Belize Whale Sharks-Sea Horse Divers

There's a saying in the world of commercial shark diving "smaller is better". We're moving away for a moment from some of the larger operations out there to look at a local company that get's almost no press-Sea Horse Dive Shop Belize:

Join us in the months of March, April,May, and June when whale sharks are observed at the Gladden Split Area by divers and snorkellers.

This species, despite its enormous size, does not pose any significant danger to humans. It is a frequently cited example when educating the public about the popular misconceptions of all sharks as "man-eaters". They are actually quite gentle and can be playful with divers. Divers and snorkellers can swim with this giant fish without any risk apart from unintentionally being hit by the shark's large tail fin.

Editors Note: At $150 per diver per day - Whale shark encounters here are a "bargain".

What's With Piedmont California?

00:12:39 Avg. Time on Site

Local Address: XXXX

Site Avg: 00:01:34 (706.44%)

We have been very pleased at the growth of Underwater Thrills: Swimming With Sharks over the past 8 months. When this blog was first proposed we thought "Eh, another blog, who needs it?"

Turns out about 10,000 of you need it, each and every month. For that we are grateful, thanks sharkies. But there's one fan from Piedmont, California who's spending more time with us than might be considered "healthy". Our Google stats reveal this one person spent on average 706% longer on our blog site than any other person who visited this month.

Now we're pretty sure this person is not sitting by his computer with a big novelty #1 finger that says "Go Shark Diver!". If this is the case we want to meet you.

Just wanted to point out that summer is still here and Piedmont has loads of parks and trails to explore. Get out have some fun, enjoy the wilderness, and come back to us when your site visit average dips down about 650%.

We'll be here when you have had a chance to smell the roses. Go on, you can do it...

Shark Tourism-Rock and a Hard Place

Some horrific news today from South Africa as owner operators of several well known dive shops were confronted with the sight of tons of dead sharks this week.

South Africa's shark tourism is on the front lines in the ongoing issue of sustainable shark tourism vs shark meat and raw product use:

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

Many of the divers are international tourists who travel to South Africa specially to see sharks, which have been wiped out in other parts of the world.

But Tony Trimmel of the Kalk Bay Boat Owners' Association said commercial fishermen targeted sharks only when lucrative species like yellowtail and snoek were unavailable.

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

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

Like we said many months ago "It's a race between the raw product use of sharks and sustainable tourism". That's the Rock and the Hard place.

The same old Allegations-Fiji Diving Shark Blog

Editors Note: With little doubt one of the most concise voices in our industry for reasoned shark diving is the Fiji Shark Diving Blog. They remain passionate and well spoken advocates for both sharks and the industry:

As so often, the Shark Divers have started a thread and I would like to pick it up as follows.

Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa is a respectable institution and their Trademark, a coveted distinction for Tourism operators of that country. Among many other things, it implies that the people whose land, natural resources, labour, knowledge and culture are used for Tourism activities, actually benefit from Tourism.

Sound familiar?

Look now further than the Shark Reef Marine Reserve Project with its holistic approach to Conservation.

FTTA have decided to look into Shark Tourism in South Africa and have published this important position paper on the matter.

Before I unleash, let me categorically state that it is a good one: balanced, fair, unbiased, pragmatic, it explores the full scope of the issues at hand and draws the right conclusions. FTTA are the first ones to admit that they are no experts in Shark Tourism and carefully avoid taking any positions with respect to the usual controversies.

This of course is the way it should be and they need to be commended for that approach.

And yet, the usual allegations raise their ugly head unchallenged.

Let me try and sum up the current state of affairs, at least how most of us in the Shark Diving Industry see it. Yes I've already blogged about it but if left unanswered, these allegations will, and have already developed into Urban Legends, and then, the "Truth".

It's all about memetic Evolution - check it out, fascinating.

But first, lets get rid of the question whether Shark diving increases the risk of Shark incidents.

Duh?

Yes of course it does!

And so does swimming, surfing, spear fishing, whatever!

The simple reason for that is that Shark incidents have one precondition: Sharks and people have to be in the same place at the same time, that place being the Ocean. Equally obvious is the fact that there will be some correlation between the number of people frequenting the Sea and the number of incidents - thus, any increase in people implies an increase in risk.

This is so trivial, it is painful!

What to do?

Well, how about looking at the airline industry: aviation increases the risk of plane crashes (Hellooo.....). Confronted with such mind-boggling insights, do we run and close down the industry? Or, do we instead require that commercial airline operators conform to the strictest safety procedures possible?

This is precisely what has to be asked from us. And let me re-iterate that safety procedures will always remain species- and situation-specific and will always imply a judgment call by the operator.

Now, to the actual debate, this in order of increasing complexity.

Yes, many of us do use bait to attract the Sharks.

Although Shark diving in unbaited conditions is certainly possible, predictable encounters can only be expected where the species are resident (or maybe, territorial) - as in Grey Reefs and Silvertips; or, where the lay of the land, or special conditions aggregate the Sharks - as on the sea mounts in the eastern Pacific, during the yearly congregations of Whale Sharks in the Caribbean and Australia or at the cleaning stations of Thresher Sharks in the Philippines.

Other than that, one is left to the vagaries of chance encounters : great when conducting coral dives but just not quite good enough to justify mounting a commercial operation specifically targeting Sharks.

The issue this raises is that of Conditioning.

By that, one implies that luring in the Sharks will change their behavior - well, again, Yes........... Why otherwise would we bother doing it?

The natural behavior of most Sharks is not to approach divers unless specifically motivated to do so - and that's precisely what we are trying to achieve, to motivate them. Incidentally, in our specific case, we also try to condition our Sharks to follow a uniform and largely predictable routine and to stay away from the clients.

"Best practice" among cage diving operations apparently consists in just teasing, but never actually giving any food to the Sharks.

