Will Smith's Bucket List - Shark Diving!

I've finally found the embed code so there - watch.

Like it?

Frankly, I rather do - because I like pro-Shark media, because I like Will Smith and because owing to him, there's an endearing levity to it all.

But of course there has to be a big BUT - right? :)

No worry not: I'm not gonna personally unleash on little PdG who has been punished enough and is obviously just trying to cope and make a living.

But I still got to ask,
Has this production gotten any better by portraying him as a Shark expert which he is clearly not, letting him stoke the fear of Sharks by reminding everybody that they can be deadly, and then having him sell his old and terminally tired fear-facing snake oil?

Wouldn't it have been amply enough to have Will experience and simply ENJOY the dive at Tiger Beach sans all that repetitive gratuitous and totally fabricated death-defying drama - remember the stellar program with Craig Ferguson back then?

And talking of clap trap: did Nietzsche really state what Joe claims?

Anyway.

It could have clearly been better - but Will had a great time and that's all that ultimately counts. And it will of course make no difference whatsoever, one way or the other.

So all is good.

Let's go Shark diving!

Braving the Waters of Bimini!

Jillian and Dunc - they don't come much nicer than this! Source.

Jillian is one of the good ones, and this is really nice.
Enjoy!

OSAM - Trailer!

Finally!

Behold the official trailer!

Having watched the entire movie too many times to count, I'm frankly totally incapable of giving you an opinion about this - but should it have whetted you appetite for more, there is now a completely new, exhaustive website, and there is obviously a plethora of posts which I invite you to read bottom-to-top.

Enjoy!

Of Shark and Man - Official Trailer (2015) from Scarlet View Media on Vimeo.

The Official Trailer for the groundbreaking, award winning feature length Documentary, "Of Shark and Man."

www.ofsharkandman.com

https://www.facebook.com/OfSharkAndMan

www.twitter.com/OfSharkAndMan

David Diley is a thirty-two year old man, trapped in a dead end job in England's industrial north and his life is going nowhere. He does however, have a lifelong dream...

Should David follow the advice of everyone around him and forget about it, or should he risk everything and against all the odds, take his one chance to fulfill his greatest ambition, an ambition which finds him in the middle of a feeding frenzy with sixty of the world's most dangerous sharks?

“Of Shark and Man” is a ground breaking film about one man's journey to get closer than anyone thought possible, to the world's biggest Bull Sharks and tell the incredible untold story of Shark Reef in Fiji, one of the greatest marine conservation successes of all time.

“Of Shark and Man” is an epic, incredibly ambitious and cinematic love letter to the world's most feared predator, in which, for once, the shark is the hero.

For our Chinese Friends - two!

Source.

Behold!

This is excellent pro-Shark media.

And even better, it directly addresses the audience that matters most.

Kudos to everybody involved!

Riley in Fiji - Teaser!

"Reef Patrol" - epic picture by big Allen! Source.

So this is it.

Mike and Riley are launching the first Shark Man episodes.
Website (under construction) here, FB here!

Enjoy!

Auch ein blindes Huhn!

I obviously can't stand the guy.

But this is quite charming.
Not perfect - but quite charming.

Enjoy!

BBC - Interview with Cristina!

Great outreach.

The interview starts at 16:20.

That's how you do it - whilst reaching millions in the process!

Braverrima e auguri!

Ozzie Sam - excellent Shark Media!

Bravo!

If only all Shark photographers would care as much!

Sam Cahir does combine brilliant, and always improving photographic skills with the genuine wish to do something for the animals he loves. He demonstrates this by enabling great pro-Shark stories like here, but also by donating all of the proceeds from his pictures sales to the GWS research and conservation efforts of the Fox Shark Research Foundation.

Picture gallery here.

Kudos mate - way to go!

State of the Sharks - now with even more Shark!

Remember?

Shark Savers report here.

There are also a new great interview with Mark and Chris here and a nice podcast with Chris here - and now that Victor has contributed one of his iconic sculptures, see on top, the whole thing has become even better!

And if you got 20 minutes to spare, watch this!

So, what are you waiting for!

Of Shark and Man - Interview!

This project deserves all the support it can get.

So thank you Angelo for having provided for a great platform and according global exposure!

Of Shark and Man - Trailer-Teaser!

David in Fiji - outshining everybody with his dazzling brilliance - yes that would be a link!

Finally!

This is what we here have all been waiting for.

We've been big fans and supporters of David Diley from the beginning, ever since he posted that op-ed in Dive - and the more we've been observing his progress, the more we've become fans: of his talent, his art but above all, of his mulish determination to succeed come hell or high water. Over the course of the years, our relationship has evolved from mere polite interest to mateship to the point where we're proud to count him among our dear friends.

His evolution has been truly astounding.

Case in point, his film work that you can check out here, where you can follow his progression all the way from a rather rough first promotional over this and this simply brilliant PSAs for the Fiji Shark Sanctuary that never was, to the wonderful low-budget A Ray of Light that resulted in a wonderful conservation success story.

But of course those were just appetizers.

Ever since returning from his Fiji caper (= fun times - and plenty of STILL unanswered questions!), David has been doggedly chipping away at the editing of his first feature film, Of Shark and Man - and lemme tell 'ya, tackling this monumental and monumentally complex task has been hard and further hampered by chronic lack of funds and until rather recently, by abject loneliness.

But he has persevered - and yes you guessed it: mulishly! :)

So here it is.

