It's Not All Sharky...Wiley The Raccoon

This blog is 90% sharks and 10% "other".

Today we would like to introduce you to the other 10%. This little guy is "Wiley" (click image) a three week old Raccoon pup we rescued this summer.

His mother had been hit by a car while she was transporting her little brood and Wiley was the last pup left still alive when we discovered him on the roadside after spending a full day in the blazing sunshine.

Dehydrated, and almost dead, we took him home and got him back to the world of the living with some round the clock feedings and care.

Once we got little Wiley stable we shipped him off to Wild Care a fantastic local wildlife rehab non profit who took Wiley in and promptly renamed him "#211".

#211 grew up to be a fine outstanding member of the community with the dedicated help of Wild Care and was released a few months ago where we're sure he's raiding garbage cans with the best of them. For us, every time we hear the sound of cans being raided late at night, we think fondly back to this summer and an encounter with Wiley-211.

In this case wildlife conservation does begin at "home".

Busting Shark Propaganda

If you ever see or read the following statement beware of unhelpful shark propaganda:

"The ocean produces 70% of our oxygen we breath on Earth. Sharks are a critical part of the marine ecosystem that produces that oxygen and without them we could be in big trouble. "

Sadly sharks are in enough trouble as it is without wild hair, unsubstantiated claims like this one. Unfortunately this particular "claim" has caught the imagination of many, and has been repeated more than we care to see.

The end result, those that utter this statement look uninformed and foolish in the eyes of anyone who has got their pulse on shark conservation issues worldwide. Worse they can quickly become discounted as fringe elements by both advocates for shark fining and the NGO community at large. Making up facts that have no basis in any study or even reality hurts everyone.

The shark conservation movement needs to stick to the facts. Those facts are horrific and compelling enough without the added and misguided shark propaganda.

So, next time you post a response, send in a protest email, or write your Member of Congress be sure not to express the thought that if we do not save sharks there will be no more oxygen to breathe...the shark conservation movement needs credibility not propaganda.

Coast Guard, Cook Islands Ministry of Fisheries seize shark fins

The eco enforcement winds of change begin slowly at times.

15lbs of sharks fin? It's a start.

With the enaction of the Shiprider Agreement the US Coast Guard will now be conducting vessel boardings all over the planet. Last week in the Cook Islands the 71-foot fishing vessel Pacific Horizon, home ported in San Diego, Calif was found to have 15lbs of dried and illegal sharks fin on board.

While this bust is a literal "drop in the bucket" it is the beginning of legal enforcement in areas of the world that have no navy to patrol protected areas and fisheries:

HONOLULU — U.S. Coast Guard boarding team members seized 15 pounds of shark fins aboard a fishing vessel in the Cook Islands Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Thursday at approximately 5 p.m.

A Cook Islands Ministry of Fisheries law enforcement officer and a boarding team from the Coast Guard Cutter Walnut, a 225-foot buoy tender home ported here, conducted a fishing vessel inspection Thursday approximately 2,200 miles south of Hawaii in accordance with the new bilateral law enforcement agreement with the Cook Islands.

It is a violation of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1996 to have shark fins aboard any U.S. vessel. The seized fins are aboard the Walnut as evidence and will be transferred to National Marine Fisheries Service specialists who will determine if a formal Notice of Violation (NOVA) will be issued.

Critters You Never Want to Bathe With...

Out of Boston this morning a critter story about one of the most disgusting animals you could ever not hope to encounter. The Sea Lamprey.

We have encountered these critters on the Pacific coast fly fishing for Salmon and can testify to their absolute and unredeemed "ick factor".

Turns out they are once again making news-this time in Lake Champlain. Before you all start screaming "It's da global warming!" read the article:

BURLINGTON, Vt. -The ancient creature attaches itself to the body of its prey with the rasp-like teeth lining its jawless maw, punctures the skin with its chisel of a tongue, and then slowly sucks out the victim's blood.

Editors Note: To keep this sharky-there's a deep water critter called the Cookie Cutter shark that feeds by taking small circular chunks 'o flesh from it's victims. While not as gruesome as the Lamprey Eel, it's something to take notice of.

EBay Going Unnoticed-Template for Alibaba.com

Something remarkable happened last month in terms of eco enforcement and for the most part this watershed event went unnoticed by the larger NGO community and the broader implications for the ongoing battle against Alibaba.com and Yahoo!

EBay has decided to ban the sale of Ivory products system wide. As it turns out EBay's decision to institute the ban came just before the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) released findings from a three-month investigation in 11 countries.

This study is in our humble opinion first rate work by an NGO that resulted in an opening to both Yahoo! and it's 50% stake in Alibaba.com for continued unregulated sales of shark fin. As we have been covering Alibaba.com is "The New York Stock Exchange" of shark fin sales world wide and remain one of if not the largest sharks fin portal on the planet.

