More Poaching on Shark Reef!

Watch.

 

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Damn those people.

I knew that little friendly red Grouper.

And those are some of our last Parrotfish, and seeing that dead Angelfish breaks my heart.

But at least Tashi Blue was able to save that little Turtle.

I know, it's not much, just a little Hawksbill - but it is something, and for that little Turtle it is everything. We've known her for many years and can only hope that she will make it.

And Fred the clam is happy, too! :)

 

The poachers are known and will be prosecuted.

And before you ask and/or start lecturing us in Fijian protocol and the like: no, they're by no means destitute and desperate. 

They all have jobs, and have done this for fun. 

 

And the other inevitable excuses are just that.

Shark Reef has been a tabu since 2004, and since the gazetting in 2014, the fishing ban is like any other law and needs to be respected - and no there's no need for special signage or the like: it's up to the fishermen to know what is legal and what not. And we are duty-bound, by law, to enforce the ban - and enforce it we will.

All our local communities know that and don't poach there, the more since for many years, the reef has provided them with spillover fish for their qoliqoli, hundreds of thousands of dollars in direct assistance, and jobs for their youth. 

But those folks are not from here and didn't even bother to follow protocol and ask for permission before fishing in somebody else's reefs - and lemme tell 'ya, over in Beqa that's a transgression punishable by bush knife, not just a bit of shouting!

So people, chill - and as a minimum, know the facts!

And Turtles are protected country-wide.

And everybody in Fiji knows that.

 

It's so bloody disheartening.

Hopefully, now that the first batch of vaccines is in country, tourism and the economy will slowly pick up and the poaching will subside - but from what we can see, the damage is enormous and will take years to mend.

For now, all we can do is to keep on fighting.

Oh well.

Onward and upward - nobody said it was gonna be easy.

 

To be continued.

 

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Poachers on Shark Reef!

Here they are - click for detail!
 

Bingo.

It's exactly like I said.

With Fiji effectively closed for business and Government busy addressing COVID 19 and now, the destruction by TC Harold, it was only a matter of time til some disrespectful asshole folks would set their sights on Shark Reef.

Thankfully somebody gave us a call.

We are empowered by Government to enforce the fishing ban and did just that, by rushing out and apprehending the poachers who had deployed a net on top of the reef and wiped out our resident school of beautiful Highfin Parrots.  Everything has been recorded on video and upon comparing the images with video from a previous event, it turns out that those total assholes folks are repeat offenders = they knew exactly what they were doing and consequently, this really warrants an exemplary punishment, the more as they have also breached MSAF regulations.

Shark Reef is a gazetted National Marine Park.

As such and contrary to Fiji's many MPAs, there is a specific law defining the penalties for poaching insofar as Art (6) of the Regulation states that Any person who contravenes this regulation commits an offence and is liable upon conviction to a fine of not less than $500 and not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment to a term not exceeding 6 months, or both.

We're gonna most certainly advocate both, and for confiscation of the boat etc - but that's obviously for the judge to decide.

And so it goes.

What a shame, really. 

Shark Reef is a global attraction that has brought many millions to Fiji in general and the local community in particular, from wages and payments to the neighboring villages and settlements to flights to transfers to meals to accommodation to souvenirs to local attractions to shopping in the local supermarket. And the list goes on and on, to the point that most people here have benefited in some way - even those very same fishermen who were able to sell their catch to the local hotels and restaurants.

So let's hope that this sticks.

And if not, we stand ready  for more apprehensions, prosecutions and public shaming.

To be continued no doubt.

Stay safe everybody.

Shark Reef - it's working!

Forget Tumbee and the Bull: we got Fishes, too - click for detail! Great pic by Jayne!

Great News!

The SRMR is continuing to be a success story.

We had heard rumors about poaching in the Reserve, and did embark in a series of aggressive, and also successful patrols together with the good people of the new Department of Inshore Fisheries - and although we are still missing some of the once ubiquitous larger Groupers and Sweetlips, and although some total asshole has poached our biggest Giant Clams, the effects on the reef are nevertheless quite encouraging.

