Shark Tourism Under Siege - Second Boat Burned

We have been following the news out of Hawaii this month as things are once again heating up for the commercial shark diving industry there.

This morning news of a second commercial shark diving boat that has been set ablaze on Oahu less than one week after a first boat was burnt almost to the waterline.

The cause?

Arson.

The blame?

Local island politics, and an atmosphere of anger, fear, and politically enabled groups and individuals who have created this terror campaign.

This ongoing campaign was started in one small political office in the Capitol seeking a wedge issue to stir up local constituents and has lead to two vessels deliberately burned, and a failed court case involving Super Secret GPS devices with excuses about national security.

By either stirring up groups with false information and fear tactics about sharks, enabled with town hall style political meetings, to not curbing starkly terroristic threats and anger directed at two small commercial shark diving operations, a few local politicians, in our minds, are responsible for two boat burnings in Hawaii.

Angry rhetoric in any form can be a boon for politicians, especially when the target is defenseless.

Angry rhetoric can also be dangerous in the hands of politicians who fail to see what long term effects false information and fear can have on unstable members of the populace.

It is time for the politicians involved in the ongoing attempt to destroy two commercial shark diving operations on Oahu to step up to the plate and calm their troops down. Two boat burnings in one month is a legacy that no one wants on their political record and clearly someone in the politically created, fueled, and enabled anti-shark diving crowd is not firing on all cylinders.

We say enough is enough. For all the fear that the anti-shark diving crowd has directed at the sharks, it is the groups themselves who have become the most predatory and who have caused the most damage.

Sea Shepherd - Mastering Reality Disasters?

We would like to congratulate Sea Shepherd and Animal Planet on a fantastic staged event for television - perhaps one of the best staged disaster moments of 2010.

As production people ourselves we know the hazards and very real dangers of staging live disasters for television. It's a highly technical world only professionals can effectively operate in.

Multi-million dollar staged disasters are often canceled at the last minute due to OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) non-compliance or studio fears of death and dismemberment. Sea Shepherd on the other hand have found a way to circumvent all of the requirements for staged disaster television by only allowing volunteer crews and staging the events against non-paid, non-union, Japanese whalers.

By-passing all clean environmental requirements for television productions by producing this man made disaster in the Antarctic ocean was another master stroke. The clean up of several thousand gallons of bio diesel spilled by the Ady Gil and retrieval of the vessel from the sea floor would have cost Sea Shepherd and Whale Wars Productions millions if this disaster had been filmed in the USA.

Brilliant!

Managing to move Sea Shepherds $2 million dollar vessel Ady Gil into the path of Japanese whalers was a quirk of nautical timing by a seasoned captain who knew his vessel and the direction wind, waves, and engines were carrying it. Catching the whole thing on video from the Bob Barker at just the right angle was pure reality television.

We were doubly impressed with the witty and show branding quote from SSCS Paul Watson immediately after the stunt, "Now we're in a Real Whale War!" reminding the global audience that this is, after all, Must See TV!

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society have clearly evolved from earlier staged productions such as Paul Watsons being shot by Japanese whalers. In terms of production quality and emotional leverage that earlier staged event was not one of the top three of the 2007 reality television season.

Kudos to Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Paul Watson, and Animal Planet for once again bravely leading the way into a new decade of reality television firsts. The televised disaster staging they have created together keeps getting better and better, and their complete and ongoing circumvention of all production norms and safety regulations allows their organization to literally shoot-for-the-moon.

We're looking forward to more man made disasters in the coming months!

More on Sea Shepherd Conservation Society here.

Shark Conservation Wake Up Call - 14.9oz

Question: What costs $36.89 for 14.9 ounces of canned product?

As I came to discover this week it's a can of Shark Fin Soup made in Taiwan and sold in a corner market in San Francisco.

San Francisco is a major hub for shark fin activity and thousands of pounds of sharks fin pass though this city each and every month.

It was a personal shock for me to discover these cans on shelf at the extraordinary price of $36.89 a can (click image).

Fortunately there are others who have noticed this issue and they are planning strategies using DNA to curb the sale of shark fin in San Francisco.

Stay tuned.

Obama vs Hillary

This has nothing to to with shark diving, so please excuse the break in format. It does have almost naked women in it. If you happen to be a Bikini Loving Politico read on.

With the GOP side pretty much wrapped up (Mc Cain) we look towards the Dems and the heated contest between Obama and Hillary.

Here's why you should vote for Obama:

1. The Obama Crush Girls

Pretty much anywhere you go in L.A, New York, San Francisco, Florida and yes even Texas, you'll spot an "OCG".

Simply put, Hillary does not enjoy this kind of hot support. She's completely lacking the kind of bounce that Obama seems to attract. She cannot get the heft, the lift, the milkshakes, the...

O.K, enough of the grade school shots. Seriously speaking, this guys the real deal and it looks like he's going all the way. Look out America, in November it's going to be a show down between the 74 year old Mc Cain and the 44 year old Obama...should be an interesting November.

Now onto the video that launched 600,000,000 views on You Tube and swung our vote: