Shark Attacks - Da Shark in Depth, on Target

The recent shark attacks in Sharm el Shiekh have been unprecedented, causing many in the industry to question how, in the short space of a week, 5 swimmers were attacked leaving behind one fatality.

Industry generated analysis has been for the most part excellent, and yesterday Da Shark in Fiji wrote some of the best shark attack coverage and analysis yet.

Update: Two different pelagic species have been confirmed in these attacks.

We are leaning towards conditioning as a main driver for these attacks. A cargo ship carrying 120,000 head of sheep dumped an unknown number of dead animals several miles off the coast at Tiran Island in the weeks prior to these attacks. This carcass dump may have provided the floating conditioning opportunity, over time, to radically change pelagic sharks normal caution towards unknown objects in the water.

Da Shark on Sharm el Shiekh 2010

Time for a preliminary post mortem.

Like everybody interested in Sharks, I’ve been closely following the news tidbits trickling out from Sharm El Sheikh and the various opines in the media and the blogosphere.

There’s much of the usual fluff and idiocy - but there’s also some stellar stuff.

Take the “experts”. Whilst many prate and pontificate, I found this remarkable interview with Avi Baranes. Now THIS is the kind of person you gotta consult, a highly reputable Shark researcher who has been investigating those very waters for a very long time – and accordingly, the interview brims with factual information and quietly addresses and dispels the usual myths.

Bravo!

Equally noteworthy are the posts by Richard, by the SOSF and by Michael Scholl - however with some caveats that I’d like to address below.

Complete Post.

Hong Kong Shark Fin Sidewalk - Alex Hofford

This video is, unfortunately, not part of a savvy NGO protest campaign against shark fin in Hong Kong. It is estimated that Hong Kong accounts for 80% of the global trade in shark fin, the worlds clearing house.

Instead this video is a snapshot of daily life in the region, taken by photojournalist Alex Hofford.

Welcome to the sidewalk of tears:

Sharm el Shiekh Dead Sheep Story Confirmed

Egypt launches campaign to clear territorial waters of dead sheep

9/25/2010 9:45:00 PM

CAIRO, Sept 25 (KUNA) -- The Egyptian authorities started Saturday clearing the Straits of Tiran, northeast the Red Sea, of dead sheep thrown into the sea by a cargo vessel recently.

The move aims to prevent the carcasses being drifted towards the tourist resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, at the southernmost tip of Sinai Peninsula, Minister of State for Environment Affairs Eng. Majed George told reporters here.

"We have contacts managers of all hotels of the city, which overlook the straits, as well as the nature reserves there to inform them of the problem and coordinate steps in this regard," the minister pointed out.

"Reacting promptly to complaints from some hotels in the area, the operation room of the crisis-management unit adopted measures to retrieve the carcasses and bury them at an ecologically-safe site," George said.

"Measures are underway to assess the environment damage and sue the owner of the vessel Badr 3," he disclosed adding that a survey of the area showed 33 carcasses scattered off Ras Mohammad National Park.

Boats belonging to the Ministry of Environment and vehicles of the South Sinai Governorate take part in the clearing campaign.

The ship, owned by an Australian company and carrying The Bahamas flag, was reportedly carrying 120,000 heads of sheep when the accident took place.

Post here.

Sharm el Sheikh Shark Attacks, Farm Animals Dumped Causing Trigger Effect?

As an international team of shark experts land in Sharm el Shiekh to review a simply unprecedented series of shark attacks, resulting in one shark related death last week, some in the region are already blaming local dive operations for illegal shark feeding.

This is a dynamic map of the region, you can zoom in and move around the area for a better view:



What is not being discussed are the numerous eyewitness reports of dead farm animals floating in local waters prior to the attacks. The animals were first sighted in the Tiran Strait off Tiran Island (top right of image) with reports of a commercial vessel dumping dead animals at sea.

At least two eye witness reports say that dead sheep washed onshore during the preceding week not far from where the first attacks took place. What is absolutely sure, looking at the facts through a commercial shark diving lens, is that something caused a normally curious and manageable shark population to suddenly "turn on".

A floating train of large dead farm animals with sharks feasting on these remains in the days prior to encounters with swimmers, might be the trigger.

We decided to explore the "theory" that dead animals dumped at sea off Tiran Island could in fact end up close to shore off Sharm el Shiekh. We asked John Amos from Sky Truth to review satellite data from the region to see if wind and current could move dead animals, floating on the surface, in the right direction. The answer was yes, theoretically animals dumped in the Trian Strait might end up in the most populated regions off the coastline off Shark el Shiekh.

The first step in proving the dead farm animal theory is done. The next step would be to track back the offending vessel by reviewing cargo manifests of all vessels in the region during the preceding two weeks to see if any were:

1. In the Tiran Straits

2. Had a cargo of sheep and perhaps cows

The notion that commercial diving operations could radically alter sharks normal cautionary behaviour towards swimmers and divers with some basic chumming has been put forward by those with little to no experience with sharks. In short, this kind of shark behavior has never happened during past chumming efforts by local dive operations, so why would it now?

The animals who encountered surface swimmers in and around Sharm el Shiekh were in full predation mode, the unfortunate loss of an arm and leg to a 70 year old German swimmer is testament to animals that were recently accustomed to large volume surface feedings.

These were not frenzied animals as has been suggested by the main stream media, rather, these were conditioned animals.

We're leaning towards the theory that multiple sheep and perhaps a cow carcass, bloated by the sun, and floating in a current and wind driven southbound train, was followed and consumed by a number of Oceanic Whitetips (Carcharhinus longimanus), and Makos (Isurus oxyrinchus) which is absolutely normal for these species. This carcass train eventually found it's way closer to heavily populated areas off Sharm el Shiekh with the now conditioned sharks in tow. When these sharks, in full predation mode, encountered swimmers, normal cautionary behavior sets towards unknown objects in the water had been turned off.

The results?

An unprecedented series of attacks on swimmers and an ensuing media frenzy.

