Shark Rescue - Video!

Silio: when he doesn't rescue Sharks or retrieve stolen cameras, he models for My Fiji Shark!

 

Behold!

 

 

So, was that Shark asking for help?

Who knows - but it sure looks that way, especially considering that she tried twice! And she definitely chose to come to the right person as Silio was personally trained by none other than our unforgotten Rusi, speaks Shark and knew exactly what to do!

 

Be it as it may, it was a really remarkable interaction.

This is a completely wild, large alpha predator choosing freely to peacefully interact with a human - which has incidentally also spared her weeks of pain, as the weighted line would have cut deeply into her mouth and left her permanently disfigured like Crook or Granma!

Seriously - how cool is that! 

And before you ask - yes that's a known individual.

Judging from her distinctive crooked smile, she appears to be a habitual raider of fishing lines, and we've accordingly named her Double Crook aka DC - because of the smile but also because of the petty thievery. 

Bold and friendly, she's prime adoption material, and I would not at all be astonished if Tashi Blue decided to add her to the lineup sooner rather than later - so keep watching this space!

Anyway, this is what we do!

Stay safe everybody - right now it's pretty grim, but we're all getting vaccinated and will definitely see you next year!

 

Do Bull Sharks have Friends? New Paper!

Spoiler: maybe yes maybe not!

Remember Mike's speculative hypothesis?

In brief, I opined that as their prey is comparatively scarce, evolution would select for large predatory Sharks to be solitary in order not to have to share their kills. 

But whereas that appears to be largely correct for Tigers and Whites, anecdotal evidence and some papers (and here) indicate that Bull Sharks appear to mostly travel in pairs or small groups, and I was eager to see whether our enormous data base could help shed further light on the issue. Yes our Shark feed is obviously an artificial aggregation - but I speculated that if certain individuals would preferentially turn up together, this might be a strong indicator that they might also be traveling together when not attending our dive.

The initial findings were promising.

The data showed some unequivocal, albeit rather weak long-term associations as illustrated e.g. in the following sociogram.

 

Sociogram depicting the social ties between individual bull sharks observed on the study site on ≥34 dives for the time period from 2011 (C). Only GAI values in the highest 30% were included to highlight the strongest associations between dyads, with thicker edges indicating higher GAIs for both individuals observed throughout the entire sampling period (red nodes), and individuals which were not observed throughout the entire sampling period (blue nodes) - click for detail.

 

Impressed? 

Me too, initially - but then came the crux with the bloody interpretation!

Did those Sharks really turn up together because they like each other? Or was it because their core ranges overlap with the Shark Reef Marine Reserve = they just happen to live in the vicinity? Or because they share some behavioral trait that makes them bolder/more curious/more opportunistic/weaker hunters = more prone to visit our feed? Or are they maybe the remnants of a cohort of siblings who stayed together in the river nursery and have traveled together ever since? Questions questions!

Short answer: who knows - which is kinda disappointing!

But, we now have a starting point.

Those numbers in the sociogram all correspond to known individual Sharks, and somebody could now invest some time into observing how they actually interact during the dive - and assuming that the visual observations confirm the initial evidence, one could then try and equip selected individuals with adequate sensors like cameras and/or say, business card tags to see what happens once the Sharks leave Shark Reef and/or take tissue samples to determine their relatedness, etc.

Yes that's a lot of work - but that's what we do, so keep watching this space!

Long story short, so far so good!

Enjoy the new paper! 

 

PS - Juerg here, courtesy of Tom.

IMO the semantics are a lot of splitting of hairs (= do we KNOW that they're not friends?), the more as I believe that some are, and that some (like Blunt and Maite) are very much the contrary - but then again who am I to say!

So thanks for the publicity, much appreciated!

PPS - another really nice piece here - well done!

More Poaching on Shark Reef!

Watch.

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Beqa Adventure Divers (@thefijisharkdive)

 

Damn those people.

I knew that little friendly red Grouper.

And those are some of our last Parrotfish, and seeing that dead Angelfish breaks my heart.

But at least Tashi Blue was able to save that little Turtle.

I know, it's not much, just a little Hawksbill - but it is something, and for that little Turtle it is everything. We've known her for many years and can only hope that she will make it.

And Fred the clam is happy, too! :)

 

The poachers are known and will be prosecuted.

And before you ask and/or start lecturing us in Fijian protocol and the like: no, they're by no means destitute and desperate. 

They all have jobs, and have done this for fun. 

 

And the other inevitable excuses are just that.

Shark Reef has been a tabu since 2004, and since the gazetting in 2014, the fishing ban is like any other law and needs to be respected - and no there's no need for special signage or the like: it's up to the fishermen to know what is legal and what not. And we are duty-bound, by law, to enforce the ban - and enforce it we will.

All our local communities know that and don't poach there, the more since for many years, the reef has provided them with spillover fish for their qoliqoli, hundreds of thousands of dollars in direct assistance, and jobs for their youth. 