Were I a coral-hugger, I would immediately object that letting the Sharks waste precious energy on fruitless "hunts" is to be rejected as harmful to the animals. But of course, that would be totally besides the point - the point being that common wisdom has it that this will prevent the Sharks from associating humans with food via so-called positive reinforcement. We shall come on to that later.

Apparently, according to the FTTA paper (and news to me), some quarters even contend that just teasing, but never feeding the Sharks could even be regarded as negative conditioning: the frustrated animals will learn to avoid those situations.

Sound plausible to you? Would the cage divers use that technique and bother to schlepp along all that bait if they believed it would eventually chase away the Sharks?

C'mon........

Leaves Conditioning via Positive Reinforcement, the big no-no.

Yes, I confess, this is precisely what we do!

We reward the Sharks whenever they approach, very much in the hopes that over time, more and more of them will turn up for a meal - which of course, being smart Apex Predators, they do!
We do so in order to show them to our clients - as opposed to, as I shall never tire to repeat, Fishermen who do exactly the same thing in order to catch and then kill them.

Get the hint? Who has the way biggest, and most negative impact on the animals? Are we going to abolish fishing as a consequence? I wish!

But now, the saga continues: apparently, feeding the Sharks teaches them to associate humans with food.

It is never said expressis verbis, but the subliminal message is that the so conditioned Sharks will not only associate, no, they will learn to regard humans as food and then start devouring anybody chancing to enter the waters they live in.

All intuitively plausible - but is it really so?

I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Darwinist, so please allow me to cite the Great Man himself: "Vox populi, vox Dei, as every philosopher knows, cannot be trusted in science."

Why "humans"?

If we disregard the bait which is clearly the primary attractant and conditioning factor, is it not fair to assume that the strongest conditioning factor may well be the engine noise? Is it not so that some operators have learned to rev up the boat engines to "ring the dinner bell", and this with great success?

And if so, So What?

The "what" apparently is this.

This kind of signal, or even the mere presence of humans, are supposed to trigger a Pavlovian reflex: the Sharks will become excited, motivated and hungry and this will precipitate the abovementioned nefarious consequences, especially when no food is being offered.

And this is precisely the very point where Intuition is leading to Conjecture and Myth.

Nothing whatsoever, not the objective data about Shark incidents on, or in the vicinity of Shark feeding locations, nor the collective subjective perceptions of all Shark Diving Operators I've ever talked to supports in any way those allegations. This despite the fact that one would expect precisely that to happen, as a result of an increase of potential encounters and thus, risk - remember the first trivial argument?

To make an example, what we experience on our Shark Dive is this.

When we get to Shark Reef, we start by baiting the surface where the Trevallies, Rainbow Runners and Bohars (but never any Shark!) will hit the bait and, we believe, attract the Sharks to the resulting commotion. Upon getting into the water, we may, or may not, see some of our non-resident (at least not at the depth and location where we feed) animals: Tiger Sharks, Bull Sharks, Lemon Sharks and Nurse Sharks.

Have they been attracted by the engine noise? By the action at the surface? By us entering the water? Or did they just happen to be there anyway? Frankly, we don't know - yet. But we're working on it.

During the dive, the numbers of Sharks will increase as we continue feeding the big fish and later, the Sharks themselves. But once we decide to stop the feeding, the Sharks will retreat and disappear within minutes - not get frustrated and attack us in retaliation. This after close to ten years of positive reinforcement.

And when we go to Shark Reef without food, some Sharks may turn up for a quick cursory flyby but then disappear, never to be seen again.

Mind you, the above is merely our perception.

Interestingly enough, having once taken along an anti-feeding advocate and scientist, these very same observations did not dispel, but instead reinforce her reservations. As always, perceptions turn out to be highly subjective.

This can only be resolved by proper scientific research.
Remember the Scientific Method?

To the readers in general: watch this space!

To the colleagues amongst you.

Guys, we're in this together. This nonsense threatens all of us and needs to be stopped. We have the resources, animals, locations and opportunities enabling us to collect the relevant data. This may cost us some time and money, and we may well end up with answers we don't like - but if so, we will learn something new, as we should always be willing , and eager to do.
And we will get even better and safer in the process.

Let's do it - it's the only way forward.

Taiwan National Palace Museum: RTSea Blog Coverage

When it comes to shark conservation, one of the concepts that I have always stressed is the need for an international, combined strategy that addresses both government/business (the suppliers) and demand (the consumer). Much of the demand for shark products, particularly fins, comes from Asian countries and so, while many western countries support anti-finning regulations, attention must be paid to alter the cultural mindset of the largest shark product market.

The Humane Society International is doing just that, developing relationships with other organizations that can have an impact on Asian society. A great step forward was accomplished recently with their efforts to get Taiwan's National Palace Museum to stop serving shark fin soup. (Read press release.)

Congratulations to the Humane Society and their affiliate, the Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan (EAST) for their ongoing efforts to enlighten Asian peoples and cultural institutions to the tragic effects of commercial shark fishing/finning.

Since shark aqua farming is most likely a very remote prospect, then attention must be turned towards altering the basic demand for shark products. Working with the decision-makers is one important strategy, but you also have to get right to the source and eliminate demand.

Speaking of submarines and sharks...

What ever became of this ungainly beast featured on the CBS primetime show "Killer, Bloodthirsty, Eye of the Monster Killer"...or something to that effect?

This was the worlds first submarine shark. Loaded with a diver and capable of doing...well according to the crew not much, but heck it looked cool!

Isla Guadalupe-Submarine?

One of the hottest rumors sweeping through the 2008 season is the arrival of a private submarine sometime in October to Isla Guadalupe.

