Caught on Tape - Thresher Sharks Hunting

On a scale of cool shark videos this one ranks up there. Purported to have been shot off Pescador Island, it features a Thresher shark hunting with its tail, a unique adaptation and one rarely seen by divers.

Explains why fishermen on the west coast of the U.S, especially off La Jolla shores, often report tail hooking these animals:

Oceanic Whitetip Sharks - Hawaii

If you have not yet discovered iDive Sharks consider this an "insiders tip." This week Mark Oronzio shared his Oceanic Whitetip footage from Hawaii.

Increasingly rare due to fishing pressure and sought after for their overlarge fins these remarkable critters make better close encounter video.

Kudos:

Lithodes galapagensis "all you can eat"

The place on the Internet for underwater news is Underwater Times.

They have been the leader in "breaking underwater news" from whale strandings to this weeks announcement of a new species of King Crab discovered by Sally Hall, a PhD student at the University of Southampton's School of Ocean and Earth Science (SOES).

As huge fans of crustaceans in all forms this is an exciting announcement. Unfortunately Lithodes galapagensis is found in deep water off the Galapagos and is much bigger than it's Alaskan cousins.

Looks like a tasty discovery to us.

Can anyone say Deadliest Catch Galapagos?

Guadalupe Island -Trip Report 2009

Editors Note: There are two kinds of people in this world, the dreamers and the rest. Kudos to Jen for being part of "the adventure clan."

Here's her story:

When I was 5, my aunt took me to see my first drive-in movie…Jaws. Now I know what you are thinking…that is way too scary of a movie to be taking a kid so young to, but that movie started it all for me. I have LOVED sharks ever since!!!

I wanted a shark cage just like Hooper’s and even a crappy boat like the Orca would do for my travels…but alas, I never got that shark cage that was on my Christmas list. So in creating my Bucket List, this is the first item - See a great white alive (preferably in the wild).

Flash forward to 2003…this is when I discover Patric and his wonderful company that takes people out to meet the magnificent white shark face to face in this magical place called Isla Guadalupe. I emailed Patric and asked him a few questions about the trip and he called me back and told me everything I needed to know and then some, in his made-for-radio voice. So I decided this was it, when I had the money and was ready to go, I was going with this guy!

Well in life things happen and priorities change and shark diving was put on the way back burner but was still going to happen someday.

So it is Monday, August 11, 2008 and I sit down at work to read my emails and one in particular catches my eye:

Hi Jennifer,

Congratulations you were drawn as our Grand Prize Winner for the Luke Tipple promotion. You have won the Dive with Great White Sharks at Guadalupe Island. I will send you out a pack in the next two weeks with all the information to book your trip, and connect you with SharkDiver.com so you can answer all your questions. (check out the SharkDiver.com website to get the general idea.) You do not need to be Scuba Certified for this trip.

I read the email over and over again in my head and then asked a co-worker to come read it and tell me what she thinks and she says, “it looks like you just won yourself a shark diving trip!” So I get on the phone to call my best friend, Nicole and I read the email to her and start crying, my lifelong dream is finally going to come true and it would be in September 2009!

I can’t say enough about Patric and the Horizon crew. Everyone was so nice and helpful from Aaron helping us with our weight belts to Mike being right there with a cold drink of water when we got out of the cages to Patric himself being kind enough to “Count” the sharks for us and Mark making sure that I never saw one piece of cilantro or raw onion on my plate! The whole crew was fantastic, the boat was clean and in order and the food was great. Martin, our dive master was very informative and extremely patient which came in handy when he was teaching me to clear my mask and regulator. I love the ocean and spend my summers snorkeling the southern California coast and this was my first time diving. It only took about 15 minutes to get the hang of breathing with the regulator and be comfortable in the cage and once the sharks arrived I forgot all about that regulator.

In the movies they always show sharks, whites in particular, with black, lifeless eyes, which does not help in them being feared but I can tell you that their eyes are far from lifeless. When a 15 foot great white swims 1 foot in front of your face you can see that it has a beautiful blue iris and as this shark swims past you can actually see it focusing on each diver.