The problem with these sales? 100% are unregulated with many protected species being sold along with literally tons of sharks fin that are being moved daily through this site. Worldwide sharks are being killed at an estimated 50-70 million animals a year to feed the lucrative Asian fin market. Yahoo! Inc is a California based company with a multi billion dollar stake in Alibaba.com. Yahoo! has refused any discussion about it's involvement in this ongoing slaughter calling the issue a "cultural practices one" (see video).

Congratulations to EBay for seeing the light, now all eyes turn to Yahoo! Will they see the light as well? For our money as long as Jerry Yang is at the helm, probably not.

Recent Yahoo! stock numbers here.

White Sharks-Bill Wieger Sculptures

A few months ago we introduced you to Shark Diver Bill Wieger.

Bill's been out with us to Isla Guadalupe and Tiger Beach a few times and as it turns out got bit by the shark bug in an unusual way. Bill's an artist and his latest muse is a shark we have some to love at Isla Guadalupe called "Mystery".

Bill produces Mystery sculptures on a limited basis. His attention to detail and reproduction work is simply stunning. Bill has just returned from our last expedition this season Nov 3-8 onboard the MV Islander with what we can only imagine are more sculptures. They had a great trip and were treated to some of the largest sharks we have seen out there in a while.

Have a look at Bill's new website for all things sharky...just in time for X-Mas of course.

Cousteau Dynastic Ambition

What has always been the realm of back room conversations and quiet emails spilled out into an unholy mess of a "tell all article" this week.

The Cousteau family as it turns out has enough Dynastic Intrigue behind it to make a Ming Emperor blush.

Here's the article read and be amused.

As for the Mind of the Demon I think we can all agree it is perhaps the worst piece of shark film making to ever grace prime time television. A cautionary tale about being overzealous with sharks, technology, and the naming of a show.

When "measuring tape" will not do

Found in our inbox this morning-thanks Erica!

You're walking down the beach and a local surf fishermen catches a shark. The guy turns to you and says proudly, standing in a pile of empty Coors Light cans, "So, how big d'ya think that sucker is?"

And you reply "I dunno, my kids two feet long..."

Classic. The kids face pretty much sums up the entire encounter.

Chumslick Blog-Lighting Fires and Kicking Tires

Editors Note: The Chumslick Blog (written by an actual shark) is a personal favorite of ours as they "call it like it is" and are not hamstrung by CW or inflamitory wording. Case on point this weeks rant about the Dubai A.Q whose questionable incarceration of Sammy the Shark has lead to nothing short of a revolution in that closed nation...Viva La Revolution, sometimes you just gotta drop a few F-Bombs to make a point:

Weeks ago, the Atlantis Hotel in Dubai claimed that they received an order by an unnamed United Arab Emirates government agency demanding that they release Sammy the 13-foot Whale Shark they have held captive on display since early-September. Not only haven't they released the Whale Shark, which is a protected species and much too large for its enclosure, but they haven't indicated their plan to release the Shark. At this point, it is clear that the order to release the Shark was simply a Public Relations stunt intended to get more paying visitors into the exhibit while at the same time placating environmentalists. We got news for you assholes--we are not that stupid. The longer the Atlantis Hotel holds Sammy in captivity, the harder it will be for Sammy to transition back to the wild where she belongs. The Atlantis Hotel never received the proper permits to put Sammy on display in the first place and is in violation of international law.

There is really nothing else we can say about the Atlantis Hotel...FUCK THE ATLANTIS HOTEL.

It feels good to be blogging Sharks again, Chumslick.

Why "some people" should never dive with sharks

Not photo shopped, not funny either.

Why filmmakers feel the need to use very dead Tiger sharks in films and or television shoots is beyond us.

This kind of reminds us of a similar rant we soapboxed a few weeks ago concerning another Tiger from another shoot at another time. Of course that film was shot by Italians in 1979 so you have to forgive them...they knew not what they were doing.

As for this guy, clearly he knows not what he is doing either. If you're going to ride a dead Tiger (click image for full horror) ensure the crew has kept it in the ocean so it does not dry up as badly as this one did. Makes for a more credible scene.

Really now, where's the professionalism here?

Shark Tags Monterey Bay A.Q

Peter Thomas L.A Times is putting us out of a job. His Outposts Blog is home to some of the sharkiest news you can get fresh from the media machine:

This is a chart (click image) showing the female shark's wayward wanderings after its release in the Santa Barbara Channel on Sept. 7.

Its tag was set to report to scientists at Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station in five months, but it popped free prematurely on Oct. 8 at 6 a.m..

It was recovered near the backside of San Miguel Island on Oct. 23.

"The map of data from the tag shows the shark spent its whole time after release around the Channel Islands," reports Ken Peterson, a spokesman for the aquarium. "All data from the tag show normal swimming and diving pattern up to the moment of release -- no sign of mortality of the shark as a cause for the premature release."

If the shark is alive, it may be traveling south to warmer water. The last white shark the aquarium held swam around the Baja California peninsula into the Sea of Cortez, where it remained until its tag life expired.

