The Manta Network-Redux

This came in the mail today, thought we would pass it on:

As a leading dive industry member, I am sure you share my concern for the oceans and all their inhabitants. Not only do we depend on the ocean for our survival, but your livelihood is directly linked to its health. Its protection should be a primary concern of all those that enjoy its beauty, especially those in the dive industry.

The Manta Network was founded with a goal to engage the dive industry in the conservation and protection of manta and mobula rays. We invite you to become part of our Dive Industry Advocacy program. Your participation will have a significant impact on the protection of one of the ocean’s most magnificent creatures.

If you would like to become a dive industry manta advocate please respond to this email or register online by selecting “Industry Advocate below.”

We will send you a special package that will include information on how you and your staff can help. In the kit you will also find a counter display with literature to give to your customers. Please make sure you send your mailing address so we can quickly mail your kit.

You can start today by printing and displaying our announcement about our April manta expedition to Panama. See attachment.

We look forward to your support of our efforts to learn more about and to protect the remaining manta and mobula rays before it is too late. It would be a great pity if future generations of divers could not share our excitement about diving with the magnificent manta rays.

Yours truly,

Diane Wells
Dive Industry Liaison

P.S. Please take the time to respond today as this will be the only request we will send.

Register Online: [Industry Advocate]

Also see: [Panama Manta Expedition, April 5-11, 2008]

Giant Squids - Dosidicus Gigas - Killing Off Salmon?

Scott Cassell, one of the foremost authorities on the Giant Squid sent in this article today.

If you follow recent events off the shores of California and Oregon talk is squarely centered around the imploding salmon runs. In almost every major river and tributary salmon runs this season are off by almost 80%. That's a stunning statistic.

At the same time giant squid populations are surging up and down the coast and in areas where squids were once only sighted periodically.

What is happening out there?

"His years in the water with the animal has convinced Cassell that the West Coast squid population is booming. He speculates that the animal's increased numbers coincide with a drop in its predators, tuna and sharks, which are commercially hunted. Cassell isn't alone in his belief. The Pacific Fishery Management Council, which has authority to set restrictions on commercial and sport fishing, identified Humboldt squid as one of 46 possible reasons salmon are disappearing".

"Cassell said he believes the squid are preying on the salmon, although one study showed no evidence of that. Another theory suggests the voracious squid have disrupted the food chain, which is contributing to the salmon's decline."

Clearly something is happening off our coasts with salmon being the "canaries in the coal mine". The giant squid nexus seems plausible from a guy like Scott Cassell.

Island of The Great White Shark Documentary

ISLAND OF THE GREAT WHITE SHARK – UPCOMING SCREENINGS

“Island of the Great White Shark" - RTSea Production's recently completed documentary chronicling the great white sharks of Isla Guadalupe, Baja and the ongoing shark research taking place there, can be seen in upcoming screenings, with filmmaker Richard Theiss in attendance at the following aquariums:

March 30th - Aquarium of the Pacific "Divers Day", Long Beach, CA

May 5th - New England Aquarium, Boston, MA

June 18th - National Aquarium, Baltimore, MD

Stay tuned, more aquarium screenings are being scheduled and the film will be available on DVD shortly.

"A primal scene of unearthly beauty. Excitement and information pepper this film." - David McGuire, Sea Stewards

“Beautiful videography, good graphics and information.” - Dr. Bob Hueter, Mote Marine Center for Shark Research

"Richard Theiss has a unique ability to communicate science, conservation and entertainment." - Ania Budziak, PADI Project Aware Foundation

“We absolutely loved the film.” - Liz and Kevin Sullivan, Pacific Explorers Dive Club

Paul Watson Shot? Wait a Minute!

Something is not right about the latest action on the Southern Ocean. At hand claims and even a video showing what looks like a shot through a bullet proof vest worn by Sea Shepherd's Captain Paul Watson.

In this video he claims to have taken a direct round to the heart region. For all intents it looks like he has, with the bullet passing deeply into the vest only to be stopped dramatically by a shield he was wearing below the vest.

The media are having a field day with this.

Now let's break this one down.

1. The shooter, presumably firing from the Nisshin Maru, was in a concealed position when he fired that shot. Not one of the Sea Shepherd crew maintain they saw anyone with a rifle on board. So let's assume concealment as being out in the open would have given the shooter away.

2. Both the Nisshin Maru and the Sea Shepherd vessel were underway at the time and on moving seas. The shooter had to adjust not only for random waves and distance, but from a concealed position had to account for wind, also assuming that Watson was moving around as well at the time.

3. To make that one shot, and were not talking about a stationary book depository in Dallas, the odds are almost incalculable that the shooter got Waston directly over the heart with just one single round. It's a simply amazing shot.

Now for the real question, "why?"

Why would the Japanese government risk everything by trying to kill Captain Paul Watson?

Clearly had this shot killed Watson they would have lost everything they have worked for to date with the International Whaling Commission and with world opinion. Watson would have become a Whale Martyr and whaling as we know it would stop due to unprecedented pressure from outraged group worldwide. What was in it for Japan to even attempt to try and kill this extremely high profile whale activist in full sight of multiple cameras and witnesses?

They did use flash bang grenades and it was caught on tape, but the single shot?

