More Bull Sharks in Tonga!

Got this message from not just a pretty face Karen in Vava'u.

This is a photo of 1 of 12 babies that were pulled out of a pregnant mothers belly. The mother was caught up in a net just outside the entrance of the old harbour. Do you know what species of shark it is?

Juerg and I both think that this is very likely a Bull Shark.
Yes it appears not to feature the diagnostic falcate dorsal fin - but that may just be due to the fact that like the tail, it is not yet fully developed, and to the crammed positioning of the fetus within the womb. Compare it to this pic of a small juvenile Bull Sharks from our work in the rivers, and the similarities are certainly striking.


Despite of the fact that 13 Sharks have died, this is actually excellent news.
It now appears highly likely that Vava'u is boasting a breeding population of Bull Sharks! This is quite surprising as Bull Sharks are known to pup in rivers and with the exception of a few more or less extinct volcanoes, the islands of Tonga consist of either raised limestone or small coral keys, and consequently feature no rivers whatsoever.

The Old Harbor in Vava'u is a shallow murky bay that may experience a bit of runoff when it rains but is essentially pure sea water.
The entrance is a known site for annual spawning aggregations of groupers and it is also the location where Karen, Paul and myself stumbled upon two subadult Bull Sharks in 2007. Like this time, one was subsequently caught in a net and I was able to purchase the jaw that provided for the ultimate verification of the species. Having alerted Juerg, he then published this paper documenting the first ever record of Bull Sharks for Tonga.

This is the jaw of that subadult specimen of approx 120cm. Of interest, these upper teeth appear notably narrower than those of the adults, maybe indicating a more piscivorous diet like in the case of subadult GWs.

At the time, we thought that these may be just strays.
Now, it increasingly looks like the Old Harbor may be a nursing area for a local population of Bull Sharks. This is further confirmed by one of the local dive master who having experienced our Shark Dive, now claims that he had come across Bull Sharks in the past but had so far identified them as Bronze Whalers.

All very interesting indeed, and certainly worthy of further investigation!

Not just a pretty Face!

No, great cleavage, too! (she's gonna KILL me for this...)

Meet Karen, marine conservation activist in Vava'u!

But before you get too excited & start booking tickets: looks are deceiving!
Dunno what possessed her on that day she posed in Tahiti, but trust me, dare walk up to her and whisper sweet nothings and she'll scratch your eyes out! Plus, there's hubby Paul and lemme tell you, never has a friendly all-American smile been more misleading - suffice to say that he hails from North Carolina, home to obscure Special Ops boot camps, WWE wrestlers and true Southern gentlemen!
Romeo beware!

Anyway, where was I.

Karen and Paul are the owner's of Dive Vava'u, by far Tonga's best dive and Whale watching operator - and yet, life is tough.
The local palangi expat community can be safely described as the South Pacific epicenter of, in no particular order, potheads, drunkards and Prozac junkies, new age whackos and neo-hippies, second-rate snake oil peddlers and scamsters, all fatally mired in smallville soap operas and drama and engaging in rabid backstabbing and gossiping and what an Italian friend once called la guerra dei poveri, a simply brilliant description - and I'm being uncharacteristically mellow!
Not a good backdrop for trying to run, let alone grow a business whilst keeping one's sanity!

And yet, whilst I decided to bolt, they doggedly persevere.
And more than that: against all odds and whilst Paul is trying to make a contribution to the Tourism Industry, Karen has continued to pursue an agenda of small, step-by-step conservation milestones.
It was her who convinced Henk and Sandra to act as the trailblazers for the Shark Free Marinas Initiative in Tonga and who then went to talk to Chris, the second registered operator; it was again her who took the initiative to join the Year of the Shark where she held several Shark presentations; and I also see her on the board of Vavau's new NGO, the Vava'u Environmental Protection Association where I also find Don Blanks, another one of the few that have not gone troppo; and if you read her blog, you will always find her at the center of initiatives educating the Tongan public about the need to assume the stewardship for their environment.

But above all, there's her love of Cetaceans.
Readers of this blog know that I'm not a fan, this mainly owing to what the whackos have done to them - must be that I just can't cope with preternatural beings, religious or otherwise. Consequently, my discussions with Karen have always been, uh, interesting, sometimes highly emotional - tho, and this is rather surprising, never abusive! Must be the effect of the ever-present Southern gent lurking nearby!

And yet, slowly slowly, we seem to be inching towards a common understanding.
This was great, as it totally coincides with my firm belief that we must first clean up in our back yard, where we hold some sway, before embarking on exotic, and often utopic crusades.
This however just blew me away! Bravo!

