Playa - killing the Golden Goose?

Dooh - click for detail!

And I cite,

“Esperaba a que llegara la temporada, pero nunca llegó. Todas las tiendas se quedaron con los flyers, con los posters, los turistas preguntando por el tiburón toro y no hubo ningún tiburón toro para ver."

Indeed - read this.

The Bulls Shark season in Playa has been a total bust and now that it is over, the venerable Saving our Sharks has thrown in the towel and basically announced that they are stepping back and handing the responsibility of managing the Shark dives to CONANP and the operators, to wit in the words of Google Translate - and yes I'm being lazy but I'm sure you get the gist,

#News 
Self-regulation is key! Let's work for hope! We are in a moment of transition. 

Playa Del Carmen. An example worldwide! 
This town is the only destination in the world where the diving of attraction with sharks is recognized and regulated legally, this puts us in the eyes of the international community. The future of this activity is in the diving community of playa del Carmen and the competent authorities.

Each of us can influence the destination! 
Self-regulation by tourist service providers is key! Today we managed to integrate the activities of interaction with bull shark to the legal framework of the corresponding authorities. The National Commission of protected natural areas, through the reserve of the Mexican Caribbean biosphere, is the authority responsible for the surveillance of the activity, without forgetting the responsibility of good management by each of the tourist operators. 

#TogetherWeCan! 
Disinformation has been one of the hardest obstacles to beat. Saving our Sharks cannot continue with the management of sharks in playa del Carmen without the proactive participation of the entire diving community that performs responsibly this activity. 

This case of success for the conservation of this species is endangered due to: 

• Excess load capacity. 
• Lack of follow-up of the rules 
• Lack of economic cooperation 
• Unfair competition between diving centers and independent divers (low prices) 
• Lack of surveillance by the authorities 

Among other factors... 

In the following link you can see the conference presented on January 29 at the planetarium of Playa del Carmen explaining more thoroughly the problem and possible solutions. The participation of the whole community is indispensable for the continuity of activity! 

What is required?

#StrongMeasures: Collaboration and unity for: 

1. Solving the payment of the fisherman's compensation with legal fishing permit. (due at the beginning of the month) 


2. Community Payment for the supply of equitable bait where the entire diving community is included that takes advantage of this resource. 


3. Self-regulation for compliance with loading capacity and respecting schedules. 


4. Union of diving centers to form committees and decision making. You can create a new association or join the already existing as awd or union of Caribbean divers. 


5. Creation of a common fund or trust, for management, surveillance and improvements of the area.


6. Coordination with authorities for the surveillance of tourist operations.

And then, please peruse the video.

There, you can learn about the countless exeplary research and conservation initiatives by SOS and the substantial costs that entails - and then, you may want to notice that only a paltry 11% of the operators have contributed in the past 4 years, and to which extent each of them have stepped up to the plate.

And, you can also see why the bulls did not aggregate, and read about the issues of overcrowding and price erosion.

All very sad really, unnecessary and demotivating.

But lemme make it easy for you - long story short?

Forget about all the different "explanations" ranging from Climate Change to the Bulls having been fished away - none of them is correct.

The reality is much more simple and also way more pathetic.
And as always in these cases, it reeks of hubris, greed and stupidity.

• The Bulls did come to Playa like they do every year.
  But as per the slide at the top, they haven't been aggregating at the feeding site because they were seeking some conviviality with the divers but instead, because they were being chummed in - and the latter meant incurring a lot of upfront costs for buying the bait ahead of the season and then storing it, and then a lot of work for driving out to the site and establishing an initial presence that then needed to be continuously reinforced with an adequate amount but also quality of bait. In the past, this was being performed by essentially, Phantom Divers along with a very few other dive shops, with everybody else then mooching on their hard work.
  
  But this year has been different.
  Let's just say that somebody has taught everybody else a lesson about the need for cooperation and coordination - see below. And because chumming has been inadequate, the Bulls have not aggregated - the question obviously being, has the lesson been learned?