Kevlar and Ballistic Vests

To penetrate a Kevlar or ballistic vest from a distance you need at least a 7.62 mm round. Obvious choices would be military rounds with some sort of armor piercing capability. That is assuming the shooter knew that Watson was wearing a bullet proof vest in the first place. Obviously from the penetration the shooter understood this, otherwise this kind of round would have passed through Watson and rattled around the ship.

The Point?

We'll be the first to say that what Japan is doing is wrong. Whaling should end. What Watson and Sea Shepherd have done with this claim is raise the credibility stakes of both sides to an absolute win or lose scenario.

Japan and Waston should call for an independent commission to look at both the vest and the recovered spent round to determine where it came from and what type of round it was. If it is proven that the round was fired by the Japanese they should be forced to end whaling. This was attempted murder, nothing more or less.

If Paul Watson made this story up, the credibility of Sea Shepherd will be forever lost, their status as a non profit should be pulled, and Sea Shepherd should go away.

Time will tell, but probably not the shooter in this case, whoever it was.

Whale Wars-Captain Paul Watson Claims to be Shot

Just when you thought this years Southern Whale hunt could not get any more dramatic, there's word today that Captain Paul Watson of Sea Shepherd has been shot. He's unharmed...and talking to the media.

In fact there's also video.

What prompted the shooting, according to those on site, was a rotten butter attack by the crew of the Sea Shepherd upon the Japanese whale fleet...yes, a rotten butter attack.

One question, why was Paul Watson wearing a Kevlar vest in the first place?

CNN-Japanese whalers and anti-whaling activists clashed in the waters near Antarctica on Friday, with each side offering conflicting accounts of a confrontation with violent overtones.

The official said a whaling crew member threw a device that explodes with a warning bang to discourage the activists. The crew member threw the device after activists threw a foul-smelling acid found in rotten butter toward the whaling ship, the official said.

Watson was shot, the group said, and two others were injured. A 35-year-old from Australia hurt his hip trying to dodge a flash grenade, and a 33-year-old Australian received bruises after a flash grenade exploded near him.

An official the Japanese Fisheries Agency said the Sea Shepherd began throwing smelly chemicals toward the whaling vessel around 12:36 p.m. local time. About an hour later, the official said, a safety officer aboard the whaling vessel threw a ball that explodes to produce a warning bang.

"They might have mistaken that was a shooting sound," the official said. "We are not shooting a gun or anything at them."

Wildlife Moment-Surprise!

27-year-old Israeli tourist Novon Mashiah almost discovered the hard way how far you can push a saltwater croc in Australia.

"One minute I was leaning over the boat teasing it for a picture. The next minute it burst out of the water with incredible speed ... its jaws fully open. I was shaking,'' he said.

Now, one might say this is Darwinism at play here, or is this something else?

With the rapid explosion of wild animal encounter shows like the Croc Hunter and others is the public being shown a side of wildlife encounters that eventually lead to events like these?

China-Rare Rainmaker Fish

Last week a rare if not almost extinct fish was celebrated by local fishermen...and then promptly sold and eaten.

Turns out the swim bladder (not the whole fish) is worth it's weight in gold and this particular fish species called the Bahaba flavolabiata has not been seen in this region of China for almost 50 years.

The fisherman who caught this rare "Last of the Mohicans" is set to make almost 1 million Yuan or close to $150,000 US.

In April 2007, a fisherman in Zhanjiang City, Guangdong province, netted a 49-kg Chinese bahaba and sold to a restaurant for 580,000 yuan. The restaurant cooked the fish meat but has kept the dried fish maw (mouth), tagging it at 2 million yuan with words "not for sale."

It is into this environment that the worldwide shark fin market is pouring the oceans sharks into. With scarcity-pricing for rare animals used for just their maws, fins and swim bladders runs at all time highs.

Whale Vomit Gold Rush U.K

Gotta love the Brits. Last week two gents discovered gold on a local beach in the form of 110 pounds of Sperm Whale vomit, and they decided to keep it.

Turns out this disgusting substance called Ambergris is used in France (where else?) for rare perfumes.

Naturally we thought this was as nasty as it gets, grubbing around on a beach in search of greasy balls of whale vomit...that was until we discovered how much these guys stand to make off the stuff-$500,000 pounds, or in depressed American dollars a whopping $996.973.12!

Sean, from Penrhyndeudraeth (try saying this without loosing a tooth) in North Wales, said the pair were on the beach walking a dog at nearby Criccieth when they made their discovery.

"We just came across this white, like waxy lump. I said to Ian: 'It looks a bit like whale sick. He had never heard of anything like it," he said.

O.K, so maybe they have something there, and with the price of homes here in California hovering around $800,000, do not be surprised if you see one of the Shark Diver crew out on that beach in the near future. Too bad this story didn't hit on April 1st.

Hammerhead Central-The Cape

Turns out this week there's one place in the USA that has more Hammerheads per square inch than anywhere else...and you can blame Osama bin Laden for the fact you cannot go and see them.

One of the stranger rules of unintended consequences we have seen in a while.

9.11 = shark protections = more sharks.

"The discovery of Cape Canaveral's importance as a shark nursery could help shed new light on the global decline of the ocean's top predators. Scientists are desperate to know more about the lifecycles of large sharks such as hammerheads -- one of the most vulnerable species to dying on fishing lines. By identifying crucial nursery grounds, they hope to improve federal management of large coastal sharks."

