What 's hurting the Great White Sharks at Guadalupe?

 
We are coming towards the end of another great season at Guadalupe Island. Just like last year, we added a lot of new sharks to the photo ID database and saw a lot of our regulars that came back. We definitely see an increasing number of sharks, specially for sharks in the 10-12' range. It's great to see that conservation efforts seem to have a positive impact on shark numbers. We regularly see in excess of 20 different sharks on our expeditions, a huge increase over 10 years ago, when we were lucky to see 10 and often went whole days without seeing a single shark.

One thing that I noticed though is the increasing number of sharks with injuries caused by ropes or fishing gear. A couple of years ago it was "Luca" that swam around with a rope around his body. Luckily his rope was cut and he's doing fine. There is just a black scar left that will disappear in a year or so.

Luca with a black scar from a wrapped rope.

This year we saw a few sharks with either fresh wounds from ropes or still having the ropes attached around them. One of these sharks is a new female.

 

 

 

New female with rope around her

The rope around her body is embedded in the gills on both sides.

Her underside shows a faint scar from the rope that was digging into her. (It' kind of hard to see, just in front of her pectoral fins) The rope goes around her head and into the bottom of her gills on both sides, so it looks like the rope is still inside and the wound has closed around it. She must have gotten that rope wrapped around her quite a while ago, for it to be completely embedded.

This makes at least 3 sharks now that had a rope wrapped around them. Where do these ropes come from?

I hope that somehow this rope can get cut, otherwise I fear that this shark is not going to survive.  We also need to find out where these ropes are coming from, so that we might be able to stop the sharks from getting entangled in the future.

Cheers,
Martin Graf
CEO Shark Diver

About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at staff@sharkdiver.com.

White Sharks Shock California Lifeguards?

The Inquisitr's headline reads "Shark Drone Shock Lifeguards" 

They report:  "A new shark drone used by Southland lifeguards in California reveal shocking evidence of the number of sharks swimming near the shoreline at Seal Beach. It wasn’t something lifeguards there were prepared to see."

Imagine the shock these lifeguards must have felt. Who knew that there were sharks in the water? Where have these guys been lifeguarding all their lives? At a pool?

Actually, when reading the article, you'll find out that the lifeguards are perfectly capable and were not "shocked" by the drone footage. They write: "The Chief Seal Beach Lifeguard, Joe Bailey, tells CBS News Los Angeles  This morning, we launched it and 10 minutes later, we knew there were 10 to 12 sharks all in the Surfside [Beach] area"

The article further states: "Bailey loves the shark drone. It’s easy and safe for everyone to see where the creatures are and when to steer clear of them.

“It works great. It flies up about 100 feet, looks down a wide area, and when we see the shadows, we’ll go down and focus in on them.”

A juvenile Great White in waist-high water at Surfside was captured by the drone Monday morning. At the time, there weren’t any swimmers in the water."

And here is my favorite part of Joe Bailey's statement according to the Inquisitor “If we get bigger sharks or we get sharks that are aggressive, we’re actually going to close the water. But right now, we have sharks that are 5- to 6-feet long, non-aggressive, acting like normal sharks, feeding on bottom fish, doing exactly what we would expect them to do. That’s why we have it posted just to let people know that they are there.”

Great response Joe Bailey! No hype, no scaring anyone and promising a reasonable response, should there be any potentially dangerous sharks coming too close to swimmers. I believe that closing a beach for a period of time is the best response to the sighting of a potentially dangerous shark.

Overall a good article, if only they could find a headline that is not in direct conflict with the article. Maybe something like "Lifeguards NOT worried about white sharks swimming off the coast"? 

Read the entire article here

Cheers,
Martin Graf
CEO Shark Diver


Shark Diver is running great white shark expeditions to Guadalupe Island from August - November, tiger shark dives in the Bahamas from April - November and bull shark trips to Fiji from May - June.

About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at staff@sharkdiver.com.

10 ft. white shark being eaten? Mystery solved!

Yesterday we talked about the international headlines of "Great white shark being eaten by sea monster".

Here is a response by CISRO, the organization who placed the tag on the shark in question.

When we looked at its data there was a period of approximately three weeks just before the tag surfaced where the temperature recorded was higher than the surrounding sea, but where the tag continued to ‘dive’ in a pattern consistent with a white shark. During this time, the tag failed to record light. Data before and after suggest the tag was functioning normally. The temperature recorded for these three weeks was consistent with that of the core body temperature of a white shark but too low for something like a killer whale.