But why I'm actually writing this post, apart from having an obvious death wish is this: please, if you plan to travel to Vava'u, give Karen and Paul your business.
Not only because they really are by far the best, starting from the trivial fact that they are one hundred percent honest - and Vava'u insiders know what I mean. But principally, because they really are good people who care for the Environment and put their energy and their money where their mouth is.

People like that deserve our solidarity.

PS taken up by Patric here - with some noteworthy additional comments.

Tonga: everybody is OK!

René has come and gone.

As per Dive Vavau's blog post, there has been extensive damage but nobody got hurt and people are busy cleaning up and getting on with their life.
And for those of you in the know: damage to my house has been nil. I guess one could say that this is a case of one getting what one pays for, and Kudos to Henk and Sandra, and to Tristyle (now TCS) for a job extremely well done!

More Tongan Shark Free Marinas on their way!

René

Please spare a thought for the people of Tonga and especially, for our good friends in Vava'u.
This is happening right now.

YoSF - Vava'u!

Karen rocks!

She's one of the owners of Dive Vava'u, by far (trust me!) the best Dive and Whale Watch Operator in Tonga and the only Tongan Supporter of the Fiji Shark Conservation and Awareness Project.

The other day, she held a Shark Awareness Presentation in the best bar in Vava'u, Tonga Bob's Cantina. Despite it being low season, she managed to draw out a capacity crowd and the resounding success has motivated her to hold many more such presentations in the future.

Thanks Karen and all the best for the upcoming Whale season!
Yes, Whales are still nothing more than big blundering shipping hazards - but because of what you're doing for the Sharks, I will try and appreciate them just a little bit better!

Karen's Dream

I like Karen.

She's not only pretty and funny, she's also one of those persons who really care about the Marine Environment and who has proven, time-after-time again, that she is willing to forfeit badly-needed income in favor of upholding her ideals about Conservation.

Karen and her husband Paul (both of Tahiti Aggressor fame) own Dive Vava'u, hands down the most professional, best-equipped and most Conservation-oriented dive shop in Tonga.
Like everybody in Vava'u, they specialize in Whale Watching during the Humpback migration in August-November. Contrary to all other dive shops, they however also specialize in finding the most amazing big (they found the first ever recorded Bull Sharks in Tonga) and small critters (see above) during the off-season.

Dive Vava'u is also the only foreign dive op supporting the Fiji Shark Conservation and Awareness Project, They have been invited owing to the fact that with a mere 4-5 dive operations, Tonga is just too small to mount their own country-wide initiative.
All-in-all: Highly Recommended - and I mean it!

Karen tells me that she has entered the "Name you Dream Assignment" competition. Her dream assignment dovetails beautifully with who she is, a passionate Conservationist and accomplished UW photographer.

Please cast your vote for her.
Granted, her assignment may lack the the chutzpah of this one (and I can relate to this one, too...), the sci-fi flamboyance of this one or the depressing gravitas of this idea - but she's one of us and anything that helps furthering Marine Conservation must be supported!

And how about the other themes?
Plenty of people wanting to document America, squillions wanting to photograph children and babies, and a surprising number wanting to spend a day with the President! The current frontrunner, with 150 votes, is some piece about Diabetes (yeah, right, and the votes are completely spontaneous...) by a woman who would also like to document foster homes.... Whow....

Can we top that in a heartbeat?
You bet!

Please invest one minute of your time and go vote for Karen.

Fire in Paradise

Lucky is good.

But smart, popular and lucky is way better!

Case in point: Paul and Karen of Dive Vava'u, hands down the best Whale Watching Operator in Tonga. And I mean it!

Last week a fire destroyed Neiafu's CBD, an ignominious and condemned pre-WW2 wooden building that had long been the disgrace of the main shopping street. Home to a seedy bar and some small general stores, it was inadvertently torched by a group of kids wanting to smoke out a nest of honeybees. Were it not for the fact that some shop owners lost everything, the appropriate comment would be Finally! and Good Riddance!

The more as unlike others who stoically braved the approaching blaze by refusing to let go of their Bellini (I wish...) until it was too late, Mr. and Mrs. Stone proceeded to quickly organize the complete evacuation and then, the rescue of their adjacent dive shop. In a tell-tale and rare example of solidarity, the whole expat and much of the local community turned up to lend a helping hand. To be seen to be believed!

Good on 'ya guys - you sure did everything to deserve it!