Sea of Cortez - Production Adventure 7

Good friend Captain Greg Grivetto of Horizon Charters is on another eco adventure and this time in the company of the BBC as they film their much acclaimed series,“Last Chance to See”. Biologist, naturalist, writer - Mark Carwardine and esteemed actor Stephen Fry host this series and will be aboard aswe search for blue, sperm and humpback whales.

For the next two weeks he'll be sending us his "notes from the field":

We've all seen video and photo of the aerial majesty of the humpback whale. If you've not heard the song of the humpback you have probably lived in a cave since the invention of the hydrophone. But there is a difference between what you see and hear on television and true life experience.

From dawn to dusk we were surrounded by humpbacks that seemed to be as comfortable out of the water as in! At times we could look north, south, east and west with whales flying in every direction. There was more than one occasion when two to three whales from a pod would be out of the water in unison. It is a tremendous sight watching a 45 foot humpback become airborne!

Late morning we shut down Horizon's powerplant one final time and quietly deployed BBC's hydrophone to give a listen to our aquatic surroundings. The sound that emanated through the speaker system on our back deck...words do not do justice. I found an immediate smile on my face as did all present. Once again, to hear it on the tele and to hear it live are completely different.

The remainder of the day was spent with one pod of whales or another as we enjoyed an aerial ballet, tail lobbing and spy hopping. Time was spent with a cow and calf that produced melancholy results as Mark Carwardine felt that something may have been wrong with mama. She seemed lethargic and the calf was less than pleased, or it so appeared.As the sun dipped below the horizon a huge school of baitfish rose from the depths and with it a hungry school of mobula's, their wing tips breaking the surface as they attacked the frothing baitfish. It would SUCK to be named bait.

Tonight, our final night with BBC aboard, we are anchored off of San Jose del Cabo. After a fun night of name that tune, I'm off to bed with songs from the past swirling in my head and visions of flying humpbacks decorating my thoughts.

Everyday in the Sea of Cortez this past week has been magical. I can't wait to see what tomorrow holds!

Adios,

Captain Greg

"Get, Email" - Brilliant Eco Messaging

We have been highlighting some simply amazing conservation messaging over the past year. With the rise of You Tube and it's many clones, the decade of effective conservation messaging is here.

We need more of same - those with talent please apply:

Australia - What is IMOS?

IMOS stands for Intergrated Marine Observing System. Last week we blogged about Professor Iain Suthers first rate op ed countering shark hype in Australia with common sense.

Dr Suthers sent us a link this week to the IMOS Project and we spent the next two hours "geeking out" on this amazing program:

IMOS is a distributed set of equipment and data-information services which collectively contribute to meeting the needs of marine climate research in Australia . The observing system provides data in the open oceans around Australia out to a few thousand kilometres as well as the coastal oceans. The IMOS Office coordinates the deployment of a wide range of equipment and assembles the data through 11 Facilities distributed around the country. The data are made available to researchers through the electronic Marine Information Infrastructure (eMII) located at the University of Tasmania . The IMOS infrastructure also contributes to Australia 's role in international programs of ocean observing.

IMOS was planned through extensive consultation with the Australian marine research community through Nodes, including a bluewater open ocean node and five regional nodes around the country. IMOS is coordinated and managed nationally by staff at the University of Tasmania supported by CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research . IMOS is an NCRIS funded project.

Sharks - Maldives Eco Excellence

The following press release came in from Ahmed Adam, President's Office, Maldives this week. When sharks get a unique break like this, and when governments like the Maldives see the ongoing value of shark tourism enough to create a nation wide shark haven, we do not mind posting the good news twice:

Maldives Imposes Shark Hunting Ban

The Maldives imposed today a total ban on reef shark hunting.The government said the ban will help restore shark numbers, which have fallen in recent years due to hunting.The Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture, Dr. Ibrahim Didi, said the ban would make the Maldives a ‘shark safe haven.’ “The protection measures announced today should lead to a recovery in shark numbers, providing a boon for both the environment and the tourism industry,” the Minister said.The Maldives’ pristine coral reefs are home to large populations of reef sharks, Manta Rays, Whale Sharks, turtles and exotic fish, making the country one of the world’s top diving destinations.

“Today, we announced a complete ban on all shark hunting within the Maldives’ atolls and lagoons and in the waters up to 12 miles off the Maldivian atoll coast. This will protect all types of reef sharks in the Maldives,” the Minister said.“Within 365 days, we will extend the ban to all of the country’s territorial waters. This will also protect oceanic sharks and will pave the way to a complete ban on the export of all shark products,” he added. The Ministry of Fisheries says it is working with all stakeholders to find alternative livelihoods for fishermen who derive their income from shark hunting.

"In a news conference held in Male’, Dr., State Minister for the Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture, said that the ministry will formulate a program for the existing shark fisherman to change into alternative income generating areas.The Maldives’ newly-elected president, Mohamed "Nasheed, said he was “delighted” with the ban. “The ban will restore the Maldives’ shark populations and, in doing so, help maintain our pristine marine environment,” the President said.“The shark hunting ban will also help the tourism industry. More divers and snorkelers will now visit the Maldives to observe these beautiful sea creatures.

“In the 1990s, our turtle population declined. But greater public awareness about the need to protect turtles led to numbers recovering. I hope our sharks will witness a similar recovery,” President Nasheed added. "The Maldives attracts 600,000 tourists per year. Tourism accounts for 28% of the country’s GDP Fishing is the Maldives’ second biggest industry after tourism. Only 180 of the country’s 15,000 fishermen are believed to hunt sharks.

There is no domestic market for shark products in the Maldives. Sharks caught in the Maldives are exported abroad, predominantly to place East Asia In 2007, shark products accounted for just 0.2% of the country’s total marine exports.Maldivian reef sharks are considered harmless to humans.

For more information about the shark hunting ban, please contact Dr.Abdulla Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture, on 00960 7788197 or at Abdulla.naseer@fishagri.gov.mv

Shark Killings in Belize - Discovery

When local sharks are killed in any region it is usually the commercial shark diving industry that discovers and records the event.

These "events" have happened at a number of well known shark sites from South Africa to the Bahamas recently.

This week it was Belize and a gruesome story of local fishermen pitted against a dive and shark dive industry who are in a struggle for the regions sharks. One time use vs sustainable tourism:

Scandalous photographs of the slaughter of nurse sharks have sent shock waves through Belize. Mating nurse sharks nesting in the shallow waters along the shores of Caye Caulker were being filleted in a sailboat, as well as, on board two motorized boats which were resting on the Caribbean waters.

Caye Caulker tour guide James Rosado from Belize Diving Services saw the Corozal licensed sailboat with what, according to him, appeared to be dolphin carcasses on their boats. Closer looks revealed that what was actually being cut up were nurse sharks. The sailboat was accompanied by two twenty five foot Mexican skiffs, one having a sixty horse powered engine while the other had a forty horse powered engine. These power boats contained what appeared to be gill nets (Gill-nets entangle fish. The nets are comprised of panels of multifilament- or monofilament panels with a stretched mesh size that capture fish by either lodging behind their gill-covers or by entangling their spines) behind them.

“Two of the boats were filled with nets and in the middle compartment of the boats, both of them, were filled with sharks, as well. Each boat had maybe about eight people on it and each person had a big mature nurse shark on the boat, just filleting the nurse shark,” commented Rosado.

Editors Note: Kudos to James Rosado from Belize Diving Services for breaking this story. If there's anything we can do to help please do not hesitate to ask. The way to effect change in Belize is to "bang the drum" and you folks are doing a good job.

Carnival of the Blue - Bigger than a Breadbox

And twice as fun. For the past two years Mark Powell over at the Blogfish blog has been accumulating a monthly meeting of the best "Blue Blog" submissions. The results each month are very entertaining:

Welcome one and all to the twenty-second installment of this monthly meeting of ocean mirth we call the Carnival of the Blue. For nearly two years now, bloggers world-wide have rallied to fill this monthly compendium with their favorite writings on ocean science, conservation, natural history, art, photography, history, critical analysis, and much more.

Read this months Carnival members and no we're not in this months COB since we failed to submit anything. The end of the month comes up on you kinda quick, you know?

Apparently being written up in this months Playboy magazine does not qualify one to be in the COB;)

Attention "Pro Shark" Media People

Call us when you get something this cool to look at. Seriously, the surf guys come up with compelling, eye catching, You Tube sending, classic media at a rate that defies imagination.

And our side, which is filled with some of the brightest underwater shooters and still photographers in the industry - has put out a total of six, maybe seven, "pro shark" media hits in the past five years. This blog post is about quality shark media, not Microsoft powered quickies.

So, if you want to know how it is done here is, once again, another amazing surf video:

Sea of Cortez - Production Adventure 6

Good friend Captain Greg Grivetto of Horizon Charters is on another eco adventure and this time in the company of the BBC as they film their much acclaimed series,“Last Chance to See”. Biologist, naturalist, writer - Mark Carwardine and esteemed actor Stephen Fry host this series and will be aboard aswe search for blue, sperm and humpback whales.

For the next two weeks he'll be sending us his "notes from the field":

After yesterdays interlude with the squid of Santa Rosalia we were back on "whale focus" today and started off early with an agitated humpback whale. The whale was being ruthlessly pestered by a pod of bottlenosed dolphin and a pair of sea lions that appeared to be playing "Lets see who can get under the big jumbo swimmer's skin!". Their tactic worked, as every couple minutes the whale would wildly swing and thrash it's tail in an attempt to, "Get those damn pesky flies outta my face!".

The coup de gras, which worked quite well, was a sudden spectacular full body aerial breach that occurred only 100 feet off the starboard side of Horizon! After that, no more dolphin problem...I think they took the hint.

We spent the next few hours drifting in wait as one of Lindblad Expeditions vessels was anchored in the exact locale that we wanted to occupy. The nerve, in a place as large as the Sea of Cortez, couldn't they find someplace else to go? Anyhow, it worked out fine as the BBC needed some down time to film simple shots around Horizon.

The early afternoon was very cool as we made our first landfall in 4 days at the Ancient Whale Bone site on Isla San Jose. Fossilized whale bones, turtle shells, dolphin skulls and clam shells embedded in sandstone decorate the landscape. The surrounding sandstone cliffs are beautiful in hues of brown, tan, red and orange. Mark Carwardine had wanted us to arrive on site before sunrise to take advantage of the beautiful colors that emanate from the rock during the explosion of sunrises first light. Unfortunately, due to the time it took us to make the long 170 mile traverse from Santa Rosalia, we weren't able to make it in time.

Large Sally Lightfoot crabs scurried from rock to rock while crewmember Kyle spotted a puffer fish and large amberjack as he gazed into the water along the shore. It was unfortunate that we had such a short time at Isla San Jose, we all could have spent additional time there.

Shortly after departing Isla San Jose I placed a call to another eco tour company that was whale watching in the San Jose Island Channel. A quick chat provided information on a large pod of sperm whales moving southerly through the channel, so we were off in search of the cousins to Moby Dick. Within the hour we had alongside Horizon 10 of these deep diving champions, seemingly unaware of our presence. The calm of early evening  provided a surreal aire to the scene as we cruised alongside our black wrinkle bodied hosts. Another Sea of Cortez encounter that will not be forgotten!

Tonight we travel south toward Gorda Banks, with hopes of finding more charismatic humpback whales. From what I've been told, the film team already all the footage necessary to produce their show...the rest is gravy to an already amazing meal!

Until Breakfast,

Captain Greg

Tag sharks.Then have informed debate

The Australian media are having what amounts to an "orgastic anti shark field day" with a spate of recent high profile shark attacks.

One lone voice, Professor Iain Suthers, has popped up in a local op ed with a novel idea.

Of course no one would consider a tagging program for shark populations at the cost of $2K per tag and an overall $500,000 for the final conclusions - when a shark program like this (see image) would do the immediate job much faster. Or would they? Ideas can be very dangerous things:

A surprising aspect of the recent shark attacks is what we don't know. Certainly the risk of shark attack per swimmer is less than in the past. But we don't know if there are more sharks around Sydney than last summer (although it seems to be so). We don't know if this is a trend. There were many reports last summer, but no attacks.

We don't know if it is due to the fish bait abundance, caused by recent strong upwelling. With the strengthening East Australian Current and warming of the Tasman Sea, perhaps this is a climate-related process we could model. We don't even know the life history of bull sharks - are they just summer tourists, and if so, where do they winter? At present all such speculation needs data, and the only long-term data is the controversial shark-meshing program.

First, data could be sourced from reliable observers of the harbour and beaches: ferry captains, charter fishing operators and experienced observers from high-rise apartments. They could dial in an observed index from 0 to 9 which, with other data (water temperature, rainfall, upwelling), could form the basis of a weekly shark risk, similar to UV risk.

Second, we need more research and communication. The bad reputation of hammerheads and grey nurse sharks has no basis. Many researchers around Australia are tracking sharks with acoustic tags. The presence of tagged sharks will be tracked with 900 receivers distributed around Australia as part of the Federal Government's integrated marine observing system. One part of that array has just been deployed off Tamarama. Science is needed so we can enjoy the harbour without fear.

Professor Iain Suthers, Sydney Institute of Marine Science, University of NSW

Editors Note: Kudos to Professor Iain Suthers for this "idea".

1000m White Shark - Shark Geek Cool

Let's channel our "inner shark geeks" for a moment and savor the news coming out a small and dedicated group of White shark researchers off Stewart Island, NZ this month.

Data coming back from a series of shark tags are showing these remarkable animals diving to 1000m or 3280 feet:

Up to 70 per cent of the time they are near the surface but this winter one of the whites dived. "We've got what we think is a world record of 1000 metres for a white shark."

They believe it would have gone after a giant squid or phosphorescent fish. At that depth it would be pitch black and the white would have been guided in by the fish glow. A tag on a white shark popped up off Mana Island but its data was partly corrupted. The shark had been north to the tropics for winter and had come back in summer.

Three of six sharks tagged at the Chathams were found to have swum 3000km north to Tongatapu, the main Tongan island.

And you wonder why we love shark science so much?

Complete Story.

Neptune's Chariot - Mobile Shark Cage

Hold all our calls and take the kids out of school, we think we just came across something pretty unique.

For the past 30 years shark cage systems have been, for the most part, static. A big industry breakthrough happened a few years back with a clear cylindrical cage system in South Africa.

Unfortunately the material cost of cage systems like these makes the advancement of shark human interactions with cages a basic proposition...until today.

Welcome to Neptune's Chariot one mans dream for closer, mobile encounters, with the world's sharks:

I am presenting Neptune's Chariot, a high performance mobile shark cage. This chariot is designed to provide protection from some predatory animals, but also designed to allow a human to peddle efficiently through the water. The cage gives its occupant the piece of mind to swim out over the ledge, taking the creep out of the deep. Sharks can be enjoyed instead of feared, but always respected from the inside of Neptune's Chariot.

We like it, kudos to inventor Stephan Logie for looking at our industry and shark interactions in a new way.

Sea of Cortez - Production Adventure 5

Good friend Captain Greg Grivetto of Horizon Charters is on another eco adventure and this time in the company of the BBC as they film their much acclaimed series,“Last Chance to See”. Biologist, naturalist, writer - Mark Carwardine and esteemed actor Stephen Fry host this series and will be aboard aswe search for blue, sperm and humpback whales.

For the next two weeks he'll be sending us his "notes from the field":

We rolled into Santa Rosalia right at first light and set about drifting as the sun made it's way over the eastern horizon. Our 130 mile overnight journey to the offshore waters of the town that Eiffel built was in order to come in contact with the oceans ultimate predator...Humboldt squid.

Shortly after our arrival, California based squid researcher Scott Casselle met up with us and proceeded to give us all a valuable lesson on food web in-balance that appears to be a leading factor in the exponential Humboldt squid population explosion. "With the rapid decline in the predatory species, the voracious appetite driven rapidly reproducing squid are expanding unchecked toward a destiny that could lead to the collapse of many of the eastern Pacific Oceans species.", says Casselle. " The salmon stocks have suffered tremendously due to squid predation and rockfish species are not far behind. "

As Horizon's crew set up Scott's squid pen, local fisherman captured numerous squid and deposited them within the pen fastened to the swimstep of Horizon. Scott then donned his wetsuit and protective armor, which today consisted of a fine mesh stainless steel chain mail suit designed by San Diego based Neptonics. This armor is his "light" protection as during dives where he is to encounter large 5 - 8 foot  squid, he dons full protective plates to cover the majority of his body. And even with the heavy armor he has had his shoulder dislocated and his wrist broken on several occasions by the extraordinarily strong squid. "During one dive a squid grabbed my camera from behind me, and as any crazy photographer would do, I held onto the camera at tremendous cost. The squid yanked my arm over my head and dislocated my shoulder. I then had to fend off other squid with my free hand while keeping control of the camera with my bad arm. I was not going to lose my camera!".

Mark and Stephen had a long chat with Scott as he swam with the squid within the pen. As the cameras rolled we all got the sense that even though these animals are truly amazing, a solution to take care of their sudden expansion and overpopulation needs to be devised quickly before it is too late. The lessons learned today during our short stay with Scott will stick with all of us and will sharpen the focus of our message of conservation.

Our afternoon was spent traveling south through the placid waters north of Bahia Conception. It was a quiet afternoon full of thousands of birds foraging on small schools of baitfish. Within two hours of our departure I had spotted pelicans, cormorants, gulls, loons, boobies, shearwaters, petrals and terns. At one point a masked boobie gliding just over the surface of the water suddenly gained attitude as it spotted a small meal of undetermined nature. At that point it, and mind you this bird is cruising at 25 miles per hour, gained 5 feet of altitude and then plunged like a bullet into the Sea...at 25 miles per hour! Approximately 8 feet later it sprung out of the water doing 20 mile per hour, gained enough altitude to keep from dipping its wings, shook off the water with one shake and then started flying like nothing had happened! Absolutely the most crazy thing that I have EVER seen a bird do!