They go on to explain, what they think had happened.

At one point the shark that had eaten the tag dived to a depth of 570 m – this is not unusual for white sharks – it is normal behaviour. This dive took place about one week prior to the tag recording the higher temperatures (not immediately before as some have reported) and the two events are not related.

All evidence suggests that the tag had been eaten by another white shark. We have seen white sharks biting each other before, sometimes removing pieces of tissue in the process. We concluded that this was the most likely explanation – One shark bit off a little more than he could chew and ended up swallowing the tag. 

We never concluded that the 3m shark was consumed by another much larger shark.

Yesterday I questioned the "scientists" conclusion, that a sea monster ate the shark. Now we know that there were not even any scientists that concluded that, it was simply the filmmaker ignoring what the group who placed the tag in the first place had to say. Now that's something you'd expect from a Sci Fi channel production, not a Smithsonian "documentary"!

Cheers,
Martin Graf
CEO Shark Diver


About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at staff@sharkdiver.com.

What's the best place to dive with Great White Sharks?

And the answer is........ drum roll please!..... Guadalupe Island!

According to champion free-diver and ocean conservationist William Winram, "Guadalupe Island, 260km off the coast of Mexico is the best place on the planet to see great whites."  He goes on to say "It has the best visibility, and the most animals of all great white diving spots,"

The fact that the article also mentions Shark Diver as the operator to take you there, is a nice compliment! We love our sharks and are always excited to take our divers to visit our toothy friends at Guadalupe Island.

Check out this article that shows him diving with our Great White Sharks a few years ago.

Cheers,

Martin Graf
CEO
Shark Diver

855.987.4275 or 619.987.4275

About Shark Diver As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at staff@sharkdiver.com.

Underwater Photography - Setting the Bar

For those who know him they know the underwater work he does is transformative.

We know him as freediver Fred Buyle and enjoyed his company at Isla Guadalupe back in 2009 for a stunning week with our white sharks. 

We're pretty sure the work he did with our whites will be featured in his new boook soon to hit store shelves on October 24th called  "Les 100 plus belles photos."

We're also pretty sure that this book will become the bar by which all underwater books featuring big charismatic megafauna will be set.

If you're lucky enough to meet Fred you'll also know him as one of the nicest guys in the industry, truly "wɪziwɪɡ," what you see is what you get.


Congratulations Fred on the new book we'll look forward to taking an adventure with you and your team through the pages in the coming weeks.

Sleeping White Shark Found? Not Likely

News came in last week of a "sleeping white shark" found upside down on the surface off the coast of Chatham by local fishermen.

When touched with a gaff the critter suddenly sprang to life swimming off into the depths.

We, on the other hand, might suggest what the fishermen found was a gravely ill female shark with what looks like a seriously distended belly.

Perhaps from a recent whale meal, or a blockage in its stomach that caused gas build up.

"Peering through the afternoon fog late last month, the island charter-fishing captain assumed he was looking at the bloated white underbelly of a dead whale floating motionless seven yards away. But drawing closer, his eyes widened: The tail cut out of the water vertically, not flat like a whale’s."

Either way this is not normal for whites and hopefully this animal survived.

Complete story.

White Sharks in Vietnam?

This image is apparently from a recent white shark landing in Vietnam.

The image and posting was discovered by Helmut N over at the Shark-l who has a long and storied history of attributed images and shark events from around the world.

If a shark event happens in some obscure place, Helmut will usually uncover it.

Date: February 4, 2010.
Location: Phu Yen Province, Vietnam.
Species: Carcharodon carcharias.
Size: said to be 5 metres in length ( estimated 1 ton weight )

For more details.

Fishing for Great White Sharks - Farallons

Perhaps the biggest shark controversy in the western hemisphere is about to play out this week at the Farallon Islands - and no one it seems, is happy about it.

Just 27 miles off the coast of San Francisco these small, protected islands, are home to some of the largest white sharks in the region.

They are also home to notoriously horrific weather, murky cold waters, and a few die hard shark researchers.

This week the same team who caught and tagged white sharks at Isla Guadalupe, Mexico in 2008 will be at it again, this time at the Farallons.

White shark fishing was banned in California over 15 years ago and it is only with special permits that this team is allowed to catch these animals. Therein lies the controversy. Fishing for white sharks.