The facts about this case need to be known as it's impacts are already being felt worldwide. Our industry will have to remain vigilant against theories put forward by non-industry members who see sharks though a 1970's era lens of frenzied or rouge animals. .

Hopefully the shark attack specialists who are now in Sharm el Shiekh will find the answers.

Extensive coverage from RTSea Productions.

Update: Dead sheep story confirmed, September 26, 2010.

Conservation Video Done Right

Hat Tip to Mark and to Mike for passing this first rate video around. Opening eyes and changing perceptions is what this latest video is all about.

If there was an award for this kind of front line reporting and presentation fact, the team behind this video would get it. Perhaps we should start with something like this?

Sit back and ab-sorb this, once you're done we defy you not to want to "grab a flight to join the fight".

Shark Attacks in Sharm el-Sheikh, Interview with Red Sea Diving College

Another tragic shark attack in the waters off Sharm el-Sheikh, this time fatal, prompted us to interview a local dive shop in the region via SKYPE today.

The mainstream media's coverage has been typical, covering these ongoing attacks with no real background or substance.

Obviously something has changed in the region and with the sharks off Sharm el-Sheikh.

We chose Red Sea Diving College, a 20 year dive industry veteran, and for the past 4 years winner of the "Best Dive Center Award".

We interviewed dive center manager Jochen Van Lysebettens who has been diving Sharm el-Sheikh for the past 5 years to get a better idea of what is happening on the ground level.

Ocean and beachfront based tourism in Egypt accounts for $10 billion dollars of the Egyptian economy. The stakes for these recent shark attacks cannot be understated or underestimated.

Worldwide, shark attacks resonate though the entire shark diving industry, four attacks in one region and in one week are "unprecedented".

Jochen was forthcoming and frank. In his opinion "something must have triggered these attacks". He is also a pro-shark and pro-industry advocate with a deep understanding of conservation and the impact these unfortunate attacks have on the perception of sharks globally.

Interview with Jochen Van Lysebettens

Shark Diver: So, there's a lot of media focus on the shark species responsible for these attacks with Oceanic Whitetips (Carcharhinus longimanus) being the prime culprit here. What's your take, is this the species responsible?

Jochen Van Lysebettens: A diver took a some pictures of Oceanic Whitetips in the area of the first shark attack minutes before it happened, so I am comfortable that is was an Oceanic responsible for the first attacks. There has been no positive identification on the fatal attack yesterday.

Shark Diver: How rare is this for Oceanics to be behaving in this manner in and around Sharm el-Sheikh?

Jochen Van Lysebettens: Very, very rare. Oceanics never attack divers, they are curious in the water, but we just do not see this kind of behaviour, we also don't bait the sharks.

Shark Diver: So what is happening in Sharm el-Sheikh, what's the word on the street, what are the local dive shops talking about?

Jochen Van Lysebettens: There are rumors, Chinese whispers, of sheep floating in the water.

Shark Diver: Sheep in the water? How does a sheep get in the water?

Jochen Van Lysebettens: One instructor from another dive shop says he saw a dead sheep floating in the water a few days before the first attack, could have been transported and fallen into the water. Is it chumming or not, I do not know. But, as I said these are rumors only.

Shark Diver: What about the targeted shark killings by the Egyptian government? Was that necessary? What has been the local response?

Jochen Van Lysebettens: We are against it, all the dive shops are against it. Publicity killings. Public relations. When the shark killings started by another government agency we, along with other dive shops, contacted The Chamber of Diving and Watersports and they put a stop to it right away.

Shark Diver: They killed two sharks looking for evidence of the attacks, what was your alternate plan?

Jochen Van Lysebettens: The CDWS gathered together 40 dive instructors from all the dive shops and conducted a complete dive survey of the attack sites, looking for anything that might indicate a trigger for these attacks. We spent time in the water observing the sharks and looking at everything.

Shark Diver: Did they find anything?

Jochen Van Lysebettens: N0 they didn't, but we did stop the publicity shark killings, we are totally against any shark killings in Sharm el-Sheikh.

Shark Diver: After yesterdays fatal shark attack on a German swimmer, what's the next step?

Jochen Van Lysebettens: Tomorrow we will conduct another complete dive survey, this time with 40+ dive instructors in the water. Something triggered these sharks.

Shark Diver: Is that is what your gut is telling you?

Jochen Van Lysebettens: Yes, I am convinced something is triggering these sharks, the next step is to have a marine biologist come in and have a look at the area, maybe he can get some answers for us.

Shark Diver: In your opinion how has the mainstream media handled these tragic events?

Jochen Van Lysebettens: The coverage has been good and bad. It's important for the media to include a marine biologist or someone to defend the sharks. People do not have to be afraid of sharks.

Shark Diver: I know you have a lot of work ahead, what's your takeaway quote for now?

Jochen Van Lysebettens: Humans enter into the sharks territory, we want to keep shark encounters natural and safe.

Our impression from this interview was that the dive shops in Sharm el-Sheikh are fully invested in finding out why their sharks are behaving in this manner and are very pro-shark. As time moves forward we will get a better understanding of what, if anything, triggered the sharks. In the meantime dive operations are defending these animals from the kind of knee jerk government response that would have them fished out of the water.

Update Email:

From:Randa

RE:Dead Animals

TO me it is amazing after several reports and testimoney of dive guides, that hardly anything has been mentioned about the dead livestock dumped overboard by a transport ship, which has occurred several times in the past month. The hotel of the diving center where I work in Sharm el Sheikh found dead sheep on the washed up on the beach about 2 weeks ago, and dive guides reported seeing dead sheep in the water in the Strait of Tiran, which is near to the location of the attacks. Although the information about the dead livestock needs to be confirmed, it to me makes the most sense about the behavior of the sharks. Having dead livestock dumped in the water over the course of a 1 month period or more would be equivalent to feeding the sharks. The types of food that people sneak into the water, such as boiled eggs and bread is not attracting sharks, but dead livestock definitely would do the job.

Jim Bullard on Shark Baiting

Recently Jim Bullard, a 38 year scuba diving veteran, wrote this article about baiting sharks on a commercial level.

