Deadliest Catch - Hooking a Shark in San Francisco Bay

From UrbanDaddy.com:

Sharks.

It’s a constant debate as to whether they’re lurking in the Bay. But the definitive answer is yes, yes they are.

Which means: you need to catch them before they catch you.

Cue the Jaws theme song. Fire up the boat. You’re going fishing...

Behold Sole Man Fishing, a seafaring outfit at the ready for baiting and hooking sharks in the San Francisco Bay, now taking charters out of Fisherman’s Wharf.

Now, if you’re having visions of wrestling gigantic great whites with your bare hands as the sea whips your sturdy craft to and fro, you should know those beasts are rarely seen inside the Golden Gate. But there’s a slew of other prehistoric, big-jawed fish—leopard sharks, giant seven-gills, threshers and soupfins—ready and waiting.

And that’s where Captain Don and his trusty deckhand come into play. You and five of your closest angling buddies can charter a 32-footer with an ample fishing deck, onboard grill and even a heated cabin—and head anywhere between SFO, the Golden Gate Bridge and Vallejo.

The method for shark fishing isn’t all that different from regular fishing, but for the slightly more powerful fight you might have to get it onboard (hint: a bat comes in handy). Nearly eight out of 10 catches will be leopard sharks, with the occasional seven-gill at the end of your line, so with a per-boat limit of three, you’ll have to choose wisely.

But remember, the sharks are probably thinking the same thing.

David McGuire-Shark Talk, New Film

Local filmmaker David McGuire of the recent Shark Stewards film has completed new short format shark film with the Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco.

The subject is our own Sevengill sharks. As it turns out San Francisco Bay is teeming with these huge and reclusive critters.

David is one of a few filmmakers who think "sharks first" when it comes to making films about these magnificent animals. He has distinguished himself in the industry as s serious documentary filmmaker and serious shark advocate. Join him this month for the opening of his new film City of the Shark:

Dear Ocean friends,

I would like to invite you to my new film City of the Shark-
prescreening at a fundraising party for shark research - this coming
Thursday, the 29th at the Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco.

This will be a first time screening of this 15 minute documentary on local sharks, including tagging and tracking the sevengill sharks of the San Francisco Bay with researchers from UC Davis and the Aquarium of the Bay. The event will include live sharks, live music by rocker Mike Gibbons who did the soundtrack for the film, food, drink and sharky conversation. Please come support our local sharks and the Aquarium of the Bay Foundation.

We will also world premiere at the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival
Feb 21 at 1 PM.

Ill be hosting a series of shark films at the festival, and afterwards I will be moderating a panel discussion sponsored by Greenplanet Films titled Sharks: Myths and Misconceptions. Please come if you can and pass this on to anyone interested in sharks and the ocean.

www.aquariumofthebay.com
www.aquariumofthebayfoundation.org
www.oceanfilmfest.org

For a healthy ocean,

David

"City of the Shark" Preview Screening
Thursday, January 29, 2009
6:00pm - 8:30pm

7 Gill Sharks-Monsters of San Francisco Bay

San Francisco Bay is known for many things...monster sized sharks are not one of them.

We covered the 10 foot long critters that inhabit the waters off our shores last month, talk about an education...who knew?

Now researchers (the same lab involved in our Isla Guadalupe Project) are beginning to track and study these denzines of the deep. Better to know where these critters lurk so you can best avoid taking your dog for that Sunday swim:

The project, a collaboration between Aquarium of the Bay and the Biotelemetry Laboratory at UC Davis, began in May and could last five years. It will provide information about the history, behavior, movements, spatial distribution and migration patterns of the sevengills.

"Are they moving together? Are they moving individually? Do they have territories?" Slager asked. "We're also going to tag juveniles and see if there's age or size segregation."

San Francisco Bay might be the only nursery ground on the American Pacific coast for sevengill sharks, she said, which lends the project added urgency.