The afternoon only gets better. And "No" I'm not making this stuff up. About 30 minutes after the booby did it's crazy stunt we came upon a huge pod of bottlenosed dolphin, the likes that I in 30 years on the ocean, have never seen. There must have been 400 dolphin within the pod, a number usually reserved for common dolphin not bottlenosed. Mark Carwardine and I looked at one another and stated simultaneously that from a distance we had anticipated the pod to be common dolphin. They put on an amazing show, even better than yesterdays dolphin as up to 6 at a time would launch themselves 20 feet into the air in a side by side formation that would rival the Blue Angels!

I'm truly sorry about the expansiveness of this log, but today was freaking cool. Just thought I would share!

Until Tomorrow from Isla San Jose and the ancient whalebones,

Captain Greg

Australia's Shark Fishery - Grasping at Straws

From the RTSea blog this morning a look at the shark wolves in Australia and efforts to leverage recent shark attack media for broader shark harvest quotas:

Always on the hunt to increase their annual shark catch to satisfy the growing Asian demand, Australian fishery industry officials are continuing in their strategy to link three recent shark-human interactions with the need to expand on shark catch limits.

In an online article in The Australian, it was reported that in North South Wales, Australia's southeast territory and home to the three recent attacks, an increase in prey fish and Sydney Harbor's improved water quality may be a contributing factor to the number of attacks.

"NSW has worked very hard for the last couple of decades to try and ensure the sustainability of its fisheries. There is less fishing and the fishing is more controlled -- there is more abundant prey in Sydney Harbour and maybe more sharks because of this," said Rik Buckworth of the Northern Territories Fisheries Department. He also said other factors could be climatic changes and more swimmers at Sydney beaches."The number of shark attacks doesn't mean there are more sharks around, per se, but they're localized on the feeding schools," said Taronga Zoo shark expert John West.

So, you improve the marine ecosystem by improving water quality and control fishing, which increases fish populations (ie: getting back to normal) . . . and that's a bad thing?

Well, according to fishery industry spokesman Duncan Gay, it is as he is blaming conservation-friendly policies for increases in predatory sharks in NSW waters - once again, the fear factor. He said high shark numbers could be linked to "bad government policy in closing up large amounts of the fishery and changing fishing habits."

In another related article, Dr. Gilly Llewellyn of the World Wildlife Fund says, "The calls for an increase to the shark fishing quota in NSW are driven by this opportunism. Some fishers are using the current media feeding frenzy around sharks to call for an increase in shark hunting levels and are making claims that have no scientific basis. They should be ignored." And other Australian fisheries department officials say there is no evidence that fishing restrictions have led to more shark attacks.

Could improved marine environments lead to a higher number of sharks? It's possible. Could the three recent shark-human interactions be simply a statistical anomaly? It's possible. Could the fishing industry be on a witch hunt, drumming up excuses so as to increase profits? Most definitely.

Sea Shepherd to Nine News MSN - Liars!

Wagging the Conservation Dog

Did SSCS fabricate a sperm whale rescue story for Nine News - MSN?

This week we highlighted what appeared to be a bald faced media fabrication sent out to Nine News - MSN by none other than Sea Shepherd’s National Director for Research, Vanessa Pearce. A SSCS organization title she now claims was never designated to her.

See Story

A person identifying herself as Ms.Pearce has come back to this blog refuting 90% of her story in the national news and the direct quotes in it (see blog comments). According to Sea Shepherds Ms.Pearce, Nine News - MSN reporter Sean Cusick misquoted much of her conversation to him in an interview she now claims she never gave to Mr.Cusick.

We have highlighted the actual quotes our blog and Sea Shepherds Ms.Pearce now agree are complete and absolute media fabrications about a whale rescue story in the national news that never happened:

Sea Shepherd members travelled on their ship Steve Irwin to a mass beaching of more than 50 sperm whales on the Tasmania's northwest coast on January 22 — but they were told their help wasn't needed despite carrying marine scientists and expert whale-saving equipment on board.

"When we arrived there on the Steve Irwin, we found about eight guys standing around with nothing but a bucket and a hose," Ms Pearce said. "We asked if we could help and they said, 'No thanks, we're fine'." The crew members claim to have witnessed one man dismembering a dead whale with a chainsaw just metres from another that was still alive, causing the live mammal even more distress and suffering.

We spoke in person with Executive Editor Hal Crawford from Nine News - MSN this evening. Clearly something was not right. Either his reporter made 90% of a story up in the national news as Ms.Pearce alludes, or Sea Shepherds Ms.Pearce is lying through her teeth again, backtracking on a national news story so fake, so egregious, that we felt the need to call it out in the first place.

Ms.Pearce is on record saying that Sea Shepherd vessel Steve Irwin was actually on site of a mass sperm whale stranding 1 22.2009 with "whale saving equipment" and was "turned away" by park staff. The documented fact was the Steve Irwin was almost 1500 nautical miles away at the time. The illusion to this story is that many SSCS whale staff and even a "marine scientist" were on hand to save stranded sperm whales. In fact only three actual SSCS volunteers made the trek out to the stranding site for what turned out to be a quick photo op with dead whales.

No whale saving equipment, no marine scientists, and no flagship vessel Steve Irwin.

The story we highlighted this week shows how Sea Shepherd routinely fabricates news for it's own purposes, namely eco donations, from a well meaning public who are subjected to "seriously massaged and erroneous" major media output by SSCS both in terms of news articles and reality television shows like Whale Wars.

Executive Editor Hal Crawford of Nine News - MSN had this to say today. As we suspected MSN backs their reporter 100% and has thrown Ms.Pearce and SSCS under the proverbial bus:

We absolutely stand behind the story posted to Nine - MSN as being accurate. I stand by reporter Sean Cusick as having given a fair representation of the conversation between him and Ms.Pearce. There's no question that she did speak with Sean Cusick and what she said to him in an interview was accurately represented as she told it. We will not be taking the article down anytime soon, we have no reason to.

Motive

The simplest answer to this he said/she said is the most likely. Nine News - MSN had nothing to gain by fabricating a whale story filled with whale saving gear, the Steve Irwin, and marine biologists. Additionally MSN reporter Sean Cusick has nothing to gain by adding deep story fabrications such as SSCS organizational titles for Ms.Pearce calling her Sea Shepherd’s National Director for Research.