Young hammerheads and other juvenile sharks got a de facto sanctuary when the Coast Guard closed off the ocean surrounding Kennedy Space Center after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

DEMA Bahamas Shark Event

DEMA (The Diving Equipment and Marketing Association) is deeply saddened by the recent events that lead to a diver's death after participating in a shark dive in the Bahamas last weekend. This tragic incident is an unusual occurrence, yet serves as a reminder of the importance of following guidelines put in place for specialty dives such as shark diving.

Shark diving has been practiced safely and successfully for the last 25 years without major incident. Guidelines were formalized in 2001 by the Global Interactive Marine Experiences Council in the "Florida Guidelines and Management Programs for Interactive Marine Experiences" which are available industry-wide. These guidelines include: safe environmental practices; staff training for interactive marine experiences; marine animal feeding practices; participant preparation and education; marine animal conservation efforts; safety considerations for interactive marine experiences; location of interactive marine experience program sites; risk management and awareness; establishing an emergency procedures plan; and appointing an administrative officer and safety officer for interactive marine experience programs.

DEMA strongly encourages dive operators to review their interactive marine experience practices to ensure their adherence to the guidelines that have been established to reduce the likelihood of an accident happening in the future. While any type of diving inherently involves some level of risk, pursuing safe, recreational diving experiences will greatly reduce that risk. This particular incident last weekend appears to have been an extreme form of the sport involving some of the more aggressive shark species.

For more information about interactive marine experiences, or to receive a copy of the safety guidelines, please contact DEMA at 858-616-6408.

DEMA, the Diving Equipment & Marketing Association, is an international organization dedicated to the promotion and growth of the recreational scuba diving and snorkeling industry. For more information on DEMA, call 858-616-6408 or visit www.dema.org

Mythbusters Set To Swim With Sharks

Each episode of the Discovery Channel show MythBusters takes on multiple myths and uses modern-day science to show what's real and what's fiction. One myth the MythBusters will investigate during the Shark Week episode they will shoot in the Bahamas next week will be the idea that magnets can control sharks' movements.

This drawing by MythBusters co-host Jamie Hyneman shows how he intends to examine the concept. Basically, he has designed a system where he will attach two electromagnets to a shark's nose and rig the system so that he can send tiny little electric pulses to the magnets to activate them. The idea is that if the magnet on the shark's left side is activated, it will turn right, and vice-versa. The shark will not be harmed during the experiment, which will be conducted under the supervision of a marine biologist.

Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET News.com

Death in the Bahamas-Shark Related?

The shark attack story coming from the Bahamas continues to evolve and as expected the industry has broken into two distinct camps. One look at either the Wet Pixel site or Scuba Board will give you a clear look at how high emotions are surrounding this unfortunate death.

As the hard facts coming from this event have all but ceased, speculation on what caused this divers death have ranged from outright shark attack, to embolism brought about from an uncontrolled ascent.

Even the dive sites location story line has changed from Tiger Beach to a new local somewhat prophetically called "The end of the world".

There are some hard facts that we do know:

1. The Bahamas Dive Association did send a Cease and Desist letter in 2006-7 to all operations in the Bahamas referring to non caged encounters with macro predators. They went as far as specifically identifying the species that might put divers at risk. It was clear and concise. There are some who might argue the legal weight of this C and D, but the fact remains we, as an industry who advertise, book and take divers to this pristine dive site were put on notice.

2. Jimmy Abernathy had no cages on site at the time of this shark attack.

Here's the official letter from the BDA in 2006-7:

Dangerous Shark Species Interaction Warning Letter

To: All Dive Operations Conducting Questionable Dangerous Species Shark Interactions in the Waters of The Islands of The Bahamas

From: Bahamas Diving Association, Official Recognized Diving Association for 36 members of The Islands of The Bahamas

To Whom It May Concern;

We have become aware that some dive operators have chosen to disregard standard safe-diving practices as it relates to interactions with Tiger Sharks and other potentially dangerous species of Sharks, in various locations within the waters of The Islands of The Bahamas.

The Bahamas Diving Association endorses and suggests all dive operators in the legal waters of The Islands of The Bahamas follow GMAC guidelines for conducting potentially dangerous marine-life and human interactions.

In such, we recommend all operations immediately cease and desist conducting open-water non-cage Shark Diving experiences with known species of potentially dangerous Sharks, such as Tiger Sharks, Bull Sharks, Hammerhead Sharks, Lemon Sharks & Mako Sharks.

Species that we have determined safe to interact with outside of a cage are Caribbean Reef Sharks, Black Tip Sharks, Black-Nose Sharks, Nurse Sharks and Silky Sharks.

Many operators in the Bahamas conduct shark diving interactions with ‘safe’ species, and have done so for over 25 years without a major incident. However, due to the potential negative behavioral reactions of Tiger Sharks, Bull Sharks, Hammerhead Sharks, Lemon Sharks & Mako Sharks, purposeful feeding or interaction with these species without a proper shark cage is highly discouraged.

The Bahamas Dive Association (BDA) would be glad to help communicate industry-standard safe shark interaction practices, should you need any assistance with your procedures.

This letter will be copied to the Bahamas Government, plus all diving insurance and training agencies serving The Islands of The Bahamas.

Signed,

Mr. Neal Watson
President
Bahamas Diving Association

Attack on Tiger Beach - Diver Dead

Editors Note 9.27.2008: Many emails have come in regarding this post and a few others that incorrectly suggest facts and site locations for the unfortunate shark attack on Mr.Groh this spring.

