Drones - breaching GWS next?

Nice!

Story here.

Which obviously begs the question, who is gonna regale us with equivalent footage of GWS from places like South Africa!

Eagerly standing by!

Great Stuff from Lupe!

Great toy: Self Propelled Shark Cage

Check this out.
Lawrence was showing it around at DEMA and I must say, once again this is as good as it gets. It apparently features a plethora of known male GWs (plus a new one which is great news!) and like I said last time, I'm really impressed at how totally mellow and unfazed the Sharks appear even when the SPSC approaches from below.
If I remember correctly, I was told that this has been shot by Erick Higuera on a Canon 5D whilst Lawrence was piloting in the back.

¡Me gusta mucho!

Well done Andoni!

He has posted a really pretty and well narrated travelogue of this year's trip to Fiji by the Basque (I think) dive club URTABI.
Despite having been skunked by the horrible weather, the divers seem to have had a great time and the images are truly remarkable - and a testimony to the fact that provided that one has the required talent, one doesn't necessarily need to be sitting in the pit to come up with excellent results!

I even notice some sequences of Maite (e.g on 08:22), the big and mellow female that was named on that occasion. Maite is now a regular and Andoni will be pleased to hear that as the yearly Running of the Bulls is picking up momentum, she has turned up on today's first Shark dive of 2010.

Enjoy!

Well done Bill!

Remember Bill Fisher?

He was with us in 2006 and wrote a glowing report of his experience in Shark Diver Magazine, garnished with great pictures by Terry Goss.

Bill and Joe Romeiro have teamed up to form 333 Productions and judging from their page on YouTube, they've literally been "everywhere".

I was really excited to find this 2006 video featuring not only a feisty (and much smaller) Scarface (the one with the crooked mouth), but also our biggest Lemon Whitetail. See the black dot on her nose? That's typical for Sicklefin Lemons - check out yer pics from Tiger Beach!
And there's also footage of Adi, or Princess, one of our smaller Tigers, filmed on Aqua Trek's dive (we don't grab).
Very cool!

Fiji Sharks-2006


But the real reason for this post is that 333 Productions have just won the Emerging Underwater Filmmaker category in this year's BLUE Ocean Film Festival!
Here's the trailer of their winning submission Death of a Deity.



Well done guys, and keep up the good, pro-Shark work!

The other Camera!

Finally!

I knew Lawrence was behind me when i filmed Rusi's mouth-feed - and here it is, on 1:02!
Love that Hi-def, gotta get me one!

Enjoy!

Feeding Tiger Shark - 2

This time from Fiji!

Shark Diver have discovered this astonishing document which carries the description this video was shot in February 2008 in Fiji by a guy I know. They throw dead horse and cows in the ocean, so sharks will eat them (Fiji is small so they'd rather have sharks take care of the bodies instead of burying them. Nice video, a bit gruesome. Enjoy!



Difficult to say where it was shot, tho the sizable piece of land in the background may indicate that it was off one of the main islands.
Anyway, very cool!

As per my comment on Underwater Thrills, there's plausible but so far unsubstantiated anecdotal evidence that Fiji's Tiger Sharks have learned to capitalize on the periodic floods during the wet season by aggregating at the river mouths.

2009 is the year where our Bull Shark research is gradually been extended to the principal rivers. It will start with TEK, i.e. obtaining Traditional Ecological Knowledge through interviews with the local population. Promising rivers will then be analyzed to a greater degree, mainly with the aim of identifying the local Bull Shark nurseries. For that, we will selectively deploy acoustic receivers coupled with the tagging of pregnant females.

The Tiger Shark aggregation being a testable hypothesis, we may well decide to go ahead and divert a couple of tags and put them on our Tigers instead. Not decided yet (that's up to Juerg), but I shall keep you posted as things unfold. As always, it's going to be a matter of priorities and of available resources both in terms of money and time. Keep in mind that research money is scarce, Juerg is already mega-busy without having to add yet another species and also, that we're trying to run a dive shop on top of that all.

But I sure would like to do it!
As always, keep watching this space!

FYoS - Great Job by Stanley!

I'm indebted to Stan.

Stanley Simpson is Fiji's up-and-coming young media star and he's been behind the Fiji Shark Conservation and Awareness Project all the way from its inception.