--Pete Thomas

Fifty Places to Dive Before You Die: Diving Experts Share the World's Greatest Destinations

Far for us to be the ones to brag about anything but...if you happen to be at any major book store over the next few months you may want to pick up the following book.

Shark Diver, your favorite neighborhood shark diving company, is featured in this stunningly imaged and worded book under Mexico, Isla Guadalupe.

Naturally if there's only "50 Places to Dive Before You Die" Guadalupe has to be featured in there somewhere.

Chris Santella writer, and fly fisher, searched the planet and interviewed some of the industries noted dive adventurers seeking the back stories of the best dive sites around. He got ours on a river in Oregon last summer casting Chernobyl sized hopper imitations to waiting 20 inch browns who sipped these ungainly bugs off the surface like floating over sized Pez.

We're not going to tell you what we told him (buy the book) suffice to say after 7 years of operations at Isla Guadalupe we had some stories.

Sorry Shredder, you didn't make the cover.

Shark Diver-Industry thoughts

As the year begins to close out on us here at Shark Diver and we wrap up our final 6 day adventure with Great Whites this week, we took a moment to look back on over 600 posts from 2008.

As a global 215 million dollar industry we saw and commented on a wide range of issues. Not everyone agrees with us. Here's some of our favorites:

Shark Diver-“Noblesse Oblige”

Sharks and Tourism-"Monetizing" is not a "dirty word"

Extreme Shark Diving-Bad Idea or Industry Trend?

Sharks-The Problem with Florida

Shark Diving Analysis-Mexico, South Africa, Bahamas, California

Old School Sharks-Renewable or Raw Product?

Snubbing "Shredder" the shark

Shark Tourism The Race for a Species

Re-Casting Sharks-Suzannah Evans-Oceana.org

Shark-Free Marinas Initiative, Bahamas

Stinkin' Dead Shark Award October 2008

Isla Guadalupe-Eco Tour "Bizzaro Land"

Making the Case for "Sustainable Shark Diving"

Shark Conservation? Anyone? Anyone?

Shark Tourism-Rock and a Hard Place

Several months ago we covered another major shark kill in South Africa at the hands of fishermen and shark nets.

Last month Blue Wilderness reported another net encounter with two dead Tiger sharks. The magnificent animals which are being targeted here are the very animals relied on by shark tourism in the region. Here was our analysis back then.

8.23.2008

Some horrific news today from South Africa as owner operators of several well known dive shops were confronted with the sight of tons of dead sharks this week. South Africa's shark tourism is on the front lines in the ongoing issue of sustainable shark tourism vs shark meat and raw product use:

Eco-tourists who dive with sharks off Miller's Point are up in arms after being confronted by the sight of fishermen offloading tons of dead sharks from boats awash with blood.

Many of the divers are international tourists who travel to South Africa specially to see sharks, which have been wiped out in other parts of the world. But Tony Trimmel of the Kalk Bay Boat Owners' Association said commercial fishermen targeted sharks only when lucrative species like yellowtail and snoek were unavailable.

"They don't target sharks on a daily basis-but they have to make a living."

Editors Note: Worldwide this is an ongoing problem with use groups who both have the right to either fish or interact with sharks. In other areas of South Africa the demands for shark fins and meat is so high that fishermen are taking sharks from Marine Protected Areas.

Like we said many months ago "It's a race between the raw product use of sharks and sustainable tourism". Ultimate that race is up to local operations to win or lose.

That's the Rock and the Hard Place.

Ocean adventures of another kind...

We charter the MV Horizon and crew during the white shark season each year.Without a doubt this vessel (the first to ever commercially dive with great whites at Isla Guadalupe) remains one of the top rated vessels in terms of service and shark diving.

For the rest of the year owner operator Greg Grivetto takes divers on adventures off the California coast and along Mexico's coast.

This weeks stunning encounters highlight the diversity that is the vast Pacific. From the Captains logs:

I had the opportunity to jump in for a bit of freediving...it WAS simply magical! The kelp rising from 80 feet to the surface was clearly visible along its entire length and sandy patches on the bottom held a clear blue hue in the distance. Diving to 40 feet I marveled at the clouds of bait fish in the water column, marauding yellowtail shouldering their way through the biomass and as I gazed toward the surface a view of calm tranquility as I viewed a glassy calm seas surface as seen from below. Simply...magical...

We got underway on schedule and by the time we had traversed 20 miles of ocean had already encountered marlin, dorado, blue whales and sea turtles. But the coup de gras was the most incredible spectacle that I've ever witnessed upon the sea...

Not 1, not 2, not 3...but at least 50 sperm whales frolicking, tail slapping, breaching and logging on the surface seemingly oblivious to our existence! There are not enough exclamation points to attach to my sentences to explain how excited and moved all of us aboard Horizon feel at this moment to have been in the presence of so many of these amazing leviathans.

I've spent 30 years at sea and had seen only two sperm whales...from a distance. Today we had 15 within a stones throw of us, 35 in the distance and five of our guests witnessed one swim right past them as it came in for a look to check out the crazy humans swimming in the sea!

