Lupe: even more Shark Bait!

Behold!
It's an extraordinary love affair, frightening and full of affection.

Yup, the Lupe Shark bait has posted another one!

I'm sure JSD will be visually delighted - and like many other media outlets, the poor unsuspecting Fiji Times has swallowed the bait hook-line-and-sinker and has found it fit to re-post her stupid pseudo-conservation balderdash.

I was impressed by Martin's take on that shit.

Contrary to the bimbo who parachutes in and back out, he has been operating in Lupe for over ten years and thus knows those GWS like few others do - and his analysis is among the most insightful, unflinching and truthful I've read in a very long time!

Kudos - and great to see an operator call it for what it is!

Where do these stunts lead to?
What is the next person that wants to get their 15 minutes of fame going to do? Open the sharks mouth and brush it's teeth? Her video is not about shark conservation but simply an attempt at self promotion. If we really are concerned with shark conservation, we need to accurately show what these magnificent creatures are like.
They are neither mindless killers, nor are they pets.

Indeed!

But of course this got nothing to do with conservation and everything with shameless self promotion!
The saddest part? It's not even about female emancipation - this is all being pimped by a male shark molester who wants to sell the images!
As my wise friend said

It stopped actually being "about sharks" a long time ago.
It's about the individual and what the sharks as a vehicle to notoriety can do for them.

And talking of which.

What is the ever industrious ueber-bimba doing these days?

You guessed it - she has already come up with the next stupidity!

Get up close and personal, freediving safely and comfortably with Oceanic White Tips - regardless of whether you are a beginner or have experience!

• Learn to safely freedive with sharks - and maximize your interactions!
• Long, up close and personal encounters with Oceanic White tips - as well as the possibility to see 7 other species!

Wow - for beginners! With OWTs! 
Interactions - up close and personal!

Betcha that's Shark conservation, too - to dispel the myth or whatever!
And I must say, I'm disappointed that Fred is part of that shit - and I used to be a fan!

Debra, Vincente: is that you?
If so, is that really the kind of publicity you want and need, and are these shenanigans in the long term interest of your business?

And so it goes...

Back to diving with our Bulls!

PS: News flash, it's 2013, the age of greater equality than ever, a time when people earn respect for what they do, not merely because they have a vagina and do cool "man stuff". 
The Shark world is swarming with all manner of girlies elbowing each other to ensure they get their slice of the media pie and part of the routine is to find the biggest, most badass shark you can and climb all over it, capture it on film and send it to the world's media.

PS2: my good friend Jillian, an intelligent and emancipated woman and Shark nutter, here - the correct citation being, “Sharks are not FUCKING underwater scooters!”.
Detail detail! :)

Cristina about cageless diving with GWS - terrific Stuff!

Shenanigans - but great pic by Daniel!

And I cite.

People who dive with Great White Sharks without a cage need to be solely responsible for their decisions and actions. You cannot trust somebody else to make a judgment call on whether or not to exit a cage or be around a shark. You need to be able to read every single twitch and movement of the shark, or sometimes sharks, and you need to trust your own judgment and be aware of your surroundings...

Then I would want to take time to just watch the sharks and listen to these people describing what the sharks are doing, why and what is affecting them: weather and behavior, visibility and behavior, presence of other sharks and behavior. I experienced this once in my life with a Great White handler and it was pretty amazing: it felt as if a Great White was talking to me. I spent three weeks on the boat and there was not one day that the handler did not correctly judge the coming behavior of the sharks.

Could not agree more - again!

It has taken me months of observation in order to develop the confidence to venture closer to our Bulls. And to this day, any change Rusi and I implement is being effected in minuscule increments, this for our sake but above all, in order to give the animals the time to adapt to the new circumstances.
Were I to decide to go diving outside of the cage with GWS, I would proceed along the exact same guidelines.

But JSD, see comments, is of course correct.
Doing so will always remain an experiment - and thus unsuitable for commercial Shark diving.
We do not allow our customers to interact directly with our Bulls and Tigers; and by the same token, I and incidentally, 99% of the GWS dive operators remain of the firm opinion that cageless diving with GWS is equally unsuitable in a commercial context. 