First, he published a very cool and very pro-Shark spread in the January issue of Fiji's premier lifestyle magazine, Mai Life. In February, he then approached us with the idea of a Shark special on Fiji's first private TV channel, MaiTV where he hosts his show Simpson@Seven.
Stan prides himself on his thorough research and investigative Journalism and after having seen what he had done in the magazine, we were more than glad to extend an invitation to come and experience our dive. Timing was particularly fortuitous as Ron and Valerie were just visiting and very graciously accepted to sit down for an interview.

This is now the result and all I can say is Well done Stan, I'm impressed!
Not only because he insisted on coming personally despite being a diving newbie and despite his good old-fashioned Fijian galeophobia (yes that would be the correct medical term!). But what really impressed the hell out of me is how he has managed to highlight the topic from various angles and avoid any sensationalism whilst still conveying a sense of adventure, awe and excitement. Being the one with the big mouth, any factual, or errors in "messaging" are mine, not his.

That's clearly a testament to his maturity and to his professionalism - but it's also a testament to Fiji, a Country where people have lived with and revered Sharks since time immemorial and where the Ocean with its beauty and its hazards is just a fact of life and Sharks are not subjected to the hysteria that is so prevalent in our Kaivailangi culture.
In fact, local lore has it that Shark attacks are merely Dakuwaqa's inevitable, and just punishment for some misdeed by the victim and consequently, they barely make the news and certainly don't deter the villagers from going to the beach.

Now, about "that" footage.
I've shot it in 2007 and blogged about it shortly thereafter. And I stand by what I said then, that it depicts an act of reckless showmanship and that it will remain a one-off - which it has.

Rusi took the decision on the spur of the moment on a particularly mellow dive (see, she's completely relaxed and doesn't even deploy the nictitating membrane - if at all, she looks mightily surprised) and I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Don't get me wrong - it's not an excuse, it's just what happened on that dive.
Still, those are really unique images and for us in the know, they showcase Rusi's unparalleled Shark handling skills and the special relationship he has developed with our biggest and friendliest Tiger Shark Scarface.

But once again: this is a big no-no and pretty darn stupid on top of it - please, do not try this at home!

Having said this: Enjoy!

Back to Sharky Matters!

Cocos rocks!

I used to go there in the 80ies, way before the Hunters and the like (anybody remember Mary Crowley and her Ocean Voyages? The Victoria af Carlstadt? Epic!) and continue to be drawn back by its unique charm and profusion of Sharks and Fish.
That's where I saw my very first Whale Shark, my first big green Mobula (which I mistook for a green Manta Ray) and just recently, a rarely seen male Silvertip.

Alas, the huge schools of Hammerheads are probably gone forever - but it still remains one of the must-see destinations for any serious Shark aficionado.

Case in point, this spectacular video.

Notice anything? No, not the comment which is unfortunate - the images!
See the claspers? That's an elusive male Tiger Shark, and a very good sized one on top of that!
What a great find!

Tigers are not really new to Cocos.
If memory serves me right, I remember reading that Hans Hass saw them on his 1953 Xarifa expedition - but then, apparently, they disappeared. Same-same for the Silvertips that were abundant (and quite a nuisance) in the 80ies and have vanished since, only to stage a tenuous comeback in recent years.

Time for me to go back there!

The Daredevils

Valerie just sent me this lovely pic of our Bulls she took in March and a short post reminds me that she and Ron have been part of the underwater world for more than 40 years.

They are my Heroes and we've been best friends forever, and ever since 2002 when we sat down on the upper deck of Pelagian to discuss the first draft of the Fiji Project, they've been enthusiastic mentors of Shark Reef Marine Reserve and regularly pop in to gauge its progress and discuss its future direction - and of course, to have a great time with the Sharks!

They are the kindest and most generous people ever, always willing to share their limitless experience and unique insights garnered from a lifetime of interacting and trying to protect Sharks - and yet, nobody could be more modest, humble and self-effacing, and quite unaware of the huge influence they have had in touching the lives of so many, yours truly included. To me, that is the ultimate sign of true greatness.

