The Running of the Bulls - Full House!

Bingo!

Didn't I say that they would be running soon!

We're still being niggled by the tail end of Ula, and diving has been challenging - but the action is fast and furious, with more and more of the big females popping by for a snack. Already sighted: Crook, Hook, Bum, Monica, Chica, Bumphead, Curly, Maite, Pointer, Blunt, Tip, Nani, Shorty, Junior, Fold, Nick, Pecker, Mrs. Jaws, Lefty, Saddle, Steps and Taryn - and this in only 3 days of Shark diving!

And the mating?

I'm still stumped as all we see are healed scars, like the ones on Nick at the top. And even more surprisingly, today we were visited by none other than Whitenose, meaning that the party may well be already over!

Or may this be merely a temporary lull like last time?

We shall see!

In any case, we're already at 45+ bulls, tendency very much increasing.

So, what are you waiting for!

Charlie Charlie!

Fiji: do I have your attention? :)

No worry not.

This is not about what you're thinking of, but instead about our friend Charlie from Phantom Divers - who incidentally, despite being one hundred proof Mexican  has never heard of that stupid game!

And from what I can discern, he ain't no Demon, either!

Anyway, check out this old video.

This is 2011, right at the height of the crisis.

A lot has happened since and you can check out some of it by following this link. And I am really happy to be able to report that now things are even better, this incidentally very much in the spirit of these suggestions!

The one single legal Shark fisherman has agreed to stop fishing for Sharks and is actually actively participating in their protection - and SOS is advancing in leaps and bounds, with ever more dive operators contributing and also, with excellent support by the research community and even the authorities.

So kudos to everybody involved for an excellent job!

And Charlie is right here - and we love it! 

Humble, fun, inspirational and incredibly knowledgeable, he's belongs to a tiny elite of responsible professional Shark feeders who do it out of love and respect for the animals instead of bravado, and we are truly blessed in being able to host him on our dive. After Rusi's tragic passing, the junior feeders have been desperately looking for guidance, and I am beholden to Charlie for having assumed the role of friend, teacher, motivator and mentor in these difficult times. The boys love and look up to him, and some of his suggestions are already being translated into concrete action.

So thank you my friend - much appreciated!

Charlie is planning to hang around for another while.

So here's your chance to witness a genuine Mexican torero in action - and this time with real toros muy gordos and not those Caribbean Sardines! :)

So, what are you waiting for!

2014 - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly!

No such category this year - but if there were, this would probably be my favorite pic! Source.

OK - let's do this thing.

This time, it's gonna be different.

I'm gonna spare myself the various verbose intros because they would be no different from what I've posted in the past - if yer interested, go and re-read them here!

So there.

For BAD it has been a simply phenomenal year.

We turned 10 in April and celebrated it with our clients.

This is the first year that we've not had to let go anybody but have instead further expanded our team by hiring our two fabulous trainees from Galoa, Elia and Wase; the first year that we were able to cover all our investments out of cash flow; and most importantly, the first year we've paid out more than 50k in bonuses to the staff. Yes as always, there goes the dividend - but this was never about the money anyway!

And for you fans out there: Silio got married and is becoming our first home-grown instructor; and Nani's little sister Ana is not so little anymore, equally married and mother to a healthy son!

But our biggest achievement was that after 10 year of incessant lobbying, we were finally rewarded for our patient stubbornness when Government declared the SRMR a National Marine Park in September - and having talked to many people, it really is the first NMP in Fiji and probably the first such public/private partnership anywhere!

The scientific work has continued unabated.

Juerg did publish his simply stellar paper about competitive exclusion.
Thanks to PADI Project AWARE, the GFSC  has continued for its third year despite of the rather baffling retraction of SOSF as a sponsor, meaning that we now have enough data for a first analysis that will be published shortly. And our cooperation with Projects Abroad has added two new long term research projects that will eventually result in more papers published but above all, in vital action on the ground. And I know of at least one paper being in peer review, plus two being written as we speak - so keep watching this space!

Talking of Projects Abroad, I must really say that it has been awesome.

This has really been a great cooperation. Yes, like in any marriage, we've had our disagreements - but they've been exceedingly rare, discussions have always been constructive, and we've always come away enriched from them, as did our projects.

On top of conducting their research and various community initiatives, the volunteers did plant thousands upon thousand of Mangroves and as a consequence, the MFF website is currently undergoing a major facelift to better reflect the project's massive expansion along with its changed strategic orientation. 

There too, expect news rather sooner rather than later, this along with the announcement of a substantial expansion and re-orientation of the river tagging work!

Thank you guy and gals - you rock! :)

And I must also thank Broadreach.

This was the seventh year that they've run their summer camps for High School and College with us, and thanks to the leadership of the irreducible Lindsay but also of multi-year leaders like Chris, we've become like family whereby this is undoubtedly the staff's favorite time of the year!

And  then, there was the global stuff!

We've launched Global Shark Diving to a simply overwhelming reception at DEMA, and as soon as everybody returns from the Holidays, the operator page will start populating with further amazing members, more ambassadors an also the bios of the researchers we work with along with their projects. One hundred percent initiated from within our Industry, this initiative aims at elevating Shark diving to a more long-term sustainable model, and it is great to see how the public approves of it and fantastic operators are buying into it. The customer cards are being printed as we speak, so expect to start getting them really soon, and yes they are totally free of charge - and then please show us that you like what we do!

And other really great global initiatives are in the making - and although they are not initiated by us and I'm thus not at liberty of divulging any details, I can nevertheless proudly reveal that BAD will play a role in each and every one of them!

And finally, the Sharks are doing great!

When it comes to our Fiji Bulls, we've witnessed the latest full cycle from mating to pregnancy to pupping, and the arrival of the newest batch of subadults - meaning that with the exception of the riverine YOYs and small juveniles, we're able to showcase every single life stage all the way to the old mamas like Granma and Bulge! With that in mind, 2015 is likely to yet again be a bumper year!

Same-same for the Whitetips that breed right there on the reef, and El Diego tells me that one big pregnant Blacktip has left and come back from its likely nursery on Beqa Island!

Tigers alas a big fat zero. There are just too many feisty Bull Sharks, plus they are likely been drawn away to the nascent Tiger Shark dive by BLR on the fringes of Beqa Lagoon where they usually hang out. One of their feeders has a reputation for being a loose cannon, and the dive looks messy (BTW, that's Adi) -  so here's to a steep and accident-free learning curve, and to loads of success! And, guys, get yerself some steel gloves and aluminum poles - gotta stack the cards in your favor!

Great people we've first met in 2014, in no particular order:

Allen; Mark; Ingrid, Andy, Kira, El Diego, Josh and Ron of Projects Abroad; Serge, Johann, Nicolas, Pierpaolo and the fantastic team of CRIOBE; Adam; Andrew; Riley and Mike; Avi, Mike, and the great Rodney; Nicole; Ciro and Ines, and Celso; Judi; Ian; Mark and Jess;  Elena and Ana - plus probably several more I've forgotten to mention, for which I apologize!

An then there was Shelley - and she has been a total revelation!
Great great lady, with a big heart for Sharks, a great sense of humor, a razor-sharp mind and an incredible wealth of knowledge about what is going on in those obscure pelagic fisheries. Really - very impressed!

And to all our old friends - thank you! :)

And a big shout-out to the traditional DEMA dinner co-conspirators - love you guys!

And a very, very special H/T to Bati!

So what about the Good elsewhere.

Frankly, I'm a bit at a loss. Yes there was plenty of good stuff and some of it was even very good - but it was essentially same old same old, nothing really spectacularly new. The good people remain the good people, the good NGOs continue to deliver good work, and DaMary and Rick continue to be my Shark heroes and continue to impress me with their intelligence, humility and humanity.

But a special H/T goes to Jessica, Ryan and Barry for their invaluable contribution to the scrapping of the WA Shark cull.

Bravo!

And although I'm sure that there are others - Riley, Ana and Elena, see above, are beacons of hope for picking up the torch and introducing intelligent, pragmatic, science- and fact-based Shark conservation to the next generation!

And I want to highlight this.

If you haven't before, please do watch it this time.

This is how all documentaries should be - especially those about Sharks!

Not that tired old, pathetically larmoyant new age eco clap trap; not those TV productions that are tailored for an audience of brain dead morons. Instead, give us real storytelling!, real emotions, beautiful cinematography and sound tracks!

Bravo David!

And finally - there has been progress!

Some of the charlatans have finally been unmasked and pushed into irrelevance - and I detect a clear slowing down, if not reversal of the Dolphinization of Shark Conservation! 

Here's to evolution!

And the Bad and the Ugly?

But first things first.

As a reminder, read this and watch this!

That's the general backdrop.

But there, too, I really can't be bothered much anymore.

Those cheats, charlatans and hypocritical media whores are not reformable, and you can't cure stupid - but I'll sure continue to expose them lest they think that they get away with that shit! But should you wonder whether you may have missed anything: I've WTF'd all my rants, so you can go and re-read what has made my blood boil - some stupid, some really bad and some simply egregious.

Let me mention just a few.

The very worst?

Those fishermen continue to kill Sharks by the tens of millions.

Lets never forget that THIS is the real problem - not the various comparatively irrelevant issues that continue  to inflame the hearts of the do-gooders!

Yes there has certainly been notable, sometimes even stellar progress in Asia that has driven down the price of Shark fins and sometimes even eliminated some local Shark fisheries - but the decline is not as large as asserted and with human populations continuing to grow and out-strip marine resources, Shark meat is increasingly being consumed as a source of protein.
This means that the fight is not only not over, but that a substantial part of the effort needs to be urgently re-directed towards advocating sustainable fisheries. To top that off, we're also hammering the Sharks' prey; and Global Warming, Acidification, Pollution and Habitat Destruction are exerting further pressure on Shark populations.

Not good!

And then there was the WA Shark cull.

Yes the cull proper has been stopped - but the killing continues, and the WA government has made it easier to go out and slaughter more Sharks by redefining the terms of reference. All-in-all, it's eminently disturbing and also, eminently stupid as public safety is not in the slightest being increased. And the recent targeting of tagged Sharks is just simply unacceptable.

And what about our side.

I must say that I was appalled (but by no means surprised) by all those conservation people flocking into WA like fucking lemmings with the sole purpose of showcasing themselves as heroic conservationists, and by the sheer stupidity but also, by the abject lack of compassion of many, many comments posted on social media. And I really was not at all impressed by some of the research community, both for their lack of fortitude in addressing the issue honestly (= when will anybody finally state that there are obviously more big GWS!) but also for playing to the crowd by advancing  some remarkably misleading and stupid arguments.

And Shark Week?

We don't get it here in Fiji so I haven't seen anything - but I hear that some was atrocious and some, rather good. What however did really disturb me was all that frothy incestuous twittering and blogging by the intelligentsia! Talk about a veritable cottage industry of outraged nerds! 

And the worst part? Not only did they offer zero solutions, not only did they bring about zero change - I know for a fact that DC were delighted by all that incremental traffic whilst laughing all the way to the bank!

Guys - next time, THINK!

And then, there was this shit!

Simply appalling - sed scripta manent: this will forever stand in ignominy, for the organization but also very much for the people involved. As a minimum, give your money to others that are more deserving of your respect!

And I was really saddened by the creeping demise of Shark Savers!
Once by far the best of the small Shark NGOs,  it is obviously nothing more than an afterthought in Wild Aid's global strategy.
Really, what a crying shame!

And last!

Remember the story of the junior student that tried to out-Pip the Madi?

Surely, that incident must go down as one of the most bizarre, brazen, stupid and quite frankly sad episodes of Shark conservation!

And the website (.org no less!) is rebuilding - hahahahaha!

Talk next year!

Is Sean van Sommeran a Coward and a Liar?

Would this man ever lie? Source.

You be the judge of that!

Remember the Junior controversy?

If not and if you want to waste a lot of time, you can re-read plenty of posts on the subject and above all, a lot of breathy comments by Sean van Sommeran here, starting from the oldest post.
In brief, an anonymous whistle-blower called ecoshark leaked a few pictures of a mutilated GWS claiming that the wounds were the result of the research by Michael Domeier. It was later revealed that the injuries had been inflicted by other Sharks and that this was a smear campaign by competing researchers against Michael Domeier aimed at evicting him from their research site at the Farallones.

The following is from the comments thread of a then post on SFS

Michael Domeier says:
May 6, 2011 at 12:57 pm 
I think Greg asks a reasonable question, Sean. Are you the source of the original Junior photos?

Sean R. Van Sommeran says:
May 6, 2011 at 4:24
I did not leak the footage, footage like that is made available as a matter of course anyway…. so why is it being characterized as a malicious leak anyway? …
I havent the vaguest idea whose ecoshark link that is and have no comments on that.

Michael Domeier says:
May 6, 2011 at 5:16 pm
OK Sean. Fair question and fair answer. Thanks for answering.

Now, times have apparently changed.
What was then (and still is) a grave and cowardly breach of fair play and collegiality may now confer hero status, at least among a particular frothy subsection of the Shark movement.
Be it as it may: the rabid anti-OCEARCH dipshits with an opinion and a keyboard are busy cobbling together a film, no less - and SvS has now found it fit to post the following on one of their circular echo chambers.

Sean R. van Sommeran --
We stopped Ocearch at the Farallones ( Pelagic Shark Research Foundation), the resulting scandal that we exposed and documented (shared documentation/videos, stills, etc) fractured the Ocearch and Domeier cartel's incursion into California and its well known 'Sanctuary' Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary) that granted the permits for the hook and line method.

It was PSRF conservation workers, working discretely with fellow TOPP field researchers (only 3 out of the whole lot) that leaked images and video stills and background story (shark named Junior) during the disastrous Ocearch/Domeier expedition into California and the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary in 2009/10. 

We Pelagic Shark Research Foundation) were the only TOPP members (field researcher) who disobeyed orders and publicly commented on the matter, we were of course sanctioned thereafter... Duty before dogma ~ 

Bingo

As I said, you be the judge of that.

Fischer Reality Check - Comments by Dr. Michael Domeier!

In-water SPOT-tagging of an enormous GWS - source.

Sorry for the protracted silence.

We've been extremely busy.

Plus, I've found myself embroiled in a rather unexpected and increasingly pointless debate with Chris Fischer of Ocearch.

Chris should have followed the advice of Domeier's publicist, see below.
Now the exchange has piqued the interest of the man himself who has sent me a vigorous rebuttal of Fischer's assertions, initially however with the request not to publicize it as he wanted to keep to the high road and instead let Karma take its course.

Well, I don't believe much in Karma.

It is unpredictable and takes much, much too long to eventuate.

So upon much cajoling by yours truly, here are Michael Domeier's comments - and from what I recall and have been able to observe from the sidelines, I for one have no doubt that they are a truthful representation of the facts - tho still way too karmically polite!

Unabridged - although the formatting is mine.

Enjoy!

Any PR expert will tell you to never get dragged into a public, negative pissing match… excellent advice that I try to follow. 
But once every few years I’m forced to slide down the slippery slope to correct serious misinformation that affects me, or my organization… misinformation that only I am capable of correcting. 

Some people are so comfortable stretching the truth that they actually begin to believe the lie themselves. 

Remind you of anyone/anything?? A popup tag removed from a shark at Guadalupe Island? A tag presumably recovered from another shark off El Choyudo? Pictures of Junior circulated with wounds falsely attributed to my tagging of the same shark a year earlier? For each of these things I finally made a concise statement that set the record(s) straight. Here we go again, but perhaps not as concise due to the complex situation. 

Chris Fischer, at every opportunity, proclaims 1) that he spent $5 million to fund my research; 2) that he enabled me to become a great researcher; 3) that I greedily hoard the data and don’t share with the public; and 4) that he developed the equipment and methods to capture and tag large adult white sharks. 

1) There is no way Chris Fischer ever spent $5 million of his (or anyone else’s) money on my research. 

We joined forces to conduct 2 expeditions before he got a TV deal. My last Guadalupe Island expedition (Fall 2012) cost about $40K… and that was with the boat making a profit. So do the math. Also, there was never going to be a second expedition (2008). Chris had a big sponsorship from Red Lobster and was departing for a ‘round the world expedition. I even flew to Ft. Lauderdale to attend his big send-off party at the IGFA Hall of Fame. I flew on my own dime, wished him well and said goodbye. When Red Lobster dropped him, ending the voyage before it even began, we got together to do another expedition in 2008. He did not put his life on hold, bet his savings, etc., to provide me two boat rides to Guadalupe Island. I was the one who spent months and months in preparation for each trip… he just showed up at the dock. 

Yes, he paid for 2 trips to Guadalupe, but then struck a TV deal that allowed him to recoup those costs as he was getting $400K/episode. 

We were able to make multiple episodes from a single trip. Furthermore, I tapped two other private foundations to help pay for the tags and research; financial support that he never acknowledges. Fischer was fairly paid for all of the work we did together… this was not a huge philanthropic venture. On the contrary, he made it clear: “no cameras no trips.” The huge $$ figure he throws around must be for the entire operating cost of his ship and production company for each year he was making these television shows. But that’s not a fair way to account for the actual cost of the research (a fraction of the yearly operating budgets were due to the handful of research trips)… and he never discusses the INCOME. Any real accountant would tally just the costs of the specific trips… or think like this: what would it cost to charter a vessel for each research trip, and then subtract the income! Perhaps he took a loss, I don’t know; my organization took a financial loss… but no way did either of us wrack up losses in the millions. 

2) None of my recent white shark papers would have been possible without the 10 years I put in the field before I met Fischer. 

Fischer just happened to be in the picture as I began to really put all the pieces together. I knew SPOT tags were the only way to push the science forward. I also knew the sharks would be easy to catch, but I wanted to lift them from the water to safely remove the hook and do extra sampling (sperm, blood etc). I was developing a stand-alone pneumatic lift to accomplish the task. When Fischer showed me a picture of his new boat at a Billfish Foundation Board Meeting, I instantly recognized that the lift designed to pick up a yacht could shortcut my lift building plan. I asked if I could use the boat. The answer was “yes,” but only if I allowed cameras. I had never cooperated with a film maker in all my years at Guadalupe (well… Guy Harvey is an exception… but he’s an exceptional guy), and I had requests on a monthly basis, but this seemed like a good trade. 

When it comes to enabling, I think one needs to look at who really benefited from this collaboration. 

I brought Fischer into my world… he took my idea and crafted an entirely new career/image for himself. He even used the experience to gain his coveted Explorer Club status. Brett’s a good guy, but even he will tell you he (Brett) had no interest in catching sharks… even as we were heading to Guadalupe for the first time. If it wasn’t for my bringing Fischer into the marine science world, and consequently primetime television… he would be sitting in his home in Park City without a big boat waiting at the dock. Yes, he was about to lose the boat. If I had stayed true to my original course I would have accomplished the same work, it just would have taken me longer 

3) I do not hoard data. 

Like any professional researcher, I gather data until there is enough to analyze, allowing me to write an excellent publication. Then I publish and share with the world, just like every other working researcher that I know. In fact, I was careful to publish our latest findings in an open access journal, so the entire world could read the paper for free. 

I also disseminate results on our Facebook page. And yes, I have an app that costs a whopping $3.99… that helps me fund the research (actually… it brought in enough to do a nice upgrade (soon)… but not much more). I don’t have huge tv deals and corporate sponsors. So what’s the problem? Fischer slammed my app (and me personally) when it debuted and encouraged people not to purchase it. No, I don’t give the data to Fischer… why should I… it’s my data? He got all the TV shows and celebrity status he wanted… I got data. Furthermore, releasing research results prior to publishing can be problematic when the time comes to publish. Ask any researcher about that. I’ve been sharing more data lately simply to try to keep my organization afloat. But the last person I want running around the world, interpreting my unpublished data, is Chris Fischer. But that hasn’t stopped him from doing so. His brand building (photo shoots and interviews with big hooks draped around his neck, the hyped fishing template for the show) really hurt my reputation as a legitimate researcher. 

4) For our initial expedition I told Fischer he didn’t need to bring anything, just bait…I would do the rest.

I did the rest… and he forgot the bait (thus the infamous bait arguments on TV program). I conceived of the idea to use his yacht-lift to tag sharks, I designed the cradle, I designed the hook, the buoys, the line… everything. When the cradle didn’t work the way I had hoped, I was the one that tore it all down and fenced in the entire platform… Chris wanted to use the crane to pull the sharks onto the platform (yikes). Yes, my home-made hooks were prone to bending and breaking, but there was no place to buy such big circle hooks and we caught a few sharks that first year. And yes, the crew helped refine my concept for safely catching and handling the sharks. 

The SPOT tags used by all now, were built specifically to my design specs. 

I tried the off-the-shelf version and it failed. My version worked, and continues for me and for those who have followed. Lately I’ve made significant changes to the attachment of those tags… but that’s another story. 

Every single place we went with the ship was under my specific direction. 

I was in the wheelhouse each time we dropped anchor, putting the ship on my numbers… and we caught and tagged sharks every place we went. Our success was not due to the exceptional fishing prowess of Fischer; it was due to years and years of observation, study and note taking.

I  hate this sort of thing, and hopefully it will be years before I have to put myself out there like this again. 

But sometimes it’s a necessary evil. There are moments of clarity when you have to act, today was one such moment. Let me share a similar moment from years ago: while doing a big promotional push before the debut of our first TV episode, Fischer and I were both doing nonstop interviews in NYC. During a short break, my wife and I watched one of Fischer’s interviews, on FOX News, from the lobby of the hotel. We sat in stunned silence as he proclaimed that the entire research program was his idea and that he had pulled together the boat, crew and research. Just weeks prior he had proclaimed that I was nothing more than “a passenger with permits.” Suddenly it was clear this was not a good situation for me. The science message was being lost by the growing ego. In the end, I could not bear to watch the series that was based upon my own hard work. I tried to watch an episode during the season when Peter Klimley took my place… I was sickened at how Peter was made to look so foolish… turned it off again. 

There have been a huge number of people on-and-off the Fischer bandwagon, many of whom can confirm my statements if you care to track them down. Brett was a good friend… he knows the truth… unfortunately our friendship could not endure the awkwardness to keep in touch. 

I will be the first to say that I’ve noted a different tack from the Fischer camp lately… less fishing hype and more attention to the fish being studied. 

Perhaps lessons have been learned. But in my heart I know Fischer’s ride is about recognition… not about sharks. He didn’t know a clasper from a cloaca before I met him. I hope he does great things for the world… I hope he becomes more self-aware and learns to let his actions speak rather than his words. This whole thing started because he could not stand the fact he was not getting all the credit for a paper Nicole and I invested nearly 15 years to produce. 

Dr. Michael Domeier

PS: simply brilliant post by Patric here - kudos!

“I once thought (call it an evolution) that science and tv could be married together to deliver the best and brightest to waiting audiences. Then the major cable players started cutting doco budgets, slashing and burning them in an almost Visigothic manner until a 60 minute show was left with a budget of $150,000 and that included post production.

What do you get for $150,000 or less? You get Gurney Productions and sharks. There will always be someone who is willing to drop their pants and chain wrap a Tiger shark, and film it, (yes ABC that's you buddy) for a few film credits and the chance to film the next piece of shit that comes down the chute.”

PS2: Megalobomb unleashes!

The most challenging experience one will face during a career in white shark research is being suckered into working with someone that is a dick. Like a one-night stand, they/their projects may look attractive and say all the right things, but then you wake up and realize that you’re some wrinkly married man’s mid-life crisis.

Guadalupe Great Whites - Paper!

Location data for the four satellite-linked radio-telemetry-tagged female white sharks during the pupping phase.

Epic!

Read the paper!

No I'm not going to write a synopsis as it is open access, short, incredibly interesting and informative, and crystal clear insofar as it does not contain any obscure scientific lingo - and anybody ever wanting to talk about Great Whites needs to have read it!
Yes, female GWS follow a two-year breeding and migration cycle, something no PAT tag has ever been able to document!

And, there is this.

Jorgensen et al. have proposed an alternative life-history hypothesis that is contradictory to the hypothesis proposed by Domeier. The major difference between these hypotheses pertains to the timing and location of mating. Jorgensen et al. speculated that white sharks are mating during their offshore phase, whereas Domeier proposed that mating occurs during seasonal, near-shore, adult aggregations...

The offshore-mating hypothesis is based upon the conjecture that a described vertical-diving pattern (rapid oscillatory diving (ROD)) is a result of a lek-like mating behavior in the core of the SOFA. This interpretation is problematic from several perspectives. Lek-like mating systems involve the gathering of males at a traditional site for the purpose of ritualized courtship display. The males compete for the attention of females, and in turn, the females select a specific male for mating. Although the peak in ROD behavior, and thus presumed offshore mating, occurs during June/July in a period when the distribution of males temporarily constricts, even the constricted offshore space is vast (estimated to be about 64,000 km²). Lek-like mating would require the males to be in a very small space to allow females to observe the courtship of several males at once. No electronic-tag data have ever indicated that sharks are densely populating a small, traditional offshore site. Lek-like mating systems have been described for some species of fish, but leks have never been seen among elasmobranchs. Females that mate in lek systems select a single male deemed superior to other males, thus the fact that white-shark pups from a single litter tested positive for multiple paternity argues against lek-like mating for this species. 

It is challenging to ascribe any behavior to vertical movement data in the absence of visual observations. The seasonal constriction of the SOFA and the ROD-type diving pattern could be due to the pursuit of a seasonally available prey. An expedition to this region during the constriction identified the presence of three species of spawning squid and sperm whales, but again, the absence of behavioral observations deems it impractical to assign any cause to the ROD diving pattern. Diving patterns and mating systems aside, there are other strong arguments against the hypothesis that white sharks are mating during the offshore phase of their migratory pattern. First, electronic-tag data indicate that males and females are largely segregated during the offshore period, and second, the proposed mating during June/July would equate to December/January pupping (accepting the 18-month gestation estimate). Females arrive at adult aggregation sites approximately in September, and depart in December to end of February. No YOY have been seen at the adult aggregation sites, no obviously pregnant females have been sighted at GI, and pupping is known to occur approximately April through July.

Bingo!

I really had to laugh out loud - remember?

Basically exactly what i said - which begs the question, does the man read my posts? What I did not know was the fact about multiple paternity - the exact opposite of what would be expected in lek mating!

Eat that, Sal!

Anyway.

Bravo Michael Domeier and Nicole Nasby-Lucas - this is truly seminal stuff. And, thank you for the chapter about conservation concerns! 

And I repeat: read it!

And now, watch this.

Right.

Looks like the bunch of dipshits with an opinion and a keyboard has spawned a dipshit with an opinion and a camera who is now publicly spouting the usual moronic rubbish all the way to having the audacity to post that picture of Junior! 

All so pathetically SvS.

But fear not, I'm not gonna dwell on the latter. 

As per Patric's update and after now many weeks of him having produced zero, zilch, nana da nada evidence for his assertions, I'm done with the man and his verbose excretions!

Anyway.

Does that mean that I now endorse SPOT tags?

It depends!

Research does not consist in slapping on some tags in order to then look at what happens - the scientific method demands that one formulate a (plausible - see the lekking fiasco!) hypothesis and then test it, for which one needs to employ the adequate tools.

So IF the hypothesis requires gathering multi-year data about a species that conducts large migrations and IF the animal comes to the surface frequently which is necessary for up-linking to the satellite, and IF the questions being asked are important, then I absolutely support deploying SPOT tags!

As I said here, research about philopatry is vitally important for conservation purposes!

Example?

The GWS that aggregate and regale the cage divers at the Neptunes are likely to be among the very same animals that munch on unsuspecting aquatic recreationists in Western Australia, quite possibly in tandem with GWS that travel there from SA.

Both hypotheses have already been validated by PAT tagging tracks, and possibly even via acoustic tagging - but we still don't have the full picture insofar as we don't know where they mate, where they pup (or do we?) and why, exactly, they and some of the SA GWS travel to WA.

That is simply vital information if we ever want to understand and then address and manage the mess in WA and protect those Sharks - and of course the people!

And how would one go about in gathering that info?

Assuming (which is not a given!) that the females of that Australian population follow the same 2-year cycle as those from Guadalupe, then SPOT tags would be the ideal tool, vastly superior to PAT tags that do not have that longevity! The ideal tagging location would be the Neptunes where the Sharks aggregate, and the operators there should really consider inviting a knowledgeable GWS researcher - out of intellectual curiosity but also very much in order to safeguard their assets!

But not Fischer's wandering circus!

I dislike the man but that's obviously not the issue.

The issue is that by today's standards, his methods are unnecessarily invasive. Domeier has proven that very large GWS can be caught and then tagged whist submerged; and he has also developed a cradle for the tags whereby there is only one single attachment bolt, thus greatly reducing the risk of fin damage. 

Is that perfect?

Certainly not - but it's a great improvement and in view of the importance of finally gathering the necessary information about that population, I for one could personally live with some possibly warped or shredded fins. But I would not publish any tracks - at least not at this time of public pressure and according political brinkmanship in WA. Imagine the fiasco of showcasing the Sharks' real-time location, only to have one executed by some overly zealous government bureaucrat - highly unlikely but why take that risk!

But I'm digressing as always.

All I really wanted to say is, epic and congrats!

Read the paper!

2012 - The Bad and the Ugly: new Nominations!

And on a completely different note - but then again, maybe not so far off topic!

 

2. New Nominations

• Biggest Shark Conservation Fail - Fiji Shark Sanctuary Campaign
  
  What can I say - literally!
  As a foreigner on a visa - only so much!
  Anyway, the Sanctuary is toast and the Authorities have decided to instead manage Shark fishing via a NPoA Sharks. I've seen one of the many drafts and it talks about having it ratified by Parliament, meaning that any such measures will be implemented, if at all, after the elections in 2014.
  Meanwhile, this is continuing unabated.
  
  And the reasons for this debacle?
  One is certainly the campaign itself.
  Instead of quietly concentrating on assisting government in drafting the actual legislation, the campaign managers decided to roll out a premature national awareness campaign. The frothy activism and associated NOISE were increasingly been viewed as an irritant by the the powers that be, and the media announcements finally managed to activate the Shark fishing industry that mounted a vigorous opposition, much along the lines of this shit.
  And when Sea Shepherd announced that they were coming to Fiji to kick ass, it was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back - see below!
  
  And what about this.
  There must always be a cohesive medium between the various factions and a complete ban on longline fishing (while it would solve all conservation problems) is just not realistic as it wouldn't address the inherently important issues like food and economic security. We must always remember that we are talking about the livelihoods of many Fijians, many Pacific islanders for that matter Joel Evans therefore we must take all the variables into consideration and try to achieve that essential yet elusive balance.
  
  Sorry Art - love you, but this is just idle clap trap!
  We're talking about 130+ METRIC TONS of Shark fins that get exported annually, principally brought in by the Taiwanese long distance fleets (likely now from Tonga, too) that pay no taxes, create no jobs and sail away with the profits whilst a handful of Asian traders are lining their own pockets - and those are merely the OFFICIAL figures! Essentially, Fiji is acting as a turntable for the produce of IUU and very possibly also finning that is being perpetrated by foreign interests on the high seas, and this much to the DETRIMENT of the SoPac that is being stripped of its marine resources!
  
  And then there's the massive increase in coastal fishing for Sharks that is already effecting the dive sites and impinging on a totally sustainable and non-extractive industry worth approx. FJD 80  millions to the country, and on countless jobs in the tourism industry - and we're not even talking about the ecosystem services that so far remain unquantified!
  
  This is all about making fast profits and got nothing whatsoever to do with Pacific Islander livelihoods, food security and jobs, the more as the Sanctuary decree had an exemption for Canacana fisheries!
  
  And the National Plan of Action Sharks?
  Compared to sanctuaries, traditional management measures are complicated and extremely costly to implement. Does Fiji dispose of the necessary resources and if not, who is going to provide them - and with that in mind, what are the chances of this being a successful undertaking?
  
  Solutions?
  None I am at liberty to discuss in public - but clever minds are working on stuff!
  QUIETLY!

• Shark Conservation Con of the Year - Operation Requiem
  
  I've said it before, like others,  I'm of two minds about Fat Paul.
  He has managed to alert the public to several issues he holds dear - but he's also a total bullshitter and now it turns out, a total coward! And the SSCS - read these posts by Patric who obviously cares much more than I ever could!
  
  And the track record after those 30+ years of NOISE and simply stupendous expenditures?
  ABSOLUTELY NOTHING - the Canadians continue to bash those Seals to death, the Japanese continue to hunt those Whales, the Faroe Islanders continue to hold their grinds, and the guys in the Cove continue to butcher away and don't give a rat's ass about Hollywood, end even less about the krazy new age shepherdettes!
  Those are the FACTS - but who cares, right?
  
  A shame really, because the frothy bullshit and NOISE drown out the few remarkable legitimate initiatives, like the Society's involvement in the Galapagos or e.g. what the fiery and irreducible Gary has achieved by relentlessly chipping away at CITES - and buddy, it sure looks like it's gonna be a win for you and zero for me! :(
  
  And this?
  SPOT ON - re-posted specially for YOU Megalobomb! :)
  
  
  
  Full video here!
  
  But I'm digressing as always.
  What I really wanted to talk about is Julie Andersen's junket where she, boyfriend Wildman and a couple of sea shepherdettes paid themselves a pleasure cruise throughout the Pacific on donor money.
  
  This was the bombastic announcement.
  Chances are that after I post it, they will make it private like the version on Vimeo. WTF - I thought they would be PROUD of it and wish a maximum of people to see it???
  Take special note of the usual SSCS bullshit of putting one's lives on the line and being ready to DIE for one's clients - incidentally, just like Fat Paul!
  
  
  
  Just remarkable ain't it.
  
  The truth?
  This is nothing more than Andersen's narcissistic attempt at finally getting her own television show, specifically some kind of Shark Wars on Animal Planet. Compare the above to this trailer for Seal Wars where Andersen made a cameo appearance and contributed NOTHING as always, and you can discern how this shit was concocted.
  
  And how about this
  On Andersen's and his webpage, Wildman describes his work in 2012 as follows
  Sea Shepherd Conservation Society - "Operation Requiem" - Underwater and Topside Cinematographer, Producer, Director, Editor - Solomon Islands, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Kiribati, Vanuatu, 2012.
  Think this is anything but a commercial venture? And, did they obtain the required shooting permits, and state that this was a shoot for Sea Shepherd?
  With Discovery having halted all projects following the defection of Brooke Runette, we can only hope that nothing will come of it - but who knows, the more since Andersen is certainly crafty in the game of smoke and mirrors!
  
  Anyway.
  Should you be interested in details, do peruse their News from the Field - and LO, you will discover a long succession of inane (and I note, poshumously embellished) posts about... NOTHING SUBSTANTIVE!  
  Our South Pacific shark campaign under the direction of Julie Andersen has just completed an awesomely successful campaign in Fiji, Tonga, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Kiribati - MY ASS!
  Collaborative relationship with Tonga huh - SHOW ME!
  
  But that's the SSCS for you!
  It has long morphed into a cult - and if the disheeples want to continue ignoring the evidence and pay for that fraud, too bad for them! My only grievance: that pseudo-conservation hydra is very good at vacuuming up resources that could do so much GOOD if they were donated to legitimate orgs instead!
  
  But Fiji is of course unforgivable.
  I was frankly astonished to find a pretty accurate description of what happened here - and no I don't know who that blogger is.
  The perpetrators who weaseled in posing as Shark Angels: squeaky SSCS Director of Shark Campaigns Andersen, boyfriend and illegal commercial shooter Wildman and rabid shepherdette Basset who then had the audacity to publicly sport a SSCS shirt in a Fijian village! All aided and abetted by, inter alia, Sarah Fisk, another shepherdette and PHD on a visitor's visa - talk about a total lack of RESPECT for the wishes of her host country!
  You can see them clowning around in Fiji here - whilst pretending to be somehow involved in a conservation success they had NOTHING to do with, ZERO!
  
  So, were those disrespectful fools the principal cause for the Sanctuary's demise?
  NO they were NOT - but having personally been at the Fisheries offices when it all went down, I can attest first-hand that it is THEM, and the idiots helping them, who have tipped it over the edge!
  And this after Andersen and Fisk were told by both Coral and Pew not to come!
  
  I say, WHAT A FUCKING DISGRACE!
  All to satisfy the sick personal ambitions of one person - not to mention the pecuniary agenda! And from what I hear, it may not even be over as they are STILL trying to weasel in!

• Shark Troll of the Year: Sean Van Sommeran
  
  Check out the word's definition here.
  Then compare it to SVS's Hyena wails here - merely one example of literally hundreds of similar ones he finds the time to post each year!
  Like I said during the Junior controversy, I have a grudging admiration for the man as he is passionate and DOES things - but boy-oh-boy, talk about a dude with a paranoiac hatred of what he appears to consider the conspiracy by the authorities and the academic establishment!
  And then, there are his rants against Shark provisioning - as legendary as they are completely misguided!
  And this? Still in no way resolved - or is it?

• Shark Fruitcake of the Year: still and unequivocally Erik Brush!
  
  But this year, we got ourselves an runner-up!
  
  
  
  Behold the self promoting Scott Cassell (52 miles non-stop huh - THAT ALONE would be fodder for another post...) who has single-handedly revolutionized everything we know about the GWS in the Northeast Pacific by claiming that he befriended a female named Spots in the Farallones only to later be reunited with her in Lupe, a migration hundreds of tags have been unsuccessful in documenting!
  Having then discovered images of her de-finned and de-jawed carcass from Baja and wanting to bring Spots' fins home, he then took a junket to Asia on sponsor money where he proceeded to EDUCATE the masses about the risk of an imminent invasion of Humbold Squid - yes, in ASIA!
  And, on his off days, he travels to Tiger Beach, again on sponsor money, to play fetch with Emma! AND, he teaches us that when you eat sharks and tunas, you are responsible for grizzly bears attacking people in Alaska! Ring a bell? It's all about Collier's dreaded DOMINO EFFECT and got certainly nothing to do with this!
  
  Red flags anybody?
  Whatever - right? It's all FOR THE SHARKS ergo totally legit!
  Simply too weird to be true? If you DARE because it's painful (WARNING!), watch THIS !
  Wow!

• Idiotic Shark Conservation Meme of the Year: The Oxygen Myth
  
  No, not THAT ONE!
  After last year's treatment, only a total fruitcake would dare spout those idiocies in public - oh, and of course JESSICA, now freshly re-named!
  Case in point - now it's about Global Warming, too!
  
  
  
  
  No I'm talking about the following!
  
  And I cite.
  Studies show that over 70% of the planet’s oxygen is generated from the ocean. Plankton are at the greatest risk of ocean acidification, and it is the plankton that creates that oxygen - which is being fully seconded by the OCEAN GODDESS herself who teaches us that Our living ocean generates 70% of the oxygen in our atmosphere and sequesters carbon emissions that have risen over the last century.
  
  Or to quote Chris Hartzell the pompous bloviating fireman.
  The debate over whether the ocean or the forests has been strong.In the 80's scientists who studied the ocean and the forests doing field work discovered approximately 60% of oxygen came from diatoms in the ocean (plankton) and 20% from the forests. However, today scientists say it is almost 50/50. However, it should be noted that the scientists in the 80's did actual field work for 100% of their sampling while today's scientists attribute their results to roughly 50% field data and 50% computer modeling. Either way, if diatoms were to take a big hit in the ocean, the global oxygen supply would be catastrophically hit and it is estimated that between 1/3rd to half of the human population would die off.
  Wow! Truly the man is a CORNUCOPIA of erudition - and not only about Sharks!
  
  And guess what: it HAS taken a big hit!!
  Look no further than this paper by Boyce et al  that comes to the conclusion that we have lost 40% of the Phytoplankton since 1950 - which is being fully confirmed by our very own rocket scientist, Tony Marr!
  
  And the consequences?
  Let my try and illustrate this with one of Jessica's sillygisms that goes thusly
  Major premise: 70% of the atmosphere's oxygen is generated by the Phytoplankton in our living ocean
  Minor premise: 40% of that Phytoplankton is toast
  ERGO: we've just lost ourselves 28% of the planet's oxygen!
  
  Bingo - and it's all SCIENCE ergo TRUE!
  We haven't caught on to it quite yet - but we're ACTUALLY all writhing on the ground gasping for air, just like the truly unequaled Chris has announced!
  
  Wow - again!
  But wait a minute: how come when I calibrated my O2 analyzer before yesterday's dive, it did not show 15.12% but 21% as usual? Read this drivel and you will discover that the ocean's oxygen production trope is at best a misconception and at worst, bunk science and disinformation.
  Tu quoque Sylvia?!?
  
  And then, read this - seriously, DO!
  Straight from the frothy Piranha tank, it documents how the Phytoplankton paper was the result of sloppy research coupled with a sloppy peer review process coupled with a sloppy journal that failed its due diligence as it wanted to stand out by publishing a BIG story. It is bad science, published prematurely - in brief, TOTAL BS!
  Tu quoque Boris?!?
  
  Back to the Sillygism!
  Major premise: not so fast!
  Minor Premise: HELL, no!
  ERGO: Phewww!

• Least impressive Shark Conservation Initiative - Listing the NE Pacific Great White Sharks under CESA and ESA
  
  Short story here.
  
  First, to the easy part.
  This matters because, as apex predators, sharks protect other fish populations by keeping seal and sea lion populations in balance. Sharks also play a crucial role in protecting barrier reefs. In short, if we lose our sharks, we lose our ocean's nurseries.
  
  Our Pacific coast needs great whites.
  As some of the oceans' top predators, they keep the food web in balance.
  As much as we may fear them for their bad rap, we need great white sharks to keep our oceans healthy. Just as wolves keep deer populations under control, great white sharks play a critical top-down role in structuring the marine ecosystem by keeping prey populations in check, such as sea lions and elephant seals, benefiting our fisheries and abundant wildlife.
  
  Sharks and barrier reefs huh.
  Apart from attributing to GWS faculties that apply, if at all, to completely different species, these statements suggest that apex predators are automatically keystone species. The FACT is that GWS are clearly NOT - and this especially if the postulated number of 350 were correct!
  Seriously, to suggest that a few hundred Sharks could control the Pinniped populations (estimates here) from the tip of Baja all the way to Alaska and over to Hawaii is just simply LUDICROUS - especially considering that GWS do not prey on Pinnipeds until they are large sub-adults, and even then only during a very short season before moving offshore!
  And the hint that the exploding Pinniped populations may endanger fisheries - may we be painting the specter of predator overpopulation, and this at the expense of species that have barely recuperated from decades of human exploitation?
  
  But that's just the usual stupid hyperbole.
  Same-same for this stupidity (yes there are TWO petitions!) - upon reading that for example, on the eastern seaboard of the United States, a decrease in Great White Sharks resulted in higher populations of mesopredators like the cownose ray and decreased populations of bivalves like scallops (Myers et al. 2007 at 1849) I've simply stopped bothering!
  FYI Myers et al. 2007 at 1849 states that The remaining four elasmobranch-consuming great sharks were caught too rarely to detect trends from this survey. Two of those, great white (Carcharodon carcharias) and sand tiger (Carcharias taurus) sharks, were each caught only once and early in the UNC survey (in 1974 and 1978, respectively).
  Graph here - see any GWS?
  
  The REAL problem here is that the 350 number is just bullshit!
  Yes it may be the best available science but then again, does a deeply flawed population estimate even qualify as such? Expect vigorous rebuttal from the jugular-slicing ninjas shortly - and if so, will that then become the best available science and thus completely invalidate the petition?
  
  And the petition proper?
  Certainly voluminous and erudite - but once again, fraught with obvious shortcomings, the principal other being that there is no evidence whatsoever that the population is declining, let alone that the US West Coast population is at serious risk of extinction!
  In fact, there is evidence that the population may be INCREASING which would also account for the increase of incidental bycatch of juveniles!
  
  “These majestic predators are vital for the health and balance of our ocean ecosystems,” said David McGuire, Director of SharkStewards. “Even the removal of one sexually mature individual from a population this small can have serious impacts on the population as a whole. They need stronger protection immediately.”
  Yeah, right David - whatever!
  
  Leaves the consequences of the listings.
  Probably overly harsh - especially at the federal level where an ESA listing would imply sweeping management measures throughout their immense habitat that would likely unnecessarily impact even the remotest commercial fisheries regardless of their actual GWS bycatch statistics - and thus likely lead to both unnecessary loss of income and unnecessary investment of resources for monitoring and enforcement. That can't be good can it.
  Considering what we know about the philopatry of this specific GWS population, wouldn't it have been much more credible and thus less controversial, and also more efficient (= cheaper) to concentrate on the known hot spots (= essentially, the nurseries) and regulate the specific fisheries that lead to the bycatch - this always assuming that the associated mortality is really impinging on the recovery of the population, something that is very much debatable?
  
  Anyway.
  This being CALIFORNIA, chances are that CESA listing will be granted regardless of the shortcomings - and if so, like the fin ban, it will be nice but certainly not good!
  
  Like I said here
  This is never happening in a vacuum - this is being used to advocate legislation that will deprive fishermen of income and quite possibly, of their livelihoods. With that in mind, we owe it to them, but also, to ourselves not to cheat and to use misleading perceived "marketing", or whatever, but to be truthful and fact based instead.
  
  And we got ourselves a runner-up!
  This is actually really good - so why the misleading Petition?
  The problem for Sharks is OVERFISHING and specifically in the Gulf, the problem is POACHING - not finning which as far as I understand it is illegal in all US state and federal waters anyway! And the tens of millions - we simply do not know whether they are being killed for their fins alone!
  The depletion rates? That would be Baum and Myers 2004 that is however controversial - and since then, there has been Baum and Blanchard 2010 that comes to different conclusions, albeit for a different time frame and a larger area. So what is the best available science, the more as from the first document, I learn that Texas has enacted vigorous management measures that may well have led to improvements?
  Is the hyperbole really necessary and above all, does it add to the credibility of this project?

• Irritant of the Year - Shark Wunderkinder
  
  I must confess, after the disappointment with Madi Pip I may be a wee touchy.
  But then again, check this out.
  
  I am DISGUSTED with our kind! THE OCEAN IS THEIR HOME! Our home is on land! WHEN YOU ENTER THE OCEANS, YOU ARE A GUEST ENTERING THEIR HOME! YOU (WE) ARE THE ONES INVADING THEIR HOME!! OUR HOME IS LAND! THEIRS IS THE OCEAN!!! THEY WERE THERE BEFORE US!! IT'S THEIR RESIDENCE. IF YOU ENTER THE OCEAN, IT'S A RISK YOU ARE TAKING AS THE INVADER!!! Are we seriously going to start a cull to kill sharks so people can safely swim in the waters!?! Are you crazy!?!? That's not going to work. Sharks are going to continue coming around. Sharks are going to end up being killed off. Many species are critically endangered, now including the Great White Sharks....
  
  And-so-on-and-so-forth!
  This particular specimen is Shark Girl Hannah, a Floridian like the whispering BooBoo that is equally somehow associated with Shark Savers. They are but two of a long list of young Shark advocates that come across as being very ENTHUSED! Can't quite put my finger on it - but to me, it's all a bit LOUD and a bit MUCH!
  But then again, maybe it's an age thing - theirs and mine!
  
  As always, we shall see!

And here endeth the ominous list - believe it or not!

All FOR THE SHARKS - what else!

PS: Check out Part One, Part Two and Part Three!