And is anybody going to heed Cristina's suggestions?
Hardly, as witnessed by the comments on her post - after all, with 20 years experience of how to safely interact with Sharks, what does she know?
Having perfect control over your hearthbeat?
Indeed (and here)!

And so the shenanigans will continue.
For 10,000 bucks a pop and totally regardless of one's motivation and qualifications, let alone diving skills!

And that, alas, is a promise!

Lupe - more Shark Bait!

Source.

And here is another one!

Once again, nice visuals.

And once again, the bimbette appears to be an accomplished free diver and has obviously taken the time to refine her Shark interaction skills after a rather tentative test in 2009.

Need I repeat that I find it a disgrace?
And the featured article? If you can stomach the music, you will discover that it is the usual, tired, albeit certainly nicely packaged pseudo-conservation greenwashing. Let's not illude ourselves: violating the protocols of a dive site established by others and completely disrespecting charismatic predators by abusing them as underwater scooters (WTF!!!!) got nothing to do with conservation, zero!
A wise friend writes,

It stopped actually being "about sharks" a long time ago. 
It's about the individual and what the sharks as a vehicle to notoriety can do for them.

Totally!
Mostly, it's obviously about the money, what else - tho in this specific case, I suspect that the ego may have been the principal driver.

So who is this guy?
I didn't take me long to discover him among the bunch of reckless amateurs that got tarred and feathered, and run out of Maunalua Bay, a total fiasco that precipitated the subsequent, and by no means resolved appalling witch hunt that could well end up destroying the North Shore cage diving operators - like these shenanigans could well end up destroying the GW diving in Lupe.
As another wise friend (yes I got two!) writes,

For commercial entities it's all a downward spiral. 
There will be the day when the media asks, "who was in charge?" 
The answer will be a lot of hang dog faces and some incoherent industry mumblings.

Anyway.

Having run out of wise friends, let me cite myself.

In the end, it’s gonna be up to the operators and Mexico – as it should be.
They know the place, the animals, the risks, the rewards, the business models and they will win, or lose based on the decisions they will take – or not take!

So, what’s it gonna be?
More shenanigans or long-term sustainability?

Anybody taking bets?

Oh Lupe - Shenanigans!

Source.

Check this out.

Like everything from Pelagic Life, these are simply stunning images and the guys come across as totally accomplished watermen.

And still, I hate it.

From the standpoint of commercial Shark diving, this is once again a total disgrace. 

But don't worry, I'm not gonna dwell.

I'm actually sick and tired of repeating myself but if you care, go and read e.g. this and more specifically, this This is the inevitable consequence of Amos' idiotic pinnacle expeditions and of the ever-pervasive arms race whereby a very few rogue dive operators are willing to risk ruining it for everybody in order to cater to a minuscule and economically irrelevant minority. 

Long story short?

The speedo dude joins the proud ranks of the f@$%ing mermaid and of the menopausally challenged bikini bimbettes in SA, TB and alas now even Cat Island. And we can all look forward to the the next round of even bigger shenanigans by the next batch off even braver and stupider daredevils.
All for the Sharks of course!

And that's a promise!

Amos - another Round of Shenanigans!

Amos is once again flaunting his feats and pics.

Nah, don't worry, I'm not gonna double up.
I've said what I wanted to say, and others have too. Thing is, whilst Amos keeps laughing all the way to the bank, it's quite obviously a total waste of our collective breath. The Guadalupe operators have had eight months to sort out the continued illegal actions of Amos and especially, the illegal operations of Club Cantamar - and what have they achieved: you guessed it, obviously a big fat nada de nada de nada de nada!