We'll be curious to see the bubble sub when it arrives. These items are fast becoming the hottest ticket for the wealthy:

Hat Tip: Born Rich

It is always great to own a yacht and have those parties by the deck. However, after a while, the yachts just get, well, monotonous and you need something more exciting. That is when U.S Submarines comes to your rescue. They have developed a sub for 2 people. Called the Triton 1000, it is lightweight, and can function as an additional feature to your existing yacht. You can just go ahead and deploy the sub from your medium-large yacht. If you still don’t own a yacht, you can attach the sub behind a truck or a SUV and just negate the need to buy a yacht. With excellent visibility and luxurious interiors, the pilot of the sub will have a very comfortable journey under the water. The submarine is built specifically for the enjoyment of piloting one and hence the operations are easy. At about $1.69 million, Triton 1000 may be a little too heavy on the pockets, but you can do what no other yacht owner can do, view corals and the amazing underwater life or just have a romantic sub-ride with your partner. Or just have a look at some of the most luxurious private submarines you could own. You may find that interesting as well!

Isla Guadalupe Trip Update 8.21.2008

How do you translate into Spanish the following -"Loads of sharks"

"Mas, mas, mas Tiburon!"

However you say it, we had it today at Isla Guadalupe. Captain Greg of the MV Horizon reports back three simply tremendous shark breaches with animals flying completely out of the water...much to the amazement of our divers.

Total tally for the day was 9-11 sharks with not a single rotation without them. Not bad considering.

We'll be pulling the hook at 6.00pm after a heavy dinner tonight and should find the vessel in port by 6.00pm tomorrow. Once again Isla Guadalupe amazed our divers, we cannot wait to see some of those images our divers shot and we'll be posting two complete diver trip reports next week-once they come in.

Junk-A Blog To Watch

15,000 plastic bottles and a Cessna 310 are all that hold together Junk
an intrepid duo who are raising awareness of ocean plastics by sailing to Hawaii in this most unlikely of vessels.

Here's a quick post from June:

Guadalupe Island is roughly 15 miles long and 4 miles wide. For the last 200 miles we’ve drifted practically due south toward it. Yesterday we were five miles and bearing down on the north point. “Which way do we go?” we asked each other. Going west meant faster traveling, but the risk of being pushed ashore was greater. Going east meant a safe trip, but unexpected wind and currents. We flipped a coin, “East it is!”

Steep slopes of brown sand and rubble cascade into deep blue water. The island’s tall mountains create an imposing silhouette against the setting sun. We give a 4-mile buffer between Guadalupe and JUNK. The wind shifts to the northwest, giving us the joy of downwind sailing and a record 2.9 knots. We will skirt around this island in no time. At 1:00am Joel wakes me up, “Can you give me a hand with this spinnaker?” There’s no wind. It fell from 2.5 to .3 in the blink of an eye. The mountain, even at 4 miles, blocks the 20 knots of wind we need. It would now be up to the current.

Saving sharks at the expense of fishermen

We're huge fans of shark biologist Andy DeHart-he's got a way of drilling down to the issue at hand in a way everyone can understand:

“We’re taking sharks out of the water faster than we are putting them back in,” said Andy Dehart, a shark biologist who works with the National Aquarium in Washington.

Sharks are a vital part of the ocean’s eco system because they are an apex predator.

“An apex predator is key in maintaining balance,” said Ray Owczarzak, an assistant curator at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. “They eliminate the weakest population of fish so the biggest and strongest are the breeding animals.”

Without sharks, the ocean would be out of whack: In North American Atlantic water, Hammerhead Sharks eat Cownose Rays, which feed on Bay Scallops. If there are no sharks, the ray population explodes and eats the scallops, leaving fewer scallops for people to eat.

Isla Guadalupe Trip Update 8.20.2008

The old saying "It aint' over till the fat lady sings" was in full force today as the Mexican Navy arrived and proceeded to board all the vessels at Point Norte, Isla Guadalupe.

This is what we had feared. The final edict after many months of back and forth conversations and negotiations with various government agencies was absolutely "No Chumming".

Unfortunately Mexico has chosen to deliver this final message on site and at the beginning of the 2008 shark diving season with an actual Navy Frigate.

This leaves us as eco tour operators in an unusual spot and our divers wondering what's next?

In the short term no chumming means that while sharks will be seen this year (they are extremely curious animals and will come-non chummed-to the cages) we will be slower than usual. That's the short term.

The long term prognosis is grim indeed. Mexico needs shark tourism, it also needs to be benefited by shark tourism. Right now it is not benefiting. Right now divers pay the equivalent of $20.00 USD for permits to enter the Bio Sphere and that's it. They should be receiving a whole lot more. We're in full agreement with those within Mexico who see it that way.

Additionally, the very real specter of rampant shark fishing at this site once shark diving operations fade away is something that must be contended with. You may say it would never happen here, but 2.5 tons of shark fins were taken from the Socorro's this spring-right under the nose of the Mexican Navy base stationed at that Bio Sphere.

This is a clarion call. If Mexico is successful in essentially gutting the relatively nascent 3.1 million dollar white shark dive tour industry and these vessels cannot continue to educate divers, support field research, and continue operating in a sustainable manner-we will lose upwards to 30% of the entire Western Pacific White shark population to shark fishing in a matter of two years.

Left to their own devices shark fishermen have a strong financial incentive to harvest sharks even within protected Bio Spheres. We will submit to you that Mexico's government has their guns turned on the wrong people at this point.

Isla Guadalupe Auction-Current Bid $1000

It's no surprise that we have been huge supporters of IEMANYA OCEANICA and the local efforts they have made within Mexico to educate the public about sharks and rays. This org puts boots on the ground and as such we donated an expedition to Isla Guadalupe with funds going back to I.O:

In Partnership with IEMANYA OCEANICA we would like you to bid on this 5 day Great White Shark Expedition to famed white shark dive site Isla Guadalupe in Mexico.