Here is the evidence.

The indefatigable Helen of Marine Ecology Consulting has been tasked to do a survey of several reefs in Serua and Beqa, see the below map - click for detail.

The results are pretty much unequivocal.

The following are unpublished excerpts of her report, reprinted with kind permission.

Discussion 

General reef condition in the area 

Overall, from the perspective of coral cover and diversity, most of the reefs in the Beqa and Serua area are in good condition, and have both a history, and the future prospect, of having some of the highest coral cover in Fiji, showing resilience to, and swift recovery from, crisis events such as elevated water temperatures and cyclones. 

However, the numbers of fish and macro-invertebrates targeted by the subsistence and small-scale commercial fishing industries are much lower than seen in many other comparable areas of the country, and, particularly on the west side of Beqa, near Yanuca Island, were quite starkly low, some of the lowest populations this surveyor has seen in over 20 years of carrying out reef surveys in Fiji.

Algal cover on the reef floors of the west Beqa reefs also correlates with the extremely low number of herbivorous animals such as sea cucumbers, surgeonfish and parrotfish. Such algal films can retard new coral settlement, and suggests that the extreme levels of overfishing in Beqa may very soon be at the point where the overall health of the reefs may become impacted in an irreversible way. 

Effects of Marine Protected Areas  

There were four MPAs within the surveyed reefs, of which two are regularly patrolled and enforced (Shark Reef Marine Reserve SRMR, and the Kauvala Tabu at Lawaki Beach House). The other two are larger, and more distant from the managing communities, so the level of observation and enforcement is uncertain. 

Coral cover and diversity did not seem to be affected by marine protection over fished reefs. Fish and invertebrate levels were low at all sites except the SRMR and, to a lesser extent the Lawaki MPA and one of the two survey sites within the Cavity MPA behind Yanuca Island. The other three MPA survey sites were no better, or in one, case worse, than fished sites, indicating the importance of proper management and enforcement on the success of marine protection.

Please click on the below for detail. 

Of interest, the results for the SRMR are merely from the shallow back of the reef where we actually expect to encounter less Fishes compared to the highly productive frontal reef slope to the deep Beqa Channel where we dive - and yet the Reserve is still a clear standout!

Bingo - remember what I said here?

Convincing some village to declare a tabu is the easy part - but that it is only a start, and after that comes the real heavy lifting. One needs to train fish wardens (we have sponsored 5 courses and trained dozens of people so far), and then one has to engage in regular long-term monitoring and enforcement which is both expensive and bloody frustrating as it consists of tedious night-long patrols where little to nothing ever happens, and this often on the weekends where poaching is traditionally worst. And when you catch someone, the evidence collection and the prosecution are equally time consuming and laborious.

But it simply must be done - especially where one aggregates Fish and Sharks for tourism and has the moral obligation to assume their stewardship as a consequence!

So again, stop lying talking and start doing!

And to you out there: please do your due diligence - especially you clueless and frankly, terminally irritating  foreign chicks who fancy yourselves some sort of thought leaders and commentators of the local shark feeding scene!

Anyway. 

Let's go Shark diving - sustainably!

Fiji Shark Diving 2018!

Behold!

Very nice!

And here is Tom's latest blog post, with plenty of stellar pictures as always - and yes, as long as it doesn't become a gimmicky fad, the new fisheye lens is certainly very impressive!

So far so great!

Enjoy!

Shark Reef - still at it!

From today's dive.
And yes, forget what I said the other day!

Bondi Vet!

The Bondi Vet has survived the Fiji Shark Dive!

We've just spent a fun day with Chris Brown.

Chris is a real personable and humble guy who also knows his shit, and the shoot for  The Living Room has been easy. The super-short Shark diving segment is part of a larger feature about Fiji that will be likely aired later this year - so keep watching this space!

Vinaka Tourism Fiji and especially, the formidable Carlah Walton for this amazing opportunity!

Martin: Granma!

This is our iconic Granma - Source.

Love this pic!

Martin is here and obviously having a ball.
He'll be here all month and offers this excellent deal - so, what are you waiting for! :)

Stanley and Samu Shark diving!

Finally!

Stan and Samu have revisited Shark Reef.

Last time was in 2009 when they shot a stellar reportage to commemorate the then International Year of the Shark and the Fiji Shark Conservation and Awareness Project.

And they haven't dived since!

Stan kept posting and Samu, taking images - so there.

Stan's posts here, here and here - Samu's pics here. And here's the video - just to show you what somebody with less than 10 dives and who hasn't dived in 6 years can do with a GoPro!

Provided he's on our dive! :)

Enjoy!

And here's our PSA from 2009.
For remembrance's sake and because I'm still proud of it!

Migrating Bull Sharks in Australia - Paper!

Read this!

Very interesting!

If I compare what is happening on the East coast of Australia with our observations, I would not at all be surprised if our Bulls displayed the same behavior! 

We know that they are not resident, and although overall, they spend more than half of the time inside of the Fiji Shark Corridor, individual differences are very pronounced and sometimes, certain individuals disappear for weeks if not months which could very well be due to the fact that they may be engaging in prolonged and wide ranging migrations - certainly within Fiji and quite possibly, albeit much more rarely, even further as documented by that genetic analysis from 2012 . 

And then, there's that mysterious regular dip in numbers in April which leads me to believe that something attractive is going on elsewhere, possibly some irresistible spawning aggregation or the like.

Alas, it doesn't look like we're gonna find out anytime soon.

Our Bull Sharks are our pals, and we will neither fish them in order to screw on SPOT tags or insert tags into their abdominal cavity, nor will we tag them conventionally as long as the process will condemn them to a life carrying those anchors that keep irritating the muscle tissue.  

Years ago, I was hoping that somebody would develop a less invasive attachment - but I've resigned myself that most Sharks are not tame like ours that can be tagged on the fly underwater but that instead, they need to first get caught. And then, the new SPOT tags with single bolts and/or the insertion of the acoustic tags are perfectly OK, meaning that realistically, nobody is gonna bother developing something specifically for an obscure micro-project in Fiji.

C'est la vie.

All our research has always been conducted on a need-to-know basis, i.e. initially in order to investigate the effectiveness of the SRMR and later, the Fiji Shark Corridor in protecting our Sharks, with the result being that it ranges from excellent for e.g. the Reef Whitetips to satisfactory for e.g. the Bulls to poor for the Tigers. 

And now that the SRMR is cemented into law, the next challenge will be to determine the most efficient and effective way to optimize that protection by enacting Fiji-wide conservation and/or management measures. No I'm pretty much certain that it will not be a Sanctuary so you guys out there, please don't bother as all you will achieve is to piss everybody off and likely make matters even more difficult than they already are. If at all, there will be a Fijian solution - something that will take time and patience, and require that all stakeholders get something and nobody everything.

And I will certainly leave it at that.

But I'm obviously digressing.

To be continued no doubt!

Fish Warden Course!

Behold!

This is the fish warden class of 2015!

This is the fourth fish warden course we sponsor, and the lineup obviously comprises many BAD boyz and Galoa villagers that will patrol the SRMR - but there is also Ron from Projects Abroad, plus several participants from Vunibau and even the USP that will henceforth patrol and protect the precious Bull, Lemon and Scalloped Hammerhead nurseries in the mouths of the Navua and the Rewa, respectively!

Our thanks go to the Department of Fisheries, The Ministry of Environment, the Police, the Ministry of iTaukei Affairs and the office of the Roko Tui Serua for all having kindly assisted in this endeavor!
And to Nani for having organized it all! :)

Just like I said.

Like always the proof is the doing, not in those breathy announcements and idle talk!

 

SRMR - first Management Meeting!

Epic boatload: Elisabeth; SRMR managers Ian, Bati and El Ciro; El Diego and Kira from Projects Abroad; and a whole gaggle of BAD boyz - click for detail!

Great day!

But first things first.

That lady in the bottom right hand corner is none other than Elisabeth Holland, a veritable Nobel Prize laureate! On our boat!
Who would have thought that possible when we embarked on this crazy journey eleven years ago! Needless to say that she is (obviously!) smart and incredibly passionate - but she's also refreshingly humble, very witty and just a genuinely nice person on top of that.

Really nice meeting her - and yes, we are incredibly honored!

And then we had our first management meeting.

Juerg is abroad but will be here next month - but with the freshly coined Director of Fisheries, Aisake "Bati" Batibasaga, El Ciro and Ian we did have a quorum and were able to formulate a first set of immediate initiatives, first of which will be a substantial increase both in the number of fish wardens and the number of patrols. 

We've just received our first baseline report (= detailed Coral cover assessment, and rough assessment of Fish and Invertebrate abundance) from Helen, and there are indications of recent small-scale fishing. In itself, this is not terribly worrisome - but it IS poaching and we need to nip it in the bud.

And after that, there will be other stuff.

No as usual I'm not telling as it's way too early to divulge any details, let alone make breathy announcements - but i can assure you that you will like it! :)

So, keep watching this space!

Mega Bull Sharks!

Happy Fiji Bull Sharks in Fiji's first National Marine Park - great pic by Allen!

Here's some video from the other day.

And, we got ourselves an attack on a diver!
Watch.



Yes those darn Damn-sels are feisty!
Michael's comment here.

Vinaka! 
 

BAD Videos!

Love love love this pic by Gary!

OK I'm kinda ranted out.

How about something easy and nice for a change.

Here's some customer videos I've stumbled upon - just your normal footage from The Fiji Shark Dive, shot by Joe divers on average days with average viz, with zero special favors from our side, taken from where we position all our clients.

Enjoy!

SRMR - Accolades by Juerg!

Great pic by Klaus!

 

Check this out!

No not because of the personal accolades.

They are certainly nice but irrelevant. But what is really impressive is the sheer number and scope of Juerg's papers so far - and more are in the making as we speak! I should have posted that list a long time ago - but we're currently revamping our website and will certainly add them there!

Interesting to say the least is also the fact that on top of having retracted their support for the GFSC, the SOSF has obviously also ceased to fund Juerg. WTF!

I could comment but choose not to - but it's certainly their loss not ours!

Anyway - very nice!

Thanks buddy!

 

Last Shark Dive of the Year!

And what a dive it was!

Suffice to say that this is the first time I've seen El Diego duck!

Like last Saturday, the Bulls were plentiful and simply unhinged, and the poor viz meant plenty of close passes and plenty of work for the bodyguards.

In brief: great fun! :)

Spotted for the first time: Maite - and Hotlips has been obviously partying like there's no tomorrow, see at top!

So, Happy New Year everybody!

Shark Reef - The Running of the Bulls!

Bull Shark love - not for the fainthearted. Click for detail!

Brilliant brilliant brilliant!

Gareth is absolutely correct.

Even by our standards, yesterday's dive was nothing short of epic - especially considering the time of the year! The weather sucks and the viz was not perfect - but we did count a minimum of 40 Bulls, and many of the big mamas are already back in fast and furious action!

Having checked my video, I can discern Granma (our oldest) and Tiny Stumpy (still a juvenile) that look great and are obviously not partaking in the general partouze. Nick, Pointer, Colombiana, Chica, Tip, Ms Jaws, Funnygirl, Moana, Brenda, Bum and Tail on the other hand are busy partying, frankly look like shit and are ravenous - much like Nica that contrary to Blunt who left early, came back first and has been bulking up nicely, is still looking gaunt after having given birth. And check out poor old skinny Monica who has obviously managed to pick up some skin infection whilst in the river!

And the males?

They are busy trying to knock up anybody they can get their teeth, and obviously, other parts in - and  as long as the ocean is carrying those irresistible female pheromones, it is quite obvious that they are totally impervious to the attraction of bait, juicy as it may be! In fact, many years of experience teaches us that the mating season won't be over til we get to see Whitenose, the biggest Casanova of them all!

All in all, simply fascinating stuff.

So, what are you waiting for!

Shark Reef - Transition Time!

Unknown pregnant Bull.

Cool dive!

Looks like this year, everything is happening at the same time!

Normally, the pregnant Bulls leave for pupping in mid-November and come back in mid-December, after which everybody else disappears for some hanky panky, likely to the deeper reaches of the Beqa Passage. Then in January, we got the Running of the Bulls where  we witness plenty of mating scars and ever increasing numbers of Bull Sharks that are particularly ravenous and also appear to be re-establishinging rank, meaning that during January, the action is hot hot hot!

Not this time!

I wasn't here but the staff tell me that instead of the usual 3 to 5, numbers were never below 20. And on yesterday's dive, I witnessed a very late pregnant mama, see at top, whereas the ever toothy Blunt who had been enormously pregnant has obviously given birth and whilst still being impressive, is but a shadow of her former self, see below.

Blunt pregnant, July 2014

Blunt yesterday.

And guess who's already partying like there's no tomorrow!

Whilst being her usual greedy feisty self!

To be continued!

WWF - Shark Reef Marine Reserve!

Yet another stellar pic by Allen!

Very nice.

Read this!

So the cat is out of the bag: the management committee for Fiji's first National Marine Park will comprise Aisake Batibasaga from the Department of Fisheries as representative of Government, with full ultimate decision authority; Ian Campbell, Manager of the Pacific Shark Programme, a joint initiative between WWF and TRAFFIC as the representative of civil society; Juerg Brunnschweiler and Ciro Rico as the representatives of academia; and finally yours truly as the representative of BAD which has been tasked with the day-to-day management of the park. 

We are all Shark divers, have all dived the SRMR multiple times and are all uniquely equipped to make the best decisions for safeguarding the long-term future of the SRMR but above all, that of its priceless Shark population - so the future looks bright indeed!

One last word about the management model.

This public/private partnership is truly ground-breaking, and I sure hope that the delegates at the upcoming IUCN World Parks Congress are going to take notice. As an example for its practical application, the governments of lesser developed countries could deputize the local staff of those countless beach resorts whereby they could monitor the resorts' foreshore and apprehend any poachers etc; or mutatis mutandis, the same powers could be bestowed upon those liveaboard vessels plying the remote waters of Raja Ampat or e.g Cocos, Malpelo and the Galapagos - and the list goes on and on and on! In brief, the private operators would be investing their resources into defending their most precious business assets whilst relieving those resource-strapped governments from part of their burden.

Talk about a big win-win for everybody involved, and especially for marine conservation!

So here's to this model being quickly adopted elsewhere.

Fingers crossed!

Celebration - BAD Cut!

Brilliant shot by Allen!

So there.

I just couldn't resist.

If you compare this to Dave's edit, whilst hopefully respecting the brilliant original, I've saturated it a bit more, replaced some of the Fishes, de-emphasized the Tigers as really, our flagship species are the Bulls and Reefies, and added some more little tweaks to further accentuate the beat.

But it remains Dave's edit - so praise him if you like it and blame me if you don't!

I trust you know your Sharks - so here' something about the other critters.

