Pondering Tracking Data - Beqa Fiji

Being "interested" in the latest tagging and tracking data for sharks is not for everyone. For commercial shark diving operators, this is must read stuff.

What separates those who come to our industry for the thrills and dollars of the business and those who remain committed to their own sites, and long term animal welfare is curiosity.

When reading Tiger shark tracking data from Hawaii for example, do operators in Bahamas and elsewhere think how this data fits into their own animals behaviours...and do they want to do anything about it?

Once again, showing Da industry leadership, the folks over at the BAD Blog allow us to crawl around inside their heads to look at this question. Intellectual curiosity is not lost with these folks and clearly this operation is a nice hybrid of commercial shark diving and research.

With millions of sharks being killed each and every year we will, in the next 10-20, find ourselves with the concept of Shark Parks. Last ditch areas of shark habitat where shark operators fight for their animals. Without the data or research to support us, the argument of "well, we make money here" is a non starter.

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Shark Diving Trends-We Hate Being Right

Last week we blogged about the next big idea for shark dive encounters. All things considered we see it as an emerging trend.

Seems a group of developers in Turkey had the same idea. They open to the public this week:

Turkey's new sea park opens

Turkey's first sea park is ready to open in the Aegean resort town Kuşadası. The park, which was under construction for two years, will be inhabited by 2,000 tropical fish. The sea park only has one equivalent, in the United States.

Visitors to the park can dive in with the ocean fish, swim with dolphins, see alligators at close range and swim in the same pool with a shark while inside a cage. Based on the slogan "We fit the ocean to pools," the Adaland Sea Park is expecting visitors who are interested in sea creatures and adventures.

Those who want to experience a shark at the closest possible range will dive inside the pool within a cage to meet the terrifying white shark. There will also be three baby alligators behind wire fences in the park. The most eagerly anticipated part of Adaland Sea Park, besides sharks, dolphins and multi-colored fish, is the section that includes Nemo, the hero of the award winning animated movie "Finding Nemo."

Underwater Shark Park-Bahamas 2013

The proposal is simple. The details enormous.

What would it take for the Bahamian Government to enact laws that not only protected all species of sharks in their water, but simultaneously created a series of Shark Parks or protected areas where sharks would be guaranteed safe sanctuary?

The idea is not so new and with global shark populations shrinking at rates never before seen- unique sites like Tiger Beach become prime sites for big ideas like these.

Recently, this blog covered several sites worldwide that are loosing their sharks to short term fishing pressure and turning, perhaps too late, to tourism to save these animals.

Tiger Beach, Bahamas is one site that has everything going for it, a stable government, a thriving eco tourism client base, researchers who have expressed interest in studying these animals, and the good will of many members of the dive community.

The question remains, what would it take? Who would step up and make it happen?

One thing is for sure, looking into the Crystal Ball 15 years from now, we will look back at this blog post and say one of two things.

Hopefully it will be-"Let's go see some of the only remaining Tigers at the Shark Park this week".