They are very curious and cautious animals and whey they cruise past the cages you can’t help but look at them more as graceful than menacing. I was a shark lover long before this trip but seeing them in the wild has made me want to do more to help protect them and now I need to win the lottery so I can go on EVERY Sharkdiver.com trip EVERY season!

Yours in sharks,
Jen McCormick

Mystery carcass may be legendary sea monster: expert

Huzzah!

Proof positive that sea monsters exist at least in lake Okanagan, where the remains of a 1.3 meter "tailed critter"washed up on the shores recently.

Yes, we know we called the whole Bigfoot thing wrong, but damn, they held a press conference about it. What sort of crazy backwoods idiots hold a press conference about a rubber monkey suit encased in ice?

If you're into sea monsters, and we are, here's the news with DNA samples and everything:

A mysterious looking body found along the shore of Okanagan Lake might be the remains of the legendary Ogopogo, an expert says.

Dan Poppoff found the 1.2-metre-long carcass last month while he was kayaking in the lake, close to the B.C. Interior city of Kelowna.

The Kelowna resident immediately called Arlene Gaal, who has written three books about the legendary sea creature and documented sightings of the Ogopogo for the last 30 years.

A day later, he sent her a photo of the carcass.

"I told him he had my attention right away," Gaal said.

She told him to store the body in the freezer and has arranged for two scientists to analyze DNA from the tail.

The carcass had a spinal cord and vertebrae, which made it one of the first interesting discoveries she's seen in the last 30 years.

"This is something very important to the scientific community. What we're looking at is an unidentified species and this might open the door to this mystery," she said.

Like Scotland's mythical Loch Ness monster, evidence of the Ogopogo's existence is largely anecdotal.

Since 1978, about 1,000 sightings of the Ogopogo have been recorded in the Okanagan. Every year, at least five people come forward to say that they have seen the sea monster.

Two sightings have already been reported in 2009. Those who claim to have seen the animal say it resembles a whale in its size, the way it moves and the commotion it creates when it emerges from the water.

"We're looking at a definite large animal that is swimming in the Okanagan Lake. I'm sure of that," Gaal said.

Hey Lucy...I'm Hooooome!

THIS is what you look like after spending 10 months at sea...in a rowboat...in the vast and unforgiving Pacific.

Did we mention this was intentional!?

The eyes tell the story here. Kudo's to the crazy Italian who went for gold, and god help this guys girlfriend when he comes home. A mere week at sea turns all of our crews into sex starved loons...cannot even imagine what this guys thinking right now:

It was a rather ignominious end to a grand adventure. After 10 months of rowing alone across the vast Pacific Ocean, eating only dried food and with nothing but emails from fans for company, Alex Bellini was rescued by a tugboat, just 65 nautical miles from his destination.

Mr Bellini, 30, set off on his solo crossing from Lima, Peru, in February, and had planned to next set foot on land in Sydney on Saturday. His plan was to row across the great ocean in his 25-foot boat. For 99 per cent of the gruelling journey, success seemed to be within his grasp.

Isla Guadalupe Trip Report 8.26.2008

Another stellar week at Isla Guadalupe although our seasonal record was broken this week:

Hi All,

We didn't have the beautiful sunrises that we are accustomed to at Guadalupe the fog bank at the top of the 4000' island peak saw to that, but we had amazing weather to make up for it.

Glassy calm sea once again today with 80 degrees on the back deck under sunny skies once that fog broke. The water was a balmy 71 degrees, with vis in the 100 foot range. Sharking was slow this morning with deep passes being the norm. We broke our string of 44 straight cage rotations spanning two trips with at least one shark in play.

We had one rotation without a shark this morning...oh my! But we made up for it as the action got good this afternoon with 4 sharks arriving on scene by 1:30. The remainder of the afternoon was filled up with Mau and three others that we have not yet ID'd monopolizing the back deck and our divers attention.

We also had a 3 foot blue shark arrive on scene...it quickly left as it's larger cousins gave it a scare. Boy he walked off into the rough part of town!