In defense of these posts we offer the following. This blog is a real time blog. As events happen, and stories unfold we post information as it happens. You will note the early posts regarding this event were dated almost to the hour of the day of the event.

These posts came from Coast Guard reports, first hand reports from vessels in the area listening in to radio traffic and no amount of general confusion from all media sources.

What is not in contention is the fact this attack (as we covered later) did not happen at Tiger Beach and did not involve a Tiger shark. What is also not in contention is the fact that Jimmy Abernathy himself did nothing to clarify the details of the attack, during the event, or after the event.

At no time did he or any representative of his operation come forth to the media or to other operations in the region to explain the attack, how it happened, where it happened, and what animal was involved. This lead to wild speculation by the media, and a general polarization of the shark diving industry in the region.

We maintain that industry leadership would dictate that Jimmy Abernathy would at some time and in some manner explain this event and to take responsibility away from the shark which quite naturally became the villain in this entirely sad affair. Today and after some 1500 media stories and blog posts later all we have are some grainy images and whispers of a story mainly from supporters of Jimmy Abernathy.

Our blog posts will remain as look at the unfolding of a commercial shark diving shark attack, how the media responded to it, how members of our shark diving community responded to it and the unfortunate aftermath.

Additionally a small group of Wetpixel friends have decided to make an issue of this blog and anyone who would speak out about this diver death. Sadly they have failed to realize how this tragic event has impacted the global shark diving industry and instead are clearly focused on reputation saving and smearing campaign.

Original Post:

A diver with Jimmy Abernathy's Dive Adventures in South Florida was bitten on Sunday by an alleged Bull Shark and then flown via Coast Guard helicopter to Florida.

Last year the Bahamas Dive Association sent a cease and desist to all shark diving operations on this site warning them to have shark cages on this dive site. It is unknown if Jimmy Abernathy had shark cages at this site at the time.

Diver Dead After Shark Attack

FT. LAUDERDALE (CBS4) ― A diver bitten by a shark on Sunday has died from his injuries.

The Coast Guard said they dispatched a HH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Miami after receiving a mayday call from a crewmember aboard the Sheerwater, a commercial diving boat out of Riviera Beach, around 10 a.m.

The chopper located the dive boat about 50 miles east of Ft. Lauderdale and hoisted a 50-year old man onboard. It then airlifted him to Jackson Memorial Hospital.

The boat's crew said the man was diving early in the morning when he was bitten by a shark. They were unable to tell what type of shark was involved; they said it swam off before they could make an identification.

Jimmy's last blog post from his website describing a Tiger Expedition last week reads:

"We also witnessed and photographed Don Kehoe loosing his Aquatica housing with two strobes and a Canon 5D to “Angel” (Tiger Grabbing his camera from his hands). Although we looked for the camera for two hours we had no luck. We have now renamed the special section of Tiger Beach “Kehoe’s Canon Reef”. The camera is insured by DAN which is a very reputable equipment insurance company and hopefully they will take care of this for him. He was very upset to say the least, but also very happy that the shark didn’t get his hand. If you haven’t already insured your camera before the trip, please do so now. You never know what may happen."

White Shark Cafe TOPP's

In the news again-the team from TOPP's with more revealing data about the Great Whites of the Pacific. While the focus of this study is mostly on three populations off the California coast, our very own Isla Guadalupe population is on the same migration track.

Thanks in most part to the tracking efforts of Marine CSI we know that Guadalupe populations also join coastal populations off shore each season.

" The sharks spend months at the cafe, an area of about 600 square miles, but nobody knows what they're doing there. Even stranger, they dive up and down more than 1,300 feet every 10 minutes. They repeat the cycle over and over for days, a behavior they don't exhibit anywhere else."

This new data is perhaps some of the most exciting tracking data to come from these populations in a decade of research.

Tiger Beach Bahamas - Emergency Evac

There's word this morning from the Coast Guard navel station in Miami that a "survivor" has been airlifted from a commercial shark diving operation at Tiger Beach in the Bahamas.

While the details are thin right now the Coast Guard have confirmed that this was indeed a shark attack. They have also characterized the situation as "very serious".

We'll keep you updated.

Shark Cages: Worldwide Distribution

There's an old saying in the shark world "You only get one chance".

With that in mind Shark Diver has just shipped another complete set of shark cages...destined this time for the Caribbean.

Here's three reasons why we build and ship more shark cages than anyone else in the industry:

1. Quality. When it comes to commercial grade shark cages and divers well being we take care of business. "Safety" is not just a commercial tag line on our websites. In fact-our fabrication teams must also dive in the very cages they build for us. It's unique way to ensure quality control

2. Flotation. Floating cages need to be stable. That's why we engineered a flotation system that has been adopted by 99% of the entire Isla Guadalupe white shark fleet. Gone are the days of Home Depot PVC pipes that degrade in a marine environment. If you're going to trust your life to PVC you are working with the wrong crew. Our flotation systems come from a marine environment and are designed to last.

3. Shark Crews. All Shark Diver cages also come with seasoned shark crews to help you get the most out of your shark cage systems. We have traveled from Alaska to Mexico, the Caribbean and beyond with our private shark cages. Our cages are even currently in use in Tahiti.

Safety, Integrity, and Adventure. That's Shark Diver cage systems.

Isla Guadalupe Shark Science

Mauricio Hoyos, CICIMAR's white shark researcher at Isla Guadalupe, has one of the world's toughest jobs.

