Shark Selfie - fail!

Not cool, and pretty darn stupid on top of it - source.

Read this.

I fully concur.

I do like Peter, and the selfies per se are cool - but showing how one recklessly leans out of the cage is not, and the messaging is once again just the usual tired pseudo-conservation clap trap. Belittling the danger posed by GWS actually does them a disservice by not respecting them as what they are, apex predators - and absolutely not, not all strikes by GWS are investigative and/or mistaken identity!

And should you have any doubts that it was just simply stupid.
I got a friend who got nailed in the head when engaging in the exact same antics, and who only got away, with according copious loss of blood and major drama, because the Shark bit the skull and didn't injure the neck! And what would have been the head-lines, pun intended, and the according setback for Shark conservation, had the accident not been successfully hushed up?

Needless to say that my pal has learned his lesson and is not anymore doing any of that!

Anyway.

Maybe the operators should examine the size of those camera ports and ensure that those overly eager photographers are being prevented from taking those unnecessary risks?
 

Praat je Nederlands?

Me, a tiny bit!

Nice!
Just found this by pure happenstance.
Posted by Peter and Georgina's Dutch Shark Society!

Enjoy!



PS - we're actually called Beqa Adventure Divers... :)

Dutch Shark Society - good People!

Yup that would be a gaggle of Fiji Bull Sharks! - click for detail!

Great project and website!

This is how you do it.

After their all-too-short stint at the SOSF, Georgina and Peter continue to invest their time and personal money into Shark conservation. With Peter being an excellent Shark photographer and Georgina, a brilliant writer and communicator, this new media-based initiative has all the trappings of becoming a great success - first of course locally in the Netherlands and the North Sea but also globally!

Wishing you the very best of success my friends!

Peter and the Sharks!

Blue Shark off the Algarve - source.

Remember Peter?

He and Georgina have just been in Portugal to kick off We Like Sharks.
This is a multifaceted program including Shark awareness, Shark research and hopefully, maybe even the establishment of Shark tourism in the Algarve. From what I can see, the local team is going through all the correct preliminary steps by involving the local stakeholders and trying to collect some baseline data before thinking about throwing in the first tourists - so best of success to them all!
Here's a report in Portuguese.



Notice the Tiger Shark?
Here's some better footage of that encounter in South Africa, with a plug for Peter's brilliant book about Sharks.



And have a look at this!
This would be Peter documenting the GFSC in April, in totally shocking visibility - maybe now you understand why I am so impressed by the results! The question being, who's the 90-year old Dutch Divinggirl? :)
Enjoy!

July: Fijian Bull Sharks!

Click for detail and save as to download!

Great!
The SOSF has posted its July Calender and guess what, these are our Sharks, photographed from the exact same spot where we placed Lill! Needless to say that not being one of the dreaded semis but a full-time pro, Peter Verhoog was awarded full honors - and no, his bodyguard did not scream like a girl, either!

Having said that, there was plenty to body guard!
The viz was absolutely dreadful, meaning that the Sharks were frisky and in yer face - very much to the delight of Peter but very much not to that of Tubee! BTW, this is a major cleanup job in Photoshop, so kudos to the photographer for both, the pic and the post production!

Do you like it?
If so, you can download it in lowest resolution from the top, or there are much higher resolution versions available here, along with the past months. And you can check out many more pics from the SRMR right here - stellar stuff!

Peter: Hartelijk bedankt!

Getting there!

For Georgina: Peter is working real hard - click for detail! :)

Poor Peter!

He's been rained in solid for the past ten days, and the viz has been oscillating between crap and impossible.

BUT, things are finally improving!
The viz today was OK and we were finally able to get him face-to-face with some real biggies - and this is the result. Once again, I am totally impressed, this is about as good as it gets, especially considering that conditions are still far from ideal!
Click for detail!

AND the weather will remain rather stellar.
Just for the record, I'm posting tomorrow's weather chart because somebody has repeatedly doubted my impeccable weather forecasting skills, a fact that shall not be forgotten!

And on Saturday and Sunday, it will be equally great.
If you're in Fiji, this is the weekend to come and count Sharks!
So what are you waiting for!

Great Fiji Shark Count - post by SOSF!

Fiji Bulls - great shot by Peter Verhoog despite of dismal conditions!

I must say, I am really impressed.

What Peter Verhoog has produced is nothing short of miraculous.
He is the CEO of the Save Our Seas Foundation that has been sponsoring Juerg's research for close to a decade and is currently one of the principal sponsors of the GFSC. Being also a prominent underwater photographer, he has traveled to Fiji to document the count but also, in order to get a first-hand look at our other activities.

Well what can I say, so far it has been challenging.
We've lost a week due to the floods and for the past several days, the weather and consequently, the viz have been dismal, alas with no real end in sight. There's however heaps of Sharks and people sure get to see them as we attract them close to the customers - but getting any useful shots is really terribly difficult as everything is dark dark dark and murky as hell.
I for one don't even bother to switch on the camera!

With that in mind, Peter's pictures are just simply stellar.
The attributes of real professional underwater photographers include getting the shot - and Peter sure delivers in spades, as only a very few others like Doug Perrine do!

You can admire Peter's pictures in this post on the SOSF website.
Enjoy!