• At the same time, the whole scene has plunged into chaos.
  Playa has more than 100 dive operations, many of which don't even sport own premises and/or any notable infrastructure let alone staff, but instead merely consist of a few folks operating a website; and then during the Shark season, there is a substantial influx of illegal foreign Shark whispering dive guides migrating to Playa who are further undercutting everybody's profitability by offering dirt cheap bare-bones Shark dives from hired boats with rented gear.
  All of these second- and third-tier operators are not only unprofessional and outright dangerous, they are literally not invested in the local dive community and most importantly, they don't follow the Code of Conduct.
  And as a consequence, Playa's whole Shark diving scene has progressively been caught up in a downward spiral where there has been no more solidarity and cooperation, quality and safety have been compromised, nobody has anymore been making any real money, and the pathetic backstabbing and badmouthing, even of SOS (!), have become simply intolerable.
  I say, what a fucking disgrace - talk about shooting oneself in the leg huh.

• And lastly, the pressure on the Sharks is just not sustainable.
  On any given day, they may be no more than 20 Bulls - but there are approx 400 divers, notabene daily, being taken to see them!
  In industry lingo, that is called cattle diving, and countless examples of such multi-user sites have shown that it just does not work unless the operators self-regulate and/or the authorities intervene with regulation.

And that's it.

So simple and at the same time, so sad and pathetic - and above all, so totally self-inflicted and preventable.

So what now?

The solutions are obvious and contained in the above announcement by Saving our Sharks - foremost of which the URGENT necessity to observe one's agreements and compensate the only licensed Shark fisherman whose license is still valid despite of the recent Sanctuary designation, as the different involved agencies appear unable to coordinate their efforts.

And if not - and if so the damage may indeed be irreparable.

Alas, in the short term I'm not at all optimistic.

Without the continued leadership of Luis' SOS and Chino's Phantom Divers, I fear that nothing good and/or lasting will happen - and from what I can discern, both those gentlemen are pretty much disgusted and unwilling to continue making the huge investments in time and resources to keep the industry afloat.

And CONANP, the official regulator?

There too, I fear that they are highly unlikely to have the willingness, know-how and means to step in and provide the needed leadership and supervision.

So yes, barring a miracle, kiss Playa's Shark dives goodbye!

And in the long term?

Like the whole of the Riviera Maya, Playa's tourism industry is experiencing some challenges and in that context, Shark diving has been one of the few touristic highlights and a life line for the local dive industry as Shark divers do not care much about those things and will keep on coming - like they did during our 2006 coup when our other tourism sectors experienced steep declines. 

With that in mind: may this fiasco be an opportunity to finally get the local authorities onboard in regulating and supervising (!) the industry, by e.g. issuing exclusive (!) licenses that would be conditional upon strict adherence to the Code of Conduct but also, upon proof of real investments in the local dive industry = as in there being real dive shops with physical locations, and local staff, and a selection of dive gear, etc?

In view of the continued failure to properly regulate Mexico's Whale Shark industry I'm not terribly optimistic - but then again, as they say, hope springs eternal.

As always we shall see.

Yes I know: in view of the rather pathetic situation here in Fiji I'm probably the least qualified to preach about peace and harmony - but contrary to here where each operator has their own exclusive site and cooperation is a choice, Playa has a single multi-user site where the users have no such choice at all.

Yes there are way too many bad and dangerous dive shops that need to be put out of business - but starting with GSD member Phantom Divers, there are also a few really good and ethical operators that could decide to associate and turn things around = I'm thinking about establishing an exclusive Shark diving association, with a limited number of members with exclusive licenses offering exclusive, sustainable and profitable Shark dives to a limited number of clients.
That sure must be possible - or not?

So what is it gonna be?

Are the operators gonna stop the badmouthing and backstabbing, step up to the plate financially and physically, eat some humble pie and go make amends - and all earn some good money together as a consequence?

Or are the stupidity, egos and hubris just too big, and are they gonna choose to lose that important income, and down-scale or even close down as a consequence?

Folks, the choice is yours.

Good luck everybody!

Saving Our Sharks - Video!

Obviously don't fully agree but still, quite good - click for detail. Source.

This is great and important work.

Huge kudos to Chino and Luis, and also to all the other people, dive shops and sponsors of Saving Our Sharks who have contributed to this success.

Enjoy!

Tiburón Toro!

For our Spanish speaking friends.

This is great.

Featuring the Playa Sardines, the fantastic Saving our Sharks with its director Luis Lombardo and of course Chino and his unequaled Phantom Divers, a proud member of GSD.
Much like the local authorities that have finally acknowledged the many years of hard, visionary work, I remain deeply impressed by the continuous excellent progress.

Well done my friends, I'm really proud of 'ya!

Anyway - enjoy!

Playa Sardines!

Charlie with one of his girls. Source.

So, I finally went diving with the Caribbean Sardines.

It was great.

Of course I dove with  GSD member Phantom Divers and I must really say that Chino has created an awesome slick, professional, fun and above all, very safe Shark diving machine that is among the best I've experienced anywhere - and yes, witnessing Charlie, and Ramón with their babies has been a special privilege.

Plus, progress on the conservation front has been simply stellar.

Under the leadership of its new full time director Luis Lombardo, Saving our Sharks is progressing from strength to strength, with more than 40 dive shops and dozens of boat captains observing the code of conduct and contributing funds, with substantial money going to fishermen in exchange for not fishing Sharks, with continued research and public presentations by Shark researchers, and with massive outreach to the public and to schools.

Bravo!

And then there was that remarkable tooth.

A present by Ramón who collected it right in front of me, it looks totally different from any Bull Shark tooth we've ever found here in Fiji - and trust me, we've found a few! 

It's the tooth on the left, together with two large Fijian ones - and considering that those Caribbean Bulls are a distinct genetic population with individuals that are notably smaller than those in the central Pacific, its size is simply spectacular. But then again, those are Mexican Sharks - small in size but packing a mighty punch! :)

Click for detail!

Anyway, nice to be home again.

It's the low season when the pregnant Bulls travel to the rivers to pup whilst the others are getting ready for mating and in turn appear to lose their appetite for juicy Tuna heads - but we've got heaps of other Sharks, and this also gives us a chance to focus on the countless Fishes.

It's already hot hot hot - so here's to a tropical depression to suck away some of the heat, as parts of Fiji are already experiencing dangerously hot surface waters.

But that's the topic of another post.

To be continued!

Please help the Sharks of Playa!

Source - and yes that looks like a subadult Bull, a small endangered Hammer and possibly a good-sized Mako.!

We never do petitions, for obvious reasons.

But this is different, so there.

We will make an exception when there's a worthwhile cause, with good people working on the ground, and when that team ask for signatures because it will help them sway their interlocutor, normally some politician or the like. One example was the push to get Florida's Lemon Sharks protected that was spearheaded by the likes of Doc, Walt Stearns and DaMary, etc, and where somebody within the FWC suggested that it would be good to show public support. That endeavor was ultimately successful and I hear that those signatures did in fact help sway the legislators.

And now we have a similar situation in Playa.

The picture at the top documents the latest, and perfectly legal haul by the only licensed Shark fisherman on that coastline. I must also add that that fisherman is the same person who used to target and kill those big Bull Sharks - but a lot has happened since that post, and he has now agreed not to fish for them during the tourist season when they migrate to the region, possibly in order to pup. So there has definitely been progress - but still, those dead Sharks are disturbing, and not anymore commensurate with the many marine conservation and ecotourism projects that are popping up all throughout Quintana Roo.

Hence this petition.

Launched by the outstanding people of Saving our Sharks and as always, very much enabled by my friend Chino of GSD member Phantom Divers, it aims at establishing a no-take zone for Sharks around the local barrier reef system. This follows years of dialogue, cooperation and lobbying with the local authorities, meaning that it has a real chance of succeeding.

This is an excellent undertaking.

Please lend a helping hand by signing the petition.

Thank you.

Phantom Divers join Global Shark Diving!

Behold!

Needless to say that I'm elated.

Ever since I started blogging, about the then problems in Playa del Carmen, e.g. here, Chino and his group of passionate Shark divers at Phantom Divers have been advancing in leaps and bounds.

Thanks to the remarkable progress both in terms of conservation but also protocols, Playa is now  among the very best and most sustainable Shark diving destinations anywhere. This has taken an enormous effort both personally but also very much financially, and I must really commend them for their unwavering tenacity and passion.

So welcome aboard my dear friends - this is highly welcome and highly deserved!

GSD will of course continue expanding, albeit slowly.

We are really fully beholden to our mission and principles, meaning that potential candidates need to undergo a  rigorous vetting process where they must above all document a proven track record in every single one of our principles - and lemme tell you, with every candidacy requiring the consensus by all members, that is a tall order indeed!

But, we're already working on the next candidacy!

Onward and Upward!

HT: Eli, for having made the introductions. Thanks brother! :)

Playa - excellent Progress!

Source.

Great stuff!

Check out this table.

It really looks like the collaboration among the Bull Shark dive operators in Playa del Carmen is starting to bear fruit. Those initial 30,000 pesos are a nice contribution towards setting the required buoys delimiting the Shark diving area, and tagging more of the Sharks. This year's tagging tally is over 12, meaning that Saving our Sharks is making giant strides towards finally unraveling the mystery of why the Sharks come to Playa (likely to pup - but where?) and where they go once they depart again which is one of their declared goals.

Incidentally, that money comes from two sources.

Donativo are the funds collected via an array of "tip boxes" where the customers can make voluntary contributions; Aportación are per-diver/per-dive contributions by the dive operators that contrary to what we do here, are being paid out of cash flow and thus impact the bottom line - but of course they are good business in the long term.

So here's to Phocea, Pepe Dive Center and of course Chino's Phantom Divers for truly walking the talk by making a real, hands-on contribution to Shark research and Shark conservation!

Please show them your appreciation by choosing them when booking your next vacation there!

I must say that I'm impressed.

After the adoption of the code of conduct, this collaboration is yet another milestone in establishing Playa as one of the best and most sustainable global Shark diving hotspots.

Well done everybody!

Sustainable Shark Diving - Progress!

Divers and Fiji Bull Sharks by Ozzie Sam - simply amazing! Click for detail!

I've just got some excellent news.

No I can't divulge anything quite yet - but soon! :)

But I can reveal that the global Shark diving industry is about to experience a whole array of excellent initiatives that are all pursuing the aim of creating a more eco-friendly and sustainable product that will positively impact business but above all, the Sharks.
This is a topic I am passionate about (yes that would be a whopping 69 blog posts, and counting!), and I must really say that I am elated to witness the sheer caliber of the people an orgs that have decided to tackle this thorny issue.

Case in point!

This is obviously under construction - but I happen to know the person behind it and have no doubt that the end result will be nothing short of stellar.

Keep watching that space!

Or check out this remarkable document.

This is the results of many years of quiet and extremely difficult behind-the-scenes efforts to reform the Shark diving industry in Playa del Carmen. Saving Our Sharks is the brain child of Chino Loria, the ever busy and ever overworked owner of Phantom Divers and I must say that I am deeply impressed by the progress to-date.
Chino has invested literally thousands of man hours and thousands of his own hard-earned dollars into sponsoring research, advocating Shark conservation, establishing a productive dialogue with the local and national authorities and dealing with the local fishermen - and this (quasi miraculous!) common code of conduct is going to project the local Shark diving industry to the next level and make it sustainable and profitable for many years to come.

Huge congratulations!

And let me add this.

Whilst all those pathetic self promoters and media whores post breathy announcements and celebrate their non-achievements in the social media, the people that really do the heavy lifting do nothing of the kind. They're not in it for the glory or for the money, they do it because they care deeply about the animals and simply want to do what is right - and if you happen to know about some of them, it is inevitably only because others have praised them, as it should be!

Think about it please.

And please, stop admiring and giving your money to those self promoting impostors.

Saving our Sharks: Shark Diving Protocols!

Chino - indefatigable and very much the mastermind behind these positive developments!

Bravo!

This is an excellent list of rules.

If everybody diving with the gorditas in Playa abides by those common sense protocols, some of the past conflicts will be greatly reduced, and everybody will be able to deliver a memorable, exhilarating and above all, safe experience to the clients!

And in the process, everybody will be earning a stable income for many years to come!

Great job.

Kudos to SOS, Razonatura and especially, Ixchel for a job very well done!

And here's another video - with suicidal turtle!

Enjoy!

Gorditas!

Source.

Pero un poquito pequeñitas! :)

As always, great job by Chino and Charlie!
And... I'll just pretend I didn't notice those force fins...

Enjoy!

Playa - it's complicated!

Many of the Bulls that are being caught in Playa are pregnant females. Source.

This is the situation on the ground.

There are no easy solutions here.

I still believe that this may be a start - but of course that's only the theory, and translating those lofty goals into practice may well turn out to be impossible. People are people and egos are egos - and with I hear dozens of more or less specialized, more or less knowledgeable and more or less conservation-oriented Shark viewing operators competing over those Shark tourism dollars, generating that all important solidarity within the industry is likely to be a monumental challenge.

But then again, nobody said it was gonna be easy - right? :)

Anyway, please watch it.

Great job, kudos!

Playa Bull Sharks - Protocols!

Source.

Love it!

Just stumbled upon it now - but better late than never!

These are the Bull Shark diving protocols of Phantom Divers.

Inclusive of the part about not touching any stray bait, they are basically exactly what we brief here, this obviously taking into account that their dive happens on sand and ours, in a reef environment. E.g., where they use a rope as delimitation, we were able to build coral walls and position cement slabs. Real interesting to witness how commercial Shark feeding operations words apart end up coming up with the same rules - and reassuring, too!

If I had to add one suggestion, then it would be to provide all guests with black gloves because pasty hands sticking out of dark wetsuits might be easily mistaken for bait, this especially in reduced visibility.

But all-in-all: brilliant - provided that everybody sticks to it! :) 

Enjoy!

Bull Sharks, Playa!

Source.

Nice!
Those people got skills!

Enjoy!




PS: interesting guide - with pictures from here! :)

Playa - more dead Sharks?

It just never stops does it.

Check out these pics - and these!

From what I can understand, these are fishermen from Puerto Morelos, half way between Playa and Cancun, and they may, or may not be sneaking over at night to capture those big pregnant Bull Sharks that visit Playa during the pupping (and diving) season. Apparently, they dispose of the relevant fishing permits (but not for Playa!), making this legal - but certainly not right!

Solutions?

There has been a national and international outcry, and there is a petition. 

Good luck with that.

My call, granted without disposing of the full picture.

Our Fiji Shark Project hinges on compensating the local stakeholders and thus making conservation more lucrative than fishing - and it clearly does work.
With that in mind, here's what I would do - already hinted at in this post.

• Get the Shark dive operators to work together - yes I know, that's a long shot. And if that's not possible, assume leadership and do it solo. The others will follow due to competitive pressure, like the guys down the road were forced to follow after we established the SRMR.

• Establish a Shark dive levy of USD 20.00/pp/pd on top of the regular price for the Shark dive. Divers love paying for conservation, so that should be easy.

• Disburse those funds to the fishermen (not the authorities), ideally earmarked for something concerning their families, like e.g. children's tuition, etc.

• In exchange, obtain an agreement about a seasonal fishing ban for the critical habitats involving a) a ban on targeted Shark fishing and b) a ban on gear that is likely to result in Shark bycatch e.g. gill nets, wire leaders, very strong fishing lines etc.
  This is much easier than trying to establish a year-round Sanctuary or MPA, the more as it can initially be merely a private agreement with the local fishermen thus not requiring legislation that is always a tedious process. But do aim to get some legislation confirming the above in the long run, if only at the municipal/local level. Having established a track record of cooperation will certainly help!

• Establish patrols - maybe even involving the fishermen that could be paid from the Shark levy. On top of that, maybe the staff of the Shark diving operators can be deputized like we've done here - remember that apart from the conservation aspects, you would be defending your own business assets!

• Bring in the research in order to get the data for further refining the process.

Just my two cents as always.
Wishing you the very best of success - and if you want to discuss, you know how to reach me!

Playa Bulls - challenging!

Source.

Who would have thought!
Conservation is always complicated - but Shark conservation being linked to the willingness to learn to speak English?

Check out this video about the Bull Sharks of Playa del Carmen!
Dunno what has really happened since that post in January - only that more Bulls have been killed just around the corner.
Eli?



And incidentally, here's another example of how frustratingly complicated and in this example, totally counter intuitive (!) conservation can be!

BUT!
The fight goes on!

Playa del Carmen - too late already?

Honestly: I fear it is!

From a witness report.
The sharks are being fished out right now (see attached photos).
There was a great agreement with the local fishermen in Playa del Carmen and they had stopped shark fishing completely. At the beginning of December however, a fisherman from a neighbouring town captured and killed 21 bull sharks, following which the Playa fishers decided that if he could do it, so could they.
Twenty nine 2 m+ bulls have been killed in the last month or so, and no-one is seeing any live sharks at the dive sites. I have just heard that there have been a couple of decomposing finned bull shark carcasses found on the reef in the last week - great advert for Playa!


How incredibly sad!
With that in mind, how long will it take until the site will recover - if all that fishing stops TODAY? Keep in mind that if Steven Spencer's account is in any way accurate, and I think it is, then those Bulls may already be the quasi totality of the animals visiting Playa del Carmen during the Bull Shark Season!

Are they part of a larger population from where new individuals may be recruited?
Maybe - but at risk of stating the obvious here: Sharks are not Teleosts and have no planktonic larval stages that may be carried in by the currents and decide to settle. Instead, any Bull Shark repopulating Playa del Carmen will have to leave its current home range and swim there. The motivation for doing so may derive from a past "good experience" and if so, the Sharks with that individual memory may now be dead; or, juveniles may be following adults and if so, those adults may now have been killed; more likely, Playa may be re-discovered by some roaming Sharks much like Fiji is being slowly re-discovered by the Humpback Whales. Yes those links are about Tigers - but Bulls occupy a similar trophic niche and certainly roam as well, albeit probably within smaller ranges.
All very possible - but this mechanism is bound to take a very long time indeed, likely way too long for any specialized Shark viewing tourism to survive commercially. And as the Shark tourism revenues will dwindle, the revenues from Shark fishing will look that much more attractive.
Yes, it’s a vicious circle!

But whatever the final outcome - there are lessons to be learned here!
And before anybody should feel that I may be attacking him personally and starts calling me names: this is not against anybody.
This is just, once again, a reminder that we all need to be careful !

Forget the romantic image of The Old Man and the Sea.
Granted, the artisanal fishermen in Playa may still fit that stereotype - but in general terms, the image could not be more misleading! Commercial fishing is big business and the fishermen are motivated, smart and dispose of the exact same, if not more resources than we do! Do you really think that they are not looking at tracks like these and not already finding ways to exploit them? Do you think that they're not already ogling the much-publicized mass spawning of the Snappers and scouring the scientific papers for the location of other Fish aggregations? Why do you think that I've erased the co-ordinates of the GW Café from my post?
Or, think Guadalupe: what do you think will happen to those GWs if the operators don't get their act together and the Mexicans close the site?

And lest you start mumbling that this is merely some "conspiracy" to promote Fiji against Mexico or the like: same-same here in Fiji!
This is what has happened last year.


Yes this is one of our Bulls and these are some local Polynesian fishermen.
We were only alerted after the fact and that Shark ended up being killed. But it had been caught within our protected Shark Corridor and we were thus able to mobilize our Reef Wardens and the police. Suffice to say that I'm absolutely certain that those guys will never, ever kill one of our Sharks again! (:

That is, if we don't stuff it up!
The Fiji Shark Project is geared towards long term sustainability. In theory, it has all the ingredients to run forever, to the benefit of the Sharks and of all its stakeholders: the villagers, the Country, our staff and even the local fishermen who profit from the spillover effects of the marine park and of course, the Sharks!
But take a wild guess at what would happen if we had the alas inevitable accident (there, I've said it!) on the Shark Dive and could not document that we had done everything humanly possible to prevent it!
Hence the ever tighter security protocols and hence my constant reminder that in our industry, safety must be our primary concern - despite of the incessant clamoring by some of our customers for more more more!

If the Playa disaster can have a meaning, it is this.
We can discount it as the inevitable result of a commercial Shark diving project that appears to have been poorly planned and poorly executed, and revert to business as usual; or, we may take pause for some reflection.
Are our animals sufficiently protected?
Are our current protocols the best we can imagine?
And if not: what can we do to improve on that, RIGHT NOW?