Simultaneously with a spanky new website for From the Office to the Ocean, this is the first of a total of three (read it!) trailer-teasers for David's big film. David writes me that later, there will then be two main trailers, which cover everything in the film, very much in the manner you would find in a major cinema release. He is also still looking for a variety of people who may want to get involved, from graphic animators to street teamers - so it's not too late to get involved and show him your support!

So without further ado.

I absolutely LOVE it!

Enjoy!

Air and Water - Awesome!

Source.

Behold!
Yes this would be Eco-Terrorism in action!

Roberta Mancino here.

Enjoy!

Ozzie Sam on TV!

Sam in action - you can admire his stunning pics here and here! And of course here! :)

Yes of course there's also Andrew! :)
Ozzie Sam at 1:10.

Nice!

Mark - State of the Sharks!

Never equaled - Mark's Silvertip Generations

Very cool!

We're currently hosting Mark Strickland.

Mark and I go way back, to the times were Mark was the cruise director on the Fantasea and later, the Ocean Rover in the Andaman Islands and Burma, and I was a frequent guest on the competing liveaboard Sai Mai. Those were the glorious days of guaranteed Whale Sharks on Richelieu Rock and terrific Silvertips and Tawny Nurses on the Burma Banks, see Mark's iconic picture above.

All gone now, likely fished away.

Anyway, Mark mentioned this Shark exhibit in the G2 Gallery.

The gallery strives to bring attention to environmental issues through the power of photography, and donates all proceeds to charity. Mark and Chris' exhibit coincides with the lead-up to the next CITES meeting (more soon as good things have happened since) and sounds the alarm on the precipitous decline in Sharks. 

To my great pleasure, all proceeds will go to my friends at Shark Savers.

If you happen to be in Venice, don't miss to go and admire Mark's wonderful photography!

Vinaka!

The Fiji Shark Diving Paper - excellent Media!

Our Bulls - worth millions to the local economy!

Great outreach by Pew!

Having checked, the Fiji paper is all over the global media.
Here in Fiji, it has made the Fiji Times twice: in this short piece where I was particularly happy to find a statement of support by Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association president Dixon Seeto; and in this article where Helen once again points out the current decline of Sharks in Fiji and the absolute need to protect them right away.
One thing is certain: FJD 75 million in fully sustainable yearly revenues from tourism are certainly not something the Nation wants to ever put at risk!
Correct?

And whilst I was rummaging, I also found this.
It is about my recent Shark talk and I must say, it is nice to see one of Fiji's most prominent conservation NGOs post an objective report.

Vinaka!

PS one more Fiji Times article here!

Fiji - two PSAs!

Shark Tourism - an important niche product in Fiji!

Enjoy!

A World without Sharks?

Douglas' contribution to this year's wallpaper challenge - click for detail! Depicted among others: Sickle, Brenda, Tipless and Long John

Sharks evoke the true meaning of the word ‘awe’.
They instill a sense of wonder, admiration, reverence… and a bit of fear. Few other aquatic animals, except perhaps great whales, can evoke such emotions. But beyond ‘selfish’ love of nature for its own sake, self-interested man surely must appreciate that without sharks, ecosystems collapse, collapse fully and completely, and they do not rebound. Unlike terrestrial national parks, predator reintroductions are not possible with sharks. There is no successful captive breeding program.
Once they are gone, they are gone for good.

Awesome!
Once again, this is excellent pro-Shark media by Douglas David Seifert, one of the world’s top shark-watchers and award-winning shark photographers and I may add, passionate Shark conservationist and dear friend.
Having participated in literally thousands of Shark dives, Douglas understands Sharks like few others and what he has written here is a testament to his love of the animals but also very much to his meticulous research and erudition.

This article needs to be savored like a good glass of Bordeaux.
Lean back, relax and learn about Shark taxonomy, biology and life history, about food webs and trophic cascades - but above all, about the threats facing Shark populations and the absolute need to preserve them.
Enjoy and be amazed!

Juliet - excellent, once again!

Killed for nothing - Shark cull in Sharm - pic via BushWarriors

Thank you Juliet!
If Shark conservation has indeed gone mainstream, it is in large part owing to the relentless efforts of Mrs Eilperin who continues to crank out excellent pro-Shark media (this is just a small sample) in the most prestigious and widely read publications.

Case in point, this article in the Washington Post.
Starting from re-branding Shark attacks as Shark strikes, this is smart, well documented and compelling reading that once again helps put things into the right perspective. The pictures are by Christine Shepard, like Madi Pip a young passionate and extremely promising Shark media lady with a bright future ahead of her.

As always, required reading!

CNN on the Shark Sanctuary in the Marshalls!

Very cool!
As I said: Big Big Big Big!

Fiji Times - more pro-Shark media!

Another brilliant pic from Timbo's latest crop - click for detail!

Bravo Fiji Times!
When they announced that they were partnering with CORAL and Pew in advocating the protection of Sharks, they really did mean it!

This latest article highlights the connection to Hong Kong.
Fiji has recently become an important turntable for Shark fins that are shipped here from as far as Vanuatu and Kiribas and then shipped on to Asia, this to the tune of, I hear, more than 100 metric tons per year.
That's a whole lotta Sharks!

Hence the importance of the Fiji legislation.
If it comes to be, it will not only preserve Fiji's natural resources but even contribute to maintaining a healthy balance in the waters of our neighbors, far and near.
Fingers crossed!