The team is lead by Dr. Michael Domeier from The Marine Conservation Science Institute in San Diego. We have been supportive of this team for the past few years. Mainly because they have an established track record for working with white sharks that few others have.

The hooking of any white shark is a traumatic event, but the data that comes back from specialized tags that are drilled into dorsal fins gives researchers a window into the world of the white shark that few other tagging methods deliver. Sat tags are notoriously finicky with a high failure rate. These tags allow researchers minute by minute updates and last for years.

With enough of these invasive tags in place we should, in just a few years time, have absolute and definable small scale and large scale movement patterns of a large sampling of the western pacific white shark population.

We would rather see a professional team do this kind of very specialized tagging work. NOAA, the agency for permit approval, has chosen well. Still many are abjectly opposed to these tags and the manner in which they are applied.

The bigger question is not so much the work that is being done, rather the film crews who will be accompanying the effort. It's a double edged sword when you look at any invasive animal technique and film and television productions.

Short media samples of the Guadalupe production are causing a backlash from the community.

While images like the one featured in this post cannot be helped, the perception that this work is in anyway "fun" are what harm the effort. Media control is, as we have always said, 90% of perception.

Gentlemen, a word of media advice from those who know.

Lose the "Cool Dude Shaka images" standing next to captured white sharks. In the end these images will dog your continuing efforts for years to come.

Let's hope Nat Geo's handling of your tagging program is as serious as the subject matter.

Three Shark Encounters at San Onofre

San Onofre State Beach -- On June 7, 2009 Kevin Rust and several unidentified companions were surfing North of Old Man's, San Onofre State Beach. Air and water temperatures were estimated in the mid-70s and 60s Fahrenheit, respectively. The sky was clear with a mild 1 - 2 knot North-West breeze. It was 7:30 PM and they had been on the water about 2.5 hours. Several Dolphins were observed in the area prior to the encounter. The ocean was glassy calm going to high tied with 2 - 3 foot waves. The water was 8 - 10 feet deep with a primarily rocky ocean floor and some scattered vegetation. Rust recalled; "A few friends and I had been surfing for about 2.5 hours just a peak or so North of Old Man's peak at the San Onofre State Beach, along with the 40 or so other people there at the time. We were sitting in the line up about 100 yards off shore around 7:30 when a 4 - 5 foot Great White Shark jumped out of the water. It was about 50 feet away, farther out. It leaped about 3 feet into the air, came completely out of the water with its belly facing us, and crashed down ungracefully on its side. The belly was white, vertical tail, and a v-ed nose. No one really panicked. It was more awe factor than anything. We just pulled our hands and feet out of the water, made a couple straggler jokes, and that was that. It never resurfaced or made another appearance. I read Redmond's encounter for July 7, and it was the same circumstances, behavior etc., just 5.5 hours later. Same spot, I'll bet even the same shark." Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.

San Onofre State Beach -- On June 7, 2009 Rudy Fontes was surfing at 'The Point ,' San Onofre State Beach. It was 7:15 - 7:30 PM and he had been on the water about 90 minutes. The water was 8 - 10 feet deep with a cobblestone reef bottom and an estimated temperature of 65 degrees Fahrenheit. The sky was clear with a light breeze and a air temperature in the mid-70s Fahrenheit. The ocean was glassy calm with a 3 - 4 foot swell. Fontes reported; "I had been surfing, but was now waiting in the line-up, maybe 100 yards off shore, between sets and looking out to the horizon. There were maybe a dozen others within 30 yards of me when an estimated 6 foot White Shark hit the surface of the water and became completely air borne above the water, maybe 5 feet above the surface. Its belly was facing all of us and you could see the shape of its mouth (jaw) very clearly. It was moving wildly as if it was attacking a fish or something from below the surface. an awesome site and we were all 'buzzzzing' for a while, never seen that before. I guess it swam off, that was the last of it." Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.

San Onofre State Beach -- On July 7, 2009 Parker Redmond was surfing 'The Point' at San Onofre. It was 2:00 PM and he had been on the water about 10 minutes. Air and water temperatures were estimated in the low 70s and 60s Fahrenheit respectively. The sea was 'choppy' with a 2 - 4 foot South swell. Redmond recalled; " I was looking off towards Lowers and saw a 4 - 5 foot White Shark leap about 4 feet out of the water. Its tail was inverted just like the Discovery Channel sharks. I knew instantly what I had seen. It had a white underbelly and its back was grey. About 20 minutes after the shark breach 2 Dolphins cruised through the line-up. That made my encounter seem even more absurd, but I promise you it was definitely a White Shark." Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.