Tonight we travel to Rocas Alijos, I'm not sure that we will be able to provide a grand finale, as it may have already happened!

Adios,

Captain Greg
This e-mail was delivered via satellite phone. Please be kind and keep your replies short.

Octo-Podi-Don't dump your meds in the ocean

This is what you get when you dump your expired meds into your sink a 96 armed sea critter (Octopus vulgaris).

Note the helpful lab tech who's pointing out one of the arms.

Sadly this critter did not survive long at the Shima Marineland Aquarium One alternate theory is that this fellow suffered a tragic accident and had a "gross regeneration event" causing the many arms.

Spectacular Discovery 27 Great Whites Y.O.Y

One of the things about the ocean you come to love, the very real chance for discovery.

Unlike 90% of our terrestrial environment almost every month we discover new things about our ocean environment that challenge perceptions, and make you excited to be part of the planet.

Today was one of those days:

WHAT could be the world's largest concentration of juvenile great white sharks has been discovered swimming within metres of the sand on the state's Mid-North Coast.Twenty-seven great white sharks were spotted in one day by a boat team videoing for a fishing DVD last week near Port Stephens.

Editors Note: Similar aggregations of Y.O.Y (young of the year) are seen off the coast of So Cal each spring during the annual grunion run.

Shark Fin Du Jour-Sponsored by Yahoo! Inc

Our new weekly feature on Underwater Thrills:Swimming With Sharks is the "Shark Fin Du Jour".

It's a weekly look at Alibaba.com the NYSE of Shark Fin Products on the Internet-Sponsored by Yahoo! Inc.

We will take you into the individual sellers listed on that site and introduce the top companies, what species they sell and how many thousands of pounds of shark fins they have for sale on the global market.

Today our Shark Fin Du Jour is Horn of Africa Traders based in the U.K. While their commercial website states they are traders in Myrrh and Frankincense dried gum resins. Once they became a member of Alibaba.com they started trading in sharks fin as well:

Horn of Africa Traders first established in North Eastern Somalia and our current head quarter is in United Kingdom. Our company specializes manufacturing and exporting of various products such as dried shark fins salted and unsalted.

Sea Shepherd Whale Wars-Sinking to New Depths

Observing Sea Shepherd these days is like watching the last days of any long running television series. The final shows are just tragically anemic versions of the original.

And so it goes with Sea Shepherd whose messaging has seemingly become more important than actual boots on the ground efforts.

Case in point the heroically poor "performance art" that is the ongoing Antarctic Whale Defense Campaign. While accomplishing very little in 2008 the entire campaign did manage to globally embarrass the NGO community at large this spring and was punctuated by a series of high seas stunts culminating in the "Fabrication heard round the world" that of Paul Watson being shot by Japanese Whalers.

As a point of order we are strongly against whaling of any kind and do not side with nor condone the Japanese "scientific whaling" in any form.

Now it turns out the eco-antics of the 2008 whale season were driven in some part by an on board film crew who are now launching a 7 episode series called Whale Wars on Animal Planet.

Animal Planet's programming is known for "reality style" television, plot driven with little focus towards facts. It is little surprise that Watson chose this programming outlet to team up with.

Allowing a reality televsion film crew to essentially direct eco protests is a new low for Sea Shepherd and highlights a rudderless organization whose primary eco focus has been turned into "big media at any costs".

To say that Sea Shepherd has strayed off the NGO reservation is an understatement and for those camp followers who think this is a good thing it is not.

Eco enforcement is serious work-not stunt work-and those few that heed the call to the world of front line eco protest are professionals-not reality television stage actors-for a television series whose mandate is ratings and not long lasting and effective action.

White Shark Cafe-SOFA-White Shark Cafe...

After what has seemed like a decade of tagging and tracking the Marine Conservation Science Institute has published data from it's multi-year white shark study at Isla Guadalupe.

Pete Thomas from the L.A Times got the scoop.

As a side note the battle between TOPP's and the Marine Conservation Science Institute for the naming rights to the mysterious terminus point these animals gather at each season has heated up with MCSI's addition "SOFA" (Shared Offshore Foraging Area).

We'll let you decide which name will stick:

1. MCSI-"SOFA"

2. TOPP-"White Shark Cafe"

Editors Note: We like both.

The Shark Wrangler-Mercy

A respected "Gray Beard" in the industry sent us this link today. The Shark Wrangler

This is no joke, this guy is "The Shark Wrangler". Here's a quick look at his bio:

...And, though he wrangles them very much "hands on" even riding on top of them when necessary, he IS NO cowboy. Ken tries to promote responsible handling of and passive interaction with all animals.

By the way that's a vicious little Atlantic Sharpnose shark pup The Shark Wrangler's got there in his hands.

Just in case you doubted The Shark Wrangler's street creds. Lord knows we didn't.