We're now underway heading toward San Diego with 16 happy Shark Divers we'll update you if we see anything like last weeks Blue Whales and Hammerheads!

Adios,Captain Greg

Junk-A Blog To Watch

15,000 plastic bottles and a Cessna 310 are all that hold together Junk
an intrepid duo who are raising awareness of ocean plastics by sailing to Hawaii in this most unlikely of vessels.

Here's a quick post from June:

Guadalupe Island is roughly 15 miles long and 4 miles wide. For the last 200 miles we’ve drifted practically due south toward it. Yesterday we were five miles and bearing down on the north point. “Which way do we go?” we asked each other. Going west meant faster traveling, but the risk of being pushed ashore was greater. Going east meant a safe trip, but unexpected wind and currents. We flipped a coin, “East it is!”

Steep slopes of brown sand and rubble cascade into deep blue water. The island’s tall mountains create an imposing silhouette against the setting sun. We give a 4-mile buffer between Guadalupe and JUNK. The wind shifts to the northwest, giving us the joy of downwind sailing and a record 2.9 knots. We will skirt around this island in no time. At 1:00am Joel wakes me up, “Can you give me a hand with this spinnaker?” There’s no wind. It fell from 2.5 to .3 in the blink of an eye. The mountain, even at 4 miles, blocks the 20 knots of wind we need. It would now be up to the current.

Greenland Shark Eats Polar Bear?

No, this is not one of your classic "man bites dog" headlines this is the real deal.

By the way, Greenland Sharks are rapidly becoming one of our all time favorites around here:

Scientists researching how far sharks hunt seals in the Arctic were stunned in June to find part of the jaw of a young polar bear in the stomach of a Greenland shark, a species that favors polar waters.

"We've never heard of this before. We don't know how it got there," Kit Kovacs, of the Norwegian Polar Institute, told Reuters of the 10 cm (4 inch) bone found in a shark off the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard.

Isla Guadalupe, Mexico-Meet the Locals

For those of you who will be joining us this year at Isla Guadalupe we thought we would introduce you to some of the "locals" that you'll be meeting this season.

This 13 foot fellow is called "Chompers". For reasons that are obvious, he's also one of the luckiest white sharks on site.

Two years ago Chompers had a violent run in with Shreddder and came close to loosing his eye in the fight. Early season divers often see male on male violence and posturing. We're still trying to figure out why this is.

Not all animals at this pristine and unique site are the same and many have "distinct personalities" that become evident once you spend enough time with them. It's a strange way to look at Great Whites, purported to be the "ultimate killing machines". One week with this little gal will change the way you look at them, trust us!

Thanks to Christie Fisher for the shot.

GEERG-You want to dive with the Greenland Shark?

Canada is fast becoming the "land of sharks" and none more sexy than the ice cold Greenland Shark. Turns out an estimated 100 million sharks live off Canada's shores...good luck seeing any of them as the waters here tend to run from pea soup to Beijing smog on a good day.

We blogged about this unlikely critter a few months ago and now would like to introduce you to the cutting edge guys who make shark diving with these cold water animals a reality:

The mission of GEERG is to study the Greenland shark and other Canadian shark species in their natural environment in order to better understand and protect them. The results of our work are made available to the scientific community and to the general public, in particular to sport divers, educational institutions, schools and museums.

Editors Note: Kudos to GEERG's webmaster. The video player is a nice touch and we're impressed with the mission statement. Overall great website, pro shark and hugely informative.

HR 5741-RTSea's Blog Keeps the Torch Lit

Over at RTSea.com's Blog:

One step at a time . . . HR 5741 - the amendment to close an important loophole in the Shark Conservation Act of 2008 - has passed the House of Representatives and has moved on to the Senate for a vote. This is important legislation that will help put a dent in the taking and processing of shark fins.

The Humane Society is running an online support drive whereby you can email your state senator requesting support and passage of this important piece of shark conservation legislation. To send your senator an email, click here.

Give HR 5741 your support so that we can see it pass through Congress as quickly as possible. One step at a time, but every vote . . . and every fin . . . counts!