Our entire industry will have to do a lot better in response to the perception that we condition sharks, exploiting them for personal gain.

That process might start with individual operator website outreach.

More on the controversy of chumming.

Jim Bullard on Shark Baiting

I am neither a marine biologist nor a psychologist. I am not even an animal rights activist. I am a scuba diver and an outdoor enthusiast, and these two endeavors have brought me in close proximity with a myriad wild animals, in their natural habit.

Over the thirty-eight years I have been diving, I have seen many sharks, but I have never been tempted to offer these magnificent creatures anything to bite. Just to clarify my position, I do not fear any animal in the sea, but I do respect them and their habitat. My very first dive instructor advised not to drag around dead fish while diving and that blood would attract sharks and other unwanted visitors. These practices, which I have avoided during my diving career, are now used by dive operators to intentionally attract and feed sharks.

The practice of shark feeding is nothing but an exploitation of a shark’s natural behavior for the dive operator’s personal gain. Though observing a shark feeding is an exhilarating experience, I believe the participants take part unaware of lasting and potentially dangerous effect this activity has on the natural feeding habits of these predators.

In the 1901 Ivan Pavlov developed the concept of "conditioned reflex", meaning a response controlled by a stimulus, by studying the gastric function of dogs. Pavlov externalized a dog’s salivary gland in order to s analyze what response it had to food under different conditions. It is popularly believed that Pavlov always signaled the occurrence of food by ringing a bell. However, his writings indicate that he used of a wide variety of stimuli, including electric shocks, whistles, metronomes, tuning forks, and a range of visual stimuli, in addition to a ringing bell.

The United States Forestry Service has observed a similar Pavlovian response in the activities of bears in national forests. The signs cautioning "DO NOT FEED THE BEARS" are not there because peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and fried chicken are bad for the bears (though they may not be their natural diet), but because the bears’ keen sense of smell and desire for an easy meal have resulted in injured tourists and some vehicles becoming "pop top" food containers.

Shark feeding is just another example of animal behavior being altered by humans. These animals will, if they have not already, associate boats and divers in the water with food. Research continues to be done on sharks’ feeding patterns, and we do not yet know how far each species of shark range in their search for food. However, I cannot help but be concerned that the boat and the divers I am with may be mistaken for a shark feeding when diving in waters where shark feeding is permitted. I fear that a shark feeding will go badly and an observer will be injured or killed, or a diver will be attacked by a hungry shark that has lost some of it natural ability to hunt its normal prey. The inevitable human response to this would be something like what was seen in the movie Jaws - an outcry of "Kill the Sharks!"

The consequences of shark feeding would have an adverse effect on the institutions that implemented it. It will become even harder to see these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat. If a dive operator can take divers to an area where sharks are known to gather, and can show divers sharks without interacting with them, then so be it. However, in my experience, most shark encounters have been pure happenstance; I just happened to be at the right place at the right time.

History has repeatedly demonstrated that when humans intercede in animal behaviors, there are consistently devastating consequences for the animal. It seems that the only animal that has not learned from this behavior is the human.

Jim Bullard
Scuba Diver

New research plan provides a blueprint for addressing shark issues in the western and central Pacific

Good reading for anyone who's in the shark conservation business.

If international commercial fisheries have no solid idea what regional shark stocks look like, how do we begin the process of evaluating effective conservation initiatives and sustainable fisheries?

The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) has taken a major step toward addressing concerns about shark populations with initial approval of a three-year Shark Research Plan by its Scientific Committee.

The plan will be led by the Oceanic Fisheries Programme of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, and will contain assessment, research coordination and fishery statistics improvement components. The overall aim of the plan is to evaluate the status of blue, mako, oceanic whitetip, silky and thresher sharks in the western and central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) and to establish better datasets to support future assessments. Following its recent endorsement by the Scientific Committee, the Shark Research Plan will be presented for full Commission approval at its annual meeting in Hawaii in December.

This article outlines the background and context of shark issues in the WCPO, introduces the key species and previews the forthcoming assessment work.

Sharks are among the species to be managed by regional tuna fisheries management organisations (RFMOs) but little has been done worldwide by these organisations to manage shark catches. In fact, because so few national fisheries catch reporting systems record sharks, RFMOs often lack sufficient data upon which to draw conclusions about the status of shark stocks. At the same time, there are increasing concerns about fisheries targeting sharks and about continued growth in the shark fin trade. In the WCPO, two species of sharks are categorised by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List as globally endangered and another sixteen as globally vulnerable and it is not difficult to predict that catch limits may, in future, be required to safeguard some stocks. The current challenge facing the WCPFC is to find the proper balance between shark conservation and utilisation, given the considerable uncertainty regarding the current status of stocks.

Complete Research Plan.

Shark Trust Magazine 2010

The Shark Trust is happy to announce that the 39th issue of Shark Focus will shortly be making its way to our members.

The Shark Trust magazine is issued three times a year and contains all of the latest news in shark conservation and research. You can also find out what the Shark Trust has been up to over the past couple of months and keep informed about our latest campaigns.

Shark Focus is the perfect read for shark enthusiasts of all ages; this November issue is brimming with a range of interesting articles written by experts in the field and accompanied by some stunning photography.

In this edition, the Scubasigns Foundation and the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme provide us with an insight into the remarkable relationship that fishermen in Indonesia share with an aggregation of Whale Sharks. We investigate why some species of shark enter into a natural state of paralysis, known as tonic immobility, learn why the Hammerhead Shark has such a bizarre shaped head and discover more about sexual segregation in Chimaera.

The fifth series of Shark HardTalk features interviews with George Burgess (from the International Shark Attack File), eco-tourism operators Chris Fallows, Mark Addison and Craig Ferreira and Shark Trust member, Danny Aslan, as Chairman Richard Peirce debates the pros and cons of the baiting, chumming and feeding of sharks.

Shark Focus 39 is guaranteed to be an exciting read!

