Competition: Who is this Shark?

Love love love this picture - click for detail!

But, who is it?

This is unmistakably (!) one of our named Sharks - and if you tell me the correct name, you can win yourself up to one week of diving with us.

Because we can! :)

Rules:

• Please only participate if you plan to take your prize; if you're not a friend who dives FOC anyway; and if you're not a current or past volunteer or staff member of Projects Abroad who has been trained in Shark ID!


• Answers as comments on this blog - not on Facebook!


• You can post as many answers as you like - however only one answer every 24h.


• Today you can win seven days of diving; tomorrow I'll post one clue at the bottom of this post, and the prize gets reduced by one day; and so on.


• One week of diving usually comprises 5 Shark diving days and two coral diving days. You win whatever is scheduled in the week you choose, on the basis of one two-tank dive/day. Not included are additional dives and extras like rental gear, nitrox, marine park levy, apparel etc.

Wishing you the best of success!

 

Welcoming Friends!

Great fun!

Behold Jorge El Chino Loría and his badass jefa Elena La Táfana!

For new readers of this blog: Chino is the big boss of Phantom Divers, and they in turn are a member of GSD, your one stop shop for responsible, safe and long term sustainable Shark diving across the globe!

I must say, I respect the man enormously.

Over the past years, he and the outstanding team of SOS under the leadership of Luis Lombardo have invested a huge amount of time and money into completely turning around the situation in Playa del Carmen from a huge problem (scroll down to the earliest posts in the link) to a huge win for everybody whereby this has now become a world famous Shark diving destination with a cohesive Shark diving industry with its own code of conduct, and where the Sharks are finally being protected.

Anyway, we're having a great time.

We're also hosting Martin of Shark Diver, and the dives and conversations are simply stellar = I can already say that the networking will undoubtedly lead to new initiatives and more cooperation, and to renewed solidarity vis-a-vis the latest irritating meddling (and e.g. here!) by our detractors.

And the big question?

How do the Fiji Bull Sharks compare with the Caribbean Sardines?

Go to Playa and ask Chino!

 

New Kid on the Block - maybe!

Finally!

I must say that I'm stoked.

After thousands of Shark dives where I've come across dozens of female Silvertips, I've just encountered my first ever male. Whereas the females are believed to be resident and territorial and can be seen along drop-offs and in channels, the elusive males are thought to be transient and at least in the SoPac, they are said to be roaming much deeper = past the 50 meter mark and thus eluding most recreational divers. With that in mind, this visit may well turn out to be a one-off - or hopefully not!

And his name?

Being the first such male in our data base, there could only be one choice - tho being a perfect animal lacking any notable blemishes = identifying features, it will be very difficult to positively ID him in the future.

Anyway, welcome to the SRMR, Adam!

Close Encounters in the Shark Corridor!

Best Safety Stop in the Word!

Nice!

Read this - and click on the pics!

As always, Tom shines both through his knowledge, his understanding and his stellar imagery, a great combination that points to a future as science communicator.

As always, we shall see - but that's my prediction.

For now, Vinaka Vakalevu Tom - much appreciated!

Busy!

From today's dive.

Yup those would be big Fiji Bull Sharks - and in two months' time we may well be seeing double that!

Enjoy!

Shark VFX - Awesome!

Enjoy!

Real Shark Conservation!

Finally!

I say, bikini bimbettes, eat your little hearts out!

Forget this archaic shit: like the ever prescient JSD longingly fancied years ago, THIS is how you do it = if it ain't nekkid it ain't conservation, and getting swept along for a ride only increases the effectiveness of the myth-busting!
And, to 55 feet no less -  check out the pic!

Eagerly awaiting the riposte from SA!

PS - priceless!

Michelle Jewell Fukushima radiation melted her swimwear - WAKE UP SHEEPLE
  

El Monstruo at Kingman Reef!

One of my very favorite Sharks, so there.
And did I say that Kingman is as remote as it gets?

PS - Video right here.
        Enjoy!

Another one?

To me this looks, at best, like a weak Cat 1 - but better to be safe than sorry! Source.

Oh FFS.

Looks like after Donna we now got ourselves Ella!

This one will affect Fiji, albeit not in a dramatic way and likely only the North and the East and not so much us - but still, what a bloody pain in the ass!

You know what to do!

Shark Porn from Florida!

Well well.

Story here.

Would that be a bait crate in the background? Would that be in Fla State waters = would they be feeding illegally? And who's the fucking genius operator who built that flimsy "Shark cage" (!) and enabled that shit?

Questions questions!

Anyway, enjoy!

PS - So, it turns out that it was a fake, see the comments section; but lo, it gets even better, to wit Kevin Harris the voyeuristic parasite vs Chris Hartzell the pompous bloviating fireman right here - and in case you should have wondered, I'm 100% with Paul Friese!

Bloody Cyclone?

Source - click on the link and check out the forecast line at the bottom!

Oh for crying out loud - look at the above!

A bloody cyclone in May?

Anyway, it is what it is and for now, it looks like we will not be directly affected but will have to eat plenty of rain and wind - not nice!

You know what to do!

PS - and here it is, named Donna. Poor Vanuatu!

This is the real thing on Sunday, May 7 - source.
 

Australia: Reef Shark mediated Trophic Cascade?

Competitors: Grey Reefies and Snappers. Source.

Well well.

Read this.

If I understand it correctly, it shows that several species of mesopredatory Snappers were doing great on reefs where (higher-ranking but equally mesopredatory) Reef Sharks were rare; but on reefs were Reef Sharks were abundant, the Sharks appear to have out-competed, or otherwise influenced the Snappers who had to shift their diet to less nutritious benthic invertebrates and were doing very poorly indeed as a consequence - synopsis here.

The conclusion being that

our findings suggest that overfishing of sharks has the potential to trigger trophic cascades on coral reefs and that further declines in shark populations globally should be prevented to protect ecosystem health.

Really?

Yes to the possibility of top-down effects - but if the Snappers' fitness was being adversely affected by the presence of Sharks, who, exactly, did benefit from it? Obviously not the Snappers - but also not the prey Fishes and Cephalopods that were still being killed; and also not the benthic invertebrates that were being killed on top of that.
So where is the evidence that Sharks help preserve ecosystem health = instead, is this not rather the negation of Healthy Reefs need Sharks?

Or am I missing something here?

PS: great comment by Michael in the comments section - thanks!