Broadreach - Trip Reports!

Source.

Wow.

Time sure flies!

Broadreach are once again in town with their incomparable sharky High Scool and College summer programs - and having checked, it very much looks like this may well be year 11 in a row!

Just amazing - and still as rewarding!

And like always, there are trip reports!

College here - and here are the High School reports inclusive of the awesome news that after a three-year hiatus, our incomparable friend Lindsay is gracing our shores for the fifth time, undoubtedly in order to check on her beautiful and sweet yet always feisty and badass namesake!

Enjoy the great reports!

 

New big Shark on the Block!

Talk about bold - hand feeding from day one!

This is one helluva lady!

When naming her, this is what we considered.

• big, bold and feisty, see at top.

• maybe a tad reckless?

• her assertiveness may get her into trouble with other equally feisty Sharks (oh yes oh yes!).

Behold Lindsay!

This is the third time that Lindsay is leading multiple Broadreach Shark Studies in Fiji, meaning that over those many months, she's become real close with the staff. Case in point: the nomination comes from none other than Rusi, and it has been met with a big round of applause!

But whilst the real lady is actually quite sweet, I can't quite say the same about her namesake. She barged in out of nowhere, was pushy to the max and completely disregarded the etiquette at every turn. But, she's new and will eventually calm down - or else!

But she sure has made an impression!

To be continued no doubt!

BRAT - nomen est omen!

Talk about timing!

Broadreach are at the doorsteps, and here comes their Tiger BRAT!

She's a tad bigger but still rather small, and quite obviously still very much a teenager as her behavior can only be defined as unruly - and that would definitely be a euphemism!

Let's just say that it has been interesting.

Push very much came to shove and in the end, she got herself a hiding.

We don't like it when the big Sharks try to cuddle with our clients who then fly home and post articles about having been terrified and the like, and the girl has been taught a lesson - and if others only did the same, we would have a chance of eventually producing a well behaved adult!

Yeah I know I know.

As always, it's a total waste of breath - but it had to be said!

Gee, thanks Danielle!

Nice T! It says, Shark Diving Team, and needs to be earned by facing hordes of large predatory Sharks! :)

Check this out!
We've hosted four Broadreach trips this year and if I remember correctly, Danielle was in the last college group.
Really rewarding and actually, quite amazing to see such an instantaneous follow up! If that aint proof positive that the outreach is working - and I suspect that meeting Adi might have helped, too!

Vinaka Danielle, and well done!
Please keep in touch and let us know how things are going.
Chain Dogfish huh. Very cute animals - but are you positively sure that those qualify as legitimate Sharks? :)

Kirsty and BRAT!

BRAT - always a handful! Click for detail!

Check out this post by Kirsty!
Broadreach are in country with both one High School and one College group and it is only fitting that the Tiger she mentions is BRAT, an acronym for BoadReach Academic Treks! She was named in 2008 by one of the High School groups (the picture on the website is by one of them) and has been visiting regularly ever since that day in May.

And what about the shy-bold continuum?
If the Blacktips are shy and the Silvertips are bold, BRAT is way off the scale, coming in from all directions and being your quintessential obnoxious beggar Shark. She will neither deign to pick tuna heads from the bottom but insist that she be given them by hand, nor does she understand that on our dive, there is only one single stationary feeder acting as the focal point. Like Patric observed in TB, this is alas the direct consequence of different dive ops employing different protocols when interacting with the same animals.
Nothing we can't handle the more as she is as mellow as it gets - but it sure demands everybody's fullest attention! :)

Anyway, great dive as witnessed by the perma-smiles on the kids and on the staff!
Life is good!

Terrible Tiger Sharks...

Roughing it in the SoPac - in a posh river front villa with swimming pool!

… and Beautiful Bull Sharks!

Yup the kids are on the loose again!
This is Broadreach Academic Treks’ yearly Shark Studies for High School kids, meaning loads of fun, chaos, giggles, adventure and drama! And new goodies for the staff!
You can vicariously follow events on What’s Up: select Shark Studies and then, SS11 or later on, as the next group arrives, SS21.

We just love it!

Two times lucky!

That would be the Academic College kids!

Check out their Facebook page!
They are currently experiencing lovely weather with stellar viz and heaps upon heaps of Bulls.
Plus, Scarface has paid them a visit not once, but twice! Talk about being lucky! It's actually a karma thing that only happens to good people: as we always say, the big girl sure knows when to make an appearance!