To become a Shark Trust member and receive your free copy of Shark Focus please, click here

'Shark Brothers' join Mote to test Gulf sharks for oil

SARASOTA - Sean and Brooks Paxton, known to some as the "Shark Brothers," have dedicated themselves to marine and wildlife conservation.

And a few weeks ago they added Mote Marine Laboratory research team to their bios.

"I'd say it was like going on the greatest field trip ever," said Sean Paxton, 44, about the five-day trip the brothers spent with a Mote crew the Gulf searching and sampling for signs of oil impacting marine life, with a special focus on sharks.

"They're (sharks) feared, but they're also a threatened species, so they do need our help," Brooks Paxton said.

Mote used Brooks, 40, and Sean's expertise in catching and releasing large sharks.

"The first animal was a tiger shark in excess of 10 feet, a beautiful male specimen," Sean Paxton said.

The brothers also filmed some of the trip. The footage shows that big tiger shark slamming his jaws shut as Sean headed toward him on board the research vessel.

"The other animals we encountered in the world of sharks were silkies, a scalloped hammerhead, a mako," Sean Paxton said.

Bob Hueter, who is the director of Mote's Center for Shark Research, led the research trip.

"Yes, the fish can look healthy, but inside the liver, inside the blood, reproductive organs, for example, we can find residues of the contaminants of the oil," Hueter said. "Or their behavior changes and they don't go to the right places to feed and possibly shifting not only populations but the whole ecosystem out there."

Complete post.

Tigers Tagged - Season Two of XXX

Season two of xxx is on the way and from the looks of things this will be interesting.

A Facebook posting this week revealed Dr. xxx somewhere in xxx working with the production crew from xxx.

If we're being a little obtuse with this post, it's because we don't want to give away season two of xxx or the production crew who made history at xxx and then went on to production controversy at xxx.

Right about now you're saying "why the xxx do I even read this xxx blog anyway?" we might agree with you.

The Tiger pic is pretty cool though, ain't no bones in that shark.

Should be another eye popping shark season when xxx airs sometime in xxx on the xxx channel.

The Trash Talking Blog-Dogs

Last week we posted Carcharhinus longimanus - Bahamas New Shark Rush, an in depth look at how new shark site development and ongoing conservation efforts *might* go at Cat Island, Bahamas.

The Op-Ed was directed at industry members vying for this site and these unique and increasingly rare sharks, 99.3% are estimated to have been fished out of the Gulf of Mexico alone.

At least three websites are now inviting divers to come and dive with Oceanic whitetips in the Bahamas, and at least one operator has responded to last weeks post.

The ideas brought up are certainly worthy of further discussion and even action, if you can get past the label, "Trash Talking Blog-Dogs";)

More trash talking here, Hic Rhodus hic salta indeed!

SDM BLOG FOR...

There has been a lot of blogging going on from the trash talking blog-dogs out there lately. Mostly on how to interact with sharks and how to conduct an eco-business. Here is the deal when it comes to Eco-tourism from my perspective - shark diving tourism, and catch and release shark fishing are the sharks only hope. I am not going to go into catch and release fishing in this blog, but regardless of my opinion, or your opinion, it is a necessary evil. Not everyone is going to dive with sharks, and sport fishing is the largest spenders of trickle down economics in the marine world. So more on them later.

Here is the deal - As I said, Eco-tourism is the sharks only salvation. The reality is, whether you like it or not - Governments do NOT care about sharks, or saving sharks - or the environment - THEY NEVER HAVE, AND THE NEVER WILL! What they care about are two things...money and votes. So if you have a lot of money you can convince the government to protect sharks, by throwing them large sums - then sharks will get some protection. But, if you do not have a shit load of money, then you better have the votes behind you to keep their butts in office. Other than that, they don't care about the cause, they care about their own agendas, and keeping and sustaining their power.

For a government official to care about creating marine protected parks, or shark sanctuaries, they need to have a good reason, and that reason is money - and money now. A goverenment officials term is short so they need to make and steal as much as they can before their term is up, or they get booted out. A shark diving tax is a great incentive that puts money into a government officials pocket today and is a great way to ensure that sharks get protected in the long term. Right now the fishermen are the ones putting this kind of money into the officials pockets, so who do you think they are going to support when it is time to vote?

Anyone who believes that a government official is going to do the right thing is gravely mistaken and by the time they admit it or figure it out, it is going to be the death of the species. So the thing that is going to lead the charge for protecting sharks is creating shark parks, or shark sanctuaries, or marine reserves, or whatever you want to call it. Then bringing in eco-tourism to create a trickle down economy that will benefit and stimulate the local economy, as well as tacking on a shark tax that could go into the appropriate hands to ensure that sharks will remain protected indefinitely.

I think that continuing to protect individual species of sharks globally is a noble effort, but is it enough? Truthfully - I believe that protecting individual species is a bandaid to a much bigger problem. Honestly - Do you really think that an Indian fisherman, or an Asian fishermen in a little panga in a third world country is gonna throw back a full grown oceanic whitetip, or a scalloped hammerhead because CITES has ruled that these species are uncatchable and must be thrown back. Hell no! If they can't sell it, (which they always will be able to, regardless of any CITES ruling), they will just eat it. They are just surviving, trying to feed their families, making money anyway they can. So govenrment meetings and agendas, and conservationists hopes mean shit to them.

I wrote about this back in April but its worthy of a reminder...

-A true conservationists job and efforts needs to go into creating marine reserves, or shark parks, or shark santuaries. Of course these sanctuaries will fly better with officials if there is already eco-toruism in place. (they will see money much faster that way.)

-Another devision of the conservation/eco-operators (joint effort is a must) job is to help create a policing effort to protect the parks. Funding must be created and raised for this very important job. Parks are pointless without protection.

-MORE Eco-operators need to be invited in to help stimulate the economy and creat trickle down economics. This is always the hard part, as shark operators are often greedy and hate to see competion come in. Trust me on this one, I am very well versed in this subject.

-At this point science could be invited in to find out where these sharks are going to breed? Or where these sharks are migrating to when they leave the area. That information could then be used to help create more shark sanctuaries, and the cycle begins again.