Here you will discover one of Mexico's last remaining pristine underwater environments and home to the Great White shark. Discovered in 1999 and with the hard work of a small team of shark researchers from CICIMAR and UC DAVIS, we now know these animals congregate here every season to feed on the endemic Guadalupe Fur Seal.

The Expedition lasts 5 full days and departs from San Diego, California. We look forward to having you join us on this amazing adventure at this rare and beautiful site 210 miles off the coast of California.

THIS AUCTION IS FOR 1 PERSON 5 DAY DIVE ONLY, RETAIL PRICE OF THE DIVE IS $3,100

IEMANYA OCEANICA is a non-profit organization, dedicated to the conservation of sharks, rays and their habitats. IEMANYA is an international organization of scientists, educators and environmentalists committed to protecting marine life, especially sharks and rays, while addressing the socio-economic repercussions of conservation within the communities that depend on marine resources.

Iemanya currently conducts programs and conservation efforts in Southern California, USA (under IRS code 501(c)3) and as Iemanya Oceanica A.C. in La Paz, Mexico.

Shark Diving East Coast-Snappa Charters

One of the things we love about our industry are those that started it all. The few forward looking operations who, on a whim, built the first cages and lowered them into their home waters...hoping to see a shark.

Without a doubt if you're looking for one of these operations you need not look much further than Snappa Charters and captain Charlie Donilon. When we first looked at the world of shark diving in the USA many years ago-Snappa Charters was one of a small hand full of plucky industry leading operations. The good news is they're still going strong and summer isn't over just yet:

Snappa Fishing Diving Charters has been incorporated for 26 years. We offer both inshore and offshore fishing trips, shark cage diving, ash burials at sea, bird watching and lighthouse tours. Private groups and individuals are welcome.

We have been seen on National Geographic Explorer, NESN and Chronicle. Feature articles have appeared in the Wall St. Journal, Boston Globe, Yankee Magazine, and the Rodale's Scuba Diving.

Bigfoot-Never Trust a Policeman from Georgia!

Naturally you're asking yourself, why all the fuss? Well, last week along with about 15,000 other blogs, news outlets, and hopefuls we broke format to bring you what looked like the first and the only Bigfoot claim that looked, for a moment, like the real deal.

It had all the elements. An off duty cop, a frozen corpse, images, and an actual press junket with the world's media. You need to watch this video-just for the fact that everyone in this video is lying through their teeth...and they know it.

Joel & Suzie almost eaten by Tiger Shark?

You can watch this video three or four times and come to different conclusions about what you are seeing.This is a growing trend with Tigers within the industry. Until recently no one would have considered Tiger encounters like these.

The main question on the table...is it sustainable?

WWF to World-10,000 sharks a year "unsustainable"

Using data from the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service, the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) has revealed hundreds of tonnes of shark fin are being exported from Australia every year.

They say on a conservative estimate that is the equivalent of 10,000 adult sharks.

The WWF is using the figures to add weight to its call for the Queensland Government to ditch a proposal to issue specific licences to target sharks.

The Federal Government says a final decision is yet to be made but it will take a precautionary approach.

WWF's Dr Gilly Llewellyn says the appetite for shark fin overseas which Australia appears to be feeding, is insatiable, and in the past 13 months 230 tonnes of shark fin have been exported from our shores, mainly to Asian markets.

"Using a really conservative estimate using the largest possible size of shark, using a low fin to weight ratio, that's still 10,000 sharks that would have needed to be killed for that amount of fin," she says.

Dr Llewellyn says there is no scientific evidence to show whether that amount of shark fishing is sustainable.

Isla Guadalupe Expedition Update 8.18.2008

Opening Day at the most spectacular white shark dive site on the planet.

For 16 lucky Shark Divers, one very excited dive crew, and Greg Grivetto owner operator of the MV Horizon this day could not have been any better:

Another amazing season here at the Island. We arrived to quickly discover we're the only vessel out here this week. Things started almost immediately, with the divers in the galley doing a dive briefing we counted three whites cruising around at 30 feet.

We'll try and surmise the day since it was filled with sharks. You'll be happy to know both Shredder now closer to 15' and Bruce who's just huge are both back on site again this year. We also saw a small y.o.y about 4 feet long. That guy didn't stay around for very long.

The animals are very curious slowly coming in for a look and swinging by a few more times on their way to other places in the area. For the shark divers this is what they have waited in some cases two years for!

We saw two full breaches today with sharks jumping completely out of the water and I cannot say we had a single shark rotation without animals. The divers are currently in the galley swapping images, drinking beer, and telling tall tales...you know the usual.

Tomorrow is another shark day, and we'll update you again, have a great night!

Captain Greg.

Isla Guadalupe Research-Mauricio Hoyos

We just got off the phone with white shark researcher Maurico Hoyos who's looking forward to his final tagging and tracking season at Isla Guadalupe, Mexico.

This project has been an exciting adventure for us and for Maurico-simply put this was the first time any cross border shark eco tour/research effort has ever been attempted in Mexico.

It has been the standing policy of Shark Diver to include shark research with operations wherever we could. 8 years ago this policy was considered by many within the community to be a lost leader, or at worst a complete waste of time.

Time, it seems, was all it took to show proof of concept. In the end we are obligated as eco tour operations to know more about the animals we make a living from. Research knowledge is key- with that comes our credibility.

As commercial shark diving operators we do not have "any rights" to make a living from white sharks. It's a gift, and payback comes in the form of adding to the understanding of these animals. You have to support the resource with realistic and yearly efforts. Otherwise these animals become little more than Biological ATM Machines.

If you're interested in providing material support for Maurico's 2008 field season contact him directly at:

Mauricio Hoyos <amuakua@gmail.com

World Wildlife Fund and Shark Tourism

Interesting news from the WWF this morning. Conservation NGO's are beginning to subscribe to the concept that shark tourism acts as a bridge to shark conservation:

WWF flags shark watching expeditions to protect species

Conservation group WWF says some of Queensland's shark species are on the verge of being listed as endangered.