Incidentally, have a good look at the pic.
The Shark is clearly munching on something - as in bait?
Having seen one or two Sharks having a snack, it sure looks like it - and if so, would that not yet again be a breach of the unequivocal rules?
So much for

Please explain to all your devoted readers the real value - ecological, environmental and research wise - in chumming recklessly and baiting for sharks to come close to your crowded cages - you guys are at best aggravating the shark and cause them to exhibit a behavior which is far from normality and or reality - these actions has no value what so ever but to drum business i.e. profit - in the process creating mostly wrong perception of this wildlife among the good hearted clients. This is purely entertainment not study and eduction of shark behavior

and

I apply exactly the opposite method of operation to the attract shark to the cage in comparison of the common one - the common action is attracting the shark by chumming and baiting...we do not bait and apply limited chumming. Our operation proof clearly that when there is no stimulus in the water i.e chumming - the shark act and behave peacefully and relax which is its normal being and totally different from the one around the cages when they are teased with chum and bait. While underwater swimming there is no aggression, or jaw gupping, sudden change in swimming direction and etc...

Did I hear out of context?
If you can stomach another read:here's the context!

Enough said.
And to end on a positive note: great pro-GW media from Oz here!
Bravo Andrew!

PS having been alerted by Patric's comment, I've gone searching - and guess what: here's the (actionable?) evidence!

Guadalupe - what's it gonna be?

Hot - and yes, it is a link! Click to enlarge.

Pete Thomas raises valid points.

His post about Shark diving in Guadalupe is well researched and really hits the nail on the head.
The question is, will the next GW season be a continuation of the stupid arms race whereby the operators try and one-up each other - or will the operators finally get together, agree on a common code of conduct and convince the Mexican authorities to play their role, step in and punish any transgressions?
Anybody taking bets?

Just as a reminder.
This is not about whether it is possible to safely swim with Great Whites outside of the cage – it is.
This is about whether the Guadalupe Shark diving operators should do so commercially, with paying tourists.

At first glance, the situation appears unequivocal.
So far, the official industry standard has been to keep clients in cages and cage-like structures (submersible cages are totally OK and the runabout is as hot as it gets) and to limit more direct encounters to industry professionals only, this in the aim of enabling them to “get the shot” - very much in line with what we do here in Fiji.

Recently, however, that definition has been stretched to the point that instead of being limited to professional video operators and photographers acting behind the camera, we’re now being presented with a whole host of questionable images depicting people, professional and not, interacting directly with Guadalupe’s GWS in front of the camera.
Like this one at 1:42 in an otherwise fantastic production – was that really necessary?


Not!

Or check out this video – am I really to believe that this was part of a genuine professional film shoot?
And anyway, what message do those clips convey?

Thing is, the clients see them and want to emulate the experience and above all, capture the same images.
That’s what customers will always do, to ask for special favors and to try and push the envelope ever a bit further. But the ultimate decision will always be ours, not theirs. In fact, on most Shark dives here in Fiji, one of us ends up saying No, sorry, we don’t do that to some customer – and every single one of those happens to be toting expensive cameras with super wide angle lenses.

Our intransigent stance does of course impact our bottom line – but the alternative would be to incur risks we deem unreasonable and to ultimately risk ending up with no business, no conservation and no jobs.
With that in mind, for us, the choice is simple.

Is the situation in Lupe any different?

Having asked several Lupe operators about their views, the answers are all the same.

Us guys are split between two camps.
One faction thinks to "get the business" you have to support this stuff or be part of it. The other thinks we should all just stick with the plan, you know, set diving protocols the usual. The shenanigans are coming from new folks and operators who are trying to make their mark.
Then there's those who support or even work with those guys for reasons that seem to me to be all about cock and ball ego, as in "lookee who I had over to dinner last nite ma."

Or

It would seem that Mexico or the sharks will have to determine the final level of shenanigans at this site, and my bet is with the sharks who have had 100 million years to get their shit together - vs. Mexico who seems to be too preoccupied counting heads in paper bags on their borders to be all that effective in curbing idiots with sharky aspirations.
Can you tell I am a bit perturbed about this?

Or

I have always believed that having customers out in open water with white sharks is simply not worth the risk. We will not do it period.
My partner boat owners feel the same way even more so - they hate to see us working out there with film crews. We have tried to convince all of the other owners the same. But when you have d…heads like the two Anuses out there, it just gets so frustrating.

With the competition always trying to one up the other guy, it makes it difficult to keep people interested in the controlled situation. They (the customer) will always want MORE than the last guy got.