And whenever you should marvel at some "feat" by one of the Shark people out there, keep in mind this: in all likelihood, Ron and Val have already done the very same thing decennia ago!
Have a look below and you'll understand what I mean - the difference being that back then, there was no such thing as hi-tech, foolproof gear and safety divers ensuring quasi total protection, and no World Wide Web and YouTube enabling an instant replay for the masses at large. It was adventure, exploration and daring pure and simple, sometimes reckless, always intriguing - but always springing from a deep knowledge, unbridled curiosity and deep love for the Blue Wilderness.

Truly, nobody, and I really mean: NOBODY out there comes even close!

And yet, do you really know who they are?

Here's a "curriculum" from one of the websites.
Yes it's long - but so are their life and the list of their achievements!
It doesn't even mention all of their successes in Conservation, be it the protection of Great Whites, Southern Right Whales and Grey Nurses in Australia or the countless other initiatives where they act as vocal mentors and supporters, e.g. in Komodo or with us in Fiji.

OK, enough ..... Check this out and be amazed!

Ron Taylor was born in March 1934 and Valerie in November 1935. They married in December 1963. Ron began his diving in 1952, Valerie a few years later in 1956.

Like most others at the time, Ron was interested in spearfishing and conservation was not an active movement in Australia until the late 1960's. Ron Taylor had another interest, underwater photography.

He spent almost as much time with his cameras as he did with a spear gun. In 1960 Valerie began spear fishing, eventually winning several Australian championships for ladies in both spear fishing and scuba.

Ron's first award for photography came in 1962, from Encyclopedia Britannica, for a news film titled, Playing With Sharks. Ron Taylor's introductory underwater 16mm film, Shark Hunters, was filmed with diving partner Ben Cropp and showed the first underwater scenes of Grey Nurse sharks and a search for a shark repellent. It was an enormous hit.

Ron received the Underwater Society of America award, the NOGI statuette for Education and Sports, in 1966.
In 1965 Ron won the World Spear fishing Championship held in Tahiti, the first and only Australian to do so. It came after winning the Australian championship for four years in succession at a time when competition was keenest.

By 1966 they had realized that they could capture the underwater world on film and cause it no harm.

The Taylors then began winning honours for their films. While Ron shoots film and video, Valerie concentrates on stills. Over the years the Taylors have produced and worked on numerous feature films and TV documentaries. Barrier Reef, Taylor 's Inner Space and Blue Wilderness were all television series made by the Taylor 's. Blue Water White Death, Jaws, Orca, The Blue Lagoon, Return to the Blue Lagoon, Honeymoon in Vegas are some of the feature film they were involved in. Wild,Wild World of Animals included Taylor Shark sequences; TV specials include Operation Shark Bite; The Wreck of the Yongala; Sea Lovers; In the Realm of the Shark; The Rescue, a Disney feature; In the Footsteps of Mawson; Blue Wilderness; Shadow over the Reef; Mysteries of the Jungle Sea; the tiger shark sequences in The Island Of Dr Moreau. They concentrated on working with sharks because the footage sold well, and they had to make a living.

In 1967 (on the Belgian Expedition) Ron devised an idea of a diver wearing a full length chain-mail suit over a wet suit as possible protection against shark bite. It was more than a decade before the suit was actually made and tested. The result appeared as a National Geographic Magazine cover picture. Although the idea worked well, it was not financially practical, nor necessary, for the average diver.

In 1967 the Taylor's accompanied the Belgian Scientific Expedition to the Great Barrier Reef as advisors and underwater cinematographers, for a period of six months. They worked between Lady Musgrave Island and Lizard Island. It was the first major scientific expedition filming underwater in Australia, and in 35mm. Ron had began filming on this expedition with his own Eclair 16/35 mm movie camera, in a housing he had recently constructed.

In 1969 the Taylors formed their company, Ron Taylor Film Productions Pty Limited. In the same year they co-filmed the feature film, Blue Water, White Death (a Must-Buy!!!) - which was 'an extremely exciting adventure' swimming with hundreds of sharks in bottomless water in the Indian Ocean. Ron and Valerie appeared as themselves being two of the four main characters along with Stan Waterman and Peter Gimbel in this feature length documentary. Filmed in Techniscope which is half-frame 35mm later 'blown-up' to Cinemascope for the release prints. They were responsible for bringing this film crew to South Australia to search and film the great white shark when efforts to find a White shark failed in South African waters and the film was without an ending. They got such an ending in Australia - the film was a hit pre-Jaws.

