Fiji Bull Sharks - Paper!

Yes those would be our samples - click for detail!

Remember?

 

That was then and alas, nothing much has come of it.

For some reason that eludes me, Christine never got around to actually publishing the relevant paper, and a later attempt at resuscitating the effort failed due to a general lack of interest and/or funding and/or time, or whatever. Plus I've been told that nowadays, the newest and shiniest tool for population studies is SNP markers and not anymore microsatellite DNA - and I'll most certainly leave it that, the more as that's about as much as I understand.

Or not - so correct me if I'm wrong.

Enter our indefatigable friend Kerstin!

She is now a newly minted, and highly deserving PhD - and the latest paper from her thesis once again confirms that the insular Bull Shark population from Fiji is genetically different, and likely closed = isolated from its continental counterparts. 

In essence, this means that our Bulls are truly unique and that they spend their whole life right here in the archipelago without ever engaging in large transoceanic migrations across deep water trenches and vast distances. And no, they also most definitely do not travel to Vanuatu and Australia for mating as was recently publicly proclaimed from the peak of Mount Stupid!

Obviously, this makes them specially precious but also, especially vulnerable - and Tashi's My Fiji Shark initiative, especially pertinent!

 

And the taxonomic consequences?

Years ago my ichthyological guru told me that a species is what a geneticist tells you it is - and very sadly and despite of my best efforts all the way to outright begging, the relevant Shark taxonomists remain firmly of the opinion that the present genetic distinction doesn't warrant declaring a new species. 

And when it comes to our Bulls at least being a possible (and I would add: obvious!) subspecies or race, I'm being told that apparently, in Shark taxonomy one just doesnt do that . 

Oh well - but we will keep on trying!

Anyway, great job!

Enjoy Kerstin's paper!

 

Oh and - please, Adopt Your Shark Now! 

Thank you.

 

Running of the Bulls!

Happier times.. - click for detail. Source. 

Behold!
 

This is just great

Last November and after a much too long hiatus, we had the great pleasure of hosting our deep diving, dear friends from Hawaii.
Year end is when the Bulls are terminally pregnant, and you can discern several such individuals like Gape and Tip. And there is also Hillary who still carried a tag from 2018 and will undoubtedly deliver a simply epic data set!
Everybody was toting a camera, and Brian has put together a masterful edit of their footage.
 

In loving memory of Josh Copus.

Bumphead!

Click for detail!

Once again I'm mighty relieved.
As always, this is for you El Diego!

Seven Days of Blunt!

Behold!

It's always such a pleasure, and relief to see them coming back!

The even better news being that if you play it back in 1080 and look really carefully, you can just about discern some faint and well healed mating scars, meaning that she will hopefully get pregnant and give birth to yet another batch of chubby babies in early December!

This would be my very favorite Shark.

I've known Blunt for now 10 years and must say that apart from being incredibly impressive, she's just simply the most cuddly and adorable Bull Shark of them all - and yes I know, considering that she's a huge badass apex predator this is highly inappropriate language, but still!

And anyway, I know that everybody who knows her will agree!

Anyway, to celebrate, Tashi Blue is running a special!

For obvious reasons, we really only have ever been able to attribute a handful of teeth to an individual Shark, so this is really a totally unique opportunity - plus much like her, that tooth is just simply huge, and pretty much unblemished, too!  

So what are you waiting for.

Adopt Blunt Now - and don't forget to Upgrade!

Vinaka Vakalevu!

PS - Congratulations mon ami!

You Are What You Eat - Paper!

Our Whitetip Reefies - happy, well fed and healthy!

And talking of Shark feeding.

And I cite,

The suite of studies available for this site is likely the most comprehensive body of work to date comparing the impacts of tourism on a predator species' behaviour and fitness with conservation and economic benefits.
The various studies address a range of potential issues (e.g. residency, habitat use, consumption of bait, energetic value of bait and diet) and provide a good example of how site-specific information, obtained from multiple methods, can contribute for an effective, evidence- based, management of the predator tourism industry.

Similar multi-methods approaches can be applied to other aquatic and terrestrial wildlife tourism species/operations, to move beyond our current understanding of tourism-driven behavioural and ecological changes, and provide a more holistic understanding of the effects of provisioning on the health and fitness of the target species.

Indeed - and we're mighty proud! :)

And here comes the latest, but by no means last paper investigating the effects of what we do!

I must say that I'm really happy.

This time, we've looked at the consequences of feeding non-resident Sharks, i.e. our Bull Sharks vs feeding much more resident ones, i.e. our Whitetip Reefies.