As the very first Mexican lead white shark tagging project at the island, his work will be the foundation of other projects to come. Already new, much broader, projects have been suggested with a strong chance of one starting in the fall of 2008.

This will be Maurico's final season at the island before he publishes his paper on the local movement patterns of gws.

From his groundbreaking work we discovered that gws feed almost exclusively on the endemic Guadalupe Fur Seal during the early morning and sunset hours.

It's not easy camping on this ancient volcanic island month after month, but with determination and a whole lot of help from some friends, he has become a local legend out there:

Megaladon-Huge Shark

Once a along time ago, about 16 millions years, our blue planet was infested with 52 foot long-40 ton white sharks. These massive predators, called Megladon, were themselves feeding on critters three to four times that size which had plated armor on the sides.

Man, don't you wish you had a titanium cage and a time machine right about now?

Anyway, we know these beasties existed because, like so called modern white sharks, they shed their teeth faster than you can pump nickels into a Vegas slot machine.

Those teeth fell to the bottom of the ocean where divers are still finding them today. One of our divers who joined at at Isla Guadalupe in 2003 showed us an 8 inch Meg tooth that was still sharp enough to cut steak, we know because we tried. Here's a video of a Meg tooth hunt sucess:

Shark Diving "Blue Wilderness"

One of our blog fans sent us this link and video from a company in South Africa called Blue Wilderness . We told you about these guys last week. Here's the quote from their travel blog:

"Blue Wilderness does something a little different. They let you actually scuba dive with the sharks. That means no cage. No protection. No sh*t. Tiger sharks are what they’re looking for here. They’re big. 8-10 meters and they have stripes like, you guessed it, a tiger. More abundant are Black Tips which are much smaller, and have black tips on their fins. There’s also Whale Sharks, which are as big as a…you get the picture."

O.K so not the most eloquent description of a shark diving company, but heartfelt. The crew here at Shark Diver were impressed with the Washing Machine Drum Chum Machine, now that's cool...and so is this video:

Aliens at the Gate?

The Earth is mostly covered by oceans, we're a blue planet.

For a shark diving company with a cool blog this pretty much gives us an unlimited supply of items to cover, like, for example this latest weird news coming out of NOAA.

NOAA has a series of deepwater microphones listening for any underwater sounds they can hear. These listening stations have recently heard "strange noises" in our oceans.

But don't take our word for it, click this link and have a listen yourself. We're not even going to try a speculate what this sound might be...O.K, maybe aliens?

Invasive Species-American Style

While we're on the subject of Crazy Invasive Fish Species (CIFS) and what to do about them, we would be amiss if we didn't introduce you to the Asian Carp.

Now you might be asking yourself as we did, what's up with all these Asian Invasion Fish?

We have no idea.

Anyway, this carp, (from Asia) is also known as the Flying Carp and basically it has completely taken over half of America. Really.

Now here's where it gets interesting. Unlike our friends in the U.K who are all but crying over the Giant Snakehead invasion, and don't get us wrong, that's pretty scary. On this side of the pond, good old American know how, fueled no doubt by Coors Light, has come up with a novel way to deal with the problem, and yes, it has something to do with weapons.

Let us introduce you to the American answer to Invasive Species:

Giant Snakehead Invasion!

Pulled off the Internet and on to your desktop this morning...and we're not making this up.

What you are looking at is a nasty little invasive species of predatory fish from Asia called the Giant Snakehead.

The problem with this critter is what it eats, pretty much everything in sight. Naturally the good fisherfolks in the U.K do not want this fish in their waters and were dismayed when someone caught about a two feet long specimen last week.

Here's where it gets interesting:

"Giant Snakeheads caused chaos to indigenous fish and the environment when they were found living in rivers and lakes in the U.S. in 2002. Snipers with high-powered rifles even set up watch to shoot the fish as they crawled ashore and entire lakes were poisoned to get rid of them."

God bless America, take heed U.K people, we have plenty of high powered red necks with guns willing to come to your country, drink beer, and shoot fish off your banks...just give us the word!

SharkDiver.Com and the Media

When you have a shark diving company like ours you get hit with media requests almost daily.

Recently we just completed a three part article for a German Magazine due out in April. The trick with working with the media is credibility. Never do anything that makes you, the sharks, or your operation look like an idiot. This is just Media 101.

That's a trick here is most media sources come to you with a basic Discovery Channel understanding of how sharks work. It's our job to introduce them to an expanded view of things.

In all media is fun to work with and we have been blessed to work with some of the greats over the years producing what amounts to a massive amount of positive press for both us and the sites we operate in.

After all, we're on the front lines of not only shark research, as is the case of our Isla Guadalupe site, but if we say so ourselves, we run a pretty cool little operation as well.

Tiger Shark Killer Charged in South Africa

In a quick reaction to unprecedented pressure from groups world wide South African authorities raided the home and then charged a man today for the killings of 8 Tiger sharks.

Aliwal Shoal Marine Protected Area on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast was the site of the recent shark slaughter, witnessed by shark eco tour operations and surfers.

"Conservationists are furious not only because is it illegal to catch tiger sharks in the protected area, but Aliwal Shoal is one of the top dive sites in the world."

As we commented in our blog on this subject a week ago, Marine Protected Areas are the key stone to protecting sharks. As unofficial site guardians, shark diving companies are often the first to report misdeeds at the hands of those who would harm sharks for either sport or profit.