____________________________________________________________

The problem right now within the shark diving world, is there are too much politics. No one is communicating with each other, lots of back stabbing, and crying, and I'm right-they are wrong, BS. None of it works. We all don't have to like each other, we don't all have to get along, but if there really is any love for these animals, then we all need to set aside our egos, agree to disagree, and get the fucking job done.

ICCAT - Tuna are done, sharks get the nod

Conservation Triage is never pretty especially when species are being pushed to the back of the conservation line by commercial fishing interests.

Thus was the series of meetings in Paris last week, ICCAT, and a decision not to address Bluefin tuna catch reductions while at the same time adding some protections for sharks.

The shark protections, while hailed by many as a conservation win, mean for the most part sharks caught at sea will be dumped at sea, out of sight and out of mind to both consumers and conservation groups. The sharks are still being taken by very technically savvy fishing fleets, but fins will no longer arrive in Hong Kong to be added to bowls of soup.

For the bowls of soup conservation crowd - this is good news.

Like we said Conservation Triage is never pretty.

There are a few good news points to this years ICCAT, protections for Oceanic whitetips and Hammerheads.

Depending on who you speak with, or what blogs you read, the results of ICCAT, when viewed through the lens of Doha are substantial. Or when viewed through the lens of rapid species depletion at the hands of multi-national fishing fleets with no set international quota systems that can be verified, mixed.

For a fine 15 minutes of eye opening thought we have rounded up some of the after action Blue Blogs and press releases for your review, as always, great analysis:

Da Shark Fiji - Paris Realpolitik!

RTSea Blog - ICCAT & Sharks: a mixed bag of results from meeting

Sonja Fordham - Unprecedented Shark Conservation Action Taken

Ya Like Dags? - Highs and Lows from the ICCAT

Sea Notes - Black Friday for Bluefin

Southern Fried Science - Sharks get new protections at ICCAT

Commercial Shark Diving - Mexico's Bull Shark Conundrum

When news of dead Playa del Carmen Bull sharks surfaced last week, shark conservation groups went into action mode.

Word rapidly spread and conservation action began in the form of the Blue Heart Society.

Last week another voice has surfaced, Steven Spencer, who, in rather pointed open letter is suggesting that local dive shops are partially to blame for the actions taken by fishermen.

His letter serves as a wake up call to dive shops and new shark diving operations including those who would guide these nascent operations to best practices.

Without a strong conservation program in place on the opening day of shark operations, regional shark populations run the risk of "commercial promotion without representation".

More from Da Shark in Fiji.

Steven Spencer on Playa Killings

My name is Steven and i am writing in relation to some horrific Shark killings that have been happening close to the shores of Playa Del Carmen Mexico. You may have already heard something of this news but i am writing because all of the news that i am hearing and reading is very biased and largely untrue so i wish to write a true account to the best of my knowledge about these incidents and what has led to them.

I do not know if there is something that your organisation, or any organisation that you know can do about these occurrences, but i feel the need to write in true detail of what is happening as i am sure that if anything can be done then you will know better than i the people that could do something.

Playa Del Carmen is a tourist area that has grown considerably in the past decade. I have been diving there for 7 years, i have done many dives there as i have spent 5 months there every year for the past 7 years.

Bull Sharks visit these shores during the months between November and March. In my first 5 years of diving there i frequently saw groups of 2 to a maximum of 5 BullSharks in various dive sites, mainly Tortugas, Pared Verde and Barracuda. BullShark sightings were frequent during these months if diving regularly but could not be guaranteed.

Eventually one dive store called ‘Phantom divers’ began to feed an area regularly close to shore near a dive site called ‘Jardines’ and eventually the sightings of these BullSharks were very rare in other locations.

Phantom diveshop then began taking divers to the fed area close to Jardines and feeding these BullSharks whilst wearing a chainmail suit. BullSharks would gather there everyday during these months every year and eventually every other divestore in town hypocritically began running ‘BullShark dives’. I state hypocritically because every other diveshop spoke of their disliking of the Shark feeding but continued to make very good money from these dives.

I dived with these magnificent creatures many times, when they were in behaving naturally and when the feeding programmes began. Once the feeding programmes began they behaved very differently to before, if a boat passed overhead they would go into a frenzy as they expected food coming to them.

Anyway, the BullShark is not a protected species in Mexico and local fisherman have always killed 2 or 3 a year but now everything has all come to a very sad situation. I am aware of one true report where 9 were killed by a fisherman in one day and other reports have suggested that 25 were killed in 3 days. During my 5 months every year in Playa i would dive most days and i would estimate that there wouldn’t be much more than 50 BullSharks that visit these shores each year as i was frequently seeing the same ones, i only counted approximately 20 different ones. If this is the case then it is a large percentage of decline of this species there.

I am therefore 100% sure that because of this feeding programme it has herded them into one area making it very easy for them to be fished and slaughtered by local fisherman who now have the knowledge of their whereabouts. 2 or 3 killed a year before, and 9 killed in one day proves this is no coincidence and they would therefore have a better chance of survival if they were spread around as before.

Phantom divers is currently fighting for the rights for the BullSharks not to be fished for at this certain feeding point during the months that they visit the area, stating that the BullSharks congregate there to give birth, this information i know to be incorrect. They congregate there for the food that is fed to them and for no other reason.

It is obvious that the only interest in Phantom divers minds is the proffit that can be made from the BullSharks.

My interest is for the survival of these magnificent creatures and i hope by voicing my opinions, whether loved or hated might help towards this.

I thank you for your time in reading this and thank you for passing this information on to anyone who might be able to assist with this sad situation and if there is anything else i can do i would be happy to.

Steven Spencer.

Arizona Shark Surprise November 20, 2010

Arizona Department of Fish and Game are offering a reward for information leading to the arrest of individuals who planted a live or dead shark in a local canal.

This 32" specimen was discovered in West Main Canal in Yuma near First Street and 14th Avenue on Nov. 20.

Department staff members suspect this shark was first live caught and then transported from San Diego, California.