In 1969 Valerie began underwater stills photography.
Ron built the underwater housings for her cameras which were, at the time, far in advance of anything available in stores. With her art experience Valerie quickly become one of the world's top female underwater photographers, a position she holds to this day.

During 1970-71, they did the 2nd unit underwater filming and directing for the 39 episode Australian TV series Barrier Reef for the same company with Lee Robinson that had success with "Skippy - The Bush Kangaroo".

In 1972-73 they produced Taylor's Inner Space, a series of 13 TV films, showing their encounters with the marine life of Australia and The Coral Sea. These films were sold throughout the world with considerable success.

Meanwhile Valerie's stills had featured in other leading international book publications, Readers Digest, Stern, Life. Valerie was contracted to shoot stills in the Virgin Islands for Time-Life's American Wilderness series of books, and had a major cover and feature in National Geographic with a Great Barrier Reef story obtained after a year of constant work.

During 1974 with Rodney Fox they successfully did the live shark action underwater sequences in Australia for the first Jaws movie.
(Check here - the "small person" was a professional jockey (!) who got a crash course in diving by the Taylors before being dumped into that flimsy and completely inadequate cage!)

Ron and Valerie have since done the underwater filming on many features and documentaries, such as "Orca," and The Blue Lagoon starring Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins in Fiji November 1979. Both the Taylors have won numerous awards for their underwater photography and videography.

In 1979 Ron finally had his idea of a suit of chain mail made in the USA.
Valerie had to wear it when it was found the suit was too small for Ron.
Another television special features Valerie testing the effectiveness of the suit against shark bite, was titled "Operation Shark Bite."

In 1981 while on a dive trip the Taylor's discovered mining claims on several Coral Sea Islands. They brought this to the attention of the Federal Government and saved these remote bird breeding islands from what would have been disastrous for hundreds of thousands of birds and turtles. Valerie was honored in 1981 by the Underwater Society of America where she received the NOGI award for Arts, and joined Ron as the first husband and wife team to be awarded a NOGI.

1982 saw the release of Wreck of the Yongala, a 47 minute TV film, showcasing what was then the most spectacular of all shipwrecks in shallow water (less than 33 meters deep). The film was instrumental in having the Yongala (and its marine life) made a protected area from fishing.

Also in 1982 the Taylor's lobbied directly and by the media both the Queensland Government and National Parks to make the Potato Cod of Cormorant Pass near Lizard Island known today as The Cod Hole protected.

Valerie has been bitten twice and nipped once by sharks, without permanent injury, she considers such encounters as part of the lifestyle. Three times in 30 years is 'not too bad under the circumstances'.

Four months of 1982 was spent in the Persian-Arabian Gulf, where the Taylors filmed the underwater scenes for six educational films featuring marine life that existed before it was later largely destroyed in the war. On the 4th October 1986, Valerie was in Holland where she was appointed Rider of the Order of the Golden Ark, by his Royal Highness, Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands. This award was for work in marine conservation.

Later in Sweden she finalized the picture selection for a coffee table book, The Realm of the Shark, a biographical account of their professional lives between the 1950's, until the 1990's. In January 1991, they went to Antarctica. Ron later produced a one hour film In the Footsteps of Mawson. In April that year, they joined Jaws author Peter Benchley, and Stan Waterman, filming once again white Sharks, but in Western Australia. This TV special documented the decline of the species world wide. Twice during 1991, Valerie Taylor was a guest of Jean Michel Cousteau, first on board their boat Alcyone during the filming of their special on white sharks and later when Valerie swam with spotted dolphins in the wild. The Taylors supplied some of their pictures to help illustrate the Cousteau coffee table book Great White Shark.

In January 1992, they returned to South Africa for filming on the National Geographic Blue Wilderness series. This time they tested an electronic shark repelling barrier, and also inadvertently became the first people to film white pointer sharks underwater without a cage, a necessity when the arranged cage was lost in a storm.
Shadow over the Reef, an adventure diving with giant whale Sharks was filmed at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia in 1993. This film was instrumental in preventing the test drilling for oil inside the Ningaloo marine park.

In February 1996, Ron shot an entire white shark documentary protected only by a Shark Pod repeller.