But those folks are not from here and didn't even bother to follow protocol and ask for permission before fishing in somebody else's reefs - and lemme tell 'ya, over in Beqa that's a transgression punishable by bush knife, not just a bit of shouting!

So people, chill - and as a minimum, know the facts!

And Turtles are protected country-wide.

And everybody in Fiji knows that.

 

It's so bloody disheartening.

Hopefully, now that the first batch of vaccines is in country, tourism and the economy will slowly pick up and the poaching will subside - but from what we can see, the damage is enormous and will take years to mend.

For now, all we can do is to keep on fighting.

Oh well.

Onward and upward - nobody said it was gonna be easy.

 

To be continued.

 

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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.

 

Tashi Blue about Diving with Sharks!

Tashi and her babies - click for detail!

 

Great stuff!

 

This has happened today.

Our friends at Saving our Sharks are hosting a series of video talks with Shark diving operators, and BAD has somehow managed to be the first of the lineup. I am obviously biased, but I believe that Tashi Blue has done a fabulous job in representing us but above all, her epic My Fiji Shark project.

But you be the judge of that.

Without any further ado - enjoy!

And the gorditas?

They sure are cute and cuddly, but... :)

Heinous Robbery - Video!

Watch - story here!
And would that scene at 2:15 qualify as a true Shark selfie?

The perpetrator is a pesky and so far unnamed little guy.
Suggestions welcome - or better yet, officially name him yourself once we identify good permanent markers and Tashi puts him up for naming!

Anyway, it was epic.
Bravo, and a huge Vinaka Vakalevu to Silio for having retrieved the rig - and a big tip o' the hat to  Tovatec for their venerable but utterly phenomenal Galaxy 2500s that survived the ordeal completely unscathed! 

Enjoy!
 

Im Würgegriff von Plastik!

Für unsere Freunde aus der Schweiz!

Viel Spass beim Lesen.
And for you other folks out there - yup she's still up for adoption!

Two Years of Strap - Field Note!

2016-2018 - click for detail!

Remember that poor Shark back then in 2016?

We named her Strap and have kept tabs ever since.

And here comes the according Field Note documenting the initial worsening and then, thankfully, improvement in her situation all the way to the point where the strap did eventually burst and has since mostly fallen off .

My personal take-away?
First and foremost, this once again proves the value of our continuous long term monitoring where our humongous data base is documenting over 15 years of Shark diving and the life history of a whopping 250 individual Sharks!

And boy talk about being tough!

During the course of the whole ordeal, she never appeared to be particularly inconvenienced and  instead maintained her agility and continued to compete successfully during the aerial feeds. In fact I fully expect her to completely heal to the point where she will shortly look similar to Gillette who only upon very close inspection appears to have survived a very similar incident.

Intrigued?

Strap is up for adoption, so there - and don't forget to upgrade in order to receive your quarterly updates!

And because I can.
Here is the entire Field Note for your perusal - as always, great job by Juerg and for the first but certainly not last time, by Tashi Blue!

Please click for detail and, Enjoy!

Beqa Adventure Divers presents!

Thank you Tom.

As always he is delivering in spades.

Behold his awesome little promo video, and blog post about our latest conservation initiative, My Fiji Shark that illustrate perfectly his rapid progression from researcher to professional conservation photographer and scientific journalist to now also filmmaker and editor. 

Work with him!

As a quick reminder.

This is all about assisting Government in the implementation of two key commitments it has made at the 2017 Ocean Conference: Fiji-wide Shark and Ray conservation and management where stuff is happening behind the scenes; and improved coastal fisheries management where we have already embarked on an aggressive schedule of anti-poaching patrols together with the Ministry of Fisheries.

Big kudos to the project team.

Our stalwart Peni and Mans are looking back on close to a decade of scientific and awareness work for BAD, and it certainly shows both here but also in our publications and in the reviews where their passionate surface interval talks are consistently being praised by our customers.

Guys, Vinaka Vakalevu for your commitment, dedication and loyalty.

And then there is Tashi Blue.

Our indefatigable Conservation Director has hit the ground running, and My Fiji Shark is entirely her very own, very personal initiative from initial concept to weeks upon weeks of preparations to final implementation.
In fact she has, and continues to personally curate every single aspect from the stellar logo to having personally built the entire website including every single description of the Sharks, every single element of the Adoption Pack and every single Upgrade. And now that everything is up and running, she personally writes every single post on Facebook and Instagram and every single report, personally shoots and edits every single video, personally sources every single garment and bespoke jewelry and personally manages every aspect of outreach and marketing, like she will then personally oversee all disbursement and related conservation initiatives once they will finally eventuate. Talk about unbridled passion, meticulous attention to detail, utmost professionalism and total commitment!

Thank You. I'm proud of you. And I love you.

Anyway.

Enjoy Tom's video!

Please, Adopt Your Shark Now!
Thank you!
 

My Fiji Shark on Speak Your Mind!

Behold Peni and Tashi Blue on 16:55ff!

It goes without saying that I'm fucking proud.