On the flip side for an eco org that constantly seeks donor money, and who have willfully fabricated many eco storylines from elements of Whale Wars to an attempted assassination claim and video last season, this national news piece is in line with their ongoing disinformation campaign. Wagging the Conservation Dog.

Your Money

Your money is important to the ongoing and unfortunately, global efforts, to roll back environmental disasters and unsustainable fisheries. Hundreds of NGO's are literally begging for donations to get serious and lasting work done. As we discovered first hand, donations to SSCS only Wag the Conservation Dog and do little to help move agendas forward or work with disparate groups for long term solutions.

SSCS has had 31 years to effect change. Fabricated eco news is the best they now have to offer the global eco movement in an attempt to capture your hard earned dollars.

If you want your donations to work, ensure whoever you donate to is transparent and can show metrics for success not just massaged eco news clips that cash in on the horror's of dead whales, seals, and sharks to fund more of the same.

Demand more from your eco org.

Oceanic Dreams Blog - Breaking News

Wolfgang Leander got the shark scoop this afternoon from Washington DC.

With shark news from both the Maldives and now in the US it would seem this is has been a great week for sharks:

Some very good news coming out of Washington D.C today...The House of Representatives passed the Shark Conservation Act of 2009 (H.R. 81) yesterday. This bill would require sharks to be landed with their fins still naturally attached, which allows for better enforcement and data collection in stock assessments and quota monitoring.

For more information please read Oceana's press release (who also happened to be a driving force behind this initiative) and visit their website - specifically their shark section.

Editors Note:Kudos to those that made this happen. On the subject of first rate eco work support Oceana.org, they actually effect change with your money and your time.

Industry Led Shark Conservation - Fiji

Saw this industry gem over at the BAD blog today and decided to cover it here. Count us in on the "first to order list":

Want to spice up your Shark Presentation?

We've produced a short DVD featuring the 8 species that frequent Shark Reef Marine Reserve: Tawny Nurse Shark, Whitetip Reef Shark, Blacktip Reef Shark, Grey Reef Shark, Silvertip Shark, Sicklefin Lemon Shark, Bull Shark and Tiger Shark.

As a Supporter of the Year of the Shark - Fiji, you can now order them at our dive shop: just call 3450 911 0r write to Info@FijiShark.com. We'll give them at cost and it's entirely up to you whether you hand them out for free as part of your Shark Awareness Course or mark them up and sell them instead.

However, please keep in mind that the footage is copyrighted to BAD and that you may not use it for any other purpose.

Vinaka!

Shark Shield Sales Boom - Australia

For one of the few technologies that actually work - when used correctly, we're not surprised by the news coming out of Australia this week. Nothing replaces common sense when dealing with sharks.

Sales of an Australian-made device to repel sharks are booming after three recent attacks in Sydney.

SeaChange Technology, the Adelaide company that produces the electronic "Shark Shield", says inquiries have tripled over the past two months and sales have increased by 50 per cent.

"We cannot keep up with production. Twice in the past two months we've increased our production line only to find immediately that we have to do it again," SeaChange Technology co-founder Paul Lunn said.

The device, which costs between $600 and $700 depending on the model, weighs 80 grams and can fit into the palm of a man's hand.It works by releasing electrical impulses that are painful to sharks within seven or eight metres.

"The shark is only affected while it's in the zone of the waveform of the unit. Once it gets out of that, there's no long-term damage at all," Mr Lunn said.Police dive squads in each Australian state have implemented a mandatory-use policy for the "Shark Shield" and NATO has accredited it for use by the military.

Editors Note: In response to increased use of Shark Shield technology by film and television companies, Shark Shield Pty Ltd has appointed Shark Divers as its official regulatory authority for the Northern Hemisphere.

Sea Shepherd - Faked Whale Media $$

Wagging the Conservation Dog

Did SSCS fabricate a sperm whale rescue story for Nine News - MSN?

We have talked a lot about Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and their efforts after 31 years to save whales.

While SSCS "devoted" claim their eco org is legitimate and actually saves animals acting as the guardians of wildlife, we maintain they have devolved into little more than a media machine that has gone off the rails, trading your hard won eco dollars for faked press releases and even less credible reality television shows.

SSCS media output has become so abjectly dishonest and fanciful that we're not surprised many governments and blogs like this one are taking a stance against Wagging the Conservation Dog for continued ineffective eco results.

Case in point - Where was the Steve Irwin Jan 22.2009?

If you ask Sea Shepherd’s National Director for Research, Ness Pearce, the Steve Irwin was off the coast of Tasmania on the site of a horrific sperm whale stranding, with actual whale saving equipment on board. This weeks major media story from Australia and Sea Shepherd becomes even more poignant as Ms.Pearce goes on to say:

Sea Shepherd members travelled on their ship Steve Irwin to a mass beaching of more than 50 sperm whales on the Tasmania's northwest coast on January 22 — but they were told their help wasn't needed despite carrying marine scientists and expert whale-saving equipment on board.

"When we arrived there on the Steve Irwin, we found about eight guys standing around with nothing but a bucket and a hose," Ms Pearce said. "We asked if we could help and they said, 'No thanks, we're fine'." The crew members claim to have witnessed one man dismembering a dead whale with a chainsaw just metres from another that was still alive, causing the live mammal even more distress and suffering.

Faked News?

This actual quote and first hand reporting from Ms.Pearce makes for great news. Reading this one comes to the conclusion that Sea Shepherd cares about whales, is always there to help, and even carries around "expert whale saving gear". Additionally the local Park service employees (read local government) are put in a completely negative light after telling Sea Shepherd crew members "their help was not needed" not to mention the shady reference to the man with the chainsaw.

