Sea of Cortez - Production Adventure 8

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":

Well howdy sports fans, and welcome to Islas Cedros! After an absolutely beautiful ride north from Cabo San Lucas we made the power decision to stop on the north end of the "Big Island" for a bit of sanity and water sports!

Mark whipped up a scrumptious chowder while Aaron and Kyle jumped in to the briney aquamarine for a couple hours of fun. Aaron just arrived back from his dive sporting a large smile with stories of bullseye rays, huge kelp bass, batrays, octopii and much much more! Kyle is still out paddling about. Captain Greg might even jump into the abyss for a swim about...crazy!

If I sound a little loopy, well it's due to the 48 a** kicking we received after reaching the 24 degrees latitude line. Approximately 280 miles of "Hold on to your hats!" to be exact. I knew that 10 days of beautiful weather on our southern transit and then Sea of Cortez jaunt would be tempered by reality. So now we sit, debating the merits of stabbing forth into the ocean north of Cedros or possibly spending the evening, getting a few hours of normal sleep and then venturing forth en la manana. Hmmm...the second option sounds much better.

I'd like to say we saw a bunch of cool stuff on our way north, but the windows were so wet we couldn't see out so well. The goodship Horizon resembled more of a submarine than a boat! BUT alas, we did see a couple cool sites along the way; marlin on the Golden Gate Bank and then a tremendous amount of life as we ventured up Cedros' leeward side a couple hours ago. Shearwaters by the thousands, Pacific white-sided dolphin, sea lions and now on the beach just to our west, northern elephant seals. Cedros is an amazing island which has me wishing we had the time to venture up the islands Gran Canyon for a trip to the summit. The view from the top is breathtaking and worth the 2 hour trek!

I'll check in at our next calm weather anchorage with a report from Baja's northern Pacific coast!

Adios,

Captain Greg

Shark Conservation Message - You Tube

For a few weeks now we have been wondering a loud where all the smart, edgy, pro-shark conservation messages are on You Tube.

Funny thing about You Tube, most often the things you wish for magically appear. Riffing off the runaway viral hit of "Woman in airport" Doc Martin HK has produced "Woman wants shark fin soup". Since it's launch in February of this year it has been seen by 350,000 and by all accounts this video will see a million viewers in the next 6 months.

Welcome to organic pro-shark messaging, where the message is everything. Kudos:

The Today Show - Shark Media Gone Bad

"When you play with hungry sharks...you can pay the price"

Recently we blogged about the "Sin of Media", the promotion of negative shark media to main stream sources for personal gain. We have also blogged about the main stream medias bias as primarily anti-shark.

There are very few credible shark diving operators that do not understand this basic fact and yet this morning one of the worst shark diving pieces to air on national television was seen by an estimated 4 million viewers, anti shark diving advocates, the Bahamian Government, and others.

We are not content to sit by and entertain the thought that this operation did not know who The Today Show was, or had no media control over this piece. The number one rule with mainstream media is, if you are not sure, do not do it.

The Today Show, not surprisingly, introduced this piece with one of the worst cage breaches to have ever been caught on tape, and then ended this piece with the Markus Groh shark diving death. Once again framing an entire 200 million dollar global industry in an extreme and negative light.

The result this morning was an absolute black eye for the entire shark diving industry.

Extreme Shark Diving

The Extreme Shark Diving agenda hurts our industry. It it indefensible. It skates on a thin veneer of legitimacy and when inevitably it fails, and someone is bitten or killed by a shark, our industry and those in it who have moved past the experiment of Extreme Shark Diving are harmed. Not to mention the perception of sharks in general, thrown back to the stone age as little more than ravening killers.

As each piece of recent video seen on this mornings Today Show attests, these negative shark diving elements just serve to add to the argument against shark diving. There's a theme here, and it is our own industry members who are providing the basic framework for this theme. The time for this has ended.

