Chris Fischer responded to my blog
"Celebrities at Guadalupe Island" on our facebook page. Apparently his feelings are hurt, that a blog about celebrities at
Guadalupe Island was not about him.
He writes:
Thrilled you are a fan of OCEARCH
work. My wife and I personally funded the expedition that tagged
Bruce. Amusing how you fail to mention the crew and capacity that
created the data you feel is so important. Domeier simply stepped down
tagged the shark
then got out of the way. The crew did everything else to safely tag
and release Bruce! Additionally, you know the sharks are returning now
after shedding the tags with their fins healed up doing well yet you
continue to let the others bash... We have spoken to the researchers
using the 1 bolt method.. they are uncertain how well it's going to work
long term as well the increase in bio-fouling from all the different
cracks and crevices created by the mount. We have requested Wildlife
Computers to try to design a modified mounting system... But as you
already know, this is not required as they shed the tags after 5yrs or
so and heal up nicely. You should watch Mary Lee on the Global Shark
Tracker. She is getting ready to repeat the success we had at Guadalupe
Island by documenting the 1st full female mature white shark migration
in the N Atlantic. Soon we will know where they are mating/birthing
etc... just like out where you profit from cage diving at GI. I figure
our work is the best chance you got at being able to own a
multi-generational business. Acting like we don't exist is amateurish
and rude. We are currently on Expedition off West Australia where we
have tagged 20 Tiger Sharks to solve the same puzzle as we did in GI to
create a future for sharks here.
Please forgive me Chris, I had no idea that I would hurt your feelings by writing about a celebrity without mentioning you. How rude of me. So since your feelings are hurt by me not mentioning you, let me respond to what you are saying.
1. I don't quite get why you think I'm a fan of OCEARCH
2. Your wife and you financed the expedition that tagged Bruce. I never wrote anything about who financed that expedition, or why that is even relevant, but since you claim you did, let me also state what Dr. Domeier said about that.
From
http://fijisharkdiving.blogspot.com/2013/04/fischer-reality-check-comments-by-dr.html
Yes, he paid for 2 trips to Guadalupe, but
then struck a TV deal that allowed him to recoup those costs as he was
getting $400K/episode.
We were able to make multiple episodes from a
single trip. Furthermore, I tapped two other private foundations to
help pay for the tags and research; financial support that he never
acknowledges. Fischer was fairly paid for all of the work we did
together… this was not a huge philanthropic venture. On the contrary, he
made it clear: “no cameras no trips.” The huge $$ figure he throws
around must be for the entire operating cost of his ship and production
company for each year he was making these television shows. But that’s
not a fair way to account for the actual cost of the research (a
fraction of the yearly operating budgets were due to the handful of
research trips)… and he never discusses the INCOME. Any real accountant
would tally just the costs of the specific trips… or think like this:
what would it cost to charter a vessel for each research trip, and then
subtract the income! Perhaps he took a loss, I don’t know; my
organization took a financial loss… but no way did either of us wrack up
losses in the millions.
Read more of
Dr. Domeier's comments
here
3. Domeier simply stepped down, tagged the shark and then got away?
OK, and the research paper appeared out of thin air? My advise to you would be this. Make it about the sharks instead of
about you. You and I are not important, saving the sharks is. Your need
to be seen as a shark expert is not important. You provide a platform
for the researchers, they are the experts. Why do you feel the need to
belittle what they do? Catching and tagging the sharks is a means to an
end. The end is the research and that is what the researchers do. For example, I
collect photos at
Guadalupe Island for
Nicole Nasby-Lucas. She is doing
the research for the photo ID's. I have nothing to do with that. If
someone mentions her research, there is no need for them to say anything
about me, or anyone else who gave her the pictures.
4. You write that I know that Bruce has been returning safely to Guadalupe every year. Ah, why do you think I don't know that? I have always stated that the second generation tags, that Bruce and Bite Face were fitted with, have fallen off and there is little damage to their fins. I even put a picture of Bruce into the blog, that shows him after he lost the transmitter.
5. I let others bash you? Well, for one, how can I control what others do? Actually, I'm trying to tell others to
keep an open mind. I wrote the following in my
blog
"
All the tagging done in a year, may cause harm to a few
hundred sharks. Again, that's a few hundred, vs. 30-100 MILLION sharks
killed annually.
If the protests succeed and there is no more tagging, at best we could
save a few sharks every year and make life easier (no tags, no deformed
dorsal fin etc.) for a few more. On the other hand, we could also loose
valuable data, that may help save sharks. You decide, if it is
worthwhile to focus on this. Personally I think we need to weigh the
importance of the data collected against the potential harm to the
sharks."
My beef with you has always been about lifting the sharks out of the
water and not improving your methods. It's no longer necessary to lift
them out, as
Dr. Domeier has shown. I have defended your early work by
saying that the Wright brothers didn't invent an A380 either. Pictures like this should only come from the past by now.
Do you have any idea how many people bash me, for not outright condemning anything you do? I hurt your feelings by not defending everything you do and mentioning your name every time I write about something that was connected to you. The blog you are referring to in your comment was about the real celebrities at Guadalupe Island, the sharks, not you.
5. I am acting like you don't exist? How can you say I act like you don't exist and on the other hand criticize what I say about you?
If you start to improve your methods of catching sharks and attaching the transmitters, I will give you credit for that. If you start giving some credit to the researchers who are doing the actual studies, instead of promoting yourself as the shark expert, I promise to write an entire blog, promoting the new and improved Chris Fischer.
Cheers,
Martin Graf
CEO
Shark Diver
About Shark Diver.
As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at staff@sharkdiver.com.
Journey to the South Pacific / IMAX / MacGilivray Freeman Films 
Life / BBC
Hubble 3D / IMAX 3D
Black December /Gurney/Discovery 