Should you have been living under a rock for the past 6 months: this is obviously about our latest and greatest conservation initiative, MyFijiShark. And as Tashi has hinted, something is brewing - and you can rest assured that once anything eventuates, your contribution will lead to immediate and tangible results on the ground!

And for you in the know.

Yes this would finally be the ravishing Esquire - and I will most certainly leave it at that!

Anyway.

Enjoy - and please, Adopt Your Shark Now!

 

My Fiji Shark - Video!

Behold!

Great job by Natasha and by Dave of Magnum Productions.
Watch in 1080p and enjoy!



And, please, Adopt Your Shark Now - it is for a good cause!

Vinaka!

My Fiji Shark - Post by Tom!

Very nice as always!

Read this.

Tom is obviously a good pal and may be a tad biased - but this is really a good thing and if you haven't yet, please go over and explore the awesome website, courtesy of our indefatigable Head of Conservation and Program Coordinator Natasha.

And, please, Adopt Your Shark Now!

Vinaka!

PS - Martin here. Vinaka!

My Fiji Shark - Info!

Did you check out the website?

Like it? :)
The whole stellar project is the brain child of our new shareholder and newly minted Director of Conservation Tashi Blue who has personally developed the concept and then very much personally implemented all its components from coming up with the concept to coming up with the different perks and upgrades to designing and then programming the website and curating all the outreach via social media and mailings, to coordinating with and physically meeting our partners to taking the vast majority of images and writing all the personality descriptions - and the list goes on and on.
If all the raw passion and dedication are any indication, this will be a huge success!

So like promised.
This is how our probably rather surprising cooperation with the UNDP's Pacific Office has come about.

We were contacted by the UNDP several months ago.

The backdrop were the UN's Sustainable Development Goals in general and SDG 14 = Life Below Water in particular. 

They told us that they wanted to explore alternative solutions and financing mechanisms by partnering with the private sector as opposed to embarking on the usual NGO route, and that we had come to their attention due to our long track record in conservation and ecotourism.

We gladly agreed to a meeting.

Ever since the historic Fiji-led Ocean Conference (and here), we knew that something big was brewing and have been exploring avenues to lend a helping hand if and when Government would pull the trigger and start with the implementation. At stake are not only Fiji's Shark and Ray commitment but among several others, this specific pledge for delivering improved coastal fisheries management. 

Like I said yesterday, the SoPac is running out of fish, and Fiji is certainly no exception. 

Case in point, as Kerstin has been repeating her ground-breaking interviews, it has become sadly apparent that the situation has since deteriorated considerably whereby as the price of seafood keeps increasing,  overfishing and poaching especially here in Viti Levu have become ubiquitous. In essence, we are witnessing what has already happened elsewhere, i.e. that more and more previously artisanal subsistence fishermen have morphed into small-scale commercial fishermen, with locally devastating consequences - and like already stated, we surely cannot hope to succeed in conserving Shark populations if we continue to obliterate their prey and destroy their environment!

Possible solutions?

Look no further than this old post advocating community involvement and ecotourism, etc, etc - but of course the controversy about who really owns Fiji's traditional fishing grounds, or quoliqoli is far from being resolved and Government resources remain scarce.

Anyway.

Sorry it is so long, and for the many links - but as always in the real world it is complicated!

Back to My Fiji Shark.

We did meet several times and after some lengthy brainstorming, we resolved to focus on two principal projects

• Assisting Government in implementing and enforcing any upcoming Shark and Ray management and conservation measures. This would involve launching a nifty and innovative campaign and likely cost approx. FJD 20,000.00 in its first year, after which the fines collected would hopefully cover the costs.

• Developing and funding several community-based 5-year pilot projects that would trial some simple yet hopefully effective coastal fisheries management measures, this in view of hopefully upscaling them to national level if successful. This would cost approx. FJD 50,000.00 per year and most certainly require some co-funding by other quarters.

• Any surplus could then be set aside and used for our long-term goal of establishing a more permanent Shark research presence in Fiji, this possibly including a proper field station but also research internships etc. But that's another story altogether.

And the funding?

Very much in line with the new trend towards mobilizing the private sector to assist in Ocean Finance (read this!), we resolved to create My Fiji Shark as the vehicle for collecting those funds.
Tashi Blue and our marine scientists will run and manage the adoption program, whereas the UNDP will be acting as facilitators. With such a partner, you can obviously rest assured that this is certainly not aimed at enriching BAD or its staff and directors!

As to why you should adopt.

Needless to say that on top of having very specific and measurable aims, this program is unique insofar as you are not adopting some theoretical animal but real individuals with totally distinct personalities who we intimately know and love and you, too, may have already personally met!
And let's face it, having your very own Bull Shark is badass, too! :)

Anyway, the universe of potential adopters is limitless.
In fact, so far, adopters range from parents wanting to give a very special gift to their children to birthday presents to people interested in marine conservation to our clients and volunteers all the way to people who simply find it a cool thing to do - and we're also talking to our first corporate contact, so fingers crossed!

So there you have it - sure hope you like it.

And if so, Adopt Your Shark Now!

Thank you very much!
FB here, Instagram here!