Derek Heasley-Shark Calendar

Last season we got to meet Derek Heasley from the U.K. His shark imagery is some of the best we have seen shot from a surface cage in the years we have been at Isla Guadalupe. His Tiger Shark work is also amazing. Derek has recently completed a desk top calendar and we thought we would bring it to you today. His work has been featured in magazines all over the planet:

Sharks-Description:A 2009 calender collection of various sharks. A great white shark theme but also tiger sharks, lemon sharks and Caribbean reef sharks. Also a few humans thrown in for good measure!

Wise Words-Where Credit is Due

From the Oceanic Dreams Blog words to stop and read:

I just finished reading the new book by Seth Godin: Tribes. The book is essentially about "opportunities for leading your fellow employees, customers, investors, believers, hobbyists, readers...etc." One of the sections is called "Where credit is due"It says that leaders don't care about credit...this made me think of the shark community: photographers, videographers, scientists, non-profits, activists, and the hundreds of online communities that have sprung up on Facebook and other social networks. It is unfortunate to see that lack of togetherness because too many people want credit - they want credit for bringing the media’s attention to something, changing a law, making a movie, getting a grant…the list goes on.

I see the bickering between people on Shark Group forums; I have heard that scientists do not like one another and that organizations refuse to work together. Too many people have their own agendas and are just using sharks and their misfortune as an opportunity to springboard themselves to “fame”. If everyone’s agenda was to save sharks - sharks would be safer today.Unfortunately I feel that our shark community has no leader and therefore not as much gets done and change is slow. I hope that whoever reads this does not in any way feel attacked-and if you do, you are probably one of the people that wants credit.

The section of the book ends with: "There's no record of Martin Luther King Jr. or Gandhi whining about credit.

Credit isn't the point. Change is.

Editors Note: Along comes one of the most insightful posts we have read in a while, Kudos!

Simply Amazing-Whale Shark Rescue?

Not sure what to make of this video. You're alternately cheering on the fishermen to save this critter and then...anger:

Mark Addison Terrible Day For Sharks

Mark Addison runs Blue Wilderness shark diving in the Ailwal Shoal Marine Protected Area.

Today was a dark day for Tiger shark conservation at that site as he and his team discovered three stunning animals caught in fisherman's nets.

One of the smaller animals was "rescued" by Mark but the blow to this dive site is something you cannot even begin to imagine.

We'll keep you updated as to the next steps to be taken here. Overall it's been a tough week for sharks, highlighting the global need from Australia to South Africa for local protections and initiatives for sharks.

Here's the email we got this afternoon:

Dear all,

Today was a tragic day for the tiger sharks in the Aliwal Shoal Marine Protected Area. Two animals were killed in the shark nets at Scottburgh this morning and we were able to free another little girl later in the day.

Kind regards
Mark

Blue Wilderness Dive Expeditions
see us at: www.bluewilderness.co.za
or call us: +27 (0)39 973 2348
fax: +27 (0)86 648 5072
Blogg: http://sharkparksa.blogspot.com
Blogg: http://sharkroute.blogspot.com

Australian Marine Conservation Society-Update

Image:Luke Sorensen

We got the following update from the Australian Marine Conservation Society who are taking the lead in the recent government sponsored white shark kills in Queensland.

We requested contact information from them so divers, shark conservation groups, and blog readers could directly get involved. Here are the points of contact they suggest we all take a minute to register a complaint about white sharks being targeted off the coast:

Hi Shark Divers,

Thanks for the email

It is great to see you guys out there helping save sharks. Your blog is fantastic. We are all very impressed.

Our key shark campaign is getting the QLD government phase out shark fishing across Queensland and this ties in well to getting rid of the Shark Control Program.

At the moment, it is worth taking a shot across the government's bow on sharks via the shark control program, but alluding to the need to stop all forms of shark fishing in QLD (which helps our key message)

Proposed Ask - In order to protect Australia's precious sharks and secure a better future for Queensland's marine ecotourism industry, we call on the Queensland Government to amend the Fisheries Management Act (Section 3A (1)) to discontinue the Shark Control Program, and to commit to phasing out shark fishing in Queensland within the next 4 years.

Key background reference - http://www2.dpi.qld.gov.au/fishweb/11824.html

Key contacts:

Hon Tim Mulherin, MP
Minister for Primary Industries and Fisheries
GPO Box 46
BRISBANE QLD 4001
dpi@ministerial.qld.gov.au


Cc: Hon Peter Garrett, MP
Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts
P.O. Box 6022
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Peter.Garrett.MP@aph.gov.au

CC:
The Hon. Deslie Boyle
Minister for Tourism, Regional Development and Industry
Office 1 "McLeod South"
78-84 Spence Street
CAIRNS 4870
cairns@queenslandlaborteam.com

Let me know what else you might need,

Kind regards

Craig Bohm, Campaigns Director
Australian Marine Conservation Society
PO Box 5136, MANLY QLD 4179
ph: +61 7 3393 5811
Mob: 0427 133 481
fax: +61 7 3393 5833
Email: craigbohm@amcs.org.au
www.marineconservation.org.au

Help protect our ocean wildlife. Become a Sea Guardian today!