As a backdrop, keep in mind that we don't merely tease our Sharks like the GWS people do: our Sharks have been fed approx 1 ton of Tuna heads per week (!) for more than 20 years, meaning that they may well be the most, and I may add, best fed tourism Sharks on the planet - and not only that: our research has also shown that far from being junk, those Tuna heads are also highly nutritious!

And with that in mind, the results are simply spectacular.

Stable isotope analysis reveals that there is no evidence of bait incorporation by Bull Sharks; and even for some of the much more resident Whitetip Reefies, the results suggest a mere 8–22% importance of bait, this based on individual preferences - or as the paper states,

Results from the present study, particularly when combined with information from previous studies at this feeding site (Brunnschweiler et al., 2010, 2014;Brunnschweiler and Baensch, 2011; Brunnschweiler and Barnett, 2013;Brunnschweiler et al., 2017), suggest that current levels of provisioning lead to no detrimental long-term impacts on the behaviour or diet (and probably health) of sharks at the Shark Reef Marine Reserve site.

Bingo.

In brief, our feeding does certainly not harm our Bulls - and it equally does not harm the environment as they continue to fulfill their ecological role by quasi exclusively relying on their normal prey.
And when it comes to the Whitetip Reefies, we are actually presently investigating whether instead of feeding them too much, we may actually be feeding too little like what has been shown at Osprey Reef!
 
And not only that!
This is a strong indications that all other global Shark feeds that feed less, less frequently and have done so for a shorter period of time are likely to be unproblematic, too!

Long story short?

Time after time after time again all the evidence points to the fact that the reservations against Shark tourism in general and Shark feeding in particular are largely unfounded and that in the big scheme of things, far from posing a problem, we are one of the safest and most responsible ecotourism activities and as such, very much a part of the solution!

So well done team - this is just awesome!

My particular gratitude goes to Kátya for being so proficient and rigorous in her analysis, and for never losing her faith and her charm despite of the challenges of essentially working pro bono whilst raising a family, and of having to weather a grueling peer review process.

Thank you!

And our detractors?

Ultimately, they cannot be reformed and will surely continue to come up with ever new unsubstantiated hypotheses, and criticize and nitpick whenever they can.
But at this stage in the game and in view of all the unequivocal evidence, it is for them to finally come up with some fucking evidence, see Juerg's comments here - and failing that, they really need to shut the fuck up!

Anyway.

Enjoy Kátya's paper - this is an author's link so make sure you preserve the text as it may well disappear behind a paywall in the future!

Let's go Shark diving!

Bull Shark Smiles!

This is just awesome - click for detail!

What can I say but, Vinaka Christian!
 

Mrs. Jaws - Cameo!

I was wrong - thankfully!

Check this out.

Contrary to my dire prediction, Mrs. Jaws is alive and kicking - and judging from her girth and body shape, she is very capable of feeding herself which is real good news indeed!

To be continued - keep watching this space!

Bull Shark Tagging in Fiji!

Very nice!

Check this out.

Pascal was here to assist Kerstin in catching and tagging neonate Bulls. And whilst she has been concentrating on the Rewa River where she has managed to bag more than 100 pups, he and Gauthier of Projects Abroad did fish in the Sigatoka - not as productive as the Rewa but in exchange the results have been  very interesting indeed!

And whereas I'm not at liberty to elaborate quite yet, I can reveal that they will most certainly become an integral part of an upcoming paper, so keep watching this space!

Anyway, lovely post!

And I had to chuckle at the typically Swiss polite reference to cultural challenges = the usual shenanigans where the locals will always try and test any newbie!

Enjoy!

They're at it already!

Click for detail!

Behold!

Yes those would definitely be mating scars!

This is way, way early - but then again, this has been a very warm year likely leading to strong fetal development and a very early pupping season, too! To wit, Fold, Tip and Bum are already back from the nurseries all gaunt and ravenous, and busy bulking up after more than a month of fasting!

Long story short, the Running of the Bulls may be upon us very shortly indeed!

So, what are you waiting for! :)

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!

 

Surrounded by Bull Sharks!

This is nice - thank you Martin!

And talking about Topsail.

She's been a regular visitor ever since that first sighting in 2007, is as feisty as ever and has developed into one of our most eager hand feeders. With so many Shark competing for those Tuna heads, success depends on a combination of rank which in our Bull Sharks appears to be determined by size, thus favoring the older females; boldness which generally favors the males and selected particularly feisty small females; and finally, timing and skill which favors the best learners.

Being still quite small, Topsail excels in the latter categories and usually manages to bag a few heads - but beware of her temper when she does not!

And now she's got a little sister, see at top.