Spokesman Nick Heath says there are concerns for tiger sharks which he believes are being wiped out by the State Government's shark safety program and many reef species that are targeted by fishers.

He says if tourism operators charged people to see them in the wild like whale watching expeditions, more of an effort would be made to protect them. "The more we learn the more we realise how vulnerable they are to overfishing," he said.

"We should actually be protecting them because more and more people around the world are becoming interested in seeing sharks and I think that all over the world they're becoming so endangered we should make sure that people can pay big money to come from all over the world to see them."

Dan Callister-Blowing the lid off predation images

Where do you go for simply amazing staged and natural white shark predation images from South Africa?

For our money you head over to Dan Callisters website and click on his Seal Island set.

Warning: Ensure your tray table is in an upright and locked position and always view with a three point harness on at all times. These images are so good you can almost smell the salt air.

New Zealand - Great White Shark Dive Site Opens

Editors Note: Shark Diver and Shark Diver New Zealand will no longer be supporting or marketing the commercial efforts at Stewart Island until further notice.

The revelation that one of the operations on site has a second commercial vessel that engages in commercial shark finning was a non starter for us. We'll keep you updated as new, conservation minded operations start here.

Whale Shark Tourism-Spinning up the latest data

When you are as deeply embedded into the shark conservation world as we are you get the inside scoop on some interesting shark facts and the latest tracking data.

More often than not you get told to "hold on to that". Today we get to spill the beans, or rather had them spilled for us by the media. Turns out-to few peoples surprise-just 40 to 100 miles into the northern Gulf of Mexico, off the coasts of Mississippi and Louisiana, are huge aggregations of Whale Sharks.

Long considered "instant shark tourism" these magnificent animals quickly develop tourism interest and diver followings in areas where they congregate. Management solutions for these critters has always been haphazard. Recently set regulations and tourism management plans have been put into place in areas like Holbox, Mexico. How dive shops along the Gulf Coast react will be interesting to watch:

Scientists have become increasingly convinced that huge gatherings of giant whale sharks occur with clockwork regularity in the northern Gulf of Mexico off the coasts of Mississippi and Louisiana.

Scientist Eric Hoffmayer, who is trying to unravel the mysterious “aggregations,” said that as many as 100 of the bus-sized sharks have been spotted feeding in clusters at three separate areas about 40 to 100 miles offshore.

Goblin Sharks on Video

Lock the kids in the house, turn off the water to the pool, and grab your speargun-have we got a video for you. One of THE coolest sharks in today's oceans is with out a doubt the Goblin Shark. Normally caught at crushing depths and then taken to local labs-this one was filmed, live, doing what it does best-being feaky:



Editors Note: All joking aside these critters are certainly unique.

Great White Hunters-Ahhh Gawd!

More of the "Zowie Kapowie" with this latest video sent in from shark blog fan Stephen from New York.

We're not sure about this latest video. What do you get when you have 40km of deserted beach, 4 bored fishermen, 12 cases of beer, and some Great whites?

The answer is another crazy shark fishing video.

Bigfoot Found? Nothing Sharky About It

The blog sphere just lit up with the unexpected news that Bigfoot has been found...and no this is not a joke.

According to SearchingForBigfoot.com-and about 320 alternate sources-Tom Biscardi, Bigfoot hunter and part time huckster will unveil DNA, video and images, but not the actual specimen he "collected" in Georgia on Friday.

The supposed discoverers, Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer, are believed to have shot the 500lb critter in the woods of northern Georgia. Whitton is a Clayton County police officer who has been on medical leave after being shot himself in July and Dyer is a former correctional officer, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

As of this morning, Pacific time, Biscardi's website had crashed (there's a lot of cryptophiles out there) with few further details. We loves our monsters.

We'll keep you updated-actually we won't-but you can check in for regular updates at these sites. After all, we're all about sharks, not Bigfoot:

eFlux Media

Crunch Gear (Images)

More Sharks "Than You Can Shake a Stick At"

Santa Barbara, California is known for many things-casual shark encounters are one of them. This week the Santa Barbara Independent has local shark coverage unlike any news source we have seen in a while. Rarely do news sources take on the subject of sharks and rarely do they get any depth on the subject.

It's called shark immersion, and for anyone who loves sharks the Santa Barbara Independent's coverage is simply fascinating reading.

Here's this weeks sharky line up:

• Sharks and Humans Getting to Know Each Other in the S.B. Channel — by Ethan Stewart

• Sharks and the Chumash — by Matt Kettmann

• World War II, Santa Barbara’s Waterfront, and 2,000 Shark Livers a Day — by Ethan Stewart and Nick Welsh

• Scary Shark, Tasty Lunch — by Catherine Meagher

• Shark Bite: A Love Story — by Drew Mackie

• Are Sharks Really the Eating Machines We’ve Made Them Out to Be? — by Ethan Stewart

• Sharks of the Channel — by Indy Staff

Big Fish Utila-New Whale Shark Film

Utila (U-Tilla), Honduras is home to dollar beers and one of the coolest bars set in a tree in the entire region. It is also home to Whale Sharks and a nascent shark diving industry.

Now, a new film has come out that tackles the many issues of commercial shark diving head on. If the films trailer is any indication-this should be a landmark documentary:

Big Fish Utila does more than impress the audience with breath taking pictures and fantastic music. It is a look at a shark and an island, and how the two are intrinsically linked and inter-dependant. It is not an advert for the whale shark tour industry or for Utila. The filmmakers strived to create an honest account of a habitat that is being damaged by a population that is growing too fast. It looks at both the fishing and tourist industries with a view of making them more accountable for their actions, whilst trying to understand their point of view. It also gives space to in-depth information about the shark and on emerging technologies that are helping to give us more vital information.