Now let's look at this same story from an actual Sea Shepherd blog post written by Shannon Mann, Merryn Redenbach and Wietse Van Der Werf. Here's what they say about the same stranding January 22.2009 complete with on site images of just three SSCS members milling about many dead whales laying on the sand. They also document where the Steve Irwin was at the time Sea Shepherd’s National Director for Research claims in a first hand report it was off the coast of Tasmania at the sperm whale stranding:

Two days after we had waved off the Steve Irwin and its courageous crew, and as the ship again set sail for the icy waters of Antarctica (saving whales from Japanese hunters), we read in the Tasmanian papers about the mass stranding of sperm whales on Tasmania's north coast. We decided to hit the road and cross the island, hoping to arrive in time to assist the rescue operation in whatever way we could. While we organised a vehicle and downloaded news articles about the incident, we learned the full extent of the situation. Fifty female sperm whales were stranded on a sandbank off Perkins Island near Smithton, a small town on the very North Western corner of Tasmania. It was one of the biggest standings of its kind in Tasmania's history and with the size of the animals and the remote location, it was evident the rescue of the remaining live whales would be a daunting task.

Clearly these two media takes on the same event are wildly different. In fact there's no mention of Ms.Pearce even physically being at the stranding event, yet she is the voice of whale conservation authority in the media. The SSCS National Director for Research coverage of this event for the major media is filled with eco excellence, bravado, whale saving equipment, and the actual vessel Steve Irwin. Unfortunately the entire eco story was absolutely fabricated - classic Wagging the Conservation Dog. For what?

Your Money

Your money is important to the ongoing and unfortunately, global efforts, to roll back environmental disasters and unsustainable fisheries. Hundreds of NGO's are literally begging for donations to get serious and lasting work done. As we discovered first hand, donations to SSCS only Wag the Conservation Dog and do little to help move agendas forward or work with disparate groups for long term solutions.

SSCS has had 31 years to effect change. Faked eco news is the best they now have to offer the global eco movement.

If you want your donations to work, ensure whoever you donate to is transparent and can show metrics for success not just massaged eco news clips that cash in on the horror's of dead whales, seals, and sharks to fund more of the same.

Demand more from your eco org.

Editors Note: In the interests of fairness one might argue that the woman portrayed in the major media this week as SSCS National Director for Research is in fact a local, radicalized eco loon, who was pretending to the part of the SSCS organization. We cannot fathom how this woman could get the basic facts of a horrific whale stranding so wrong while actual boots on the ground told a completely different story of three well meaning "whale stranding media parachuters" who wanted to help, but realized they were late, without the equipment needed,the finances, or the manpower to effect any change at all.

Given the many bogus news events pumped out by SSCS over the past year - from faked assassination claims to hostage taking events, who knows what the real story is.

Suffice to say whatever SSCS says about it these days, they are probably dead wrong.

Maldives Sharks - Historic Decision

The Marine Research Center, Maldives in tandem with the ministry of fisheries and agriculture has extended the moratorium on reef shark fishing to cover the whole of the Maldives, as part of a historic move towards a total ban on both reef and oceanic shark hunting.

The Banyan Tree Resort also deserves kudos for their ongoing efforts to preserve sharks in the region.

This move is simply remarkable, showing a level of government leadership that few other 1st world governments have yet to adopt. The Maldives have been quick studies of the power of shark tourism and research vs one time takes and this announcement sets the table for other governments such as Malaysia to follow suit:

Marie Saleem, a reef ecologist at the marine research centre and one of those at the forefront of the campaign to ban shark hunting, said she was both excited and relieved to hear that the efforts of those who had been pushing for a ban were finally fruitful.

For divers, shark conservationists, and others, sending an email of support would be highly appropriate at this time. When fisheries decide to make the right move for sharks we need to be there as well. Kudos.

Email: Maldives Fisheries

Sea of Cortez - Production Adventure 4

Good friend Captain Greg Grivetto of Horizon Charters is on another eco adventure and this time in the company of the BBC as they film their much acclaimed series, “Last Chance to See”. Biologist, naturalist, writer - Mark Carwardine and esteemed actor Stephen Fry host this series and will be aboard as we search for blue, sperm and humpback whales.

For the next two weeks he'll be sending us his "notes from the field":

I need to talk to the people that named this place Sea of Cortez. There seems to be a bit of confusion as to who's Sea it really is. The namer believes that it is Cortez's sea, we believe that is the Sea of Whales. I will discuss this with the powers that be in Mexico and will get back to you.

So what did we see today after I wrote you all's this morning? Well, read my list below:

1) 2 humpback whales 30 miles north of Cabo San Lucas
2) 100 sportfishing boats, yachts and pangas on the Golden Gate Bank 20 miles north of Cabo. Of which at least 1/2 of them were engaged with marlin, tuna or what appeared to be wahoo. There were marlin jumping everywhere! Would be a cool place to be before the boats arrived, say 7:00am. Find a bait ball and jump in to swim with the marlin!
3) Cabo San Lucas....what a zoo...
4) THE SEA OF WHALES!!!! It was like an infomercial for the humpback species. Jumping over here, frolicking over there. We stopped with one pod and watched them swim the length of the boat and then pop up 40 feet off the stern. And then as I drove off, one of them did a full body breach!
5) Jumping mobulas everywhere. Mobulas are the smaller cousin to the manta ray. The biggest I saw today was pretty big though, 8 feet across or so. It jumped directly in front of the boat about 40 feet off. A bit closer and we would have been trying to toss it back into the water!

Bottom line is that today was amazing! The life is incredible in the East Cape area and based upon reports should continue farther up into the Sea as well.

As I write we just dropped anchor in the Bahia de los Muertos. The boat has been moving for three straight days so we decided to give her the night off. She quoted some union law concerning 72 straight hours of work and mandatory overtime pay...yada, yada, yada. Whatever you say boat. 

In the morning, after the boat gets a good nights rest, we will depart for La Paz. We'll be cruising past my buddies place, Palapas Ventana, along the way. If you are looking for a great place to stay that will give you the flavor of Baja, Tim's place IS the PLACE you're looking for. Okay Tim, where's the $20 you said you'd give me for the plug?

Until Manana!

Captain Greg

Whale Shark Research - Kenya

Hungry for front line whale shark research and education news from Kenya?

Look no further than the Wildlife Direct website and blog featuring researchers Nimu Njonjo and Volker Bassen as they report back on weekly efforts to save the worlds largest fish. Their in depth blog covers marine research, tagging and following whale sharks in and around Diani Beach, Kenya.

Fascinating reading, great website and in depth research coverage.