The staff of Shark Diver remain committed to ongoing reporting of these important stories. With sharks being slaughtered by the millions each year and populations falling worldwide it might well be these few protected areas that save entire species in the years to come...if we can protect the sharks in them.

5 Questions with Ethan Gordon

We tracked down famed underwater shooter and Editor at Large Ethan Gordon (hat tip image) to get his take on underwater photography and the future of his industry:

1. UW photography has changed from film to digital and with it an entire industry, your take?

Digital photography has definitely "upped" the game. Now amateurs can accomplish what only the pros could do before. However, this also works to the advantage of the pros - we can now do things we never thought possible before. I think it has also been great for diving in general - there are now lots of divers who are enthralled by their point and shoot digital camera results - this keeps them diving. Remember the days when people used to travel with a bag full of film, only to return home to find out they had their camera set wrong all week?

2. As harder dive sites and rarer animals are recorded at a seemingly record pace, are we running out of new things to shoot?

It's getting harder to find new things to shoot, but we'll probably never run out of those. On the other hand, this might be a good time to take a new look at sites and creatures we've taken for granted.

3. Innovation vs status quo, what's your take on the new generation of UW shooters?

I think there is a new, very talented generation of UW shooters out there. They're tech savvy, creative and hungry to shoot.

4. Latest promising tech for shooters, do you have a favorite?

The new generation of digital TTL systems will revolutionize UW photography once again. Gone will be the days of having to think about your aperture and distance to subject. The electronics are almost there... maybe they've already arrived.

5.Crystal ball time-what's the future of UW photography and magazines that serve these images?

A sad reality hit me recently when I was presenting a slide show to a local Audubon chapter. I was showing slides of sharks and talking about the woes of shark finning. I was shocked when I realized that almost no one in the room had ever heard of this atrocity. The group was largely made up of non-divers, but I falsely assumed that this was a known problem.

The underwater photography out there in magazines today is the best ever. But, if we want to see it continue... the underwater environment continue to be spectacular, then everyone that subscribes to a dive magazine has to convince their friends (non-divers) to start to take an interest too - before it's too late. And, every diver that doesn't support the mission of these magazines by subscribing, well, shame on them.

TOPP's White Sharks

You gotta hand it to the TOPP's people (Tagging of Pacific Predators). They recently announced new findings from over 100 high tech sat tags placed on white sharks all over the Pacific in 2006. This last year was one of the most ambitious tagging projects on record:

"Every winter the sharks leave California's coast for one of two destinations. A minority of sharks head to the Hawaiian Island chain. The majority, however, congregate in a part of the open ocean halfway from California and Hawaii, 1,300 miles from land. Researchers have yet to uncover what attracts the shark to this particular spot. During these journey the sharks will occasionally dive up to a quarter-mile beneath the surface and stay at this depth, where light barely penetrates, for hours. On returning to California, the sharks display remarkable site-fidelity, always heading to the same area of coast they left before. “These animals appear again and again at very specific areas,” Salvador Jorgensen says, a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station and the Monterey Bay Aquarium".

Isla Guadalupe island located in Mexico plays into this ongoing migration drama every year with animals returning every season after visiting the same sites as their California cousins. Making the Pacific a very small body of water after all.

Tiger Sharks-Aliwal Shoal Thomas Peschak

Thomas Peschak, photographer and shark eco friend sent us an update on the Tiger killings at Aliwal Shoal today. Turns out the dead animal count is rising every day, we're now at 8 dead animals.

"Less than 2 weeks after returning from a trip to photograph my favorite tiger sharks at the Aliwal Shoal Marine Protected Area off South Africa's east coast for a Africa Geographic magazine feature, my friend Mark Addison of Blue Wilderness Dive Expeditions called me with some devastating news.

A few days ago a young fishermen who should know better caught and killed three tiger sharks within the MPA and landed them openly in broad daylight. Tiger sharks are a protected species within the Aliwal MPA as they are the main attraction for thousands of tourists who come from across the world to dive the shoal and see these sharks. One dead tiger shark might fetch a once off payment of no more than $50-100 dollars for the fisherman, but alive that same shark might be worth in excess of $10 000 every year in marine eco-tourism.

Further investigations revealed the sobering news that a further five tiger sharks were killed the week before. Shark diving tourism at Aliwal shoal is one way to sustainably utilize our ocean resources in a non-consumptive manner and in the process create much needed employment for hundreds of people in the tourism and hospitality industry along this section of South Africa's coast. As this recent incident has demonstrated marine law enforcement at the Aliwal Shoal MPA is practically non-existant at present and poachers are able to operate with impunity from arrest or prosecution. If the sharks of Aliwal shoal are to remain a model of non-consumptive utilization of South Africa's marine wildlife heritage then the government, NGO's and tourism operators must combine forces and act quickly to stamp out these reckless, selfish and destructive acts that could destroy one of the world's true last shark paradises in just a matter of months."

India's Cage Diving Industry DOA

India, the planets fastest growing population and economy has reached a crises point with rampant, unregulated shark finning off it's shores.

As reported by the Daily Star "At least 50 shark processing centres have sprung up along the South Western Coast, employing over 2000 fishermen".

Once again sharks are being harvested for the ballooning fin market and the home cure market which more often than not is driven by hear-say and bogus science. Anyone remember the anti-cancer shark pill craze of the 80's-90's?