If operators want to offer Extreme Shark Diving encounters they are entitled to, as are the divers and photographers who are drawn to these encounters. What they are not entitled to do is take the rest of the industry down with them by propagating media that harms the industry regionally and internationally.

The Bahamas

In 2006-7 the Bahamas Dive Association sent a Cease and Desist order to all operators at Tiger Beach and vessels that used this site - the details were specific. The operators who come in from the USA are guests in the region, nothing more or less. It boggles the imagination, that even after an operator shark death, US operations have not only failed to acknowledge the C and D but have ramped up extreme operations to a level that is clearly not sustainable.

Worse yet they are promoting these activities on national television effectively thumbing their noses at the Bahamas Government and Tourism Bahamas whose lively hood depends on tourism and whose balance of dollars comes not from US based shark diving operators but from a multi million dollar hotel industry.

Commercial shark diving operations are built on three foundations. Commercial encounters, regional conservation efforts, and regional politics. As a commercial shark diving operator you ignore regional politics at your own peril.

Dangerous Shark Species Interaction Warning Letter 2006-7

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

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

To Whom It May Concern;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Signed,

Mr. Neal Watson
President
Bahamas Diving Association

Speaking of Media - "Gannet Man?"

Attention Discovery Networks:



Kudos to Blogfish for pointing this out.

Wild Ride - Bitter, Broken, Filmmaker?

We read with some interest about a new shark doco in the Daily Telegraph today.

David Ireland, the Original Wildlife Man, is promoting a new shark film having just returned from Bora Bora in French Polynesia where he was filmed "shark wrangling" as part of his next project - a movie which combines fictional drama and wildlife documentary:

The story revolves around a bitter, broken documentary maker, living as a recluse, who is convinced to make another wildlife film to fund an operation to save a sick little girl.

Editors Note: Show us one serious documentary filmmaker who is not living as a recluse, and very bitter to boot. Apologies in advance the many filmmakers we know and love;)

Editors Other Note: Seriously, who read THAT show pitch and decided to fund it?

Why marine biology is hard

I just finished reading "Mapping the Deep: The Extraordinary Story of Ocean Science" by Robert Kunzig. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the oceans themselves, but it doesn't include much about marine biology. The book did, however, have one passage that summarizes very well why it is so difficult to study life in the oceans. It specifically is referencing the deep sea, but the same principles apply to studying sharks. Much of the general public is flabbergasted when they hear scientists say that we don't know the answers to so many basic questions. I hope this passage helps clear up why marine biology is hard.
~David

"Trying to find out what lives on the ocean floor, and how it lives, is hard. Think about what it would be like to study our own world the way biologists must study the deep sea. Imagine that a race of space aliens, discover Earth and, being scientifically inclined, set out to understand life on its surface. These unfortunate aliens, however...cannot wishstand the crushing pressure of our atmosphere. It is utterly opaque to their eyes... they decide to blindly drag a large, sturdily framed net from their spacecraft as it cruises safely above the clouds.

The net touches down one evening in Tyler, Texas, where it first clips a flagpole off the top of the courthouse. Next it bounces through a playground in Bergfeld par, scattering children and parents without snaring a one; collects a dog that is studying a soup bone on college street, and swoops into a backyard a few blocks later, picking up an azalea bush, a clothesline bearing assorted lacy underwear, and a patch of lettuce with its associated rabbit. Finally it nearly comes to grief in a dark corner of the Sears parking lot, where the weight of a 1979 Chevy Nova and the teenagers in its backseat cause the net cable to groan audibly. The aliens quickly reel in their catch- one quadrupedal carnivore, one quadrupedal herbivore with food, assorted mysterious shell fragments, and a large metal crusted animal (the Nova) whose source of food remains obscure, but which seems to be serviced by remarkably sophisiticated intestinal endosymbionts.

4m Croc Eats Leprechaun Shark Study

Barramundi, Australia - Shark researchers at the North West Fisheries Laboratory near the Wildman River, 100km east of Darwin, discovered a 4.2 meter saltwater croc in their ponds today devouring a rare shark species under study.

"We are the only laboratory in the region studying the endemic Leprechaun Shark (Triaenodon Leprechus) and this croc finished off the lot of them", said Ann Roman spokesperson for the lab.

The Leprechaun shark is a native freshwater shark similar to the bull shark and is named after a green bio luminescent gel it excretes. The species was discovered in the Wildman River basin in 1936. Researchers in Australia think the bio luminescent gel might have commercial applications and have been studying this shark at the Wildman River lab for the past four years. It is the only known shark species to excrete a gel.

"When we arrived at the lab this morning we noticed a thrashing around in the 4 hectare pen, that's when this great huge croc reared up with a 1 meter shark in its jaws. By the time we got a team in there the crocs mouth was stained green and it had finished off most of our control group. Given how rare the Leprechaun shark is in Australia, this is a real set back".

Efforts to remove the massive croc by Department of Fish and Resources personnel have met with little success.



The following Underwater Onion was brought to you by Shark Diver. Sometimes the "pot of gold" at the end of a story remains elusive, happy St. Patricks Day;)

AU West Bioregion Bans Whaler Catch

More good news for shark conservation this week as Australia's Fisheries banned the taking of large Dusky whaler sharks to commercial fishermen:

Department of Fisheries shark scientist Dr Rory McAuley said WA’s new regulations would assist in the protection and, in some cases, the recovery of at-risk species within the Family Carcharhinidae, which all whaler sharks belonged to.

“Dusky whalers and sandbar sharks have been identified as being over-exploited in the past and are species that are particularly at risk,” Dr McAuley said.

Further details of the new arrangements, with illustrations of how to measure a whaler shark correctly, are now available from the Department of Fisheries’ website at www.fish.wa.gov.au

Captains Log - "Note to self"...

Captains Log

"After some trial and error I figured out what the button with the red duct tape over it does. Note to self: Do not press that button while in port."

Whale Shark Highlights Donsol, and WWF

This weeks news coming from WWF staff in Donsol, Philippines is shedding new light on the breeding habits of the biggest sharks in the ocean - and how serious boots on the ground efforts by NGO's help shark conservation.

A tiny whale shark was found at the weekend with a rope tied around its tail, secured to a stick poked in the sand in a coastal town near Donsol in Sorsogon province.

Environment group WWF said a hawker was allegedly trying to sell the fish in an area that sees the world's largest known annual gathering of whale sharks. After checking to see the baby whale shark was unhurt, WWF, police and government officials measured and photographed it before releasing it in deeper water.

The find is very significant for scientists, who know little about where the biggest fish in the ocean goes to give birth to its live young.

Until now it was thought the Philippines was simply a stop-off point for the rare species. But WWF-Philippines chief executive Jose Ma Lorenzo Tan says the tiny size of the whale shark caught on Friday strongly suggests it was born there.

"In spite of all the research that is being done worldwide on whale shark, to this date no one knows where they breed or give birth," Tan says.

"For many years, scientists thought that Donsol was merely a 'gas station' along the global network of marine highways where whale sharks cruised.

"This new discovery is the first ever indication that this coastline may actually be a birthing site." Tan said the find showed how critical it was to protect marine environments in the Philippines, and other countries that make up the Coral Triangle.

"This is no surprise. After all this has happened in the Coral Triangle - the nursery of the seas - where life begins, and many things remain possible," he said. WWF promotes conservation programs across Coral Triangle countries, which also include Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and East Timor.

It is aiming to establish a network of marine protected areas that will help ensure whale sharks continue to migrate safely to the waters off Ningaloo Reef off Western Australia's northwest coast.

Papua New Guinea is hosting a high-level meeting this week on a plan to protect marine ecosystems and food security in the Coral Triangle. Details will be announced at the Coral Triangle Initiative Summit at the World Ocean Conference on May 15.

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