The Tasman Question - Stranding Whales

Rescuers are once again frantically at work trying to save stranded whales in Tasmania. This year over 400 whales have stranded. While not uncommon in the region local rescuers are beginning to say this years standing levels are much higher than normal. These are also cross species stranding events involving sperm whales, pilot whales and even dolphins.

Being a shark blog we rarely cover whales - over 400 animals in five months seems like a lot of animals to us making this noteworthy. For more information about Tasman whale stranding and local efforts to help them go to WILDCARE Inc.

Sharks Myths and Misconceptions

Two well discussed blogs that we keep track of here had much to say about the ongoing anti-shark media hype clogging our news outlets right now (see blogs of note).

Partly fueled by a series of unfortunate and successive shark attacks in Australia and a much slower news cycle. Both the RTSea Blog and the Chum Slick Blog are pro shark, and pro environment.

Normally Chum Slick opts for the razor rant with a few well placed F-bombs but this week took an in depth look into the issue of anti shark propaganda with a keen media eye. Who is behind Australia's anti shark propaganda?

We have said it in the past and we'll say it again. For the most part the default mode of major media is anti-shark, pro 1970's Jaws hype, with little investigative effort into sharks in general.

The last three weeks have been the gold standard for sharks in the media.

Cricket II to Continue Hunting Sharks

We have been following the fate of the Cricket Two over the past year.

Our concern was this notorious shark killing vessel, once put up for auction, might end up in the hands of someone who saw the media potential of it as clearly as we did...for the promotion and continuation of east coast shark kills.

That event happened this week as new owner Jon Dodd, 47, a regular at shark fishing tournaments in Montauk, said he plans bring this vessel back regularly for shark tournaments.

$51,000 bought Mr.Dodd the finest pro shark fishing media machine money can buy on the east coast. Our attempts to purchase this vessel outside of the auction failed - even though a preemptive offer of $150,000 was sent to the wife of Frank Mundus.

Complete story here

Sea of Cortez - Production Adventure 3

Good friend Captain Greg Grivetto of Horizon Charters is on another eco adventure and this time in the company of the BBC as they film their much acclaimed series, “Last Chance to See”. Biologist, naturalist, writer - Mark Carwardine and esteemed actor Stephen Fry host this series and will be aboard as we search for blue, sperm and humpback whales.

For the next two weeks he'll be sending us his "notes from the field":

The M/V Horizon surf board, a true long board by all accounts. We're surfing our way south on a consistently blustery sea. The weather report for today was a bit better than what we are encountering but all in all not too bad as the sun is out, the weather is warming and yesterday afternoon I installed a pumping stereo amplifier for our onboard stereo system. We've got the XM satellite radio fired up on the boat and are rocking out as we finish up our ship board projects.

As I write we are at 25.41 degrees north and 113.17 degrees west or 88 nautical miles north of Bahia Magdalena and 465 miles south of San Diego. This also places us 60 miles offshore, or for those of you that have been to San Clemente Island, the same distance you travel when making the crossing from San Diego to San Clemente.

As the day progressed Mother Nature's attitude improved, the ocean warmed and the sea came to life! We happened upon 3 humpback whales today just north of Bahia Magdalena. The first was an energetic youngster that made itself know by repeatedly breaching, spyhopping and nosing out. The first breach was classic humpback, straight up, 2/3's of it's body out of the water, then twist and extend the pectoral flippers for added flare before flopping and making a big ol' splash!

We spotted the other two at a distance as we were taking a look at Bajo Thetis, an underwater seamount a few miles north of Bahia Magdalena. We're contemplating venturing to this seamount on future Baja dive expeditions and spent some time with the sounder on metering back and forth across the top of the bank getting a feel for it's layout. The water was a bit chilly today, 65 degrees, but there was an amazing amount of life on the bank with baitfish, presumably mackerel, filling the water column and bullet tuna feeding on other small delectables.

As the sun dipped below the horizon we were adjacent to Bahia Santa Maria, just north of Bahia Magdalena. Late tomorrow morning we will be rounding Land's End, Cabo San Lucas as we enter the Sea of Cortez. I'm excited about visiting Gorda Banks north of Cabo. This is the time of year when humpbacks are found there which means we might need to spend a few extra minutes taking in the sites.

Adios,

Captain Greg

Sea Shepherd - Your Money, Farley Mowat

We have been active critics of Sea Shepherd for the past year. What prompted our sudden reversal from donors and supporters to critics, was the realization that Sea Shepherd was wasting our money by Wagging the Conservation Dog.

When you support an eco org you expect results. Your money stands in your stead to effect change, and Sea Shepherd skillfully plays the "results card" when courting donors. From self generated arrest warrants for the entire Japanese whaling fleet, to quotes on websites and in public interviews, Sea Shepherd claims they will protect and save wildlife.

SSCS are well practiced at the trigger wording for well meaning eco donors.

The ugly fact is for the past 31 years Sea Shepherd has failed to stop whaling, the Canadian seal hunt, and shark kills. While other eco orgs have moved wildlife agendas forward and gained legitimacy with world opinion, Sea Shepherd has all but painted itself into a radical corner with fewer governments supporting them and fewer ports to call on.

Sea Shepherds trail of titanic financial missteps and its headlong rush to irrelevance is the direct result of insular 1970's eco thinking, poor judgment, and poor use of new media where the public backlash is immediate and unforgiving.

Case in point Sea Shepherds other "eco enforcement vessel" the Farley Mowat. You do not hear about this multi million dollar debacle because Sea Shepherd has all but abandoned this vessel in Canada, after once again being absolutely ineffective with the ongoing Canadian seal hunt.

The financial loss of this vessel to Sea Shepherds donors is staggering. Currently the Canadian government is demanding well over 3 million dollars in fines from Sea Shepherd and this week put the entire vessel up for auction. Two crew members will be back in Canadian courts in April running up untold and unmentioned legal bills.

These are your dollars being wasted for an unchanging 1970's eco policy and an agenda that went nowhere once more in 2008. Seals are being killed again this season.

As we started to look into Sea Shepherd one other revelation came forth. Sea Shepherd is good at one thing, media and grabbing attention. This is what initially attracted us and many others. Unfortunately the blow back for Wagging the Conservation Dog is literally sucking all the air out of the room.