Capt. Stanley's unlicensed, DIY shark dives

A few years ago I enjoyed a truly remarkable shark adventure taking a submarine down to 2000' to get knocked around by monster 6 Gill sharks (Hexanchus nakamurai).

What was remarkable about this adventure was that it started at a seaside Argentinian restaurant at 10.00pm and after liesurly consuming two bottles of red wine, some grilled beef and a coffee we boarded the submarine Idabel down the beach and were submerged in the inky darkness for the next 5 hours.

That was a few years ago, today Karl Stanley's submarine in Honduras is the hottest non commercial adventure you can do in the southern hemisphere.

Don't take our word for it, here's the latest this morning from CNN

Stinkin' Dead Shark Award October 2008

At the end of this month we would like to present the SDS Award to those within the global community whose abjectly abhorrent behavior towards sharks and sustainable fisheries or shark conservation warrants a big black eye.

This months award winner is:

Tourism Queensland who along with the Queensland Shark Control Program are keeping the fine white powdery beaches of the Gold Coast free of annoying Great White Sharks by killing them with professional grade shark killing drum lines.

The Queensland Shark Control Program has been in operation since 1962. If you would like to register your displeasure (we have) at the recent deaths of two white sharks killed by this outdated system here's who you email and call:

Queensland Shark Control Center

Email: callweb@dpi.qld.gov.au
Fax: +61 7 3404 6900

Tourism Queensland

30 Makerston Street
Tourism Queensland House
Brisbane
Queensland
4000
GPO Box 328
Brisbane
4001
Tel + 61 7 3535 3535
Fax + 61 7 3535 5438
Email

Editors Note: Please make that call or send that email today. It's 5 minutes of your time, and for the sharks could mean everything. In today's oceans there's no place for publically funded shark killing systems anymore.

Mea Culpa-Unknown Parasites?-Bah!

Earlier this month we picked up a story about "unknown parasites" covering a dead Salmon Shark (Lamna ditropis) that washed up along the north west coast.

While these standings have increased over the past few years-we decided to follow up on the story today. Here's what we found out this morning and it's another case of media oversell...mea culpa we posted it as well:

Hi Folks,

We're following up on a story from last month about a young Salmon Shark that washed up on the beach covered in "unknown parasites". Did the autopsy reveal of what this animal was covered in?

Thanks for the follow up.

--
Cheers,
The Shark Crew
www.sharkdiver.com
www.sharkdivers.com
www.sharkdivers.blogspot.com
www.guadalupefund.org
www.islandofthegreatwhiteshark.com
415.235.9410

Hello Shark Divers,

Yes the parasites were identified and are quite common. The story itself got blown out of proportion, as most news stories do. The "unknown parasites" were not unknown they were just parasites we had just not seen before as we do not deal with sharks that often.

Have a great day!

Tiffany

Sharks Australia-'Hypocritical' over great whites

Image:Luke Sorensen

As we reported yesterday a 2.3 meter great white washed up on Mermaid Beach, Australia attached to some serious shark killing gear. What we had hoped was a "rouge fishing event" turned out to be a longstanding government planned policy to eradicate predatory sharks along the coastline. That effort killed two animals at this site this week (click for images):

The Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) has accused the Queensland Government of being hypocritical for protecting great white sharks and also setting drum lines for them.

Two juvenile great whites - both more than two metres long - were killed on baited drum lines off Gold Coast beaches last week. The AMCS's Craig Bohm says great whites are endangered, but 12 have been killed on the coast in five years.

Editors Note: As a commercial shark diving company we're outraged at this senseless slaughter off the coasts of Queensland, Australia. In the coming days we will supply you with the email and phone numbers of the agencies involved with the shark eradication drumlines in the region. Don't bother sending in another shark petition, they are not effective. Direct and personal emails and phone calls are effective, and we'll be on this one for a while now. Policies from the 1970's in regards to shark eradication have no place in today's oceans.

White Sharks in Australia-Killing Gear

This just came in. What's disturbing about this image is the tackle that is attached to the shark.

What you are looking at is professional shark killing gear:

A 2.3m great white shark washed ashore at Mermaid Beach on the Gold Coast. October 16, 2008.

Photographer : Luke Sorensen

Editors Note: We're pretty sure there's more to this story than meets the eye and we'll keep you updated.

Sharks and the Media-It's about selling papers

Woke up this morning to the following headline:

New shark terror off local beaches

If you're reading a headline like that you know it's early summer in Australia...again.

Sharks inhabit a mythic place with the media, words like terror, and killer, are bandied about with storylines so weak that it's amazing people read them. This weeks white shark flyby of a couple of boaters notwithstanding.

Unless these guys were in a vessel made of plastic bags they were never in harms way, but that does to stop the media from hyping the encounter to sell some more papers:

"I think it could be a horrific summer, it doesn't look good I've never seen them that close." As the shark held the boat captive by bumping the boat, the savvy passengers decided to pull up the anchor and allow the boat to slowly drift before making their quick get-a-way.