We are officially declaring India's cage diving industry DOA. If the global shark slaughter is not halted soon, by 2040 even finding sharks in any ocean will be a rare event. The only way to stop this slaughter is to show local populations another use for these magnificent animals and eco-tourism, so far, seems to be a leading contender.

US to Drop Hydrazine Bomb On Ocean

The Pentagon announced today that it will be trying to shoot down a "highly toxic" dying U.S. spy satellite somewhere into the ocean on March 5th, 2008.

They are worried that this bird will impact an area where humans live-due to the onboard cargo of Hydrazine.

"Hydrazine is highly toxic and dangerously unstable, especially in the anhydrous form. Symptoms of acute exposure to high levels of hydrazine in humans may include irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, dizziness, headache, nausea, pulmonary edema, seizures, coma, and it can also damage the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system. The liquid is corrosive and may produce dermatitis from skin contact in humans and animals. Effects to the lungs, liver, spleen, and thyroid have been reported in animals chronically exposed to hydrazine via inhalation. Increased incidences of lung, nasal cavity, and liver tumors have been observed in rodents exposed to hydrazine."

And that's just what WIKI says about this stuff. Obviously the folks in the Pentagon will not mention all the other super secret and potentially damaging chemicals on board for fear of mass panic on the land side of things. In fact they are even declining to mention what kind of bird this really is...which leaves us wondering along with about 7000 blogs nationwide, is this a Nuke Bird?

Obama vs Hillary

This has nothing to to with shark diving, so please excuse the break in format. It does have almost naked women in it. If you happen to be a Bikini Loving Politico read on.

With the GOP side pretty much wrapped up (Mc Cain) we look towards the Dems and the heated contest between Obama and Hillary.

Here's why you should vote for Obama:

1. The Obama Crush Girls

Pretty much anywhere you go in L.A, New York, San Francisco, Florida and yes even Texas, you'll spot an "OCG".

Simply put, Hillary does not enjoy this kind of hot support. She's completely lacking the kind of bounce that Obama seems to attract. She cannot get the heft, the lift, the milkshakes, the...

O.K, enough of the grade school shots. Seriously speaking, this guys the real deal and it looks like he's going all the way. Look out America, in November it's going to be a show down between the 74 year old Mc Cain and the 44 year old Obama...should be an interesting November.

Now onto the video that launched 600,000,000 views on You Tube and swung our vote:

Shark Tech Cool

Or not. Turns out this is the week for the roll out of all manner of new underwater gadgets and gizmondo's designed to prove to the entire world two things:

1. That you Mr.Consumer have way too much money
2. That you Mr. Consumer will spend it an anything

Take for example the latest offering from Rinspeed sQuba.

Available at your local dive stores in and around 2015. This underwater electric car will take you anywhere in style. Estimated sticker price...$400,000.

Want to go white shark diving? Tiger diving? Whale sharks anyone?

O.K, so the concept is cool. But like we like to say with commercial shark diving operations...just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should.

Think we'll pass on this in favor of a ratty old BCD and dive computer that beeps too much, add a 50 square foot shark cage to that with a huge shark on the other side...now you got something!

Jamaican Shark Diving Adventures

Question: How can you tell the difference between an eco minded shark diving company and one that's perhaps...a bit lacking?

Answer: In today's website world anyone can make claims like "100% safety record", the fact is the consumer needs to digg a lot more than they do to discover the truth. Not all companies out there will admit serious and ongoing operational problems...even if it's the right thing to do.

In the case of these unrepentant yabbo's anyone with half a brain can see this is probably not the best of vacation ideas. Not only do you get a dorky looking pirate hat in Jamaica to go wrestle sharks, but chances are you'll be drunk in the process:

"See Pirates of the shark's cove and the rambunctious and hilarious Shark Show!" D'arrrr!

We'll say it again for anyone who cares to listen. "Sharks are magnificent animals, isn't it enough to just get to see them in their natural habitat?

The Muffin Man is Coming...and He's Pissed

This has nothing to do with the Muffin Man-sorry Richard. This has everything to do with another strange "Fish Rain" story reported in the small town of Guruvayur in India (where else).

We know some of you reading this will scream, Underwater Onion! and go back to your spread sheets, but wait, there's more:

"Late home-goers painter Babu and his friends felt something falling on their body along with raindrops while they were standing near the bus stop at Kandanassery. On a closer inspection, they found many two to two-and-a-half inch long fish writhing in the ground and road in the area."

Now if we were the painter "Babu", we'd be thinking "End of the world baby, George Bush was right!"

Shark Attack 500,000!

Four months ago the crew and divers of Shark Diver were treated to a rare and spectacular feeding event at our Isla Guadalupe white shark site. In this video-shot in part by CICIMAR shark researcher Mauricio Hoyos-a 15 foot Great White is ripping apart a 700lb elephant seal.

We wrapped the video up and stuck it on You Tube with Luke Tipple our dive operations manager as the front man. Much to our surprise this video just hit 500,000 views this morning. This kind of shark attack is a rare event at this site:

Shark Attacks at 20 Year Low

George Burgess, the world's top shark attack guy has described his latest shark attack data sets as ""spectacular".

He's been gushing to the media the fact that there had only been one fatality in 2007 resulting from a shark attack worldwide.