This is the second installment of ATC's Marine Science Program focusing on Shark Behavior and Conservation and from what I can see, it once again looks like a great success and loads of fun on top of that!
Kudos to lecturer Jon McKenzie for being a worthy successor to trail blazer Imogen, and to Lauren for ensuring that all keeps ticking over nicely and above all, safely!

And fingers crossed that Jon's newly discovered Lemon Shark nurseries will be spared! Anybody out there who wants to finance some urgently needed baseline research?

And as always, a big Thank You to the Manifestation of God!

College Stuff!

Guess who this is!

Well well.

The college students have come and gone and not having been in Fiji at the time, their visit didn't translate into a blog post.

That was then.
Now, by pure chance, I've stumbled across this series of photo galleries , and boy: does this look like somebody had a blast - or what! And who, please, did take that picture???
Kudos to the indomitable ex BAD girl and now Broadreach bigwig Tiff (manifestation of God???) and to group leader Imogen who I hear did an excellent job both professionally and also in terms of being a pleasure to work with!

Wanna have a blast and learn plenty of Sharky stuff in the process?
Check out the Shark Behavior and Conservation Program!
Too young? Check out this!

The Sharks are waiting!

Goin' College!

Great picture, huh?

Taken with a tiny pocket camera by one of this year's junior Academics!

A very gracious post by Patric (Thank You!) has just reminded me that this one of our most stunning and rewarding success stories.
Not only because this is apparently one of Broadreach's most popular programs and thus likely to run for many years to come; not only because of what we are obviously able to achieve in terms of creating future Shark Protectors by changing perceptions; not only because it dovetails so well with our holistic approach and is so much fun and such a welcome change of pace, especially for our more junior staff - but very much also, because it is the brainchild of one of our very own BAD Girls!

Tiff (she's gonna kill me for posting that link...) joined us as a volunteer in the Marine Park Project when we opened our doors in 2004, but then had to make a decision for a "real" job and opted to go and do what she likes most, and that is, to work in Marine Education.
Nobody could have been better qualified to set up this specific program - but it still took months of dogged groundwork in order to hammer out the curriculum and above all, to convince a skeptical Board that putting some Teenagers in front of huge predatory Sharks was not the apex of total and utter lunacy!

And look at it now!
With the Teenager program thriving, it is even being expanded to College Students!
More "academic' in scope, the new curriculum will undoubtedly benefit from the presence of our very own Marine Scientist Eroni - and vice versa! And are we already discussing a further expansion into a year-round multifaceted program comprising proper internships and the like?
Most certainly!

Tiff, again, well done! I'm impressed!
Very much looking forward to it all!
 

Shark Studies in Fiji

Winter has finally arrived along with balmy breezes and fabulous visibility - and our junior staff have suddenly turned on their very best behavior and sharkiest smiles.

Yes, Academic Treks' yearly gaggle of junior Shark aficionados have descended upon Pacific Harbour and Andrew is bracing himself for the usual mixture of adventure, charm, chaos, giggles and broken hearts.
May the Fun begin!

But seriously, welcoming a group like that could not be more rewarding.

When James, our senior Staff and I decided to embark upon this wonderful adventure called BAD in 2004, we agreed that our Project was to hinge on: Conservation, via the establishment of several Marine Protected Areas like Shark Reef Marine Reserve, the Fiji Shark Corridor and very soon, Combe Marine Reserve; Sustainable Tourism, via the direct involvement of the local Community and direct village payments to the tune of more than 30,000.00 dollars each year; Shark Research, by providing for the logistics and access to an ideal location allowing for largely uniform, predictable and safe encounters.

And Education.
In that regard, nothing quite matches the satisfaction of being allowed to transmit our love and awe of the Marine Environment to the next generation.

Locally, we try to achieve this via our Village Project where we train up, and hopefully then employ, three young prospects each year. Our Watisoni, Tubi and Peni are of chiefly stock and will once become leaders in their villages; Lo and Sivo are the daughter and son of native fishermen. All of them have already had a huge impact in their villages, by changing perceptions and helping to convince their communities that sustaining our Conservation efforts is in their very own best interest.

On the client side, we believe that anybody experiencing our Shark Dive will already leave with a new understanding and respect for those magnificent animals, this completely without the need for overzealous brainwashing from our side. For the more motivated, we also run special Shark Weeks where a select few can interact with scientists and contribute to their research.