Editors Note: We could use some shark reality with the media these days.

California Great Whites in Full Swing

Occasionally we drop by the Shark Research Committee's website for a quick update on the state of great whites in California. Looks like it has been another busy month:

Newport Beach — On October 13, 2008 Tom Cupp was surfing near the Newport Beach River Jetties at Newport Beach. It was 5:30 PM with a clear sky and moderate Santa Ana winds. Cupp reported the following: “I was surfing and sitting very close to shore waiting for the next set and a seal swam in front of me, maybe 75 yards out from my location jumping in and out of the water like it was being chased. It was heading North about 100 yards then it tried to get out of the water, but a man was standing on the shore. The seal looked at the man for a minute or two then decided to swim South. I saw the seal’s head surface in front of me three times and again it was about 75 yards beyond me. Trailing the seal by about 50 yards I saw a triangular shaped fin that was 18 inches above water. It submerged after a couple of seconds but I got a good look at the fin and it was a shark. There was also a dead dolphin on shore but it did not appear to have any bite marks on it."

Ocean Beach — On October 13, 2008 Ryan Sincic was surfing at Ocean Beach, San Francisco. It was 11:00 AM and the sky was clear and the ocean calm. He had been on the water about one hour. One marine mammal was observed prior to the encounter. Sincic recounted the following; “While surfing outside the break, about 50-70 meters from shore, I saw a very large black fin with a white base come up above the water level. It moved horizontally along the water for 2-3 seconds and then disappeared. It came very high out of the water as well, higher then dolphins normally do. The fin was probably less then 15 meters from me, so I got a really good look at it including the details of the markings. My first reaction was ‘that was the biggest dolphin I have ever seen,’ my second thought was ‘wait that was way too big to be a dolphin.’ I continued to watch the fin to see if would surface again. It did not. I went online to see videos of dolphins and Great White Sharks to compare, and the size and markings on this fin resembled the inferior side of a pelvic fin of a very large Great White Shark. If I had to estimate the size of the fish I saw I would say definitely more than 10 feet. I swam in toward shore near a group of surfers, one of which also saw the fin as well and said it was very dark and very large.”

Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.

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.

Isla Guadalupe-Jeff and Pat Stein

Shark Divers Jeff and Pat Stein joined us recently at Isla Guadalupe For a couple who had been waiting a few years to experience the great white shark, this expedition was everything they had hoped for.

Trip Report

This trip is something Jeff wanted to do all his life. He was not disappointed. It was more than he ever imagined. We had never done anything like this before and we were a little afraid. The first time Jeff went down he was shaking so hard he could hardly hold the camera. But once he was in the water he had a great time. He gets tears in his eyes when talking about the trip and says it was life changing to him because he is so into saving the sharks efforts.


We have to mention how helpful the crew and Luke were. Pat was shot a few years ago and as a result has a foot that doesn't work properly. This made things a little hard for her to get in and out of the water. All of the crew were so kind in helping her. Also, the first time she went in the water she kind of panicked, so Luke took her a step at a time and got her into the water. She was afraid she would not make it, but was so happy he got her into the water so she could see all the beautiful sharks.

She saw so many sharks and some very close up and personal. Also, on the last days the captain took us close to the island so we could see the seals and sea lions and explained the differences between them. He also, told us about the history of the island. Very interesting!!

We also must mention "Skippy" the cook. The food was awesome!!! He was very nice and made exceptions in the menu with kindness and grace.This was truly a trip of a live time and we highly recommend it to everyone we talk to.

P.S Jeff says he would love to do it again.

Peace out, Jeff & Pat

Shark Fin Du Jour-Sponsored by Yahoo! Inc

Our new weekly feature on Underwater Thrills:Swimming With Sharks is the "Shark Fin Du Jour".

It's a weekly look at Alibaba.com the NYSE of Shark Fin Products on the Internet-Sponsored by Yahoo! Inc.

We will take you into the individual sellers listed on that site and introduce the top companies, what species they sell and how many thousands of pounds of shark fins they have for sale on the global market.

Today our Shark Fin Du Jour is Mariss International Inc-india who can actually source Whale Shark Meat and Skin:

WE OFFER WHALE SHARK MEAT,WHITE COLOR,WITHOUT BLOOD STAINS, 1TO 4KG SIZES ,IQF,IWP 20 KG NET PACK. QUANTITY- 2X40 FCL PER MONTH TILL MAY. AND ITS SKIN ,WHITE COLOR (FAT)1TO 4 KG ,IQF,IWP 20 KG NET PACK. QUANTITY- 2X40 FCL PER MONTH TILL MAY. ORIGIN-WEST COAST OF INDIA. PRESHIPMENT INSPECTION OR ON LINE INSPECTION BY THE REPRESENTATIVE OF BUYER IS MOST WELCOME. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED PLS RESPOND TO FAX NO:+91 484 482498.

Shark blood 'offers cancer hope'

Here's what's wrong with this weeks story from Australia. It has the words "sharks" and "cancer" in close proximity.