HR 5471 (background info)

Sushi for Great Whites

Isla Guadalupe as you know, is simply "infested" with great white sharks. This is the last place on the planet you want to be taking a morning swim.

Which makes fishing for Yellowfin tuna here nearly impossible. What you are looking at is an 80lb tuna caught a few seasons ago who was having a really, really bad day.

The single shark bite from this tuna took almost 40lbs of prime grade sushi away (click image). The shark in question was about 14 feet long. Not huge by Guadalupe standards but an impressive critter none the less.

Oh Shark Week-What Happened to You?

Sigh. It's come down to this. We all knew it would eventually, and here we are. Last nights Shark Week show was...scratch that, could have been...scratch that.

We don't even know where to start with last nights show "How Not to Become Shark Bait". Overall some great images, but the clown suit, oh, the clown suit!

We'll let reporter and blogger Grant Butler review this show for you. He's got a better way with words and right now we're just all hung up on the damn clown suit and no use to anyone...like the damn clown suit this monkey is wearing right now-what the hell? WHAT THE HELL!?

Shark Diving East Coast-Sea Turtle Charters

Sea Turtle Charters can get you where the shark action is this summer on the East coast. Home to graceful Blues and Mako's these guys have become quite popular:

"You missed some makos and blues yesterday, they were all over the cage," mumbled a still seasick Noelle Hancock. Noelle is a writer friend of mine whom I invited along due to her interest in conquering a fear (sharks) and because of how she looks in a bikini (good).

Full story

SharkWeek 2008-Shark Diver, Ocean Reef & Bathys Hawaii celebrate

Luke Tipple, Marine Biologist and Adventurer, is developing his own Science based show with GRB Entertainment of Los Angeles. While the show is coming together Luke continues to offer his technical and scientific knowledge to top research and entertainment teams worldwide. This year Luke was asked to be the dive safety officer and shark behavior specialist on Discovery Shark Week's premier show MythBusters.

Since this is Luke's first time on Discovery, and since he is working very hard on a show of his own at the moment Luke's sponsors got together to celebrate by giving away some cool gear.

To win just watch MythBusters on Shark Week during July 28th through August 3rd, 2008, go to our contest page and answer a simple question related to the show (HINT: check out the dive gear… we are his dive sponsors after all!).

You could win the prizes above, a great dive watch, an amazing dive mask, or a chance to get face to face with a great white shark.

On behalf of all of Luke's sponsors, we look forward to seeing him in many more great shows in the future and thank all of his fans for watching, it has been our pleasure to believe in and support Luke's efforts in both entertainment and educating people about sharks and science. Please tune in and sign up to win some great gifts as a token of our appreciation for your support.

Whale Sharks Data-Ultimate Gliders

Discovers blog for those of you who have not yet "discovered it" is very comprehensive and when they tackle sharks they generally do an excellent job.

Case in point researchers looking into the giant whale shark found they use their great weight to plummet to the oceans depths and rise up again like giant raptors using air currents with little to no mechanical effort involved in the process of movement.

For critters that feed on the oceans smallest lifeforms this makes a lot of sense. Another case for supporting shark research wherever you can, data coming back from next gen sat tags and tracking gear is revealing whole secret worlds of sharks we never knew until now.

Hawaii diver says he escaped white shark

It would seem as more and more divers, kayakers, and thrill seekers find themselves in the waters off Yokohama Bay...more and more are encountering Great White Sharks.

This mornings news greeted us as another diver/speero claimed to have encountered a 14 foot critter who was moving up his chum line.

Since the beginning of May we have had 4 emails from divers claiming to have seen them but no images (this image is "Shredder" from our Isla Guadalupe site).

Rare events? We think not.

The latest long range tagging data from both Topps and elsewhere suggests a robust white shark migration to these islands each year.

Case in point.

Manta Rays-Jumpin Jack

Like you, we have not been on a manta dive without seeing at least one of these critters jump out of the water. Usually you hear the tremendous slap as they hit the surface, just in time to look at the faces of the divers who got to see the whole thing.

That's why we like the following video, here's one Manta that could not wait for the inevitable jump:

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!