Or

We are not gonna be letting folks out of cages...
s..t, can you imagine the shit/fan scenario that would go on about that!
Personally, although I think I am pretty brave I don't think I am stupid, and it would take a LONG time of seeing these guys and knowing who was who before I would even think about swimming around with them.

But then, the reality seems to be much fuzzier.
We get plenty of Shark divers here announcing that they are going to Guadalupe where “somebody” has offered to “quietly and secretly” take them out of the cage.
And I get e-mails like

One of my guest who told me that they went snorkeling with the seals there!! I almost chocked on my tea!
Snorkeling with one the major food sources!! It was OK he told me - the water was only about 4 feet deep!!! Yup, not like they are gonna sneak up behind you in shallow water is it???? Honestly the more I hear in this business the more amazed I am at the stupidity of mankind!
I check out the Darwin awards on line sometimes and it reconfirms that for me!

and

I just had a client this week who did Lupe with … and they took the top off the cage, sent it down to the bottom (I think) so that when a white had come in it would dive down toward the bottom and they could get a better look!
He said they were told "if a white comes in to the cage, then you want to get out of the cage!" - well, no s..t! He said they sat around on the top of the cage for a while till they were bored and they swam about a bit with 4 -5 whites cruising around!!
Sounds like a when and not an if that someone is gonna get nibbled...

Yes Amos is of course the most brazen example of how those limits are continuously being tested - and will of course be tested again this year! For an additional fee!
I certainly won’t bore you with a re-hash of my take on the matter – but he certainly has a point when he complains about double standards!

In the end, it’s gonna be up to the operators and Mexico – as it should be.
They know the place, the animals, the risks, the rewards, the business models and they will win, or lose based on the decisions they will take – or not take!

So, what’s it gonna be?
More shenanigans or long-term sustainability?

Not surprised!

Well, as I said Amos never disappoints!

Having finally had the time to go through all of the recent Shark-related blog posts out there, I came across this one by the good guys over at The Dorsal Fin highlighting Amos' newest batch of GW pictures in the British media.

For all the hype, most of it is rather ordinary stuff that could have been equally shot from the safety of a cage.
The one I've posted is likely not even from this year's stunt and not by Amos, but from 2008 and by Jeb Corliss - and I may add, I'm far from being surprised by the "confusion" about its authorship.
La volpe cambia il pelo ma non il vizio, as we say where I grew up.

Nor am I frankly surprised that the above link (to an unfortunate article, and shame on DPG for having aided and abetted the marketing of this stupidity) more than amply proves that this was not some spontaneous last-minute decision, but very much premeditated.

Anyway, I'm not about to re-kindle the controversy as 63 comments on my last post are more than sufficient to shed more than ample light on the matter. Incidentally, having met one of the fearless clients, I understand that everything was meticulously planned and impeccably executed - which is good but not the point, and he hopefully now understands where I am coming from.
In any event, we managed to be friendly and to shake hands: Friede Freude Eierkuchen!

What of course remains is the mess.
Obviously, nobody realistically expects Amos and his pet "research" travel shop to kill the newly hatched goose. Plus, want it or not, the goal posts have been irrevocably moved and the Guadalupe operators will undoubtedly be faced with a deluge of groupies wanting to emulate, and even one-up the heroic feat. Having talked to some operators, they are all adamantly opposed to the unnecessary and very much unwanted escalation - but Club Cantamar may not want to play and in view of the treacherous political climate, it may be unwise to confront the Mexican authorities with the fact that the Shark diving operators are not able, or willing, to self regulate.

Thankfully, the GW season is drawing to an end, meaning that all concerned have 8 months to try and sort things out. It will be interesting to see if they can finally come up with a firm set of universally agreed upon protocols and above all, with a mechanism for enforcing them and for punishing any transgressions.

Because, Amos or no Amos, somebody will try pushing the envelope again - and that, you can take to the bank.

The Everest?

Fantastic pic by Chip Scarlett - taken from within the cage!

Told you so!

Amos never disappoints: he has broken his word and taken clients cageless - and some idiotic operator has once again succumbed to the temptation and aided and abetted this reckless stupidity.

This is a blatant violation of the regulations for Guadalupe issued by the Mexican authorities that once again endangers the future of commercial Shark diving in that location.

