Shark Diver New Zealand Announces New Great White Shark Location – “Open For Conservation”

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SharkDiverNZ.com -- Press Release Distribution 2/15/2010
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Shark Diver New Zealand is currently on hold while parent company Shark Diver makes necessary changes to websites and working partnerships in the region. Please stand by.

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.

Deep Blues - R.I. Shark Documentary

To all who had forgotten about the venerable Snappa Charters and Captain Charlie, here is a reminder that he's still "Running with the Blues" on the east coast and still thrilling divers almost 12 years later with a recent documentary about his operation. Snappa Charters remains one of the USA's oldest shark diving operations.

Kudos to Scott Tucker for the documentary, as always the Dorsal Fin Blog looked into the media side with a finer comb and brought up some salient points:

Happy Holidays from SharkDiver.com!

It's kind of a tradition here at Shark Diver posting this image.

It features a shark we named in 2004, "Shredder," with the image shot by Christy Fisher.

This image serves as a reminder of all the shark diving folks, research folks, and media folks we have come to call friends over the years.

Good people who have made the business of shark diving and shark conservation a very exciting place for us.

We are honored to know these unique and special people and look forward to the new decade of shark diving adventures, discovery, and conservation with you all.

Farewell 2009 and very Happy Holidays!

David Diley - Smart Industry Call

In the world of commercial shark diving there are those who lead by example. There are also those who lead by producing solid industry thought and analysis (click image to read).

David Diley is one of those people.

A man who has looked at the global shark diving industry and who has distilled it's biggest issue down to a well thought Op Ed.

We would like to congratulate him on his ideas this month and fearless interpretation of our industries future and direction.

This blog along with a few others have been advocating for deep changes within our industry. One year later it would seem that we're having an effect.

As we close out 2009 and a decade that has seen shark diving grow from a few pioneers and into a global 300 million dollar tourism juggernaut it is time to streamline and manage this industry.

The scuba industry did it and most other high profile tourism industries have done the same.

Make no bones about it, commercial shark diving is not scuba diving and it never was, therefore it is up to our industry to guide and direct it's own future.

With 2010 right around the corner the fusion of a commercial shark diving guiding body along with shark conservation would be a powerful force to content with, and would go a long way to growing this industry into 2020 and beyond.

Solid vision for the future and thinkers like David Diley will get us there.

Thanks to Da Shark for the original post.

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

Body Glove Knows Shark Diving

It is refreshing if not downright appealing to notice the stance wetsuit maker Body Glove has taken in regards to the shark diving industry.

Where many makers of water apparel and dive gear shy away from commercial shark diving - Body Glove embraces it.

Kudos for the industry vision and the upcoming blog posts featuring twin shark expeditions with Body Glove, whale sharks and white sharks.

The commercial shark diving industry needs more outreach within the manufacturing side of the dive, surf, and water sports worlds.

As high profile ambassadors for our industry forward thinking companies like Body Glove can begin to dispel many of the myths surrounding commercial shark diving.

What begins as a blog post today, with a little vision, often becomes much more.

Great White Sharks - Julie Hazards Adventure

When the office phone rang this summer within minutes into the conversation we knew we had a shark fan on the other end of the line.

Julie Hazard turned out to be one of those shark people you come to love, and cannot wait to meet.

This is her story, encounters with the Great whites of Isla Guadalupe -2009

Julies Story

I have always loved sharks. I remember watching Jacques Cousteau and then 'Shark Week' as a child...I though shark diving was so cool and as I grew older it became an obsession.

When I was a senior in high school, I wanted to study Marine Biology and was warned by someone that it was hard to get a job...because you basically have to wait for someone to die to get a good field position. It turns out studying sharks wasn't a job you ever gave up once you had it.

So instead I became a member of a few shark conservation groups and I even have a shark tattoo on my ankle...did I mention that I love sharks?

A few years ago I decide to go dive with Great whites. I didn't know anything about the dives and wanted to get a great price for the dive so, I did some homework. Last year I found two companies that had pretty good shark diving deals and called to talk with them in person.