For anyone in the shark conservation world we all remember too vividly the wild neo-scientific pondering of shark cartilage and cancer cures. The end result was a decades long rush for raw shark product and the death of millions of sharks for cartilage that years later proved no link between cures for cancer.

Now this.

With the numbers of sharks being killed for both sharks fin and sharks liver (squalene) the planet can ill afford another headlong rush into sharks blood cancer cures. Soon to be available on yours and ours favorite web portal Alibaba.com.

Shark Free Marinas, Bahamas

After three weeks and some great push by the shark bloggers out there we're happy to report the Shark-Free Marinas Initiative is a "go" in the Bahamas.

To date eight marinas have "agree in principal" to join this conservation effort. On the East coast there's some interest with a larger NGO to roll the project out there. They see how this would work on many levels to raise awareness about sharks.

We would like to thank the shark bloggers who jumped on this and got the ball rolling. You guys are the backbone of the shark conservation movement. Let's make some changes.

One website. One blog. One person at a time.

Goonch? Yes, a Goonch Dammit!

Every once in a while we get a fish story that just sticks in our craw...like for instance this story from last week of the Goonch.

Yes, we know we're a shark blog but the story of a wild Killer Catfish in the high Himalayan Mountains attacking honest and hardworking villagers was just too juicy to pass up.

It could be the name that got us...Goonch, or the story...probably the name.

Anyway this thing stuck on us so badly we looked into it and "surprise" there's a mess of Goonch related websites out there if you're interested:

1. Killer Goonch Fishing India

2. Katmaster Forum Goonch?

3. Blogfish Goonch!

Always Fish for Sharks With a CPR Buddy

You can file this latest beer fueled shark fishing story under "Shaudenfreuder" or any other Nordic word for "You got what was coming to ya buddy".

Turns out sharks do have the last laugh sometimes, it also turns out this guy was from a place in Australia called..."Darwin":

Man Bites Shark:

"I just pulled it on board and it thrashed around a little bit and the hook sliced my leg," he said. “The hook did more damage than the shark. There was blood going everywhere. I reckon I would have lost liters. I had to lay down and Jacky had to drive the boat back in."

Aquarium of the Pacific-Sea Fare

Shark Diver is one of the proud primary sponsors of the Aquarium of the Pacific's annual Sea Fare event set to go off October 18, 2008. The crew of Shark Diver and some of our special invited guests will be on hand.

Sea Fare is an evening of culinary delights prepared by top local chefs accompanied by wines and incredible brews by local providers at the aquarium.

This special evening also includes a silent and live auction and their popular "Live music, dancing, and an open bar" in an after hours setting at the Aquarium.

To view several of Sea Fares hot auction items (including free trips to Isla Guadalupe), click here. You can purchase tickets at their special 10th Anniversary price of $100 each by calling (562) 437-FISH(3474)

See you this weekend!

Guadalupe Island-Sharks, Tuna, Wildlife

Isla Guadalupe is wild place. Big game fishermen come here looking for monster tuna, divers come here looking for the sharks that sometimes feed on the tuna.

Occasionally the two meet at the same place at the same time, usually with spectacular results as a recent article in 976-TUNA will attest:

"Guadalupe Island provides both agony and ecstasy for anglers fishing its waters. The weather can be flat calm or brutal. The fishing can be epic or dismally slow. The dolphins, fur seals, elephant seals, whales, great whites, sea birds and flying fish provide continual entertainment for the naturalist in all of us."

For those few who have witnessed the sudden and very violent 2300lb addition to their catch, these words are nothing short of poetic.

Shark Divers-Classified Projects

Since the launch of Shark Divers a few months ago we have been busy with interesting projects and proposals ranging from white papers on shark tourism to this latest project off the big Island that Luke Tipple is on right now. While the report he's sent in is a little "dry"-due to the sensitivity of the project we can only reveal a few details:

Sitting here in my makeshift office (undisclosed hotel in Hawaii) I can’t help but grin. I was woken this morning by the subtle sounds of the pacific ocean washing up on the shores of the Big Island of Hawaii and this is certainly a day that I don’t mind having to work.

I’ve been on Hawaii now for about a week working on a project that regrettably I can’t talk too much about. This year has been a record year for shark sightings on the big Island of Hawaii with many popular tourist beaches being shut down due to large Tiger Sharks cruising the coast a little too close for comfort. Partly due to this Shark Divers was contracted by a private company to assess the danger inherent with their ocean going activities. The necessary legals and non-disclosure agreements between our companies restricts me from divulging exactly what their product is but what I can say is that their technology stands a chance of revolutionizing the way we study the ocean. With military and biological applications and potential 8 figure investments (yup, millions and millions of bucks) this is extremely important technology and highly classified… and I’ve had the privilege of seeing it first hand!

So the last week has been spent diving and training with some really smart and very cool people, who just happen to have one of the greatest offices on the planet! I’m now shacked up in my hotel writing the safety manual and soaking up some Hawaiian joy.