Surfline Blog

Sammy the Shark-Dubai

By now the world knows the plight of "Sammy the Whale Shark" in Dubai. As the story unfolds
this "rescued animal's" back-story has changed from one of wild animal care to wanton wild animal acquisition.

Which opens the door to an interesting story we can now tell you.

Several months ago we got a phone call from Dubai and an unnamed source who was looking to acquire "several great white sharks" for display. The source was wondering if our company Shark Divers was in the business of sourcing white sharks for public mega aquariums.

Naturally we were interested in the mechanics of the deal. How soon might they want these animals? One year. How many animals? Up to 5. How much per animal acquisition? The numbers varied but all told we were looking at $20-30 million for the entire project.

Which opens up the questions, the ethics, and the debate about wild animal acquisitions and large aquarium's desire to have and display charismatic megafauna...at almost any cost. While we're not implying the call came form this particular aquarium, the trend in Dubai at least at this time is animals at any cost.

White Shark? Dolphin? White Shark?

For our money this is a dolphin, here's why:

1. No tail, white sharks tails are vertical, if you can see the dorsal on this critter you should be able to see the tail.

2. This story was brought to you by a U.K paper-home to the guys who brought you last month's White shark in Wales.

For those of you who subscribe to Occam's Razor...yeah you're looking at it.

"Pluralitas non est ponenda sine neccesitate"

Dual Passports-NZ White Sharks are Aussies Too!

Recent exciting white shark news from tracking teams in the South Island of New Zealand. Much to the surprise of everyone sharks from NZ migrate to Australia and back each season to feed on young Humpback whales:

New Zealand's great white sharks migrate to tropical waters off Australia and islands in the Pacific to feed on baby humpback whales, scientists say.

After tracking tagged sharks using GPS, New Zealand fisheries scientists have concluded the giant ocean hunters appear to be regular winter visitors to tropical waters.

One of nine great white sharks to have GPS-linked tags attached this year, a 3.5m specimen nicknamed Thomas, migrated to Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

He turned up within 100km of where a 4.4m female great white, nicknamed Kerri, arrived last summer, setting a distance record for a New Zealand shark.

Both swam more than 3000km to the reef after being fitted with tags which record location, depth and temperatures.

The tags are set to pop off the shark and float to the surface to transmit data to a satellite linked to scientists' computers. Other tags have popped up in New Caledonia, Vanuatu, and halfway to Tonga and these trans-oceanic migrations to tropical waters have changed perceptions of the sharks as cold water, coastal creatures.

"We think they may be searching for newborn humpback whale calves, because all tags have surfaced in or near known humpback calving sites," National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research fisheries scientist Malcolm Francis said. Because sharks tagged in Australia have also turned up in New Zealand waters, scientists think that white sharks in the southwest Pacific may comprise a single population.

The shark tagging was started in 2005.

White Shark Tagging-SPOT Tags

Very cool white shark tracking data coming from Dr. Salvador Jorgensen's shark team out of Monterey.

What we know and what is being learned about y.o.y (young of the year) is rewriting the book on the entire Western Pacific white shark story:

Dr. Salvador Jorgensen, a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station and the Monterey Bay Aquarium, belongs to a group which tags and monitors White Sharks.

Dr. Jorgensen has provided us with the SPOT tag track which was attached to Monterey Bay Aquarium's most recent White Shark resident. June 25th was the last time the research team heard from the SPOT tag. Dr. Joregensen says this is possibly because "water temperatures have increased and the shark may be avoiding the surface, or possibly the tag is no longer working. We can't be sure."

Editors Note: The Sea of Cortez is turning out to be a major player in the long term health of the great white shark population and long term survival of the entire species in the Pacific.

Ensenada Fish Market, Mexico Y.O.Y

We got quite a few private emails this week from divers and from those that did not or could not believe white shark pups were for sale at the Ensenada Fish Market.

Here's another look. It's an ongoing issue and one best reviewed by the locals in Ensenada. There are many government agencies that oversee fisheries management within walking distance of this market yet in the few years we have been documenting this-more of these animals have been showing up for sale.

Typically these young of the year are sold as swordfish. Many times the skin is ripped off so identification is almost impossible...that's if you know where to look for the skin.