""The danger of a shark attack stays in the forefront of our psyches because of it being drilled into our brain for the last 30 years by the popular media, movies, books and television, but in reality the chances of dying from one are infinitesimal," Mr Burgess added."

The crew here at Shark Diver could not agree more with George.

Scuba Scooters

This is pretty much the dumbest idea to come down the pike since the invention of the UW Pager For Business Travelers.

Once again some science/business guy has come up with a way to get non divers down to an incredible 60 feet without knowing the first thing about scuba.

"This year the company will build 100 Scuba Scooter units from fibreglass moulds for a chain of international resorts in Malaysia and by next Christmas it's hoped a million of the units will be out for sale".

Shark Diver will soon be marketing the all new "HUD-view mask" guaranteed to warn you when a Scuba Scooter, driven by a Narc'd Malaysian, is weaving its way towards you.

Cue the Jaws music boys...

5 Questions with a Shark Diver

We caught up with Shark Diver Derek Heasley owner of the online underwater image site Sea Pixels. When he's not shooting some of the closest shark shots on the planet he's usually to be found in Ireland. He just stepped off a 14 day adventure in Socorros with the Nautilus Explorer.

1. What draws you to sharks?

They are shaped beautifully. Just look at the curves on them. They are streamlined for perfect hunting. I get a huge thrill taking images of this shape in motion. From a tiger sharks snout to a basking sharks mouth. There is a lot to see.

2. How hard is it to shoot sharks vs say, blennys?

Blennys are beautiful also.They generally stay in their own area and pop their little heads out to see whats going on.  Always a close background in the image.  Sharks are always on the prowl and open water is where their at.  Blennys tend to be easier by their nature.  Stay still and a 105mm macro lens, your sure to get a good image.  With sharks its a different ball-game.  I mostly stay still when the sharks are around and use either 10-22mm or 18-55mm lens.  If your shooting
upwards, watch out for your air bubbles in the frame.

3. Favourite shark story?

Coordinating a photo shoot with a great white and a diver. We noticed the great white sharks were coming up to try catch the bait on the surface. We were cage diving at Guadalupe with Shark Diver. But myself and Colin Ball from England arranged that when I give him the thumbs up sign, that he was to face me and put his two thumbs up while I captured the great white which was right behind him...We couldn't have planned it any more precise. I couldn't have laughed anymore while taking the images:)

4. Your take on shark finning and what to do about it?

Its like somebody coming up to you and cutting your arms and legs off.Then walking away.I think there must be a huge demand for these fins. You and I know that if you eat shark fins its no more going to cure you and make you healthy than it is if you drink pints of Guinness...If there was a pro active government agency in country's where shark finning takes place. A simple education system that categorically list benefits of NOT finning.  So education is key.

5. Where's your next dive adventure?

Well, I live in Ireland, so there is plenty of good diving here. Abroad, I think the Coco Islands for the Hammerheads.

Editors Note: We could not agree with you more!

Lava Lamps For Scuba Divers

You had to know this was coming. For all you desk bound scuba fans who would rather be out in the deep blue playing with all manner of big toothy sea critters, here is the ultimate Lava Lamp.

At $169 it gets you where you want to be...at least for 15 minutes. While the promotional video below will put you to sleep, we still think this is pretty cool, and hey, it's a hit in Japan!

O.K, cube dweller, back to $$work$$!

Minneapolis Shark Invasion!

If you happen to live in Minneapolis, first of all, our condolences to you. Second thing we wanted to say was, "Stay out of Minnehaha Creek, it's teeeming with Bull Sharks!"

No kidding, and you can file this one under WTF!?. According to this article we found on the Internet (and you have to believe everything you read on the Internet) there's something really sharky about this spring fed creek.

"After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, a report by Gulf marine scientists had warned that the enormous amount of pollution back-flushed into the Gulf of Mexico would cause many species of marine animals to either relocate or perish."

So a team of divers goes down and discovers this female Bull Shark under the ice, and still alive.

This, hands down, wins the "bizzare shark story of the week"...of course this could also be a very amusing Underwater Onion-Minnehaha Creek?

Georgia Aquarium-Calling Bullshit!

Let us be the first of what will probably be many people, eco-groups, and divers to call "Bull-Shit" when we see it.

Recently, the Georgia Aquarium announced to one and all-real live scuba diving experiences and snorkeling experiences with their much coveted Whale Sharks...part two.

You see, the first set of Whale Sharks they had in captivity died mysteriously and they just Fed Ex'ed in another set a few months ago.

Look, this is not the way to run an aquarium, and the good folks in Georgia should know this. Whale Sharks are a unique and amazing shark species. While we are all for wild encounters with these critters, aquarium dives are just plain wrong.

Fact: If you cannot even keep the Whale Sharks you have alive for more than a year, then you absolutely shouldn't be charging "Scuba Yabbo's" to go dive with them.

We had a feeling that something like this was going to happen, after all this corporate aquarium is sponsored by the Home Depot, and what do they know about sharks?

Karl Stanley Goes Big Time

Karl Stanley, owner of the private deepwater submarine in Honduras sent us a link to a new reality movie he's just completed. We have a feeling it's going to be a very popular movie. Before you watch this let us explain Karl to you.

He can be summed up in three words:

1. Genius
2. Real
3. Adventurer

In the end this is what life is all about. One man, one submarine, and a whole undersea world that no one has ever seen before. Think of him as the Columbus of his time...with a crazy sense of humor: