Hard Work and Perseverance!

Pics by Nadi Bay Photography - click for detail

Fiji is a small place and the AON awards, a real big deal.
Consequently, the phone hasn't stopped ringing with people congratulating us and also, with requests for interviews by the various media - and with other rather exciting stuff which we will be reporting about at a later stage!

Anyway, the Fiji Sun did run a nice little piece today.
Nothing spectacular, really - but the print version featured this cute picture of the Prime Minister together with Nani, which has instantly catapulted her to the rank of local celebrity.
On-line version here - the picture is this collage by Vitaly Sokol.

And here's another cute one of Nani with Adrian Sofield, the chairman of Investment Fiji!

Great Fiji Shark Count - last Day!

Nice article in the Fiji Times!

I had to laugh out loud when I read the descriptions of this month's Great Fiji Shark Count by Helen and our Nani: encouraging and interesting signify that alas, much of this month has been affected by the floods and then, the really horrible weather and that as a consequence, many operators in the Coral Coast, the Mamanucas and the Yasawas have only been able to properly unleash in the past week or so. But having said that, feedback from the other islands has been stellar and of course Pacific Harbour will contribute a plethora of sightings.

Among them, this totally unexpected find.
We saw it from the boat off Frigate's Passage right under the surface, and due to its spectacular coloration, the ID is pretty much unequivocal, the more as I've seen heaps of them in Cocos.
Check it out, here from the Azores - what a beautiful animal!


But I'm digressing as always.
The next week is devoted to obtaining all the sighting reports from the participants and then Helen and a gaggle of volunteers will embark on the tedious task of analyzing and formatting everything before passing it on to Christine. Expect a first informal analysis at the Dive Fiesta and a proper review in a few months.

Once again, thank you so much to the partners and sponsors.
The latter are are, in no particular order, the Shark Foundation, Ocean Soaps, Shark Savers, Save our Seas Foundation and yes, also the Shark Reef Marine Reserve which is the conservation brand of BAD.
And a huge thank you to Helen, Christine and Stuart - and to Nani, too!

So here's to the GFSC 1.2 in November.
Le roi est mort - vive le roi!

More local Media in Fijian!

Fltr: Arthur, Papa and Nani on yesterday's Talk Back show.

Bravo Papa, Nani and Arthur!

I'm being told that yesterday's Talk Back show has been a huge success, that the phone calls never stopped coming and that there will be more programs in Fijian about Sharks in the near future. In fact, today MaiTV have already taped a program with Papa that will be aired in Fijian this Tuesday, July 19 on Misiki at 8pm.

And that's not all.
The team will be answering questions on one more upcoming Talk Back show, this time on BulaFM, and Fiji TV will be featuring Papa in one of their Fijian programs in early August.
I'll be posting details as I get them, hopefully this time well ahead of the fact.

Apparently, the questions have so far revolved about the following.
I'm obviously neither part of Government who will draft the final law, nor am I in any way intimately involved in the process (Government, Pew and CORAL are) so take this with a grain of salt - but I am privy to some of the discussions and can say this much.

• Will the legislation effect the local subsistence fishermen. The press release mentions that locals can still consume shark meat and my understanding is that this applies to Canacana fishing i.e. personal consumption only. Any commercial fishing and any trading will be banned.


• What about the enforcement, especially the poaching in the outer islands. The law is targeting the commercial trade and if that trade stops, there will be no more buyers and exporters and the poaching will stop as well.


• What about the danger of Sharks to the spear fishermen. When you enter the ocean, you enter the realm of the Sharks and if you spear fish, you may indeed attract Sharks. Those Sharks are interested in the speared fish, not you. It is good policy to get any speared fish straight out of the water (into the boat or into a floating bucket) and if a Shark wants your fish, give it to him and leave. Also, if you encounter very large Sharks, it is prudent to leave and try your luck somewhere else - this is their ocean, not yours!

Again, we at BAD are in no way official spokesmen or the like.
It is safe to say that that as the legislation is being drafted, Government and the NGOs will undoubtedly engage in a vigorous awareness campaign and that all questions will be answered to everybody's satisfaction well before the law comes into effect. That's what has always happened in the past and I have no doubt that it will happen in the future.

Please keep watching this space for details of the upcoming programs.
Vinaka!

Nani - Birthday Interview!

Bless our Nani - the more as today is her birthday!

I've just found out that she has been interviewed by the FT.

Well what can I say.

YES there are strong indications that Sharks are continuing to be killed indiscriminately throughout Fiji, and that the Shark fin trade continues to flourish. 

But NO I don't think that the recent November Great Fiji Shark Count will be any proof of the above! The above is illustrated by the statistics (likely under-reported) about Fiji's Shark fishing, finning, and Shark fin trade, by observations throughout the Pacific and by local observations right here in Fiji.

But not by the GFSC - at least not quite yet!

Remember, the GFSC is the start of long-term monitoring and only several years worth of data will allow us to detect trends. Short-term, there will be an overriding influence of seasonal factors (e.g. within the SRMR there are always many Bulls in April and very few Bulls in November) and of pure and simple chance, meaning that we cannot really make any authoritative statements at this point in time.

And to be crystal clear.

The GFSC is not part of the current Fiji Shark protection campaign. 

It is an autonomous initiative by the tourism industry, researchers, Government Departments and selected NGOs that specifically does not involve the leadership of the failed Shark Sanctuary campaign.

I'm sure you understand! :)

From what I hear, Government is currently working on a NPoA Sharks. 

We will submit opinions (= that any Shark fishing needs to be sustainable etc) if asked to do so; and we shall share the data in due course, meaning later and only once they are statistically significant.

But not now - not publicly - not in this rather misleading way.

Loud & clear enough for you?

Nani - Article in the Fiji Times!

Bless the Fiji Times!

They have published a brilliant piece about Nani.

What can I say, she is everything they claim her to be.

And then some!

Loved by the staff and our clients alike, she is truly the keystone without which BAD would inevitably unravel and fall into ruin, a wonderful human being, strong, compassionate, brave and funny, and one hundred percent honest, loyal and professional. We are incredibly lucking in having her and I am fortunate to count her among my good personal friends.

Enough said.

Please do read the article here.

Five Years of BADness!

From an old document

April 8, 2004: formal meeting between the joint representatives of the two villages with representatives of the Ministry of Fisheries under Mr. A. Batibasaga, at which it is formally decided to establish a Marine Reserve at Shark Reef. The villages assign the exclusive rights to operate the Shark Dive and collect the Shark Levy to the newly established dive operation, Beqa Adventure Divers (BAD).

Quite frankly, I had totally forgotten until alerted by a message from Nani!
It sure has been a ride!

Well, for lack of better, here's to us: James, Andrew, Rusi, Tuma, Nani, Tevita, Petero, Eliki, Wati, Tubi, Lo, Sivo, Silio, Vili and Eroni! You are the best!
And to me!

And then, to Juerg, Gary and Brenda and Ron and Valerie who have been so instrumental since the inception of this Project!
And to Stan, Doug, Chip and Susan and Bob and Dinah who gave valuable advice when we first came up with the idea!
And to the Shark Foundation!
And to the scores of friends who have joined us on the way!

Ten Years of BADness!

Quick&dirty, more pics tomorrow.

Standing, l-r:  Silio, Wase, Ana, Ben, Nani, Tuma, Manoa, Salesh, Mavoa, Tumbee, Andrew; front: Jone, Jone, Api, Aceni. Absent are Netani, Rusi and Miti..

Who would have thought.

Yes today's the day.

Exactly ten years ago, we formally established the SRMR and started operations - first under a different name and about 6 months later, as Beqa Adventure Divers. Lemme tell 'ya, it has been a wild ride - but not now, maybe I'll once write the book.

Now, it's time to say thank you.

First and foremost to our wonderful staff - especially to Nani, Manasa and Rusi for having taken that huge leap of faith in 2004, and for having loyally persevered until this day. Having Tuma's and Rusis' sons, Tumbee and Mavoa follow the footsteps of their fathers fills me with pride and joy.

To the company's founder James who invested all his money into this crazy dream. To Andrew who has tirelessly worked to turn it into what it is now, one of the foremost Shark diving operations. To the village of Galoa for entrusting us with the stewardship of their reef. To the department of Fisheries and especially, Bati, for always being supportive. To Gary and Brenda for invaluable advice and unwavering friendship and loyalty. To Juerg, for being the best scientific adviser and friend one could ever wish for.

And to you, the thousands upon thousands of visitors that have helped us to turn into reality our vision of a tourism-based integrated Shark research and conservation project.

Thank you!

¡Hasta Luego, Tot Ziens, Goodbye!

Standing, ltr: Miti, El Diego, Tumbee, Andy, Ana, Papa, Salesh, Ned, Jone and Silio - sitting: Rusi, Kira and Nani.

 

This is a sad day.

We just did bid farewell to the incomparable  El Diego, Kira and Andy.

Projects Abroad's Fiji Shark conservation Campaign is one year old, and they are moving on to new challenges and new adventures. We did one last Shark dive, tears were shed, speeches given, kava consumend, Isa Lei sung - and off they went.

Safe travels and godspeed.

You've become like family, and we will always be happy to see you again!

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!

Name this Shark!!!

We currently pride ourselves in having named 36 of our Bull Sharks - and counting!
This is all part of our enormous data base where we laboriously record all the relevant parameters for each of our Shark Dives. Having progressed well beyond 1,000 data sets, we're now safely within the realm of Statistical Relevance and are currently busy analyzing the facts and comparing them to our perceptions, sometimes with surprising results.

Thing is, 36 individuals is far from being exhaustive.
Perfect Sharks cannot be named as they cannot be recognized when they turn up again. In fact, to qualify, an animal has to show some flaw. So far, we have mostly concentrated on peculiarities in the shape of the fins, some prominent scar or some color mark which we deem to be indelible.

Having researched Fiona Ayerst and seen her Bull Shark ID Project, we shall certainly explore the possibility of basing our ID of the remaining Sharks on the individual pigmentation patterns of the head. With an estimated population size of close to one hundred individuals and up to 40 Sharks present at peak times, it's going to be a huge challenge to get a proper fix in the whole mêlée - but we'll try to avail ourselves of the ever-present camcorder and take it from there.

Our Shark names are

• rather Pedestrian like "Whitenose" (you guessed it...)
  
• Ethnic like "Adi" (pronounced "Andi" and meaning "Lady" or "Princess" in Fijian)
  
• Evocative like "Annie" (who has a cut anal fin)
• Honorific like "Madonna" (with her sexy facial mole, the next one being "Cindy" as in Crawford) )
• Phonetic like "Tootsie" (in reference to her protruding teeth)
  
• Imaginative like "Long John" (a male with a truncated tail fin named for the hobbling Long John Silver)
  
• Far-fetched like my favorite, "Cilla" (she has a cut pelvic fin, leading to Elvis the Pelvis - but this is a female, hence "Priscilla"!)
• Acronymic as in "Brat" (Broadreach Academic Treks)
  
• Outrageous like "Bevis" (who we didn't quite have the heart to name "Butthead")
  
• or sometimes Emotional like "Sorry" (because she has a hook embedded in her eye).

In brief, anything goes - so really, this new, medium-sized female who has lost the lower lobe of her tail should be a no-brainer!
C'mon, give it a try!

Should you be the lucky winner of this naming contest, you're in for a treat!
Long in the making, we're finally rolling out our innovative DiveShare, your very own ticket to a whopping fifteen weeks in Paradise - and you could become one of the first proud owners!

Think "Time Share": the concept is old, but to my knowledge and with the possible exception of one or two Liveaboards, it has never been applied to the Diving Industry.
DiveShare owners purchase the right to come diving with us for one week each during the next fifteen years. The entitlement is fully negotiable, enabling the owners to sell, gift or even rent it out, either as a whole or in yearly installments. There's even a double money-back Guarantee!

Target customers could be

• Satisfied repeat Customers, an ever increasing part of our Client base
• Time-share and holiday home owners in Fiji
• Anybody wanting to make a cool present to a diver
  
• Dive Clubs who could raffle a yearly trip among their members
• Shark NGOs who could auction them off when soliciting funding
• Regular professional intermediaries who could sell them and pocket the difference to the discounted pricing
• Shark Conservationists wanting to make a valuable, and highly welcome contribution
  

Any Questions, and I expect you to have many? Look no further than the exhaustive Q&A section that should hopefully cover most, if not all of them! Comments and Suggestions? Always welcome, ship 'em in!

Wanna give it a go?
Just drop a line to Andrew and Nani. The sharkier and more imaginative, the better! Don't forget to explain the reason for your choice of name.

Best of Luck!

Third Party Endorsements!

Papa and Whitetip, stellar pic by Sasha

This why we love doing what we do!

We surfaced, cheering out loud from the adrenaline and then hop up into the boat fast since the tiger is still beneath us somewhere, and we know we are still in her realm.
On the way back the Divemaster tells us a story that went something like this: “One day the tiger shark, Scarface, showed up and she was agitated, angry, I could tell. She circled and circled above me and finally showed me the problem. There was a large metal hook in her mouth, right through the skin. She kept circling and so I knew what I needed to do. Scarface knows me, I’ve dove with her so many times, so I swam to her and put my hand on her mouth and stopped her, and I pulled out the hook.” The Divemaster goes to the front of the boat and pulls out a huge fishing hook, he keeps it in a box onboard as proof.

When deciding to go shark diving I had a lot of reservations, not only about the safety but about the fact that if I participated I was making a conscious decision to feed the sharks, to disrupt their natural patterns. In the end I’m glad I did the dive. I understand now more the power and beauty of these sharks. The divemasters say the sharks don’t come around every day, the tigers go missing for weeks at times, so they are still in their natural behavior, they still leave to mate and feed.

This opportunity has also provided the divemasters, all Fijians who believe they are protected from the sharks, the chance to intimately get to know these sharks and give us insight into their patterns. These divers can tell when a shark is pregnant; they know each shark by name. They have also started a tagging program for the bull sharks, to gain insight into their movement. While I didn’t feel the need to repeat the dive in Fiji, I think going once is a great experience. I don’t have a list of sharks to see and won’t be chasing them on a bunch of shark dives, but as our desire to see the world first hand and preserve the animals in it increases, we all need to decide where we stand on feeding or tracking or swimming with all animals. For me, seeing these animals once was enough to appreciate them more, I’ll never forget that dive – but from now on I will leave them to cruise the oceans on their own.

More by Mariah Boyle here - about darn Damsels!

I sometimes just go and search the web for comments by our clients.
They are completely beyond our influence and as honest as it gets, and thus constitute excellent feedback. Of many I discovered for 2010, here's a nice one about us and the fabulous Uprising Beach Resort, a glowing endorsement (yes, Nani rocks!) but what is obviously a very happy customer and a short trip report with video.
Among more "editorial" stuff, I found a really good writeup about the Shark dive, a more general piece featuring the fabulous clip by the BBC, a very (!) insightful description by a travel agent and finally, a fantastic series of pics by Sasha on CNTV!

And then, there's this video clip.
It's actually got nothing to do with us but depicts BLR over on Beqa Island and irritates me because somebody has just ripped one of our DVDs and stolen the footage, like on 3:12ff. The man with the yellow cap is of course Rusi .
But then again, it shows some nice vistas of reef diving in Beqa Lagoon and above all, it features historical footage and audio on 4:00ff. Yes this is Manasa aka lucky man Papa, probably about 10 years ago! He truly is the friendliest, most goodhearted, most positive, most wonderful person, ever!
And before you ask: yes, he's doing great!

Enjoy!

Contest - we have a Winner!

This is how they normally look - click for detail.

Behold Epinephelus cyanopodus!

It usually hangs out in the water column where it blends in by being blueish-grey with small spots, but it appears that it does display the dark cryptic coloration when wanting to hide, as in this video of one of them under the ex HMS Brisbane. I still feel that its very conspicuous black-and-white livery when dashing around among the bulls is meant as a deterrent - but who knows. As so often, it will forever remain a rather preposterous but I think, quite charming and alas, quite untestable hypothesis!

Congratulations to Rob S who wins a week of diving!
The individual Grouper at the top is here so if you make quick arrangements, you may end up meeting him in person! He's quite a feisty little fella who likes hanging around the bait and very much appears to have established permanent residence in the SRMR. Please write to the dive shop, and Andrew and Nani will be happy to reserve your space.

The diagnostic feature?
The principal give-away was the straight edge of the tail - and in fact, the tails of the other proposed Groupers have either concave or convex edges.
Detail detail! :)

Special honorable mention goes to JSD for Latimeria chalumnae!

Pacific Harbour Cleanup Campaign!

Pacific Harbour's new generation of Eco-Warriors

Bravo Nani and Janet!

The two formidable ladies have teamed to organize a clean up campaign in Pacific Harbour.

I hear that it has been a great success.

Just in time for Fiji Day (check this out!), 150-odd pupils and teachers of our Shark-loving Multi-Cultural School have swarmed over the roads and beaches, and collected a big truck lead of garbage. The event has been sponsored by BADs conservation brand, Shark Reef Marine Reserve, and by various local businesses.
They are

The Uprising Beach Resort
Rivers Fiji
Resort Homes
BSP Pacific Harbour Branch
Longo's Dive Shop
Estate Management Services Ltd.

Vinaka Vakalevu, much appreciated!

OSAM - BAD Boyz!

Not quite a boy - Dragonslayer and cat-herder Nani!

Behold!

Nice!

The Indiegogo campaign, alas, not so much, as all the big-ticket items are still up for grabs.

C'mon people - this is good stuff!

 

AON Award - Awesome!

Coy? Nani in close proximity to the PM!

Did I say that we are proud?

The AON Fiji Excellence in Tourism Awards are Fiji's tourism Oscars.
In 1991 with the introduction of the first Tourism Week, the Fiji Visitors Bureau and the Ministry of Tourism introduced the first Excellence in Tourism Awards sponsored by the Fiji Times. Many years passed until 1997 when the Fiji Visitors Bureau under the directorship of Sitiveni Yaqona and Bill Whiting decided the Awards should be re introduced. Since then, the Fiji Excellence in Tourism Awards competition is run annually by a voluntary committee of industry members, overseen by the board of trustees to invite nominations, organize judging and hold a gala event for the prize-giving to honor those outstanding members in our industry.
The Mission is to recognize individuals and organization who have gone that extra mile to develop National Tourism and in so doing, have inspired others to share their vision of a buoyant and enduring service industry of supreme national importance.
The process is based on genuine peer review and the awarding ceremony regularly features the crème de la crème of local tourism along with high ranking Government representatives who congregate to celebrate the industry and honor the awardees.

This year was no different.
Having rather surprisingly scooped one of the last Diving awards in 2007 before the category was dumped, we were honored to find our name among the list of finalists but were not really hopeful to win as we were pitched against some rather formidable and highly deserving colleagues.

What can I say, we have won!
This time, the category is Tourism Sustainability and here is our official document!

Click for detail!

To be perfectly frank, we here are all rather overwhelmed.
It is really a great honor, and it is also deeply gratifying to see that all the hard work of the last years has not gone unnoticed - and on a personal note, it has been particularly satisfying to have the Prime Minister witness the honoring of the very same company he pretty much single-handedly saved two years ago.

Thank you thank you thank you!
This is really an awesome day! :)

H/T: our good friends from the Uprising for bringing back a second award to Pacific Harbour!

Trackback: Alex the Sharkman here. Vinaka!

The Great Fiji Shark Count - Info!

Let me give you some background information here.

This all actually started with Juerg and Christine Ward-Paige.
Christine did publish this excellent open source paper about the value of having recreational divers count elasmobranchs and in the lively discussion that ensued, Juerg proposed and Christine very graciously accepted to test the concept here in Fiji. Christine has currently another job but she will provide for the scientific oversight and analyze the data under the umbrella of eShark, and this completely on her own time and with no incremental funding! Potential donors: hint hint - funding this will make you shine for many years to come!
Christine thank you!

Fiji is of course the ideal destination for this endeavor.
Thankfully and in spite of the recent highly disturbing developments, we do still have a reasonable number of Sharks and Rays, and even Turtles.
Plus, the dive and tourism industry is tight knit and forward looking, as witnessed by the many past initiatives that were able to unite everybody around a common goal.
In 2008, we had the first tourism-based Great Butterflyfish Count that was repeated in 2009 and then alas fizzled out for lack of funding.
In 2009, Fiji organized the only nation-wide initiative to celebrate the Year of the Shark, the Fiji Shark Conservation and Awareness Project with various government departments, the tourism industry and several NGOs contributing to make this Fiji's first country-wide Shark campaign. 2009 also saw the only nation-wide drive to contribute to the Shark Free Marinas Initiative where to this day, Fiji is one of the principal participants.
In 2010 we took a breather to launch our own initiative aimed at protecting vital habitat and Shark nurseries whilst cleaning up our carbon footprint, Mangroves for Fiji, only to announce mission accomplished late last year.
2011 then saw the rolling out of the Fiji Shark Sanctuary Campaign where a plethora of largely unheralded events further contributed to Shark awareness all the way to the local grass-roots level.
Long story short: there sure is track record!

Enter the local project team.
She won't like me saying it but IMO, Helen Sykes of Marine Ecology Consulting is Fiji's most pugnacious, and thus most efficient and strictly (as opposed to agenda- and money-) goal oriented marine conservation professional for which she has all of my respect - and this despite her being dead-set against the feeding of any wildlife inclusive of Sharks, something that will regularly pitch us in super-heated debates where we pull no punches but always end up smiling as we both understand this to be an excellent means of furthering our knowledge! Anyway, it is great news that she has once again accepted to take the lead in this, like she did for the Butterflyfish Count of which this is the logical crescendo - and let's face it, Sharks are way sexier than Butterfly Fishes! :)
Same-same for Stuart Gow of Resort Support who has been our friend and advisor for many, many years. Among many other things, he is the current Chairman of the Dive Commission of the Fiji Hotel & Tourism Association, i.e. the highest representative of Fiji's dive industry. He is also a Director of Matava and in that incarnation, he has been instrumental in making Fiji Shark Free. Stuart is acting as our web- and spin-master, and having him help us behind the scenes is a phenomenal asset indeed!
And then there is Nani, Arthur and our new marine scientist Chris of BADs conservation brand SRMR that will be assisting in a thousand ways when it comes to keeping up the daily dialogue and coordination among the participants - and yes, yours truly will just sit back, continue hiding behind his computer and rant about others as always! :)

Please also check out our partners.
These are the people who are contributing money, or money and lots of passionate work like Samantha Whitcraft of Shark Savers. Sam is the indefatigable! driver of Shark Savers' Sharks Count program and as such, she has been an invaluable team member who has contributed money, leadership and know how but above all, an inordinate amount of work.
Then there are the pillars of reliability and generosity when it comes to sponsoring Juerg's research (blog here!) in Fiji, the unequaled Shark Foundation and Save our Seas Foundation.
And finally, there is Ocean Soaps, a division of Punjas who already greatly assisted in the Butterflyfish Count.
And I also want to mention the great photographers and friends who have donated images!
Thank you all!

And how about you?
If you so wish and decide to come to Fiji in April, you can partake in the first nation-wide Shark count anywhere!

To do that, follow the instructions here.
And before the usual geniuses start whispering that this is just about BAD making a buck: we have been counting Sharks since 2003 and thus your contribution would be most significant elsewhere! As the dive ops and resorts will start confirming their participation, the list of participants will grow and I urge you to go and help them and not us, always by mentioning that you're coming for the Count!
You can then always book a couple of Shark dives at the end as a treat and reward - and if you prove that you've taken part in the Count, we'll throw in a little something extra for you, how about that! :)

Now to be precise.
The aim is not to find out how many Sharks there are in Fiji!
For that, one would have to try and mobilize everybody everywhere, something that is impossible and would be fraught with immense costs, immense logistical problems and a staggering margin of error!
The aim here is to do a first random sampling and to then regularly repeat the exercise in the same locations. This way, we would be able to establish a first baseline and the starting point of long term monitoring via so-called transects (i.e. your dives, snorkeling excursions and even game fishing trips) which is an excellent scientific tool that will enable us to eventually detect a trend.