Sonja Fordham-If you don't know her you should

This years Shark Week enlisted the help of notable shark advocate Sonja Fordham to help dispel the myths surrounding sharks. What they got was one of our brightest voices in the world of shark conservation, tourism, and sustainable seas:

Sharks for Fun

As top predators, sharks have helped keep oceans in balance for hundreds of millions of years and have provided food, leather, oil, weapons and decoration for thousands. Much more recently, sharks have emerged as a source for recreation, through diving, snorkelling, fishing and viewing in aquariums. There is no shortage of controversy surrounding these relatively new uses of sharks.

For starters, many people have concerns about shark-feeding dives; they fear such activities might alter shark behavior and condition sharks to associate people with food, resulting in bites that could fuel the already negative perception of sharks. On the other hand, shark ecotourism can dispel myths about sharks and may inspire action on their behalf. Revenue from shark diving supports powerful economic arguments for keeping sharks alive (see this blog's entry on devil rays). Most proponents of shark ecotourism agree that strict guidelines for conduct should be in place.

Recreational fishing can have a significant impact on sharks. Scientists note a substantial dent in East coast shark populations in the 1970s, after "Jaws" sparked interest in sport fishing for sharks. Since the early 1990s, the government has increasingly limited U.S. Atlantic recreational shark catch while the popularity of catch-and-release fishing has increased. In recent years, the Humane Society (www.hsus.org) has gained attention and support for their efforts to end shark "kill" tournaments in the U.S. Atlantic. Of particular concern is tournament take of porbeagle sharks, as this species is regionally endangered.

Some groups have criticized aquariums for keeping wide-ranging sharks, such as great white and whale sharks, in captivity. Others say that the public needs to see these creatures to appreciate and fight for them, and that the number of individuals in aquariums pales in comparison to the number killed in the wild each year.

These are indeed controversial issues. We're wondering where you stand and invite you to share your perspectives.

PHOTO: Porbeagle shark, Seapics

Great White Shark-We Told Ya!

Oh, about that little shark that washed up in Nantucket last month? It was a Great white:

Fair Trade Tourism Position Paper 2008

South Africa's Fair Trade in Tourism recently tackled the ongoing debate over white shark cage diving.

Their February 2008 position paper on the matter is a "must read" for shark diving operators worldwide.

Globally shark tourism is a 300 million dollar industry and growing.

Greenland Shark Eats Polar Bear?

No, this is not one of your classic "man bites dog" headlines this is the real deal.

By the way, Greenland Sharks are rapidly becoming one of our all time favorites around here:

Scientists researching how far sharks hunt seals in the Arctic were stunned in June to find part of the jaw of a young polar bear in the stomach of a Greenland shark, a species that favors polar waters.

"We've never heard of this before. We don't know how it got there," Kit Kovacs, of the Norwegian Polar Institute, told Reuters of the 10 cm (4 inch) bone found in a shark off the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard.

Isla Guadalupe Trip Update 8.2008

Club Cantamar and the MV Sea Escape opened the 2008 white shark diving season this year.

We just got off the phone with them and here's the update:

The sharks are once again back at Isla Guadalupe. Day one was slow, with two sizable Mako's making an appearance and then disappearing into the clear waters and not returning.

Mid afternoon-Day one-three great whites show up and for the next two days the crew and divers on board the MV Sea Escape are treated to sharks, sharks, sharks!

It looks like another shark filled season this year. For those few of you who'll be joining us out there we look forward to showing you a shark or two. August 18-22 cannot come quickly enough!

42 Countries in 4 months-A blog to watch

We get tipped off to some amazing blogs and websites. Today was no exception. Discover and join the team from Moving Sushi-Marine Resources Expedition as they kick off their 42 country 4 month land based ocean odyssey with a visit to South Africa's sharks:

The world’s oceans are in deep trouble. From the northernmost reaches of the Arctic Circle to the Southern Oceans surrounding Antarctica the seas are been stripped at an unprecedented rate. Since the 1900’s, many species may have declined by nearly 90%, and unfortunately it does not stop there. Every aspect of the ocean is being mined for its resources; coral reefs are being destroyed by dynamite and cyanide for both food and the aquarium fish trade, which is suggested to top a billion dollars a year. Seamounts have been targeted due to the aggregation of high market value pelagic species associated with them, like the tuna. Kelp forests, sandy shores, estuaries and the deep ocean are all relentlessly exploited by a range of fishing strategies and advanced technologies with subsequent devastating effects.

Isla Guadalupe, Mexico-Meet the Locals

For those of you who will be joining us this year at Isla Guadalupe we thought we would introduce you to some of the "locals" that you'll be meeting this season.

This 13 foot fellow is called "Chompers". For reasons that are obvious, he's also one of the luckiest white sharks on site.

Two years ago Chompers had a violent run in with Shreddder and came close to loosing his eye in the fight. Early season divers often see male on male violence and posturing. We're still trying to figure out why this is.

Not all animals at this pristine and unique site are the same and many have "distinct personalities" that become evident once you spend enough time with them. It's a strange way to look at Great Whites, purported to be the "ultimate killing machines". One week with this little gal will change the way you look at them, trust us!

Thanks to Christie Fisher for the shot.

When Jellyfish...Attack!

More from the files of the absurd this week. The last place you want to be fishing these days is the Philippines :

A fisherman yesterday died of “cardiogenec shock” after he was attacked by a jelly fish in Brgy. Tiling, Cauayan, Negros Occidental, a report from the Provincial Heath Office said.

The victim was identified as Emilio Lindayao, 40, and a resident of the barangay. Lindayao, and his brother went for a swim in the coastal area of Brgy. Tiling in Cauayan, when he was attacked by the jellyfish.

Police reports said Lindayao was declared dead on arrival at the Cauayan District Hospital, because of jellyfish stings.

Sea Shepherd Issues Arrest Warrant For The Japanese Whaling Fleet-"Bread and Circuses"

The Romans had a saying for what Sea Shepherd have become the absolute masters of: "Bread and Circuses".

This term aptly applies to the ongoing misdirection and political theatre Sea Shepherd has foisted on to unsuspecting and well meaning donors worldwide.

We were once supporters of Sea Shepherds seemingly tough brand of eco-enforcement. Their self styled "take no prisoners" brand looked for a time like the real deal.

Finally something would be done, changes would be made, and the world's animals saved. If Greenpeace was getting too soft these guys would changes things.

Sadly, this was not to be the case. Sea Shepherd quickly devolved from mighty warrior to theatre of the absurd and continues along these lines to this day.

The main culprit behind Sea Shepherds lack of credibility turns out to be the bloated and ego centric Captain Paul Watson and whoever stage manages his media for him.

Claiming to be shot in the chest during this years whale hunt in the Southern Ocean, and producing a fake video to back this absolute and image costly fabrication up was the last straw for us.

In the end it all comes down to money. With dollars for what Sea Shepherd is attempting to do drying up worldwide they have chosen to "ratchet up the noise" or "wag the dog" in hopes of attracting more money for further ineffectual and costly efforts to stop the continuing pillage of our oceans.

If one takes a good look at Sea Shepherd and can navigate beyond the outright fabrication of story lines, if one can leap over the growing "chasm like" credibility gap they have adopted like self inflicted wound, one would discover an ineffectual eco group that has failed repeatedly to stop any of the ongoing slaughter. They trot out numbers and make bold claims that they have slowed things down, but the slaughter continues.

Take your pick, whales, seals, sharks, fish, all continue to be slaughtered to this day, none of it has been stopped. If Sea Shepherd was a for profit company, and this was their metric for success, no one would would invest in them. Add to that anyone's ability to actually believe what they say and what you have is...nothing. A black hole for financial backers who demand success, not "Bread and Circuses".

I Hate Sharks-L.A Times

From the Op-Ed in the L.A Times today. Before you get all crazy-read the whole article:

I hate sharks

When we learned some were endangered, I tried to hate hyenas or anacondas instead. It didn't work.

By Joe Queenan
August 8, 2008

Like most people in this country, I have long hated sharks, largely because of what they did to Robert Shaw in "Jaws." For years, I thought of sharks as mindless, demonic eating machines, an attitude reinforced by the harrowing story Shaw told Richard Dreyfuss and Roy Scheider about the 1945 Japanese torpedo attack on the U.S. cruiser Indianapolis. Although many of the 880 casualties died because of exposure or drinking saltwater, many were eaten by the tigers of the deep. So, all in all, it seemed almost unpatriotic not to hate them.

Disliking sharks was hardly a minority opinion; it's one reason the Discovery Channel's annual "Shark Week" is such a hit. But in recent years, as many species of sharks have become endangered, their image has undergone a radical change. Shark attacks are nowhere near as common as most people think, and fatalities are rare. When a shark does attack a human, as Smithsonian magazine recently pointed out, it usually does so because it has mistaken the human for a seal. That's why it usually only takes a bite, then when it realizes its error, sheepishly wanders off before its colleagues notice its deteriorating feeding technique.

I was disappointed at not being able to hate sharks anymore, as I had previously jettisoned the Big Bad Wolf (wolves hold down the moose and elk populations), grizzly bears (they mostly stick to themselves and generally only attack humans armed with video cameras making self-referential films) and pit bulls (loyal, peppy animals that only go off the rails because of depraved trainers or owners). That cut the supply of high-profile animals it was OK to despise down to rats, vultures and hyenas.

But then the New York Times' Science section did a big expose on hyenas, reporting that they are surprisingly bright and highly social. Sure enough, the Smithsonian chimed in with a hyena-rehabilitation report. Contrary to their image as craven parasites, hyenas kill 95% of what they eat, unlike lions, which would kill hyenas just for laughs.

When I mentioned my dismay about the dwindling number of species it was acceptable to hate, a friend took issue with the other entrants on my list. Vultures, she said, dispose of carrion. And rats not only provide a valuable source of food for many other predators but do a yeoman service to mankind as lab animals. (My friend didn't go as far as to say that urban rats performed any useful function, other than as weird pets; she said that I should react positively or negatively to rats on a case-by-case basis. Duly noted.)

I started looking at anacondas. A friend went to Brazil last year to interview a man who spent about an hour machete-ing an anaconda to pieces after it wrapped its mouth around his grandson's head and tried to eat him. The anaconda clearly hadn't mistaken the child for a dog or a jaguar; it was merely showing off. Which seemed to make it OK to hate the entire species.

The problem is, I don't come across anacondas very often in my daily life, whereas rats and pit bulls are a constant, and vultures and sharks are always out there somewhere. I am thus being denied my right to engage with an animal nemesis at the local level.

This is no fun at all, either psychologically or cardiovascularly; it's like trying to give yourself the heebie-jeebies by waiting for those marauding hordes from Monte Carlo to show up and put suburban New York to the sword.

I have tried hard to substitute deer and mosquitoes for sharks and rats in my house of horrors, but it's just not working. Even though deer ravage my wife's garden, they are majestic creatures and difficult to dislike, if only because of their cultural ties to Bambi. And mosquitoes are too puny to loathe, as they are not especially scary-looking; bees would make a more formidable adversary, but bees pollinate flowers and produce honey, so disliking them is culturally verboten.

In the end, I have decided to go on hating sharks in private while toeing a politically correct line in public. The last time I took a dip in the Atlantic, I announced to friends that if a shark ate me, I would accept this as a misfortune I set in motion as soon as I intruded into an ecosystem in which all animate creatures are a potential source of nutrition. But I was lying, as I have just as much right to be in the ocean as any other animal and would never deny a shark his right to amble down Broadway or hike through Yellowstone, if he pleased.