RTSea on ICCAT, Oceana and Sharks

Richard Theiss at the RTSea Blog has in depth look at the current round of talks over tuna catches and "tuna like fisheries" in Paris this week - ICCAT.

As always Richard distills this complex issue down to the major players and what's truly at stake for the oceans.

Great reading:

As reported earlier today, the ICCAT (International Convention for Conservation of Atlantic Tuna) is meeting this week in Paris as a part of the organization's annual review of bluefin tuna catch limits. But ICCAT's charter is not limited to the management of only tuna fisheries. It also considers the management of "tuna-like" fisheries, which is a catch-all phrase that can include other pelagic migratory predators including swordfish, sailfish, and sharks.

While outcomes from past ICCAT meetings have served more to support the commercial fishing industry than the support of ocean species conservation, recognized conservation groups, like Oceana, continue to bring information to the attention of the ICCAT regarding the rapidly declining numbers of apex ocean predators. This year, Oceana is focusing on sharks and the need for the ICCAT to seriously consider addressing the number of sharks being taken - whether legally or otherwise - and the potential for further abuse through under-reporting.

Oceana has released a new report that estimates that as many as 1.3 million sharks were taken in the Atlantic in 2008. Averaging the weight of the various 21 species listed in the report as being caught within ICCAT-monitored waters, that number equates to 65,000 tons of shark. To put that into perspective, the ICCAT currently limits tuna harvests to under 14,000 tons of tuna - and that is a figure that many scientists believe will doom the Atlantic bluefin tuna to extinction. Just what can we expect with 65,000 tons of shark disappearing each year?

On top of that, Oceana believes 1.3 million sharks could be a gross underestimation due to under-reporting. According to Oceana, based on scientific estimates from Hong Kong shark fin trade data, the true number could be three times higher - although, you can expect that figure to be dismissed by fishing industry advocates as speculative and unreliable.

“Sharks are virtually unmanaged at the international level,” said Oceana's Elizabeth Griffin. "ICCAT has a responsibility to protect sharks. It is time to protect our ocean's top predators."

Complete Post.

Tiger Sharks and Commercial Shark Diving S.A - Glenn Ashton Weighs In

When a series of starkly shocking industry images recently surfaced of a well known commercial shark diving operation in S.A, the ensuing industry backlash was both unnecessary, ugly, and tribal.

We posted our thoughts on the ensuing fallout here and were happy to discover well known journalist, writer and photographer, Glenn Ashton wading into this issue with an open letter to S.A dive operators.

Glenns letter is not only great industry thought, it is real leadership. Kudos to Glenn for not only taking the time to review this industry issue from all sides, but to distill it down to the fundamentals.

Are we as an industry ready to embrace standardized practices, both baiting and film and television, that benefit our primary clients, the sharks, first and foremost?

Open letter to the SA shark dive industry re: best practices

Hi All,

As a journalist and observer to the debate about best practices concerning shark attraction methods and the shortcomings of some methods, it is clear that the issues that have been raised are extremely important to deal with in order to ensure that our South African shark diving industry has a reputation that we can indeed be proud of.

This cannot only come from a shark diving industry perspective but from a conservation perspective, a tourism perspective, a best practice perspective and most of all for promoting an open and transparent dialogue about the matter - shark diving, either in cages or without - for profit.

There is nothing wrong with generating profit from shark diving. The dive industry is a powerful tool to assist in protecting sharks, in getting the public to understand them and in taking their plight to a wider audience.

Public oversight has assisted in improving practices in all aspects of the shark dive industry and indeed in all related aspects of human/ shark interaction. This mirrors the experiences of other conservation practices in other nature conservation fields which have often learned and advanced themselves through outside pressure.

However it serves nobody when baseless allegations are thrown around, when issues become personalised for reasons that are completely unrelated to the issues at hand and when discussions that are aimed at improving industry practices are marginalised because of illogical and ill informed inputs.

It cannot be denied that public oversight and pressure to change from shark enthusiasts have improved the cage dive industry hugely. The cage dive industry would like to take most of the credit for themselves but that is just human nature.

The same goes for shark diving on the Aliwal shoals and other offshore shark diving spots. The methods used to attract sharks have been shown to be damaging to sharks and yet those who rely on these flawed methods have denied any cause for concern and have instead attempted to sidetrack and personalise the discussion and debate. Others have worked hard to clean up their acts and have listened to outside inputs.

Denial of any problems in how sharks are chummed and attracted obviously serves nobody except the denier and it does not move the debate forward. As a journalist and someone involved in covering environmental management in South Africa I am quite prepared to go out and expose any dangerous or damaging practices to the widest possible audience so that things do change, through either the force of public opinion or the force of law. Both are equally relevant in this case.

It would however be far more beneficial for all of the role players in this debate, especially the shark dive charterers who have been criticised for poor baiting practices, to play a far more mature and responsible role in this discussion. There clearly are operators who have tried different methods of baiting which appear to be non damaging to sharks - through encasing cables and chains in polypropylene pipe - which is rigid and extremely tough and non damaging to shark mouths, compared to exposed cables and chains. Why can this and other useful discoveries not be made best practice?

An industry standard should be agreed upon and any parties who continue to practice dangerous methods of attracting sharks, just as those who do not properly care for, or endanger their divers and customers, or who follow other dangerous practice, must be sanctioned and isolated, if shown to be intransigent in the face of changing toward best practice behaviour.

If we wish to have an industry that is good for tourism and for our image as a leading nature and eco-tourism destination then we must pursue best practice in all aspects of environmental tourism in South Africa. If we wish to be the world leaders in this field, that we claim to be, then we must behave like world leaders. Accordingly the industry must support a move toward transparency and best practice and engage with each other in a constructive way that promotes mutual interests

The alternative is to identify and deal with those who refuse to play the game according to mutually agreed rules and isolate them utterly. The choices are simple. So lets rather consider moving on toward finalising what is essentially a straightforward procedure.