Legitimate eco orgs are finding it increasingly difficult to get equal media time and financial donations on pressing issues like whaling, sharks and seals. Your financial contribution to Sea Shepherd not only fails to effect change - but damages the global eco movement as well.

Great discussion on this topic here

The Ocean is a Remarkable Place

As land based humans we are often reminded of the ocean and it's wonderful abundance of sea critters only when extraordinary animals wash up on the shores.

Case in point this remarkable Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) in New Zealand this week.

Years ago we got to witness the rare and wonderful midnight Leatherback egg drop on Dog Island. Sadly this oceanic voyager died of old age and the results of a recent storm. In this day in age that's a remarkable achievement.

Full story here.

Sea of Cortez - Production Adventure 2

Good friend Captain Greg Grivetto of Horizon Charters is on another eco adventure and this time in the company of the BBC as they film their much acclaimed series, “Last Chance to See”. Biologist, naturalist, writer - Mark Carwardine and esteemed actor Stephen Fry host this series and will be aboard as we search for blue, sperm and humpback whales:

For the next two weeks he'll be sending us his "notes from the field":

Position:
Time: 0800
29 25 N
115 56 W
200 miles south of San Diego

The sun rose over a blustery sea this morning. I have to admit to being very happy that the seas are on our stern as we travel south and not on our nose.

Whaling today may be a bit tough as the wind is a brisk 20 knots. Hard to see the blows as they are blown down almost immediately but we should have some good birding as we approach the Ranger Bank just north of Islas San Benito and then as we pass between San Benito and Cedros.

Position:
Time: 1945
27 35 N
115 04 W
323 miles south of San Diego.

Today was a busy day of vessel maintenance as we make our way south. We'll be picking up the xxx team in a couple days and are finishing up multiple projects aboard ship.

The ocean was quiet today, other than the wind and swell. No whales were seen, though we were visited by several pods of Pacific white-sided dolphin as we motored down the islands western shore. Three miles southwest of Cedros was a hot bed of activity as petrels, shearwaters, gulls and albatross were about feeding on no-see-ums. It was tough to determine the food source, but the amount of life in the area was astounding.

Looks as thought the weather will be improving tomorrow as we make our way past Bahia Magdalena. We're excited about cruising this area as we should have encounters with blue and gray whales.

Time for bed, see you in the morning!

Captain Greg

Sustainable Shark Diving - Mexico

One of the primary questions for any new shark diving operator is the sustainability question. Will the program put in place today be the same program 10 years from now? With this question also comes the ultimate question of commercial shark diving safety.

As we have long maintained what happens at one dive site resonates for good or bad at others and this is a global phenomenon. In the case of Mexico a commercial shark sites success or failure in Mexican waters will help determine the fate of other sites and the longevity of the industry as a whole within Mexico.

Which leads us to Playa Del Carmen and the new bull shark site there. This site appeared on the shark diving communities radar about two years ago. It is arguably one of the newer and more exciting shark sites and will generate more interest and divers in the years to come.

From the video's on You Tube and elsewhere it's pretty evident this site needs some industry help as it features unshielded half suit divers, shark feeding staff without armor, and overall free form encounters with poor to disastrous bait controls. Exciting, but is it sustainable?

That's not to say this site is not viable, it might well be. One look at other dive ecounters with bulls show these animals deserve special consideration beyond the "man in the sand with the bait crate".

It is hoped that these lessons are learned soon for the sake of the entire nascent shark diving industry in Mexico:

The Long Hand of Dick - Conspiracy

This week a NASA satellite launch sent a 278 million dollar Carbon Observatory into the cold, dark waters of the Antarctic.

Conspiracy theorists are screaming foul claiming the "Long Hand of Dick Cheney". Their theory goes something like this:

1. Dick Cheney, minion of big energy, sought to derail the Carbon Observatory from day one. Keeping an eye on rising carbon gas levels is not good for the coal or oil guys.

2. Many of Dicks senate buddies, who believe in The Rapture were helping Dick derail this project. They (senate buddies) do not believe in global warming as a general rule and no new "wacky science" was going to change that view.

3. The satellite failure was a direct result of industrial sabotage brought about by unnamed "Friends of Dick".

So there it is. But a look through the lens of Occam's Razor suggests that this floating observatory might have actually failed with a 59 cent lowest-government-bid widget that misfired at a critical moment.

Or the Rapture Guys made it happen with the help of Big Oil and Coal.

Most disturbing in any of this, is not the loss of a 278 million dollar bird, not the fact that Dick Cheney et al hate global warming...it is that fact that members of our government who have the ability to direct and change government policy for the rest of us actually believe in The Rapture.

CBS News - Documentary Hijacking

RTSea Productions is the driving force behind the well received white shark documentary Island of the Great White Shark. Shot at Isla Guadalupe, Mexico with the crews of Shark Diver and the research team from CICIMAR over four years - the shark footage in this film is simply stunning.

Richard Theiss, owner of RTSea, and ourselves were surprised to see his documentary footage on a recent CBS 8 news piece about sharks. The pieced aired last night and featured Florida's Shark Attack Files claim that shark attacks were down in 2008 due to the recession. This claim has been roundly questioned by many within the shark community and conservation world.

A strange story from Florida becomes stranger still when a major news source hijacks a shark documentaries footage, adds 3rd party advertising to it, and proceeds to air it without asking the filmmaker first.

Ouch.

See Video

Frank Mundus' Shark Boat - $51,000 Final

With your "average" pro shark PSA running upwards to $250,000 - including an A list star, director, set time, CGI, we're more than disappointed to see the Cricket Two sail off into the sunset for a mere $51,000.

This vessel to the pro shark world would have been media slam dunk. To any commercial shark diving operator even more so.

Mundus, the real life character to Quint from Jaws and shark fishing advocate landed untold numbers of sharks over his 60 years of fishing, many weighing between 1,000 and 4,500 pounds, the latter a world record for a Great White.

These animals were killed for the express purpose of weigh ins and nothing more. Having the Cricket Two as pro shark media platform at $51,000 would have been nice, but it was not to be.

To quote "Quint" from Jaws as the Cricket Two moves on to a private owner in New York - "Fare well and adieu, to you fair Spanish ladies..."