In April 1997 Valerie won the prestigious American Nature Photographer of the year award for her stunning photograph of a whale shark swimming with mouth open alongside her nephew Jono Heighes at Ningaloo Marine Park. The award sponsored by The American Press Club. Valerie, is also an accomplished artist, a talent that set her off on her first career as a comic strip artist with The Silver Jacket.

The Taylor's documentary film, Shark Pod was also completed in 1997, featuring their successfully trials with the electronic device (invented in South Africa by the Natal Sharks Board) against White pointer, Tiger, Great hammerhead and other shark species. The Shark Pod film received The Jury Award at the Antibes Underwater Festival, France, a high honor and judged by their peers.

After over 50 years in the "business," Ron and Valerie's fame keeps rising.

The Taylor's latest series of three TV films In the Shadow of the Shark is the story of their diving lives. It has been sold to Channel Seven in Australia and to more than 100 countries. Ron and Valerie have also authored three coffee book tomes, The Underwater World of Ron and Valerie Taylor, The Realm of the Shark, and Blue Wilderness (which won the 1998 Gold Palm Award for images at the 25th World Festival of Underwater pictures in Antibes France) and Valerie has also been working on her second children's book entitled, The Mermaid Who Loved Sharks.

In 1997, Valerie was awarded the American Nature Photographer of Year. The following year, she received the Golden Palm Award at Antibes, France, and in 2000, she became an inaugural Member of the Women Divers Hall of Fame. Valerie was also honored with two distinguished National titles - the senior Australian Achiever of the year 2002, the country's second highest national award and the Centenary Medal. She was also knighted by Prince Bernhard at the Palace in Holland for her work in the field of conservation. In 2003 Ron became a Member in the Order of Australia.

Valerie and Ron have been honored by the Wild Life Conservation Society of Australia for their work in conservation and at a ceremony in Parliament House NSW, Valerie Taylor was also made the Patron of the National Parks Association of NSW, Australia.

2002 Pelagian Voyage of Discovery, with Ron & Val, Stan Waterman, Bob & Dinah Halstead, Douglas D. Seifert, Chip & Susan Scarlett, Capt. Thomas Ridenour and Lam

Nice Footage!

Here's a short clip from The Shark Dive by Aqualuminous Production.
Great footage, impressive video quality!

CNN again!

I've blogged about it before but I'm compelled to applaud CNNs Planet in Peril again.

This time, it's a short trailer featuring correspondent Lisa Ling and, alas, Cocos Island.
That's the place where I started getting "serious" about Sharks way back there in the 80ies, before the Hunters and Aggressors and the like.
Talk about schooling Hammerheads by the thousands! Really!

It is just heartbreaking seeing video of longlines killing, I believe, Galapagos Sharks coming from that place - and this despite of all of the money going to Costa Rica's National Parks by way of the park fees collected from visiting vessels and divers!
Want to really know the whole chilling story of what's happening to the Sharks of the Eastern Tropical Pacific? Then you may want to download "At Rock Bottom", WildAid's comprehensive compilation of the region's desolate state of affairs.

You can show your concern and solidarity by following Felix and Wolfgang Leander's invitation to get involved.
Their cult-blog "Oceanic Dreams" outlines two possible ways: vote for Cocos to be included into the new 7 Wonders of the World; or else, vote for it to be a nominee in the American Express Members Project.

Thank you and well done guys - and lady!

Mexico: Big Shark!

Two surfers have been killed and a third one injured in an recent spate of Shark incidents on Mexico's Pacific coast. The token Shark "expert" believes the reason may partially be "unusually cool sea-surface temperatures due to the La Nina phenomenon" bringing the Sharks closer to shore.

Well, yes: "may be".

Then again, "may be" not.
TOPP's fabulous real-time tracks sure point otherwise. And there have been plenty of "eventless" La Ninas between 2008 and the last recorded Mexican attacks in 1972-1973.
Aint "science" by experts just a wonderful thing.

In the aftermath, following a ceremonial shark massacre and community panic one expert described as "everything you saw with the movie 'Jaws,' only in Spanish," mania still flares.

Because as always, the locals know best: there's one helluva Big Shark lurking out there, chomping on Mexican flagged ships.
And on the token expert trying to flee the scene.

Mako Shark Predation finally filmed!