A useful first step would be to invite all shark tourism operators to sit down around a table, at a shark tourism conference, of SA operators, and start to hack out the issues, formalise them and put these steps into practice. SA tourism and other regional tourism boards would be supportive - we all know that the industry brings in significant money. Any other relevant parties must also come aboard, including government (Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and Dept of Environment and Water, and possibly Tourism and also the Shark Board but there may be ambivalence about this).

It would just take a few champions of the cause, from within the industry, to drive this. They could reap huge benefits by being shown to lead the way toward the most progressive and ecologically sound practices, and could accordingly advertise along these lines.

This should ideally happen from within the industry - self regulation is always preferable to having regulations imposed on you. But if nothing happens then imposition of tighter regulations may just follow.

Over to you, the people who want to do the right thing, the people who make money out of sharks and those who want to conserve the resource for the benefit of all. Lets see the changes roll on!

Glenn Ashton

Freelance writer, researcher, author and editor.
Cape Town South Africa

Le Méridien Al Aqah Joins Sharkwatch Arabia targeting the first wild whale shark tagging in the region

Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, 20.11.10- A team of divers and marine scientists will be down under the east coast waters and Musandam region of Oman looking for a suitable whale shark to satellite tag on 21st and 22nd November 2010. This will be the official start for the first ever wild whale shark tagging program in the region.

The sophisticated tag is sponsored by Le Méridien Al Aqah Beach Resort who are supporting the Sharkwatch Arabia research project lead by Chief Scientist, David Robinson. Successful tagging will provide essential data on how these animals utilize the region's waters and beyond.

Sharkwatch Arabia www.sharkwatcharabia.com is a post-graduate study in association with Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh and part of The Shark Project Oman based at Sultan Qaboos University. Sharkwatch Arabia also runs in collaboration with the Sharkquest Arabia Initiative and Emirates Diving Association. Dive schools have been notified to be on the lookout for sharks in the coming week.

Patrick Antaki, General Manager, Le Méridien Al Aqah Beach Resort, said, "The personal gratification I get from being a part of Sharkwatch Arabia is as important as the CSR involvement of the resort in this continued quest for environmental understanding and protection. Additionally, the conscious support of our team members who are avid divers that support the cause and voluntarily contribute to similar activities is commendable. We wish the dive teams all success in the tagging programme."

Undertaking the initiative to tag a wild and free swimming whale shark is a hard process that requires the fulfilment of several parameters and possibilities of many attempts to attach a satellite transmitter. The Sharkwatch Arabia teams will live up to the challenge and work towards making the tagging of a whale shark successful and play an important role in adding value to the overall programme.

One of the aims of the Sharkwatch Arabia project is to tag five whale sharks each year over the next five years to provide data on the movements of the animals in the region and help understand why they visit these waters and where they migrate to.

The whale shark is the largest known fish in the oceans, they are listed as vulnerable to extinction partly due to the increased demand for shark products in the Asian markets. The Sharkwatch Arabia project will make a valuable contribution to provide key insights into the ecology of the species and assist in providing necessary steps for their conservation.

Tagging a whale shark with a satellite transmitter helps to track their movements and behaviour in the wild with little interference. The tag that trails behind the animal gathers important information over a 120 day period and subsequently detaches itself from the whale shark. The data involves information of water temperatures, duration of dive, depths, etc. On detachment and touching the surface of the water, the tag begins to transmit the collected data to orbiting satellites that will later be interpreted by ARGOS, the French satellite uplink company who sends the data to research teams for evaluation and further study.

Shark: In Peril in the Sea

It’s a sure sign of evolution: Sharks, dominant predators on Earth for millions of years, are now threatened by humans. In the past few decades shark populations have plummeted and the very traits that long helped prevent the beasts from overpopulating the seas — low birthrates, slow growth and a late arrival at sexual maturity — hinder their recovery from the depredations of overfishing, pollution and habitat destruction.

Owen, a Tasmanian author who has also demystified that island’s famous devil, takes a fascinating look at the biology of sharks, from the smallest (the 19-centimeter-long dwarf lanternshark) to the whale shark, the world’s largest fish. He also explores the complex relationship between man and shark. Sure, we eat each other, but the body count is horribly lopsided. While sharks attack only a few dozen people each year, the annual shark catch routinely tips the scale in the hundreds of thousands of tons.

In large part due to the violent nature of their attacks — which often come literally out of the blue — sharks have long inspired fear and fascination. The 1975 blockbuster Jaws tapped into that primal fear but also demonized great white sharks and, via guilt by association, many other species. Yet, Owen notes, much good came from the film. It inspired scientific interest in sharks and their relatives and spawned shark conservation efforts worldwide. Shark is a captivating portrait of creatures that have too long been unfairly maligned as malevolent, mindless eating machines.

Purchase here.

Oxnard California Sportfishing for White Sharks? Nasty Response

This morning we posted our concerns over a sport fishing site based in California that offers white sharks under the "types of sharks caught".

The apparent understanding is that these animals are on the menu for five fleet vessels operating from Oxnard to Marina del Ray at $1,800 a day.

Fortunately since the mid 90's white sharks off the California coast are protected by law.

Or are they?

Our post caught the attention of a shark conservationist who contacted the apparent owner of sharks.us only to receive the following threatening email, in which Captain Mike Schmidt tracked Jennifer XXX down (we redacted her business information) and seems to threaten her in person.

He also made a statement in a previous email where he threatens to "kill a shark" for every "tree hugger" email she or any of her friends sends him. He doubles down on that threat in this follow up email.

Very classy guy.

Here's the email:

From:Capt. Mike Schmidt [mailto:chum@sharks.us]
Sent: Friday, November 19, 2010 12:33 PM
To: JenniferXXX
Subject: Re:

Did you think I could not find you?
Do you think I will not call administration and report you?

Try me, and we will add another shark to the list and make a few phone calls as well!
You are not far now are you?

(business contact information for Jennifer xxx redacted)

Capt. Mike Schmidt
C.L.P.
1720 N. Voyager Ave #A
Simi Valley, Cal. 93063
Tel: 1-877-807-2423
Cell: 1-818-262-6022
Fax: 1-800-760-1172
www.sharks.us/charters
www.Sharks.us
chum@sharks.us

Oxnard California Sportfishing for White Sharks?