And the practical application?
As an example, should the Shark Sanctuary eventuate, the trend would provide for a confirmation (or lack of) of its effectiveness and thus be a great educational tool for policymakers. And should the Sanctuary not eventuate, I fear that the trend will document the rapid decline of Shark stocks and the absolute necessity of immediate conservation measures.
But that is then and it will take several years to make those statements, especially considering the fact that the vagaries of the ENSO will add a good amount of variation and unpredictability, like they have done to our own Shark data.

So, please, give it some thought.
I know it's sort of short notice: but it's cool and fun and above all, it's good solid and innovative science!

See you in April!

Abomination 2.1.

Pic: Lill Haugen, who else!

Back to Destin.

I'm running out, and I'm also tired of posting pics of dead pregnant Sharks so here's one of our very much alive newcomers. We have named her Nani in honor of our incomparable Nanise and no, that's not because she's feisty and has a big mouth!

Note the bent up tip of her pec which will make it easy to identify her going forward. The gash in the mouth is from a fishing leader which Rusi managed to remove last week. Yes, that was tricky!

Anyway, the Destin abomination is now getting the attention it deserves.
First, there was this funny (!) article in the Daily News. Then, Luke Tipple's op ed in the Destin Log. Finally, the Log is running an online poll on the subject - when I entered my vote in the bottom field on the right-hand column, the result came out as 55% No and 38% Yes. Let's hope the vote stays the same and Ms. Donaldson listens!

Talking of which, I cannot access the Discovery Petition site!
Just a Fiji thing - or is it global?
And if so, why?

Pew - new Bible!

According to trade data from the Census and Statistics Department of Hong Kong, 83 countries exported more than 10.3 million kilograms (22.7 million pounds) of shark fin products to Hong Kong in 2011 - click for detail!

Kudos, once again, to Pew.

Someone there has been working really, really hard.
The result: the most comprehensive compendium of Shark management and conservation measures to-date. Navigating Global Shark Conservation Measures: Current Measures and Gaps is a remarkable feat of meticulous research and when coupled with the other excellent resources by Pew, it offers all the information and arguments every Shark conservationist should dispose of.

Executive Summary here, full report here - synopses here and here.
Or article here - the Bull is Nani, pic by Vitaly.

Required reading for everybody!

David - Teaser-Trailer # three!

Yes this would be a stack of 3m Bull Sharks - fabulous pic by DaMary!

This is just awesome!

Yes of course I'm biased.

So once again, I'm not gonna dwell in superlatives but instead invite you to refer to my assessment of Mr. Diley here - I cannot but fully confirm, and then some! And, do check out this post on David's blog!

Bravo!

Only this.

I fully concur that the letterboxed version is by far the better one so please please pretty please, do edit the movie in Anamorphic! And more importantly: I really want to thank the many people who've kindly agreed to be interviewed and are now providing awesome quotables - in this particular case Ratu Leone and Alfie from Uprising, Manasa, my dive buddy Rusi, the ever formidable Helen and the unequaled MPO. And of course the forever Facebook-status-changing Nani!

Vinaka vaka levu!

So without further ado, here it is!

Enjoy!

AND, here's one more post!

They're at it!

Click for detail!

It's that time of the year again.

The Bulls are running, and the action is hot hot hot!

The males are mostly staying away, probably staying deeper in the Beqa Passage where they are likely performing the dirty deed - but we've got plenty of really large females, many of which sport the characteristic fresh mating scars, see above.

Sighted so far: Granma, Tip, Monica, Naughtylus, Pecker, Hook, Lefty, Nick, Curly, Blunt, Nani, Fold, Crush, Valerie, Saddle plus Sharkbite who's obviously still too young - plus very emaciated, and thus revenous Topsail and Gape that have obviously just returned from the nursery and will thus only mate next year!

And for once, the weather is great!

So, what are you waiting for!