Will the other Shark diving operators finally man up, state an example and ensure that the enabler is put out of business? Will they tell Amos to take a hike? Or will they now attempt to one-up the other guy and partake in this latest debacle for the global Shark diving industry?
Guys - this is the time to show some vision and some leadership!

Not having ever dived with them, I know very little about Great Whites.
People in the know tell me that it is certainly possible to go cageless with them, and many of them have. They however also warn me that one must be extremely cautious and ever vigilant, as some individual Sharks come across as being dangerous and clearly convey the impression that they regard the divers as potential prey - something I have never observed when diving with the equally notorious Bulls and Tigers.
Does anybody really believe that using a pokey stick if one of those animals ever commits to an outright attack is gonna work? Ever seen the raw power of a GW breaching after a seal?

With that in mind, offering cageless commercial dives with Great Whites is a fool's bet.
If something happens - and let there never be a doubt that it will and it's going to be fatal: how, exactly, will the guilty operator justify deviating from what are the globally accepted practices of conducting commercial dives with this species?

This is Amos' own description of his "feat" (sic).

...after a week of diving with Great White sharks...contrary to public opinion, due to total misunderstanding, lack of knowledge and simply the public willing to believe anything on TV and in the Movies - these sharks were...acceptable of our present in their own domain and only curious in us swimming with them in open water...every breath we take and blow bobbles the shark was turning away...

We have achieved that level of extraordinary success due to the fact that we have used our intelligent rather that get carried away by common practices. We chummed the water to limited extend. I taken the time and introduce only one person at the time and I had a safety diver with us at all time...I had limited team of only seven divers and full five days on site...we were lucky also in having perfect calm and sunny seven days...

I have introduce seven guests to this amazing, second of this kind experience in the world - "the Everest of diving" and they are all elated as they got to experience their life dream more than once...my guests gained respect and admiration for the animal rather than fear.

They also now joint me and being the ambassadors of the BigAnimlas expressing their first hand experience rather than the dramatic, false portrait and sensational reportage on Discovery and other TV documentaries...the wilderness deserve positive and supportive news in order to increase awareness and protection for what ever left on our planet - what we have left is still fantastic and worth while saving...

...and more blah blah rah rah of that kind.
Trust the man to start marketing his product whilst Still at the San Diego airport on my way home... !

The thing that pisses me off is that by sending around his pseudo-eco-conservation marketing spiel, he creates false expectations among the public.
Now that the dam has been broken, the operators will be swamped by request from what are little more than foolish thrill seekers aiming to climb to the top of a stupid ranking of adrenaline rushes.
This is not about loving Sharks, this is not about dispelling myths, this is not about creating awareness, this is not about Shark conservation, this is not even about capturing better images: this is only about satisfying one's ego and having something to brag about at home. The more as they will be able to unequivocally elevate themselves above the plebs by paying extra - whilst Amos is laughing all they way to the bank!
This is not the Everest, it's the peak of stupidity!

Already, one blog out there has taken the bait hook-line-and-sinker, a fact that I find particularly irritating as the man is clearly no fool and on top of that, much loved and respected.
What he just refuses to understand is that his emotional outbursts ultimately harm the animals he loves. Extreme encounters enhance the risk of accidents and any such event reinforces the determination and the arguments of the Shark haters. I know that having been at the center of precisely such a controversy, he's acutely aware of the risks - so why is he continuing to make those statements in public? Qui s'excuse, s'accuse - and I'll leave it at that!

Yes, those big Sharks don't generally perceive us as prey - but from everything I've ever experienced, they certainly do not reciprocate our love and do not like being touched and even less, being abused as underwater scooters. Luckily for us, they seem to be quite tolerant - but not endlessly so! Yes I know, I'm repeating myself!
In fact, the so deceivingly languid Tigers very much resent being disturbed when they're seeking for food and are well known for reacting violently against anybody interfering with that process. Sometimes, they will warn you by gaping - and sometimes, they just won't. Trust me, I've seen it with my own eyes, more than once - and be assured that you'll never see it coming, experience or no experience!