Until Mexico decides to effect change, this is the continuing fate of white shark pups here at this site. Unfortunately these are not Mako pups on display.

Hunt on for shark in Tuggerah Lake

Remember that 21 foot white shark discovered lurking about Tuggerah Lake, Australia? We blogged about it last week.

You gotta hand to to the Aussies. When not battling all the "things that will kill you" in their country, they are alternately grilling, drinking beers...and hunting down the "things that will kill you".

Case in point a semi-serious effort is being mounted-as we blog-to catch that 21 foot white shark:

THE hunt is on for a huge 7m "son of jaws" great white shark cut loose from a fishing net off Canton Beach on Wednesday.

It is the second great white found in Tuggerah Lake since 2005. It comes on top of three other shark sightings in the lakes system in as many years. Experts fear the great white may be trapped in the lake unable to reach the sea because The Entrance channel is too shallow.

Of course the crew here at Shark Diver are available as "consultants" if anyone down under wants to hire us as white shark experts. Unlike George Burgess-we work for BBQ and beers. Given that this "hunt" should last well into the summer, we're thinking that's a pretty good deal!

Shark Researchers-California

We're running through the images of the month here at Underwater Thrills and this one came up.

What you are looking at is a "rejected" white shark from the Monterey Bay program. Turns out this little critter had a slight eye infection and they tagged and released him instead.

Only the "best and the brightest" make the actual aquarium exhibit, and only after going through a gauntlet of researchers, lab guys, and vets.

Think of it kind of like American Idol for White Sharks-except no one on the Monterey team has a smarmy British accent or used to be a dancer...as far as we know anyway.

Tagged white shark moves inland?

A west coast white shark pup tagged and released earlier this year has been tracked into the Sea of Cortez.

As recent data sets would suggest the tag is now moving inland at a high rate of speed. Researchers say this is just preliminary data and that the shark is probably still in the water and doing fine.

Or...the tag is currently on the antenna of a fisherman's truck driving back to the coast. (click image for larger view)

Full news report here. As always we'll keep you updated. On an amusing side note this animal went from being a US citizen to a Mexican national in less than three weeks.

Gone Fishin' : Great white shark sighted in Vineyard Sound

It's strange, the world of media. Even stranger still when an east coast shark story uses this image to make a point.

A little about the image.

Amory Ross joined the crew from Shark Diver last season at Isla Guadalupe to get up close with a few Great Whites.We delivered the sharks, and he took the following image featured this week in the local Martha's Vinyard Times:

Menemsha charter captain Scott McDowell made his first trip of the season Sunday. Scott was at the helm of his new boat, a 35-foot Duffy he named the Lauren C in honor of his daughter.

A memorable line from "Jaws" came to my mind after I received a telephone call Tuesday from Scott. I remembered the part in the movie when the police chief played by Roy Scheider gets his first glimpse of the shark. He turns to Quint and says, "You're gonna need a bigger boat."

Scott said he was between Dogfishbar and Gay Head when a large shark came out of the water about 50 yards in front of his boat. "It was a large animal," said Scott, "surprisingly fat."

Scott speculated the shark has been feeding on striped bass. As far as I know no fly fishermen have been reported missing from Lobsterville Beach, so it is a fair guess.

Scott is a very experienced fisherman and charter captain. He said the fish came completely out of the water and twisted. He said he has seen three great whites in his life. "I have no doubt of what it was," he said. "It was quite astounding."

His customers were equally impressed. Scott said one of the guys said it was "just like TV." I wonder what he would have said if it came up and chomped on the stern.

This is not the first or the only sighting. About a month ago, Coop told me he and his son Danny were fishing for mackerel off Gay Head. Coop said they saw a fish breach and were sure it was a great white.

Documentary-Island of The Great White Shark

The critically acclaimed new white shark documentary Island of the Great White Shark just released another online teaser for your review. It will be featured at the Harvard Museum of Natural Science in July with filmmaker Richard Theiss:

Island of The Great White Shark-Documentary
Uploaded by sharkdiver68

White Sharks+Inflatable Boat=Not a Good Idea

What happens when you get hired to tow a dead Blue Whale carcass off the coast of California in an inflatable vessel?

1. You attract a Great White shark

2. You attract another Blue Whale

3. The Great White you attract decides to "sample and deflate" part of your vessel

If you answered three you get to watch this video. Lesson for the day, if you happen to own an inflatable vessel, never deploy it in white shark rich waters. Of course there are those who would disagree: