The shark diving industry blog covering sharks, shark cage diving, shark conservation and things we find "amusing" since 2008 www.sharkdiver.com, www.sharkdivers.com, www.divingwithsharks.com
All the financial Titans of Wall Street needed to do was look at the shark world to predict the slumping economy.
They look at their numbers to divine and predict the future of the financial markets and we look at ours.
According to the International Shark Attack Filerecorded shark attacks in 2008 slumped by 24%. If that's not a leading economic indicator please tell us what is these days.
So, in 2008 sharks took a break munching humans (thank you Mr.Shark) and in 2008 the housing debacle started to unravel in a big bad way. We will be the first to predict, based on our indicators, that 2010 will be an unheard of year for shark attacks on humans.
This shocking news will also dovetail nicely into the "great global recovery" story of markets near or at par with previously recorded highs - and all will be well with the universe again.
With the uncharted nature of global financial markets many ex industry titans have turned to jello, snow flakes, and oracle bones to peer into the future. We'll stick with sharks. A 24% slump is good news in our world.
A post of ours earlier this week with the original poster from the 1955 Howard Hughes epic "Underwater" prompted us to go look for the films original trailer. Yes it has sharks in it and a whole lot of museum quality dive gear as well. They also don't make swimsuits like that anymore:
Editors Note: Let's give a few props here to the original underwater shooters who made this film happen paving the way for generations of underwater films that inspired and educated.
On a "cool science scale" we'll give this latest shark discovery a 9.9 up from a 7.5 because this story involves Callorhinchus milii:
PRIMITIVE deep-sea fish may have viewed the world much as we do. The elephant shark, which evolved about 450 million years ago, is the oldest vertebrate to have "the colour vision system we know as humans", says David Hunt at University College London.
Until now, ancestors of modern sharks from 374 million years ago were the oldest known creatures to have both rods to see in dim light and cones, for bright light.
Now Hunt's team has found that the elephant shark, (Callorhinchus milii), has rod pigments. It also has two copies of the long-wavelength cone pigment gene, a duplication which may have given them trichromatic vision like primates (Genome Research, DOI: 10.1101/gr.084509.108).
For shark guys who spend a lot of time looking for sharks in far flung places it's reassuring to discover that our very own San Francisco Bay, with an average depth of 21 feet, is home to some very big sharks.
In fact 13-14 foot critters are being discovered on a weekly basis prompting a research team from U.C Davis in tandem with the Aquarium of the Bay to try and discover more about our homegrown super predators. Naturally if there are sharks and science going on in San Francisco you'll find David McGuire front and center with camera and editing bay in hand to cover it.
Join him this weekend during the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival - this years festival contains 30% more sharks:
With the kind of interest you reserve for those with those who exhibit a stunning intelligence and yet choose to wear Speedos as daily wear - we set about reading the free form sharky zeitgeist of Jamie Proctor the other day.
Who is Jamie Proctor? A blogger, who apparently loves sharks and hates dolphins:
"Don’t fear the sharks. You don’t have to love them, cherish them, and try to give them huggles (that last one’’s a bad idea all around), but you don’t have to fear them. And you definitely should not hate them. Ever. If you have to hate something, hate dolphins, because we all know what smug little buggers they are, with their cutesy faces and high levels of intelligence and apparent attitudes of friendly curiosity that make forming anthromorphic attachments as easy as playing pin-the-tail-on-the-elephant. At least hating dolphins is a challenge, with a lot of mental effort going into forming delusions that large. Hating sharks is like hating people who don’t quite agree with you: it’s easy to do and a sign that you are a major-league dip with the intelligence of a fruitcake. And if you don’t quite agree with that, I hate you. "
Editors Note: We're curious to see Jamies take on animatronic sharks vs dolphins.
This month we announced our fluff piece in Playboy Magazine (no puns please). From time to time we do "big media" with a primary focus on the adventure of shark diving.
For the most part these are fun articles that have little time to focus on shark conservation issues, or research. Fortunately we also get to balance that media with pieces like the one we did two months ago with Scientific American 3.0.
But if you really want to see what good industry media looks like, look no further than Beqa Adventure Divers this month on Mai Life Magazine. Naturally they got the good quotes, the great industry scoop, and what looks to be four full pages of fantastic press.
How did they do it? Ask Mike. The trick to media is not getting it, that's about as basic a proposition as harvesting apples from a sun ripened tree. It's what you do with it once you have it that defines good industry media.
For the folks over at BAD we're thinking their media fruit never tasted so good. Kudos.
If you are serious about blogging, and that would be any of you industry types who post more than 5 times a week the good news is that Greg Davis has created a new website tailored just for you.
A few weeks ago we called Greg Davis "The smartest guy in the room". He is and this is why. Blog content is only as good as the eyeballs that see it. The World Blog Archive helps get your content seen.
Now before all you post-every-two-months folks get too excited - this site will do absolutely nothing for you and your lame, sad little blog, that sits like a wet animal you forgot to feed on your back porch. Blogs, like all animals need to be fed, regularly, so go feed your blog!
Filmmaker, shark conservationist, and activist David McGuire has set up a noted shark conservation panel to discuss sharks this month in tandem with this years Ocean Film Festival.
The festivals short films are shark heavy so naturally we'll see you there:
Join me at the Cowell Theater with shark films and an analysis of sharks Myths and Misconceptions with shark experts and filmmakers following the films February 21 at the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival.
The panel discussion will begin at 3:15 PM in Room C260 at Fort Mason Center – opposite the main entrance to Cowell Theater.
Panelists
Dr. John McCosker, Senior Scientist and Chair Department of Marine Biology, California Academy of Sciences
Dr. Scot Anderson, Shark Research Scientist, Point Reyes Bird Observatory
Dr. Leonard Compagno, Shark Taxonomist, Board Member Save Our Seas Foundation, Curator of Fishes in the Division of Life Sciences and Head of the Shark Research Centre (SRC), Iziko Museums, Cape Town
Maria Brown Superintendent, Gulf of the Farallons National Marine Sanctuary
Lesley Rochat, Filmmaker, Manager and Director Education & Awareness, Save Our Seas Shark Centre (SOSSC), Founder, AfriOceans Conservation Alliance (AOCA)
Since 2004 shark researcher Mauricio Hoyos has been doing battle with wind, rain, unstable fishermen, and a critter infested "love shack" on the north end of Isla Guadalupe, Mexico.
He also makes do with a tiny seasonal budget, Mexican politics, and rampant equipment failures.
Why, you may well ask, would anyone put themselves though this kind of privation all in the name of shark research?
Because it is important. It's important that a Mexican lead program spearheads efforts at what has become the most robust and accessible white shark site on the planet. It's important that several of the local shark operators support this effort, and they have, to the tune of thousands of dollars in materials and conservation websites like the Isla Guadalupe Fund.
It is important because the second phase of any successful commercial shark site is, stewardship. Without ongoing research and data these sharks remain at the whim of politicos and shark fishing agendas. Proof of migration, proof of feeding patterns, proof of behavior patterns all feed into the larger plan for site stewardship.
Maurico Hoyos is doing his part to ensure these magnificent animals, at this rare and pristine shark site, remain for generations to come.
As rare as this site is to white sharks, Mauricio and his ongoing efforts are to the world of shark research. Kudos.
This is a classic video highlighting sharks and advertising. While amusing, you have to wonder what the shark conservation playing field would look like if we had efforts as slick as this out there. 35 seconds of smart in-your-head-messaging.
What began as a few online posts exposing shark fishing in PulauMabul by concerned divers has grown into a bit of a movement.
A movement that Tourism Minister, DatukMasidiManjun is taking seriously.
"Nature lovers and the global conservation community are fast becoming an influential lobbying group who could hurt the state tourism industry if they decide to boycott Sabah in protest against such activities."
Malaysia needs tourism, but tourism alone does not provide enough money to stop shark finning in the region. So, what is the solution?
Monetization.
As we have long pointed out where local fishermen see the financial incentive to keep sharks alive they do. Maylasia has discovered the power of shark tourism to increase tourism dollars to the region and the eco centric divers shark tourism attracts. Our industry needs to provide Tourism Minister, DatukMasidiManjun with the tools he will need to effect change in his region for continued and better tourism with sharks.
Some suggestions:
Park Fees and Outreach - Worldwide pilot programs providing local populations with money not to kill sharks are showing promise. Western tourists will gladly pay more money into regional parks if they know these monies will help preserve the environment.
Education and Redevelopment - Tourism in undeveloped regions is always a first step. Providing incentives to local resorts with tax beaks to help develop "off site" dive sites in regions where shark finning is happening is a viable solution. Add to that a partnership with an NGO or better yet direct engagement by local resorts in the region to educate local fishermen to the lasting value of sharks.
The growing calls from the dive community for a ban on dive tourism in the region is a "one trick pony" and serves only to provide a laser focus to the shark finning issue. Viable tourism solutions need to be forthcoming to move this regional issue into the next phase, direct and lasting action.
One of the better shark research and outreach programs we have come across this month.
Earthwatch, with financial support of Woodside Energy Ltd is offering professional development opportunities to Western Australian teachers.
Translation - they will fully fund eight teachers from rural and remote regions of Western Australia to participate on the research project Whale Sharks of Ningaloo Reef in May 2009.
The research program is also spearheaded by several commercial shark operators in the region.
Earthwatch engages people worldwide in scientific field research and education to promote the understanding and action necessary for a sustainable environment. The value of taking rural teachers through this program cannot be underestimated. As a force multiplier these teachers will in turn engage classrooms full of young minds to educate and inform about sharks.
It's Friday, the sun is shining outside (but it's cold) so I just want to make a "light" blog post today, not talking about threats to sharks.
If some of you have gotten curious about who "Goblin girl" is, you might have found my homepage and seen that I like to buy sharky things. I started to blog about all my things in 2007 and still find new sharky items in boxes and cupboards at home... And sometimes I buy new things. Mainly stuff I can use - not many china figurines make it into my home! The exception is goblin sharks. There I buy EVERYTHING I can find! Sometimes I'm talking artists into making stuff for me, like jewelry.
So, my latest find from Japan is trucks with sharks in tanks. They have either a goblin shark, a megamouth shark, a hammerhead or a great white. They are sold in sets of all four and I can't wait to get them!
More photos on my blog.
If you happen to find something that you think I might like OR if you live in Japan and knows how to get me the goblin shark Animal kaiser cards - drop me a line!
Editors Note: What kid/shark diver would not want that toy? Way cool GG;)
As a template for ongoing commercial shark diving business models featuring hands on education and outreach - we like it:
The Great White Shark Project is dedicated to the exploration and conservation of the world’s greatest predator, the Great White Shark, and its environment. The project works with students, eco-tourists, scientists, conservation organizations and marine resource users (subsistence fishermen, sport divers and dive operators) to gather data on Great White Sharks, correct negative misconceptions about sharks, and stop the needless slaughter of over 100 million sharks annually.
Current programs involve eco-tourism, public education, environmental advocacy as well as various social up- liftment programmes. White Shark Projects is a world leading organisation focusing on the Great White Shark. Founded in 1989 purely as a research centre, since 1989 it has grown and broadened its services to include an excellent film department, a commercial diving and viewing centre and a separate conservation and educational department.
Last night along with some 4.7 million viewers we watched in horror as actor Joaquin Phoenix imploded on the David Letterman Show. Clearly suffering from metal illness and or chemical abuse Phoenix stumbled through his interview like a homeless person. Letterman, sensing blood in the water, parried with quips about his unkempt appearance and the Unibomber. Letterman is a skillful master of the game and kept this "dead man walking" three ring circus going for as long as he could.
So, what does this have to do with shark diving? As a commercial shark diving operation your brand, your identity, and your credibility is tied into the media, like it or not. Yesterdays debacle by Phoenix serves as a reminder to the dangers of failing to pay attention to every aspect of your media output.
For Phoenix his star power will inevitably lead to a "come back". For shark diving operations that follow the same path, the "come back" is not so easy:
When word came out notorious shark killer Frank Mundus estate was to sell the Cricket Two, as media folks, we became very interested.
As a pro shark media platform this vessels sordid shark history and back story would have been be a slam dunk. The vessel and captain that inspired the character Quint from Jaws made the acquisition of this vessel for shark conservation efforts more than an idea.
That's when things went wrong for us. The vessel went on the auction block with final bid numbers as high as 300K being tossed around by the media. We wanted nothing to do with that and made a preemptive offer in December of slightly more than 150K to the auctioneer via the Mundus estate.
We were turned down. Then a few weeks later out of the blue asked again if we wanted to get involved in the auction for the Cricket Two. The answer from our side was no, but was the estate looking for a preemptive buy out? No.
The auction for the Cricket Two is officially over. The winning bid $50,000. Less than the minimum 100K wanted by the Mundus estate. Today, as we feared, locals in the region are discussing a series of memorial shark fishing tournaments to raise the other $50,000 for the Cricket Two.
It would seem shark conservation will take a back seat to the Mundus legend - all for the lack of imagination of one auction house and the Mundus estate.
The offer was valid. Greed got in the way of acquiring the Cricket Two.
Santa Cruz - Shark researchers with the Pacific Coast Research Center have announced the discovery of a new white shark sub species at famed California big wave surf spot Mavericks. Following a recent attack on a surfer where a single 2 inch tooth was recovered from the surfers leg, marine biologists have confirmed this attack was from a hereto unknown subspecies now being called the "Unidenta'tusCarcharodon" or "Single Toothed Carcharodon".
"We estimate this animal to be at least 14 feet long with one very large tooth in the middle of it's mouth" said David Munns spokesman for the PCRC. "There's really no other explanation for the single tooth and corresponding video we saw on You Tube":
The following Underwater Onion was brought to you by Shark Diver. Always check your media.
There are shark research websites and then there's the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme website.
Perhaps one of the most exciting and well conceived shark research websites we have come across in the past year - even though it's still in development.
This is how you do online shark conservation messaging and web outreach. Simply gorgeous shark images tell the story while up to date news and reports keep interested media and the public informed and engaged.
We are also not surprised to see this program as a member site to the Shark Alliance, kudos. MWSRP Mission Statement
The Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme (MWSRP) exists to facilitate perpetual whale shark research projects and to foster community focused conservation initiatives within the Maldives.
The whale shark - the largest fish on our planet. Despite their great size very little is known about these colossal fish. We know they swim the oceans, potentially covering vast distances, eating only plankton, tiny fish and squid; but questions like how long they live or where they reproduce still remain unanswered.
With the news of a 16 foot Great Hammerhead caught and killed off the Miami coast yesterday we thought this would be a good opportunity to look into the state of Florida's tourism.
Florida Tourism by the Numbers
57 Billion - The economic impact of tourism in Florida
6.9% - Current decline in hotel revenue for Miami-Dade region, Florida's largest
10% - Overall decline in tourism since 2007 and falling
Florida needs tourism dollars. The state is in free fall with sharply declining tax revenue, the housing debacle, and in some regions of Florida a shocking10% unemployment rate. It is time for Florida to reevaluate every tourism option they have and that includes shark tourism.
We have been harping on this for a while now. Since the ill fated decision in 2001 to ban shark diving in Florida's waters millions of tourism dollars have gone to places like Bahamas where divers enjoy safe encounters with sharks. Shark tourism, done right, could be plugged into Florida's existing scuba community to begin major tourism revenue generation in one year or less.
Those numbers include hotels, airlines, taxi's, restaurants, time shares, the economy. Since 2001 the state of commercial shark diving worldwide has "matured". With the proper protocols in place, oversight, and even stiff fines for operations that fail to follow shark protocol Florida could become a world leader in safe shark encounters drawing tourists from all over the planet.
One final number to consider - 200 million. The estimated value of commercial shark diving worldwide and growing. In countries like the Maldives, shark tourism already accounts for 2.1 million dollars in tourism revenue, an estimated 100 times more than the export value of shark meat from the region.
Looking at the Great Hammerhead caught yesterday by one tourist from Illinois it becomes elemental to estimate the ongoing value of that animal just as easily. Unfortunately for the struggling hotels, restaurants, and unemployed in the Miami region the only value they will ever see from that shark is on the Channel 6 news archives.
As Sea Shepherd departs from the Southern ocean, once again, claiming to have saved whales from evil whalers let's take a look at their anti whaling efforts in perspective.
This week titular head of organization Paul Watson rammed his vessel into whalers with Animal Planet film crews capturing every moment for season two of Whale Wars. Classic Wagging the Conservation Dog moment with just days to go for Sea Shepherds departure from the area.
The conflict of interest with their reality television relationship goes beyond mentioning, suffice to say it begs the question "what is real and what is staged?"
After this weeks boat ramming spree Watson then claimed "the situation down here is getting very, very chaotic and very aggressive". This statement is tantamount to anti meat protesters ramming their cars into the side of beef processing factories and claiming the same. Add to that a waiting reality television film crew and you begin to see not only the uselessness of actions like these but the abject media fueled cannibalism of the entire event.
What you are looking at is staged eco theater with a side of dead whale at a cost of millions of well meaning dollars from people who really want to see and end to whaling. Like us.
To put this into perspective, this year Watson and company will claim to have saved perhaps 60 whales, that claim, like so many others from Sea Shepherd, will be seriously contested. Meanwhile Watson and company dangerously and egregiously risked a fuel oil breach from either his own vessel or those he rammed in the Southern ocean this year.
In the time it took Sea Shepherd to elicit funds, build a campaign, invite a reality television crew aboard and pump out a mass of seriously massaged media sound bites-whales died worldwide:
At what cost per whale will donors continue to subsidize and support ineffective media theatre brought to you by Sea Shepherd and company. For us the equation is simple:
Has whaling stopped? No.
Will season two of Whale Wars have moments of high drama with vessels being rammed? Yes.
Is this quality eco work? The answer to that question can be answered with the contents of your wallet or your check book. Place you bets where they will be most effective. For our money Sea Shepherd is out of touch, out of game, and out of time.
Cherie McCosker recently blogged about her eco tour experience with Whale sharks in Donsol, Philippines.
Her article is right on target but misses the larger point of the purpose of shark tourism in many regions worldwide:
"My German companion came back on the boat exclaiming, "You should have seen it, you could see the Whale shark get angry. All of a sudden it thrashed about and dove down to the depths of the sea".
As was blogged about a few months ago these animals were once hunted in that region. With the advent of high dollar Whale shark tourism the hunting stopped. Unfortunately local fishermen still kill sharks for squalene (kudos Diveshopp Blog) but these are deep water species that will probably never be monetized by shark tourism. In region after region worldwide when local populations see a financial incentive to keep sharks they do and the catalyst for that sea change is usually shark tourism.
Ms. McCoskers article talks about people touching and molesting Whale sharks under the guise of shark tourism and she has a solid point. But in the larger picture of animals no longer killed in the region one could argue that while imperfect, shark tourism does stop the killing of sharks.
We were speaking with writer Thayer Walker this morning when he gave us the heads up on a new article he just completed for this months Outside Magazine called "Ready, Aim, Sushi".
The article takes an inside look at spearfishing in the Gulf of Mexico, and an unfortunate Tiger shark kill while he was reporting the story:
"Underwater filmmaker Ryan McInnis of InSea.TV accompanied spearfishermen Craig Clasen and Cameron Kirkconnell on recent hunts for tuna in the Gulf of Mexico. During the course of one dive, a Tiger shark charged McInnis. The following short (see website) includes the ensuing back and forth between the divers and the shark."
This morning we called Ryan McInnis to get his take. Our conversation with him revealed a level headed and consummate waterman with a long history in water with sharks. This was a conversation with a diver who was absolutely distraught about killing a Tiger shark.
Here's a quote from our conversation:
"I have been diving my whole life and this was unlike any shark experience I have ever had, or wish to have. All I had was my camera and no spear gun when the animal charged in, fins down, with eyes rolled back, it scared me to death. My buddies came over and saw the animal in an aggressive stance, our vessel was 100 meters away. It closed distance on all three of us and it quickly became evident that we were going to have to defend ourselves. Once the decision was made and the first shot was fired the true horror was now we had to kill it, you never leave a shark just wounded. I have seriously conflicted emotions now, the death of such a beautiful fish made me totally reevaluate spear fishing. This entire event was terribly unfortunate. I think this animal had never encountered humans because of the aggressive manner in which it charged in. We have seen resident sharks become acclimated to us, this animals was not acclimated, it was not going to back down. We postured at the shark trying to look bigger, we swam at the animal, and the last ditch effort was the shot.If getting out of the water was an option we would have taken it, we're not out here to kill sharks".
In the final summation killing any Tiger shark is a tragedy, will this article enrage some? Undoubtedly. Kudos to Ryan for his take on this and willingness to discuss the back story to the story. What we discovered is a man who's equally disturbed by what he saw as a "no win" for both him and the shark.
This mornings AP news covered Cape Towns shark spotters program. The article reminds readers that there are viable solutions to shark and tourist beach interactions that do not always involve the permanent removal of these animals.
Kudos as well to writer Clare Nullis who took the time to really look into the issue of sharks producing an excellent and informative piece:
MUIZENBERG, South Africa - Shark spotter Patrick Davids is glad to see the back of the busloads of visitors who flocked to his powder-white beach over the New Year, distracting him with surfing spills, near drownings and illicit booze.
In contrast to the human hordes, the great white sharks under his watch behaved impeccably, says Davids. He regards the mighty predators as familiar friends with names like Speedy, Nosy, Rosy and Charlize.
The face of the 200-300 million dollar global shark diving industry is changing. Now more than ever operators are realizing the need for site research in tandem with operations.
This paradigm shift is being lead by a few regional and forward thinking shark diving operators like Wicked Diving in Thailand and elsewhere.
Not only are they working to identify individual animals through the successful ECOCEAN project but they are blogging, raising awareness, and educating others outside of their region.
This is the new face of commercial shark diving going into the next decade. Local site preservation, shark research and education are the keywords for an entire global industry. At the rate we are loosing sharks to both habitat loss and fisheries these are the operators who have organically discovered "NoblesseOblige".
As we have long said, shark conservation, site protections, outreach all start with "One" and kudos to Wicked Diving for leading the way in Thailand.
A horrific shark attack in Port St.John, South Africa has prompted calls for the installation of shark attack prevention facilities or shark nets.
The animal identified in this attack was a Zambezi or Bull shark, common to the area. South African authorities continue to be mired in a 1970's attitude towards their near shore sharks species regarding them as a "problem" with shark nets being a "solution".
Shark nets have been roundly condemned worldwide with many anti shark netting programs being likened to the clear cutting of rain forests. Sharks and many other animal species ranging from dolphin to whales are trapped by these 24/7 killers of wildlife.
Right now government officials in Port St.John are also wrestling with the cost of such a project without first taking lessons from other sites world wide where "solutions" to shark "problems" are less intrusive for sharks and in most cases less expensive for authorities:
1. California-Since the early 80's California has gone against the conventional wisdom of shark nets in high traffic areas where both White sharks and people mix. Instead California instituted protections for white sharks, and began a long term education of local populations towards these animals. Today, even after rare shark attacks on humans, the sharks are not demonized but understood to also have a natural stake in the waters as well as humans. Beaches with sharks feature year round warnings and the public is educated.
2. Australia-In Queensland, Australia where Box Jellyfish sometimes kill humans beach side playpens are set aside. These are often large net enclosures that allow swimmers full access to the ocean in set areas with life guards, ceding the natural ocean to wildlife. This would be the optimal solution for Port St.John's waters.
A combination of education, and set aside swimming zones that were netted would work in a cost effective manner for both the government of Port St.John and for oceanic wildlife.
Cost effective shark programs require a willingness to see sharks as proper stake holders in waters where humans and sharks mix. For too long many South African authorities have seen their sharks as "others" to be managed and eradicated. Let's look at this entire issue from the flip side and manage human populations first. A win for all.
We blogged about "newly discovered" Whale shark aggregations in the Gulf of Mexico back in August of 2008.
These unique and seasonal sites have long been known to the shark research community since 2002-but are just now getting the major media's attention.
Whale sharks represent "instant tourism" opportunities for many communities across the planet. The ease in which these animals allow for human interaction and the relative benign nature of these critters make for exciting shark encounters. For the still devastated Gulf Coast region local dive shops have been slow to look into "shark tourism gold" off their shores:
NEW ORLEANS — It was such an unusual sight that the commercial fishing crew in the northern Gulf of Mexico took an hour out of their work day to count the whale sharks swimming around and even rubbing their sandpaper-like backs against the boat.
The crew stopped at 44 to avoid double-counting the dark-bodied fish, some up to 50 feet long, opening and closing their wide mouths as they vacuumed in plankton, fish eggs or small fish southwest of Morgan City, La.
It was the largest sighting in a record year for a study of the world's largest fish that began in 2002 at the University of Southern Mississippi's Gulf Coast Research Laboratory in Ocean Springs, Miss.
"As far as your eye could see in every direction, you just saw fish after fish after fish after fish," said David Wesley Underwood of Pensacola, Fla., a deckhand on his uncle's boat, the Norman B. Complete Story
Ok, I guess I SHOULD comment on the EU plan of action for sharks that was released on the 5th of February, but since both my hard drive and I decided to crash on the same day (no worries, it was just a cold for me and I had a recent back up of my hard drive so I didn’t loose that much data), I haven’t had the time or energy to go through it yet. I will return to it later.
So, my blog today will be about sharks in captivity. I have to admit that I have a very split opinion about this. Or maybe not… Let’s say I have an opinion. Here it is:
I love sharks! I love to swim with them, dive with them, watch others dive with them on tv and I like to see them ”live” in aquariums. For you, it might be the last statement that is the hardest to understand (since this is a blog which I guess mainly people who likes to go diving with sharks read. I often meet people who think that it is crazy to go diving with sharks!).
All my holidays I tend to plan so that I will either be able to swim with sharks or see them in nice aquariums.
But - there is always a but - I want the sharks to be healthy in the aquariums and I like diversity above ”mass consumption”.
I realize that any aquarium most likely is too small to be an ideal place for a shark. They should be allowed to swim freely in the ocean. Still, I think that letting people see sharks with their own eyes makes them more willing to help saving them. Sharks are not as easy to love as a seal pup or a smiling dolphin (I don’t know about that really – I have loved sharks ever since I could talk, but many people tell me about their fear of sharks). You have to work harder to make people as aware and fascinated as you are yourself. One way is to show them sharks on tv, an other to have them on display in aquariums.
But not all aquariums are ok. The film clips below were shot in Denmark. So far that is my favourite shark aquarium in the world. I guess the tank is a bit crowded, but the sharks look fine. No bruises or nasty wounds, no strange swimming patterns and a high diversity. I’ve been to several aquariums in the US where there have been lots of sharks – in fact, they have been lying in droves – but just 2 or 3 species. Those aquariums have not impressed me at all – although the sharks look ok. I don’t know if it’s because we in Scandinavia have to buy all our tropical sharks and ship them for lots of money to our aquariums – and therefore we can’t afford to overcrowd our tanks - whereas aquariums in Florida just go out with some fishing gear and takes as many sharks as they want. It could be that the sharks give birth to pups in captivity as well, but monocultures are boring and makes me a bit sick.
I went to a shark aqaurium in Germany. The tank was big and not too crowded with the four sandtigers that they had, but it also contained a poor lemon shark that was swimming in circles just above the floor. You could see a circle in the sand where it had been spinning around. That was very sad to see! Especially since I have since learned that you can cure this behavior with the correct medicine!
There is an other reason why that dive below was so excellent. As a biologist I know that nature is unpredictable. You might pay a lot of money to go very far away to end up with… scrubbing the boat from fishblood and not seeing a white shark for a whole day (that happend to me in South Africa in 1995). In an aquarium I know that I will have sharks around me – for sure! Also, since I took up diving I became what we in Sweden call an “ear child”. After a few dives I get ear infections and are not allowed to dive anymore for a while. If you spend a lot of money to go on a diving holiday you don’t want to get ill! Especially not before you have seen those sharks! Luckily I can snorkel ok and many sharks prefer that, but still there are some adventures where you will have to dive to see the sharks. The hammerheads off Cocos Islands are at the moment just a dream dive for me.
So, do I think that it is ok to have any specie of sharks in captivity? No I don’t think so. Some species adopt better than others to being held in captivity. That said, given the chance, I would gladly watch the captive whale sharks in Georgia, the white sharks that they have had in Monterey and the goblin sharks in Japan. I know it’s not politically correct, but if that is my best chance to see them “live” at all, I’m in.
In the best of worlds I would just have to grab my snorkel and jump into the water and be surrounded by sharks. For me here in Scandinavia, it isn’t as easy as that.
P.S. Since over 18 years I share my life with a pet tarantula. Yup, 18 years. In the wild, she would probably not have lasted more than a few years. Now we can look forward to say, 45 years together… Sometimes the sharks might be safer from predators – like humans - in aquariums… D.S.
Voices and lots of them. Until now the driving forces behind new shark fishing regulations that would require vessels to come back to port with shark carcass, as well as fins, have been NGO's.
It is time for regular folks to step up to the plate. Once in a long while do issues like these come up for debate, discussion and action.
Make your voice heard. It is estimated that forcing near worthless shark carcass to return with shark fishing vessels in EU waters will curtail upwards of 30% of this out of control fishery. That's an excellent start.
Woke up this morning to a veritable media buffet of shark conservation coverage regarding shark fisheries efforts with the EU.
Over 122 media outlets (not including blogs) have covered this story which is pro shark and pro conservation.
For all the negative shark press these papers put out pushing shark hysteria it is to be noted they also do an excellent job when the news is needed most:
Over the past 20 years, the total E.U shark catch has increased by nearly 35%, to more than 800,000 tonnes. As a result, some of these beautiful species are threatened with extinction, such as the Spurdog.
This week angler, and kayaker, Michael Night decided after seeing several large sharks kayaking one day-to catch one.
The story that follows is a classic case of using the "shark myth shield" to do bad things to sharks. In this case after seeing these magnificent animals from a kayak, Mr.Night went about baiting, hooking and dragging one up a local beach, his reason?
Mr Knight caught this critter not only for "the sport of it" but to dispel the myths about sharks "I wanted to show people that they are out there all the time and they don't cause any harm," he said (sound of wet palm slapping forehead).
This statement boggles the imagination and is unfortunately much of the excuse we are seeing worldwide for humans conducting themselves in a manner with sharks that is abjectly inappropriate. The misguided attempt to dispel a nebulous "myth about sharks".
Next time Mr.Knight...grab a mask and snorkel instead.
"NIMBY" is an acronym used by the Pentagon during the height of our mis-adventures in Iraq. It's stands for "not in my backyard", and what, you may ask does this have to do with shark diving?
Recently "Da Shark" from Beqa Adventure Divers told a film crew they would not use his operation to access sharks. Essentially the entire shark production was little more than exploitative "shark porn" with a tailor made shark script from L.A.
These scripts are typically produced by non shark people and attempt to bend sharks into the script, not work with the animals as the operators know them. This particular shows script has made the rounds within the industry and has been denounced by everyone who has seen it.
Here is the complete post from Beqa's blog this week.
This is also "Da Sharks" personal take on the industry as a whole. "NIMBY" also stands for industry leadership in this case. As operators we have become the unwitting gate keepers for the ongoing perception of sharks. In the final summation it is up to us to look at our dive sites less as Biological ATM Machines and more as complete shark sanctuaries.
Da Shark:
We're all in this together.
I refuse to believe that the Channels cannot treat predatory Sharks in the very same way they have finally learned to treat the terrestrial apex Predators: as iconic, endangered, fascinating and essential elements of their habitats. It obviously works commercially or they wouldn't be airing those shows - Right?
Fiji would have some wonderful Shark stories to tell, combining huge Sharks with grassroots Conservation and ancestral beliefs, all set against the magical backdrop of the South Pacific - it sure wouldn't take a rocket scientist to weave that into a fascinating narrative.
But alas, all we get is more requests for the same, tired, endlessly re-hashed garbage. How does that dovetail with the new green image those guys are trying to portray?
Felix over at the excellent blog Oceanic Dreams posted a return email from Bimini shark researcher Doc Gruber this week.
The email was in response to a TV producer who wanted an expert opinion on the subject of diving with, and feeding, 'dangerous' sharks; specifically, how these activities affect or alter shark behavior, and also whether Dr. Gruber would consider cage-free shark diving a "hazardous" activity. Posted emails like these serve to enlighten our community and help guide future conversations about sharks and television and the industry as a whole. Kudos.
Typically questions like these are stacked for eco-edutainment programming that feature bad things with sharks. Doc Grubers response serves as a template for well reasoned and pro shark thought on the matter. It's hard to fault the opinions of a guy whose entire life has been spent in the company of sharks:
"I feel that shark dives produce several very beneficial outcomes for humans and sharks. First exposing divers to sharks, safely and professionally - and in a beautiful environment will inevitably turn fear into fascination. Quickly these people become ambassadors for shark conservation. Further it produces jobs and income for areas and folks that need the work - especially in an economy such as the Bahamian one.Tourism in the Bahamas is the country's life blood, and sharks are a draw". Complete Post
Actual organic messaging opportunities that tie-in daily tea use with shark fins: 1
You are looking at "brilliance in a cup" a way of getting an eco message across an entire culture without the use of bull horns, placards, or expensive bus shelter posters. By enabling and messaging a culture's other consumables you back door your conservation message in a culturally benign manner. In many cases two and three times a day per consumer as tea use in Asia is a daily ritual with many repeat tea sessions.
We like it and kudos to designer Pablo Matteoda from Argentina. We're pretty sure this is a case of unintended consequences, but like most marketplace widgets, your market is defined by users and right now we know a waiting market of roughly 800 million.
We have been trying to get a post out about Google Earths new Ocean. More to the point the stunning content interface that is sure to be be a game changer in the months to come. Thus far our efforts have come up short.
Enter Peter Etnoyer from the Deep Sea News blog. Sometimes you just flounder around trying to encapsulate how utterly striking new technology is. And then sometimes you just give up and say with gratitude "yeah, like he said":
Etnoyer on Google Earth
Ever since yesterday’s release of Google Earth 5.0, I have been trying to convince myself that playing with the new Ocean layer is part of my job. It seems to be working. I’m a graduate student who occasionally gives talks to high schools about the deep-sea.
I’ve tried before to use Google Earth as a presentation platform. When the projection was right, I could spin the globe the Gulf of Alaska to the Gulf of Mexico effortlessly. We would go island hopping on the digital globe, jumping back and forth between the Powerpoint, the DVD player, and Google Earth. Now, I won’t have to. It’s all there together.
We got the following email this week and naturally, passed on this project.
We have also harped on this industry subject ad nausem. Suffice to say as long as industry members provide the media with the negative shark images and video that sell advertising, there remains little incentive to produce better shark programming.
It's not that the desire for better shark programming does not exist or that Discovery Networks are essentially evil. They are not. Discovery buys some fantastic shows from truly visionary production companies. It would seem though that no one has shown Discovery how to do shark productions better, cheaper, and more cohesively. Until that day comes expect more of this:
Hello,
We are producing a new show for the Discovery Channel called “XXX.”
The show is an adrenaline-packed series that highlights extraordinary incidents caught on tape! I am interested in possible footage you may have of incidents where the sharks got “too close”. For example, we are doing another story of two cage divers off the coast of Mexico that had a Great White shark get its head stuck in the cage and they had to escape out the top. Can you think of any incidents like this, or similar, that was caught on tape?
We would love to license this footage from you, and of course you would be compensated for the use of the material. We sometimes also like to couple the video with on-camera interviews with the people involved. Also, keep in mind that this is a Discovery Channel show, and will in no way be sensationalized. We want to educate our viewers on the beauty and power of the Great White!
I look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible. Please let me know if you have any questions, as I would be happy to answer them for you.
All the financial Titans of Wall Street needed to do was look at the shark world to predict the slumping economy.