My friend, do whatever you do - and enjoy!
But in the softest possible way: please, do it on the QT and stop talking about it!
It is indefensible and may embarrass or even harm the operator concerned - and it only emboldens the other side and the copycats that lack the experience, the knowledge and ultimately, the love.

Enough said.

PS Patric has just posted his take on Underwater Thrills.

Good News?

Well, prima vista, this is!

Amos has apparently assured Patric that he shall not be offering cageless Great White encounters in Guadalupe.

If so, great!
Am I totally buying the story with the "old" promo material? Am I really convinced that this is not just an attempt to buy time and to de-fuse the controversy after having pretty much been caught red-handed?
Call me a cynic - but as always, we shall see, won't we.

But as per my previous post, Amos is not an operator.
In this incarnation, he is a tour leader and would have had to avail himself of somebody else's services and infrastructure. That "somebody" would have to be an established operator disposing of a vessel and all the necessary licenses and permits to operate in Guadalupe.

In case you haven't noticed, that's really the part that leaves me completely stumped.
It very much looks like "somebody" was willing to put the whole Shark Diving Industry and the tremendous Conservation achievements of Guadalupe at risk.
For what: "fame"? Short-term profit?

Whatever his motivation: so sad and so short sighted!
It's a well known fact that other interests are ogling the site and any closure would remove any witnesses to those other activities there. Let there be no doubt that if that were to happen, the Sharks of Guadalupe would be killed and this unique site lost forever.

As Patric writes,

Now the entire dive world waits until the end of the 2009 shark diving season.
If we are to have future seasons at this site operators will have to show that they are willing to see Isla Guadalupe not in terms or bookings, or financial and diver risk - but of animals first, host country second, and our clients third. We are here ultimately for the animals and nothing less, our obligation to them transcends the acquisition of images.
In many ways we as operators hold the keys to this pristine and unique site, but the sites future is not assured and an estimated 33% of the entire western pacific white shark population hangs in the balance.

Amen to that!
Fingers crossed that it will all result in a happy ending!

Reckless and stupid!

More of this stuff? No, thanks!

Amos is a loose cannon.

I guess that one doesn't become one of the world's preeminent big animal photographers without a fair amount of chutzpah and bravado - and all the power to him for having gone out there and done it at a time when everybody said it was crazy!
I also hear that he's recently calmed down substantially.

But ever since the beginning, his name has been linked to controversy.
I first heard about him in 1977 in the Red Sea. That was when Na'ama Bay was just a beach with one public shower in the center and the Aquamarine motel in one corner. In those times, there were just a few big boats down there, the Finnish Apuhara and the Israeli Fantasea 1 and Sun Boat - and Amos was being mentioned in connection with the latter, some epic fighting and a gaggle of stranded tourists.
The trail of controversy then continued unbroken throughout the years, with news seeping out of a wide-ranging array of hot spots like Rurutu, South Africa and even Tonga. All very anecdotal as it was all pre-web and pre instant verification - but pretty much consistent with the picture that started emerging back then in the seventies, of a charming but pugnacious individual that would insist on having it his way - or else!

Case in point, the latest controversy from Guadalupe.
When I first heard about Amos' "feat" last year, I made a bet that it wouldn't stop there - and bingo!
It was a bad idea then and now that he's trying to do it commercially, it's absolutely reckless, short-sighted and stupid now! As Patric rightly points out, it just isn't worth it -not the money and not the risk- and may well destroy an iconic Shark diving hotspot forever.
Again!

The Mexican Authorities are already very skeptical about what's going on out there and these antics may well be the perfect pretext for stepping in and delivering on last year's threats.

But Amos is Amos and clients are clients - they will always try and push the envelope.

Patric is obviously smack in the middle of it and has to avoid getting too specific.
Yes, we're back to square one - somebody from within our own ranks is once again committing Hara Kiri and dragging the whole Industry down in the process!

Guadalupe isn't just around the corner where you can load your equipment into your car and go beach diving - to get there, you need a substantial boat and to go cageless, you need to start from a cage.
So who is the operator who has agreed to lend his infrastructure to this stupid undertaking? And what are the others going to do in order to dissuade him?
Undoubtedly, this will soon be revealed.

Fingers crossed that for once, the news will be good.