We always try to choose names that help us with the ID, and have thus decided to call her Sail, the more as she already appears to be as feisty as Topsail was back then.

Welcome aboard little girl!

360 on Facebook!

Remember?

Now you can view it on Facebook.
Check this out and share share share!

BAD Bulls of Fiji!

Great pic by Allen!

Nice.
Watch in 720p, and enjoy!

Wallpaper Bulls!

Told you that there would be more pics!

From today's dive.
And yes those Sharks would be up to three meters long - click for detail!
Need I say more!

Healing in Bull Sharks - Survivor: Ship Shape!

Remember?

I had to look twice but it is definitely him!

Looks like he's always gonna be unusually skinny - but one year later, everything has healed perfectly and he's as feisty as always! Click for detail - and yes this would be a new camera, so expect plenty more pics!

Is this whole thing amazing or what!

Shark Reef - still at it!

From today's dive.
And yes, forget what I said the other day!

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!

Healing in Bull Sharks - Survivor: Progress Report!

Click for detail!

Behold!

Remember Survivor?

Here he is again - very feisty, healthy looking, and with most of the injury covered in skin.

Is this amazing, or what!

Fiji Beqa Sharks!

Yes those would be our Fiji Bulls!

But it get's even better!

Check out this link.

Now, move the cursor over the pic - is this cool, or what!

Special thanks to Jayne and Courtney who took it onto themselves to schlepp the 360-degree gizmo all the way to Fiji, and to Charlie Charlie for braving the beasts when composing the image!

Tagging at Shark Reef - Competition!

Watch.

We're currently field testing this new PAT tag.

Developed by Desert Star, it's the small cousin of the tag currently deployed by e.g Neil and Co, and its functions are accordingly substantially reduced - the good news being that so is the price of up to less than 500 bucks! 

But even in this basic configuration, this is really a very cool gizmo with theoretically unlimited life due to the fact that instead of a battery, it is fitted out with solar cells and a capacitor, meaning that its useful life is only limited by its data storage which is currently equivalent to approx 750 days. We've programmed the tags to release in one year's time which will hopefully help solve the April riddle.

That is, if the tags stay on!

Much of our early telemetry research has been marred by a rather spectacular failure rate, and one of the aims of this sequence has been to explore alternatives. Thus, we've used a stronger speargun with a stopper in order to finally reliably pierce the Sharks' extremely tough skin; and after some soul searching and one major correction compared to back then, all four tags deployed so far have been rigged slightly differently from each other in order to determine the best configuration.

Preliminary results are rather encouraging, the more as the Sharks appear completely unfazed - in fact, after dashing away upon impact, they have immediately returned and kept on feeding!

 This is Shark #1.

The tag has been rigged more conventionally using wire leader and crimps, and as you can discern (click for detail), the leader has been cutting away at the skin. Unsurprisingly, that tag has already released and after several astonishing loops within Beqa Lagoon, it is presently happily drifting away somewhere between Sigatoka and Momi Bay = there's a finders fee of FJD 100 for anybody retrieving it.

The other tags have been rigged using para cord (thanks Yannis!), and the attachment looks way better - pic courtesy of Martin.

We've also chosen to paint those tags black.

This is to avoid disrupting the Sharks' camouflage but also in order to prevent shenanigans by the ever-feisty Giant Trevally. Of interest, the paint is already being worn away by the Sharks' skin = together with the fact that the tags are made of a material akin to that of water bottles (which appear to never foul), biofouling is likely to be negligible to nil.

And yet, Shark #2 has surprisingly lost its tag, too!

The tag has pinged only once shortly before the Shark then turned up on our dive, and hasn't been heard of since. To me, the implications are alas pretty much obvious - but I will certainly leave it at that until we ferret out some solid evidence!

Be it as it may, here's the Competition!

We've tagged these four Sharks - ##1 through 4 - click for detail. 

The first person who posts all four correct names wins one week of diving.

All I will tell you is that one is a hand feeder, two are bin feeders and one will feed, assertively, at any given occasion and location. And that all those Sharks are listed here and here. And that all are large to massive, very well known, easily recognizable and frequent visitors, this in order to allow for ground truthing.

Easy - no? :)

Rules.

• Unlimited attempts allowed - one post per person per 24h.
• Posting is only valid on this blog, not on FB or Twitter where they will be deleted.
• PA volunteers and staff, customers and friends who have been here during May and may thus have an obvious advantage may not participate.
• Please don't post if you cannot accept the prize and/or dive FOC anyway. Especially you El Diego - and no whispering to friends either, special or otherwise!

Wishing you the best of success! :)