrate to tropical waters off Australia and islands in the Pacific to feed on baby humpback whales, scientists say.

After tracking tagged sharks using GPS, New Zealand fisheries scientists have concluded the giant ocean hunters appear to be regular winter visitors to tropical waters.

One of nine great white sharks to have GPS-linked tags attached this year, a 3.5m specimen nicknamed Thomas, migrated to Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

He turned up within 100km of where a 4.4m female great white, nicknamed Kerri, arrived last summer, setting a distance record for a New Zealand shark.

Both swam more than 3000km to the reef after being fitted with tags which record location, depth and temperatures.

The tags are set to pop off the shark and float to the surface to transmit data to a satellite linked to scientists' computers. Other tags have popped up in New Caledonia, Vanuatu, and halfway to Tonga and these trans-oceanic migrations to tropical waters have changed perceptions of the sharks as cold water, coastal creatures.

"We think they may be searching for newborn humpback whale calves, because all tags have surfaced in or near known humpback calving sites," National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research fisheries scientist Malcolm Francis said. Because sharks tagged in Australia have also turned up in New Zealand waters, scientists think that white sharks in the southwest Pacific may comprise a single population.

The shark tagging was started in 2005.

New Zealand - Great White Shark Dive Site Opens

Editors Note: Shark Diver and Shark Diver New Zealand will no longer be supporting or marketing the commercial efforts at Stewart Island until further notice.

The revelation that one of the operations on site has a second commercial vessel that engages in commercial shark finning was a non starter for us. We'll keep you updated as new, conservation minded operations start here.

"Cowboy" Shark Operations Feared in New Zealand

Further details from this weeks commercial shark diving uncertainty in New Zealand.

The opposition to cage diving at this new site stems not from ecological concerns rather from the fear of "Cowboy Operations".

This growing concern is worldwide and one more argument against the sport wherein some operations "push the limits" with animals that eventually "push back".

Sadly, and we have blogged about this in depth on a number of occasions, many shark diving operators fail to realize their local shark diving activities play into a much larger industry worldwide.

What happens in South Africa, Australia, Bahamas, Guadalupe and other places resonates with the fears and prejudices of sites yet to be explored. Such is the case in New Zealand at the moment.

The Solution?

Shark Diving New Zealand-Hold On a Sec!

Last week we blogged about a new commercial white shark venture in New Zealand.

For almost 72 hours it looked like this was going to be one of the most exciting and new developments in commercial shark diving since the "discovery" of Isla Guadalupe almost 8 years ago.

Now, members of the anti-shark diving lobby-they have no office just a bunch of old musty data-has announced the desire to stop shark diving in Fovereaux Strait.

It always starts with a scientist and some data that may or may not show a change in white shark behaviour with the addition of commercial vessels.

What is needed now is the data from a 5 year study on "chum habituation" done by Rodney Fox in South Australia. His data is fresh and definitive. In the meantime we'll hold our breath for the New Zealand site.

Good luck boys!

New Zealand-Great White Shark Dive Site Opens Soon

Editors Note: This page has been removed. Shark Diver, and Shark New Zealand have removed all support and marketing efforts for the Stewart Island dive site until further notice.