• 00:36: Yellownose Shrimpgobies, Stonogobiops xanthorhinica, with Randall's Snapping Shrimp Alpheus randalli.
• 00:37: male Squarespot Basslet,  Pseudanthias pleurotaenia.
• 00:38: Gray Sandtilefish, Hoplolatilus cuniculus, a shy, deep-water Fish that can be rarely seen on the deep slope to Beqa Channel.
• 00:39: Blacklip Butterflyfish Chaetodon kleinii feeding on a Jellyfish.
• 00:40: male Stocky Anthias Pseudanthias hypselosoma.
• 00:41: Trumpetfish Aulostomus chinensis.
• 00:43: Antenna Turkeyfish Pterois antennata.
• 00:45: Yellowtail Coris Coris gaimard, moving a rock to look for hidden prey.
• 00:46: Stonefish Synanceia verrucosa.
• 00:47: Large-toothed Cardinalfish, Cheilodipterus macrodon, mouth-breeding an egg cluster.
• 00:51: possibly, Minifin Parrotfish Scarus altipinnis. The differently colored Fishes are different phases of one and the same species, with the supermales being blue-green.
• 00:53: Bluestreak Goby Valenciennea strigata.
• 00:54: Fire Dartfish Nemateleotris magnifica.
• 00:55: Map Puffer Arothron mappa.
• 00:56: Elegant Dartfish Nemateleotris decora.
• 00:57: Banded Sea Krait Laticauda colubrina, one of the incarnations of Dakuwaqa.
• 00:58: male Stocky Anthias Pseudanthias hypselosoma with Bull Shark in the background.
• 01:13: Arc-Eye Hawkfish Paracirrhites arcuatus fighting over a coral head.
• 01:59: juvenile Clown Triggerfish Balistoides conspicillum, yawning.
• 02:22: Elongate Surgeonfish Acanthurus mata. Normally seen in schools, they can quasi-instantly change color from dark to silvery.
• 02:23: Hawksbill Turtle Eretmochelys imbricata.
• 02:24: Fiji Foxface, Siganus uspi. This Rabbitfish is endemic to Fiji and named after the University of the South Pacific USP.
• 02:26: possibly, Highfin Parrotfish Scarus altipinnis.
• 02:34: Narrowbarred Spanish Mackerel Scomberomorus commersoni, the ubiquitous Walu from the local Fish menu.
• 02:37: Slender Grouper, Anyperodon leucogrammicus.
• 02:38: Bluestriped Fangblenny Plagiotremus rhinorhynchos, a predatory mimic of the common Cleaner Wrasse.
• 02:39: female Squarespot Basslet,   Pseudanthias pleurotaeniae.
• 02:40: Splendid Garden Eel, Gorgasia preclara from the sand patch in front of the 25m feed.
• 02:42: Gillraker Mackerel, Rastrelliger kanagurta, often seen but only rarely approached at the 4m safety stop where they engage in spectacular displays of their shiny gill plates. This is one of the few Bony Fishes that filters Plankton.
• 02:54: Blue-and-Yellow Fusilier, Caesio teres.
• 02:56: Longnose Filefish Oxymonacanthus longirostris from the 4m safety stop.
• 02:58: Peacock Smasher Odontodactylus scyllarus, house keeping.
• 02:59: Striped Cleaner Wrasse Labroides dimidiatus servicing a Grey Reefie. That's a shot I wanted to get for ages!
• 03:03: Blackfin Hogfish Bodianus loxozonus.
• 03:05: Pink Anemonefish Amphiprion perideraion.
• 03:06: Darn Damnsels and a gaggle of Reefies.
• 03:12: Giant Moray Gymnothorax javanicus watching Granma being fed.
• 03:14: Hawksbill Turtle Eretmochelys imbricata.
• 03:17: Bicolor Hawkfish Paracirrhites bicolor.
• 03:18: Bluespotted Fantail Ray Taeniura lymma. Now reclassified as T. lessoni.
• 03:19: Banded Sea Krait, Laticauda colubrina.

There you have it - confused? :)

Anyway: enjoy!

For our Friends in Fiji and the SoPac!

Presenter Rachna Nath

Fiji's new National Park will be featured on Fiji One.

Please watch Talk Business tonight at 08:05pm.
Enjoy!