And lastly, if you plan to set up a new operation.
Start quietly, by furthering research and ensuring that the site is adequately protected and that you are empowered to enforce that protection - before publicizing the operation! And when it comes to choosing your protocols: this is an excellent start!

To those trying to fix the situation in Playa: wishing you the very best of success!
Suggestion: a stay of execution - enact a temporary chumming stop pending an agreement with the fishermen. Right now, the chumming is aggregating the remaining Sharks and only helping the fishermen find and kill them.
Please drop us a line if there's anything we can contribute.

Playa del Carmen - Lessons?

Please read this.
Yes that was two years ago and one would have hoped that by now, everybody had understood that message, maybe with one addendum: you need to get the local stakeholders involved.

I'm sure you know what happened in Playa del Carmen.
And if not, there's a plethora of newspaper articles and blog posts bemoaning the killing of nine pregnant Bull Sharks with approx 50 pups and the damage this has inflicted to the Shark population, the dive shops and the community in general. As a reaction, we now have an advocacy group, petitions and shark advocates calling for the protection of the Sharks during the season.
That's a good thing and fingers crossed that it's not too late.

What is not good is that it did not have to come to this.
A friend writes, I was never a fan on Phantom Divers in Mexico and yes, I dove that site quite a while back. It seems to me they have been hamfisting the encounters from day one. Probably too harsh but the fact is, this was obviously poorly planned and executed and as Steven Spencer correctly remarks, the feeding has undoubtedly aggregated the Sharks and directly led to their demise.

Where I however believe that Steven errs, is when he claims that this proves that Shark feeding dives are bad.
They are simply not. If conducted responsibly, they harm neither the animals nor the customers, provide for economic alternatives for the people who would otherwise kill the Sharks and very much contribute to dispelling the negative stereotypes.
Again, if conducted responsibly!

What this incident however does, is to once again reinforce my strong belief that we need to first and foremost assume the stewardship of the sites we develop and promote, and this from the very beginning - very much along the lines of Patric's Noblesse Oblige. Had the local dive shops and the people promoting this dive established the necessary protection and cooperated with the local communities from the outset, this would not have happened, period.

Which brings be straight over to this.



Totally EPIC - pun intended!
I really wish I could say something positive about this, the more since Oceanic Whitetips have become so critically depleted that any site offering reliable encounters is nothing short of miraculous and worthy of being promoted - if the diving is conducted responsibly!

But not like this!
Let there be no doubt that these Sharks are dangerous and that anybody conducting commercial dives with this species needs to set in place proper protocols. From Wikipedia, citing Compagno

Groups often form when individuals converge on a food source, whereupon a "feeding frenzy" may occur. This seems to be triggered not by blood in the water or by bloodlust, but by the species' highly strung and goal-directed nature (conserving energy between infrequent feeding opportunities when it is not slowly plying the open ocean). The oceanic whitetip is a competitive, opportunistic predator that exploits the resource at hand, rather than avoiding trouble in favor of a possibly easier future meal 

Interesting and probably true.
The pros have known it all along - but latest since that fateful attack in the Red Sea, everybody should know that snorkeling with Oceanic Whitetips is just plain stupid, the more as the Sharks are highly inquisitive and will readily approach SCUBA divers and allow for those coveted in-your-face wide-angle shots anyway. As to hand feeding those Silkies whilst on snorkel and without wetsuit - oh well, whatever.

Now, it appears, this site is about to go mainstream.
This was once one of Jimmy's discoveries and signature dives sites that would experience sporadic visits by the Shear Water. Next year, it appears, the Sharks will be subjected to a solid six weeks (click on Diving) of daily baiting.

Will that aggregate the Sharks? Will it change their behavior?
And if so: is anybody developing bomb-proof commercial Shark diving protocols and much more importantly, is anybody talking to the local stakeholders, namely the game and the commercial fishermen to at least develop some local consensus about their value to the local economy and the need to preserve this valuable resource? Yes there's a push for the nation-wide protection of all Sharks in the Bahamas - but this is not a done deal quite yet, and those Whitetips that are being publicized and aggregated may well still be fair game in April, meaning that any Shark fisherman wanting to kill them may do so in total impunity.
What can be done to prevent that?

Please, think about it.
Please, learn the lessons from Playa del Carmen.