Academic Treks' Shark Studies however go well beyond that, and we're proud in having been able to play a role in the development of the curriculum. On top of the fantastic diving and active participation in our ongoing research and conservation projects, it encompasses lectures in Shark Biology, Ecology and Conservation, but also village visits, cultural immersion and a great deal of sightseeing, relaxation and pure and simple fun. After last year's successful pilot project, the current program is already off to a great start.

Curious? If so, you may want to vicariously follow the kids' latest adventures through their daily web journal (click here for SS21) and check out their Fiji video.

Enjoy!

Increasing Biodiversity

Sea fisheries are on the brink of collapse and oceanic Sharks face extinction - but there's a ray of hope, and that is the impact of Marine Protected Areas.

1. Experiments show that reducing the diversity of an ecosystem lowers the abundance of fish
2. Historical records show extensive loss of biodiversity along coasts since 1800, with the collapse of about 40% of species. About one-third of once viable coastal fisheries are now useless
3. Catch records from the open ocean show widespread decline of fisheries since 1950 with the rate of decline increasing. In 2003, 29% of fisheries were collapsed. Biodiverse regions' stocks fare better
4. Marine reserves and no-catch zones bring an average 23% improvement in biodiversity and an increase in fish stocks around the protected area

But the extent of protection is not the only issue, according to Carl Gustaf Lundin, head of the global marine program at IUCN, the World Conservation Union.

"The benefits of marine-protected areas are quite clear in a few cases; there's no doubt that protecting areas leads to a lot more fish and larger fish, and less vulnerability. But you also have to have good management of marine parks and good management of fisheries. Clearly, fishing should not wreck the ecosystem, bottom trawling being a good example of something which does wreck the ecosystem.This is a good compelling case; we should protect biodiversity, and it does pay off even in simple monetary terms through fisheries yield."

Case in Point: Shark Reef Marine Reserve.

The species count has increased dramatically from our baseline study in 2004 yielding 269 species, to January's count of 381.
And this isn't the end of the line, as according to the scientists, "further research is required at SRMR to fully assess the faunal diversity. The fish survey of SRMR is not yet at the point of diminishing returns. On their last dive the observers recorded 5 additional species.
The shallow reef habitat appeared healthier in 2008 than in 2004. Coral growth was prolific in areas previously barren. Easily observed species associated with coral, including the coral-feeding butterflyfishes Chaetodon trifascialis, C. ornatissimus, C. melannotus and C. lineolatus, were recorded in 2008, but not observed in 2004. A prolific and healthy reef supports more species. The health of the SRMR reef may be the result of four years of good stewardship.
Considering the constraints of observer time and survey methods utilized, the 381 fish species recorded during a brief window of time in a limited area is a impressive number and indicative of a rich and diverse fish fauna.
The shark population at SRMR would appear to be supported by a solid foundation at lower trophic levels."

The according increase in Shark numbers has been nothing short of miraculous.
When we started in 2004, seeing a dozen Bull Sharks on a single dive would have been exceptional. Now, we would be kind of disappointed if we didn't see double that number.

We've now named and are keeping track of 35 individuals and on a recent dive in April, almost all of them turned up along with maybe a dozen more perfect, and thus "un-nameable" friends.
Yes, I'm talking 40+ Bull Sharks, on a single dive and in perfect visibility!
What a sight! We all hung back in sheer disbelief and just enjoyed the show as even Rusi just couldn't keep up with the demand anymore.

And in the middle of the stampede, there comes Scarface - only to be taught that size matters, but numbers are better!

Normally, she would just glide in majestically, do a leisurely round to flaunt her importance and then proceed to dominate the hand feed as the Bulls beat a strategical retreat.

Not this time!
Every time she would try to approach, the Bulls would unceremoniously barge in ahead of her, or even physically push her out of the way.
Ever seen a flustered 5 meter Tiger Shark? Very funny indeed!
Finally, she decided to change gears, rush in for a fast nibble and get the hell outta there.

But no worries, she's been back since.
This is the time of the year when we welcome most of our VIP groups along with yet more film teams, researchers and photographers. The list would be too long to mention but Lawrence of Shark Diving International always gets to meet his favorite lady and this time has been no exception.
She's truly a poser and always knows when to make an appearance - this time alongside Brat, the Tiger named by Broadreach Academic Treks.

So, what are you waiting for?
Drop us a line and join us for the experience of a lifetime - and make a valuable contribution to Marine Conservation!