Source

History has been made.
With the aid of the world's fastest underwater scooter, "Animal Grappler" Erwin Marlin and his team have succeeded in capturing live video of a Mako Shark catching its prey at full speed in the open ocean!
This has to be seen to be believed!

Proudly powered by Moose Horn Beer.

Tiger Shark - and more!

One year, and 130,00-odd views later, Dominique's re-edit of some of my images remains a hot item on YouTube. I just love the comments!
For the record, I didn't choose that music and most images are from the "naughty file", a collection of unusual, albeit really harmless -and to us, rather endearing- situations from over 500 dives on The Shark Dive.



And here's another one of my all-time favorites by a group of intrepid Ozzie clients - really amazing, and very lucky too, especially considering the limited time they spent with us. As you can see, the Sharks are usually much more mellow!


Enjoy!

BAD Footage

No, you got me completely wrong: it is us who is BAD!

This is just a short post to alert our US friends to the airing of "Shark God", a documentary that David Ireland, the Wildlife Man, has filmed with us in 2007.
It will be shown on Discovery's High Definition Channel (hence not the "normal" Discovery Channel) on 17/4/08 at 8pm and at 11pm, on the 18/4/08 at 3am and 4pm and again on 19/4/08 at 10am EST.

Judging from his toothy website featuring a vast array of death-defying encounters with -to name but a few- ferocious Reptilians, angry Rhino and killer Boars and of course, giant and mostly lethal Marine Monsters, David seems to be quite a character. And lucky, too!!!
Once again, he doesn't disappoint, as, and I cite: "Sea God" is arguably the most extreme shark film ever produced and one of the " Wildlife Man`s" greatest achievements."
Whow!!!

Actually, the Staff tell me that they very much enjoyed the man and the shoot and that David is really a very nice, mellow and professional bloke with a passion for Shark Conservation.

Did the Shark God Dakuwaqa drag him down to an untimely, and watery death, I hear you ask with bated breath?
Of course, ah aint telling!

Enjoy!

Ta da !!!

Great News!

It has taken weeks of cajoling and subservient supplication - but the Hawaii Dream Team have finally agreed to roll out the Results of last month's Fish Count. They however ask me to include the caveat that this is work in progress that may remain in a state of change.

I cite:
"But does one ever complete such a project? It is already ramifying into realms of possible new species description, biogeographical considerations, faunal and habitat changes over time, etc. (....)

Obviously further research is required at SRMR to fully assess the faunal diversity.
Considering the constraints of observer time and survey methods utilized, the 381 fish species recorded during a brief window of time in a limited area is an impressive number and indicative of a rich and diverse fish fauna.
The shark population at SRMR would appear to be supported by a solid foundation at lower trophic levels."

Besides featuring several Range Extensions and very possibly, some new Undescribed Species, the List is a treasure trove of supplemental information that can be accessed by clicking on the small links in the lower right corner of the pictures.
Having promised not to embarrass John with further accolades, I must however insist in commending Rob Whitton for setting up a phenomenal, instructive and user-friendly website - way, way better than we could have ever imagined or hoped for!
Whow!!!

We all are obviously incredibly proud and unendingly thankful.
Guys, from the bottom of our hearts, Vinaka Vakalevu!

Bull Shark Mania!

The prime Bull Shark season is in full swing and the first batches of killer shots for 2008 are already starting to populate the world wide web.


The Running of the Bulls has exceeded even our wildest anticipations, with over 30 Bull Sharks turning up on every dive. Our record so far: 36 fish heads gone in 28 minutes, then the fish bin was empty and the show over.
With the exception of Kinky and Long John who usually turn up later in the year (beats me why, but that's the pattern), all of the usual suspects have already made an appearance and are busy teaching the proper etiquette -don't rush, come in from the left- to the newbies.
Word seems to be spreading that Shark Reef is the place to be and the numbers of newcomers are truly staggering, ranging from several big females to dozens of sub-adults fresh from the nursing areas. This is a big challenge for the feeders as especially the small teenage males display much, eh, attitude and always try to rush in for a quick snap. Makes Whitenose, our longest lasting regular male, look placid by comparison!
Talk about intense!

Any Tiger Sharks?
You bet, especially huge and mellow Scarface, always an awesome and amazing experience.