Unfortunately I was also in the process of changing jobs and decided to wait one more year. Let me tell you, that was one very looong year. I was laid off in November but I had saved the money for the trip and I was going to go.

I started talking with Patric the CEO of Shark Diver in Feb and I was so excited when I got the confirmation that I was going. Since I had no job at the time, it gave me something to look forward to. Imagine booking a trip with no job? Did I mention I really love sharks?

I had booked this great trip and was so excited I told everyone I knew what I was doing, twice! They all thought I was crazy!

Turns out the Shark Crew were very sweet to me as a single girl far from home, 210 miles in the middle of no where, surrounded by white sharks. They kept you very well fed, the beds were comfy, and of course the SHARKS were great. Something I could never see except in real life a 15 foot white shark face to face. The second day there was 8 sharks at the back of the vessel - eight!

I was so amazed as they swam by and looked at you. Not as "food" but more curious than anything, I was not afraid, they were simply beautiful. We dove with these amazing animals for three days and I did not want to leave.

I have decided that I want to go again, and again. I am looking into getting a group together to come see them next year. I learned a lot this year with the whites, Discovery Channel just does not do it justice.

It was a great adventure and a chance of a lifetime. I will never forget it!

Guadalupe Island - "Mau" takes a a hit

One of Isla Guadalupes seasonal male sharks "Mau" is well know to the operators here.

As a younger male he's at risk of aggression by larger males on site and this week learned a valuable life lesson.

As shark diver Stephanie Seely shared with us in an email today, life for a Great White shark at the island can be harsh sometimes:

Ouch! Poor Mau!

I treated my husband and myself to a fun week of shark diving as a 40th birthday gift for him. We had an amazing time! The crew was fantastic…we could not have had better service!

The shark viewing was just as awesome. We saw about 10 different sharks and at one point, we had up to 5 sharks in the water at the same time! One of the sharks was badly injured and Martin (Horizon Dive Operations) thought it was Mau. From my perspective underwater, it looked like he had been bitten. From Martin’s perspective, above the water, it looked like a boat had gotten him…turns out it might be both. What a bad week for poor Mau!

Here are some photos of him and his injuries.

Although the wounds seemed extensive and relatively fresh, Mau appeared to be strong and I am sure he will survive his ordeal.

Thanks for an amazing trip!

Steph and Chris Seely

5 Meter Whites in NZ - Hotspot

Just when the politics of the new white shark dive site in New Zealand seemed like it was going to terminate one of the best new dive sites on the planet, co-owner Peter Scott has found a way to make it happen. He's also reporting 5 meter white sharks on site this week

Without a doubt the hottest white shark diving ticket right now for film and television and shark research lies not in Mexico but in New Zealand:

Hiya Shark Diver,

Things are going well but not doing tourist as yet due to still working through all the legal side of things.
Numbers have been good with 18 regulars. Department of Conservation tagged 9 with satellite tags. We've had a few 5 metre ones around the cage, coming really close, keen to show the dentistry but appearing inquisitive rather than aggressive. Changed our burley from mackeral to Albacore tuna with great results. May come and visit when the unrest in Mexico settles. Still monitoring but the temperatures have now dropped to 12 degrees C. Will keep you updated.

Also if you go into www.odt.co.nz, Saturday 19th April you will see a photo that we took 2 weeks ago that went in the newspaper with an article.

Cheers,
Peter Scott

Speaking of Media - Beqa Again

This month we announced our fluff piece in Playboy Magazine (no puns please). From time to time we do "big media" with a primary focus on the adventure of shark diving.

For the most part these are fun articles that have little time to focus on shark conservation issues, or research. Fortunately we also get to balance that media with pieces like the one we did two months ago with Scientific American 3.0.

But if you really want to see what good industry media looks like, look no further than Beqa Adventure Divers this month on Mai Life Magazine. Naturally they got the good quotes, the great industry scoop, and what looks to be four full pages of fantastic press.

How did they do it? Ask Mike. The trick to media is not getting it, that's about as basic a proposition as harvesting apples from a sun ripened tree. It's what you do with it once you have it that defines good industry media.

For the folks over at BAD we're thinking their media fruit never tasted so good. Kudos.