I only hope that if a shark ever does eat me, he does so because he detects that I am a shark-loathing reactionary and deserve to die. I'd hate to get eaten just because some shark mistook me for a seal.

Sable Island Mystery - Revisiting a Shark?

We were speaking with the guys from Nat Geo Critter Cam this week and the topic moved from recent projects to one of our favorites, Sable Island.

There's an ongoing mystery surrounding recently dead seals that wash up along the shores here with predation patterns on them not seen anywhere else on the planet.

It's as if these animals have been "corkscrewed" to remove just the fat layer. So surgical are these attacks researchers at at a complete loss to even begin to ascertain what's killing these seals. Is this the work of a shark in the surf line?

Time and perhaps a motivated film crew or two will once and for all open this mystery up. For the money, we think it's a shark.

We also think it may be the work of an International Sub Aquatic Soap Mafia...but that's just the coffee talking.

Wolfgang Leander-Quotable

We ran across the following blog post the other day from the shark world's Wolfgang Leander. Always in the thick of controversy and never willing to pull a punch, we have come to admire old Wolf's "man against the machine" take on everything from shark fining to filmmakers who do bad things with sharks. That's not to say we always agree with him, but he's on target this week.

Being nice to a tiger shark...

(Photo: Felix Leander / 2008)

I recorded all the Discovery Shark week episodes this week, and unfortunately I found myself fast forwarding through most of them. How absurd was Myth Busters and Surviving Sharks. It is really unfortunate - watching the show almost had a reverse effect on me; I began to doubt if I should dive with Tigers again...that is just crazy talk! Of course I will, actually this coming November.

On the flip side, a friend of mine also watched the show and has become very interested in sharks; he actually came diving with me in the hopes of seeing one - each to their own I guess.

Around the same time that Shark Week aired, Richard Theiss sent me a copy of his film Island of the Great White Shark - and how refreshing it was to watch. It reminded me of what Shark Week used to be - informative, scientific, and not in the least bit sensational.

While Richard directed, wrote, produced, and edited the film - he did not narrate it or appear in front of the camera...unlike a recent docuMEntary... :-)

So Discovery Channel - go back to the roots, take a look at Richard's film and some of your old tapes, and make a comeback in 2009.

Sharks and Kids-Changing the playing field

In 2007 the Nautilus Explorer hosted several wide eyed children at Isla Guadalupe, Mexico. If the world is to see sharks remain in our oceans it is this next generation who will carry the torch for these amazing animals. Kudos to Mike and Roberto.

Here's the video:

Shark Experts-Found on The Internet

Seems our blog post from a few days ago is taking on a life of it's own or this is just a case of sharky zeitgeist.

The shark expert should really be called a shark biologist. That's the correct name for his occupation, but when he is asked to provide his opinion on shark-related matters for TV or newspapers, they just call him an expert. Maybe expert is a better word, for this shark biologist also cares about the sharks's soul.

Every day the shark expert observes and studies the sharks. He sees how they communicate, how they mate, how they define their territory, how they occupy their spare time, how they hoard their possessions, how they aspire for a better life, how they avoid the taboo subject of death, and so on.

He has known them since childhood. When one of them dies, whether naturally or grotesquely, the expert feels a bit sad. But this feeling doesn't last long as he knows that death is natural and part of living. Besides, there are lots of sharks in the sea anyway, and the tendency is for the population to increase.

The shark expert is fascinated with these animals, but no matter how much he likes them, he wouldn't want to live with them.

Lowly Leopards in La Jolla-Chris Bahnsen

Chris Bahnsen, shark writer and adventure seeker extraordinaire, has just completed another article about shark diving for the L.A Times.

His subject this time-the lowly Leopard Shark-a shark species in our opinion that gets virtually no play in California, even though this critter is simply gorgeous to look at.

You'll remember Chris from the expose he did on Shark Diver a few seasons ago for the L.A Times:

As many as 30 sharks skulk around these waters most of the year. Those numbers grow to more than 200 animals during the hottest months of July through mid-September, when water temps max at 70 degrees. Locals explain away the summer shark phenomenon as a breeding ritual, but, among scientists, this behavior is not fully understood.

Dr.Leonardo Castillo Mexico's Shark Advocate

When it comes to shark conservation in Mexico there's few champions like Dr.Leonardo Castillo. He oversaw and wrote the proposed Isla Guadalupe rules and regulations regarding white shark diving and is a tireless campaigner for sharks.

Recently he and his team were responsible for the averted slaughter of sharks off the coastlines of Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo-after a series of shark attacks this spring that enraged locals and resort owners:

Mexico begins tagging sharks to prevent attacks

ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) — Scientists say they have begun tagging thousands of sharks off Mexico's Pacific Coast in the hopes of preventing new attacks on humans.

Shark expert Leonardo Castillo says scientists will attach transmitters to two sharks and track them by satellite.

Castillo says that 15 another sharks will get sonar transmitters and 2,000 more will get plastic tags that can be tracked by fishermen.

Sharks recently killed two surfers and wounded a third near the southwestern resort of Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, about 240 miles (150 kilometers) north of Acapulco.

Editors Note: Just goes to show you how "one person", with enough drive and conviction, and willing to get out ahead of an issue can effect change in a positive way for sharks. Kudo's to Dr. Castillo.

MythBusters - Filming and Swimming with Sharks

In our industry you get to work with some very unique and remarkable people.

Some more than others.

This spring Luke Tipple dive operations manager for Shark Diver and crew kept Jamie and Adam-The MythBusters-out of harms way at Tiger Beach, Bahamas while they explored the wild world of sharks.

The show was a complete success as the following video from "the boys" will attest:

Mythbusters Talk Sharks

Is it any wonder why this show is one of the most popular on Discovery?

From the crew here at Shark Diver-Thanks guys!