Also present Whitetail the Lemon Shark who doesn't stop getting bigger and loves spooking the guests. Giant Groupers Ratu Rua and Ratu Tolu with their escort of Golden Trevallies. And all of the "lesser" characters, amongst which for the first time an elusive male (!) Silvertip Shark and of course the ever troublesome Gray Reef Shark duo of Bevis and Tootsie.

Juerg of course is having one hell of a time.
The adjacent reefs are littered with acoustic receivers and the data are coming in fast and furious. Plus, we're learning about dominance, field testing the latest generation of sat tags, evaluating our huge database and ever refining our procedures.
All very very cool, and loads of fun in the process!

And what about the other reefs out there?
Despite having been pummeled by the tail ends of not one, but two Tropical Cyclones that sandblasted some of the popular dive sites like Side Street and one of the wrecks and despite the mild La Nina conditions favoring an outbreak of Crown of Thorns Starfish, Beqa Lagoon never ceases to provide for exhilarating coral dives and amazing encounters.

Take this little guy for example, one of maybe a dozen ever photographed worldwide.
Dubbed the Hairy, or Irish Setter Ghost Pipefish, it is so elusive that it hasn't even been described, i.e. scientifically named yet!

The pictures in this blog are from patsOn 2.0's fabulos Blog "dreams and nightmares of beqa lagoon". PatsOn was with us at the beginning of January, not a photo pro by any stretch of the immagination and best described as "self effacing": but what a truly gifted photographer!
Do you speak Russian? Me neither, but Alta Vista helped me to at least get the gist ("Benga of lagoons awaits you!") of the informative, emotional and humorous descriptions.

All I can say is: Whow!!!
Very, very well done and спасибо vakalevu!

Thank you!

2007 has been Beqa Adventure Divers' most amazing year yet.

Despite the political upheavals and the discouraging -and unneccessary- travel advisory warnings and after a frightening dip in dive bookings in early January, the year started with a bang as we were named Fiji's Best Dive Operator, a wonderful surprise and a great honor. Like last year's glowing report by the Lonely Planet, the AON Awards are not based on often questionable self-promotion but are instead a true peer review by other local Tourism Operators.

On the Conservation front, we were finally able to expand the protected area of Shark Reef Marine Reserve by signing on yet another local community, the huge village of Deuba with their enormous fishing grounds. We've named the resulting 30-mile protected coastline the Fiji Shark Corridor and are very confident that it comprises most of the territories of our smaller Reef Sharks and Bull Sharks, but probably also those of our resident Tiger Sharks.

And, to my utter surprise and delight, we're likely to post our first ever small profit!
This despite having decided to secure our uncompromising quality standards by replacing our 3-year old engines and most of our dive gear, hiring a high-profile Dive Instructor and paying out a whopping 15 grand in bonuses to our loyal, incomparable BAD boys and girls.
Also, Village payments are likely to top $ 35,000.-, more than double last year's.

That all was only possible thanks to you, our loyal customers!
Along with scores of diving VIPs, more than 3,000 intrepid sharkaholics braved the doomsday scenarios and their very own personal Angst to pay a vist to our toothy friends and thus make a valuable contribution to Shark Conservation.
Thank you so much for that!

Many of you then took the time to post your experience on the web, often a funny and exhilarating read, let alone fabulous footage and photos.
Did I find a single complaint? Of course not!
Here's a small selection of what's out there, well worth having a peek at:

- Personal reports:
. Kevin Baldacchino
. Sam and Andy
. "Blue Legend"
. Tom Huck (......!)
. Darren Frost and Kerry Stephens
. "adiver69"
. Greg Davis
. Minna and Justin
. Michael Patrick O'Neill
. "Home or Away"
. Aidan and Danni
. Emma + Mark

- Group Reports:
. Shark Diving International
. Academic Treks

- Reviews:
. Dive Site Directory
. Dive the World

- Articles:
. Underwater Australasia
. XRay Magazine
. The Independent
. NZ Herald

- Research
. Brunnschweiler, Earle

- Images (just one of many many many....)
. Pterantula

I wish you a prosperous and adventure-filled 2008!

Must Buy!

I did not realize it then - but that red cruise ship sinking in Antarctica on November 23 had previously been the Lindblad Explorer.