A quick visit to a sport fishing website sharks.us finds an outfit in Oxnard California that claims, for the lofty sum of just $1,895, to allow you to catch white sharks.

The only problem is the California Department of Fish and Game banned fishing for white sharks in 1994. The effort to get white shark fishing banned in the state of California took several years with many use groups including the sport fishing industry pushing for change.

Ongoing legislation to protect white sharks in California waters remains important and internationally trend setting legislation.

So why are the fleet boats of Sharks.us, all five of them, patrolling the waters from Oxnard to Marina del Ray offering white sharks as part of their monster shark experience?

Types of sharks caught:

• Mako Sharks
• Leopard Sharks
• Oceanic White Tips
• Thresher Sharks
• Tope (Soupfin) Sharks
• White Sharks
• Blue Sharks
• Nurse Sharks
• Lemon Sharks
• Hammerhead
• Bigeye Thresher
• Horn Sharks

About your Shark Adventure:

Your Adventure starts before you step on the dock. Sleepless nights and day dreaming of catching your monster shark, walking down the gang way with anticipation of pulling on a record breaker. The diesel engines firing up to announce to everyone we are starting out on an adventure of a lifetime. Is your heart racing now? Just wait till you see the fin set of a Mako in the chum slick, and then tell us if you can contain yourself. Have this filmed so you can try and share exactly how you felt with your family and friends. Remember, all you have to worry about is showing up on time and we provide everything else: profession crew, expertise, lunch, snacks, drinks, fishing license, tackle, rods and reels, bait, chum, fuel and oil.

chum@sharks.us

Cephalopodia - New Squid Discovered!

Scientists announced the discovery of a new squid species this week.

The new species of deep red, glowing squid was living near undersea mountains in the southern Indian Ocean, scientists announced Monday.

At about 28 inches (70 centimeters) long, the as yet "unnamed species" is relatively big.

We would like to toss a few completely unauthorized and non scientific names into the hat for the researchers tasked with naming this new critter:

1. Glowanchus Big Reddicus

2. Hot Tamlus Glowanchus

2. X-Mas Light Squid

Chile creates a Marine Reserve around Sala y Gómez

Chile’s President Sebastián Piñera announced the creation of Sala y Gómez Marine Park, a no-take marine reserve of 150,000 square kilometers around Sala y Gómez island.

Sala y Gómez is an uninhabited island that’s part of a biodiverse chain of seamounts that are vulnerable to fishing activity. Dr. Enric Sala, marine ecologist and National Geographic Ocean Fellow, called Sala y Gómez “one of the last undisturbed and relatively pristine places left in the ocean.”

Last March, Oceana, National Geographic and the Waitt Foundation conducted a preliminary scientific expedition to the island and found abundant populations of vulnerable species such as sharks and lobsters, much larger than in the depleted ecosystem in nearby Easter Island, which is not protected from fishing. In addition, the scientists found unexpectedly high biodiversity in deeper waters.

After the expedition, Oceana and National Geographic presented a proposal to President Piñera advocating the protection of the entire exclusive economic zone, a total of 411,717 square kilometers around the island. The Fisheries Committee of Chile’s Senate supported the recommendation unanimously.

The new park expands Chile’s total marine protected area more than 100 times, from 0.03% to 4.41%. Currently less than 2% of the global ocean is protected, although the Parties of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity – including Chile – agreed to protect 10% of their exclusive economic zones by 2012.

Shark Sanctuary Train - Palau, Maldives, and Indonesia

First came Palau, the Maldives and now Indonesia has declared a vast protected area for sharks, rays, turtles and more within its territorial waters.


The new sanctuary is in a region known as one of the world's richest sources of marine biodiversity.


The new sanctuary covers 46,000 square kilometres of waters around the Raja Ampat Islands in Eastern Indonesia, part of the so-called Coral Triangle region of Southeast Asia.

Sharks, manta rays, mobulas, dugongs and turtles are fully protected within the sanctuary, and destructive practices including reef bombing and the aquarium fish trade are banned, local officials said.

Kudos to WildAid and the number of shark conservation groups, dive operations, underwater photographers and tourism officials who worked to make this happen.

Andrew Fox - Great Industry Props

From time to time industry members engage in selfless acts of shark conservation that make the industry look good and show real leadership.

Andrew Fox from Rodney Fox Shark Expeditions is one of those members and this week was featured in Australian Geographic for his work in freeing a white shark trapped in a potentially lethal packing strap.

Andrew not only saved the animal but used the experience in the media to highlight the need for less plastics in the oceans. He has also created a sponsor page to channel donations back into ongoing sponsored research with sharks on his regions.

This is how you do commercial shark diving. Kudos to the original commercial shark diving clan for once again making the entire industry look good in the process.

Dirk and Angela Go Shark Diving - Guadalupe Island 2010

Dirk and Angela flew all the way from Europe to join Shark Diver in 2010 at Isla Guadalupe.

To celebrate his adventures Dirk produced the following video, a week in the life of two newly minted Shark Divers. Once again Isla Guadalupe did not disappoint with Dirk being on site for a rare display of seals and sharks in the same frame.

Congratulations Dirk and Angela!

Mike Westhoff NY Jets - Catch and Release Shark Fishing

"If I don't catch 'em, so what? It's a frickin' shark," he says. "I throw 'em back so they can go on with their lives."

Admittedly a bit gruff for a catch and release media quote but what do you expect from the ever crusty Mike Westhoff aka NY Jets Special Teams Coordinator?

This week writer Kevin Armstrong of the NY Daily News covered Westhoff on one of his recent shark fishing trips.

As an unlikely ambassador for catch and release shark fishing Westhoffs final quote sealed the deal, not all shark fishermen have an adversarial relationship with sharks, and some even care about the resource and the future of these magnificent critters:

"How beautiful are they?" he says, looking at a photo. "I could never kill one."