Five Pacific nations step up campaign to protect sharks

Pacific Scoop Report – By Jessica Tasman-Jones.

Around the world sharks strike fear in ocean swimmers. But while five people die from shark attacks in an average year, millions of sharks are killed through human fishing.

Last month, five Pacific states and territories signed an agreement for the conservation of the creatures.

The agreement was part of the Convention of Migratory Species (CMS) memorandum of understanding which aims to conserve shark population numbers.

The memorandum – which is not legally binding – was developed at a United Nations-backed meeting held in February this year.

At the time of the meeting, 11 states signed the agreement while Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Tuvalu and the Solomon Islands signed the CMS agreement at the 21st meeting of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) held in Papua New Guinea last month.

A significant cause of declining shark numbers is the popularity of shark-fin soup.

Complete Story.

Ocean adventures of another kind...

We charter the MV Horizon and crew during the white shark season each year.Without a doubt this vessel (the first to ever commercially dive with great whites at Isla Guadalupe) remains one of the top rated vessels in terms of service and shark diving.

For the rest of the year owner operator Greg Grivetto takes divers on adventures off the California coast and along Mexico's coast.

This weeks stunning encounters highlight the diversity that is the vast Pacific. From the Captains logs:

I had the opportunity to jump in for a bit of freediving...it WAS simply magical! The kelp rising from 80 feet to the surface was clearly visible along its entire length and sandy patches on the bottom held a clear blue hue in the distance. Diving to 40 feet I marveled at the clouds of bait fish in the water column, marauding yellowtail shouldering their way through the biomass and as I gazed toward the surface a view of calm tranquility as I viewed a glassy calm seas surface as seen from below. Simply...magical...

We got underway on schedule and by the time we had traversed 20 miles of ocean had already encountered marlin, dorado, blue whales and sea turtles. But the coup de gras was the most incredible spectacle that I've ever witnessed upon the sea...

Not 1, not 2, not 3...but at least 50 sperm whales frolicking, tail slapping, breaching and logging on the surface seemingly oblivious to our existence! There are not enough exclamation points to attach to my sentences to explain how excited and moved all of us aboard Horizon feel at this moment to have been in the presence of so many of these amazing leviathans.

I've spent 30 years at sea and had seen only two sperm whales...from a distance. Today we had 15 within a stones throw of us, 35 in the distance and five of our guests witnessed one swim right past them as it came in for a look to check out the crazy humans swimming in the sea!

Tonight we travel to Rocas Alijos, I'm not sure that we will be able to provide a grand finale, as it may have already happened!

Adios,

Captain Greg
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