That's the ship where I first met Ron and Valerie Taylor 30 years ago.
There was Bengt Danielsson from the Kon Tiki, big Mike McDowell was the Cruise Director, Jeremiah Sullivan was in charge of diving and Ron would take down a fat american lady to dive on (!) the anchor chain, where she would spend a grand total of 20 minutes happily snapping away at passing fish. She had just bought herself a new underwater housing and was complaining that the strobe, a brand-new, state-of-the-art Oceanic 2001, wasn't working.
Ron, then at the very top of his game, smiled his ever patient, humble smile and asked: "Did you switch it on?"
Of course she hadn't.

I adored Ron. Of course, like everybody else, I fell in love with Valerie.
I did my first wreck dive on the Coolidge, barely escaped a tribal war in Kiriwina, bought a trolling lure on Tikopia, got stitched up by a sword seller in Suva and later harrassed by the gay manager of Fiji's Mana Island Resort.
A memorable trip. Still beats me why I ever went back to Fiji.

Valerie then cooked me the first of her delicious dinners in their lovely home in Sydney (the last one being when she and Brenda Adkison torched my kitchen in Pacific Harbour) and we've been best friends ever since. They are the most wonderful, humble, loving people ever.
Ron and Val have been involved in the Fiji Shark Project ever since we discussed its outline on the back deck of Pelagian during the 2002 Voyage of Discovery, one of many memorable expeditions we've since done together.
I owe them my first lessons in underwater photography ("get close") and videography ("aim and press the red button"), thousands of insights into shark behaviour ("tiger sharks are sweet") and our very best marketing endorsement.


But above all, I owe them my first introduction to the wonderful world of the Shark.
Their epic movie "Blue Water White Death" showcases some of the most dramatic, jaw-dropping shark footage ever filmed, never to be repeated again. It has been finally released on DVD after having been lost in CBS' vaults for several decennia.

A must buy!

Ron and Valerie will be with us in February for the running of the Bulls.

A Miracle, Culture Shock, Sex, Mayo, Midwest, Sailing and DEMA. And Jam!

First the Good News:

Manasa is making a miraculous comeback after a near-fatal Heart Seizure!

Expect Papa to be back on board shortly, where he will continue to entertain, frighten, amuse and intrigue you. As for being allowed to go back to his beloved Sharks, fingers crossed! Because that's where he belongs!

Our heartfelt thanks go to the Suva Private Hospital, Dr. Pawar and especially, Dr. Ian Linton who flew over from Oz to zap him back to life. And to all of you who were kind enough to send him your support and best wishes.
Vinaka Vakalevu, from the bottom of our hearts!

With Andrew over in Orlando for DEMA (Booth 2049 - and don't miss our brand-new spectacular edit at Gary Adkison's presentation!), the Staff are bravely manning the fort. The current Indians hail from frigid Moskow - talk about culture shock, both ways!
Будем!

When I rushed over at the beginning of October, I couldn't resist hopping in to check out who was still around.
The bulls were still plentiful but kind of standoffish and immagine my surprise to discover the first tell-tale cuts on Crook (click on image) and Granma who both turned up with male escorts!
According to our database, that would be at least one month early. After last year's mild El Nino, Fiji is experiencing a mild La Nina phenomenon and the water was warmer than expected. Are we maybe witnessing an early mating season? Does that mean that they'll be back early, too?
A Xmas running of the bulls?

In any event, we're ready.
Juerg is coming for a full three months in December to conduct an array of experiments and lectures; John Earle will do a new fish count; Gary and Brenda will host several film productions and generally be their usual combination of Wisdom, Chaos, Love, Testosterone and Midwestern Heritage - as in toasted Peanut Butter- Bacon- Lettuce- Mayo- Camembert sandwich with plenty of Ketchup! And Jam!

All-in-all, plenty of opportunities for everyone to learn heaps whilst having loads of fun! And for you image hunters out there: January and February are hot, I mean HOT, with heaps of action, warm water, often calm seas, sunshine and good viz. This is when the pros flock in to get the killer shots (and inevitably succeed).
Need I say more? Drop us a line and book your dive!

And last but not least: there's a feisty newcomer!
She hasn't hand fed yet but judging from the way she's been courting Rusi, it's only a matter of time until she joins the ranks of the regulars. We've named her Topsail, for obvious reasons.


Welcome to the Club young Lady!