Sharks vs Humpback Whale!

Wow.

Remember this paper about Bulls killing a Whale?

Now, some Bull Sharks (and possibly Tigers and OWTs?) appear to have attacked and killed a Humpback calf in Haapai, Tonga. Very interesting - and big kudos to the good folks at Whale Discoveries for their impassioned and respectful report.

Shark ID - Help wanted!

These are Bulls Sharks - click for detail!

Check this out!

What are those Sharks among those Grey Reefies?

Methinks Dusky/Galapagos (but possibly Bronzie?) and.... Pigeye (!!!) - the latter because she doesn't feel like a Bull, and because I read that from C. amboinensis, the bull shark differs in its lower, less erect first dorsal fin and higher, more erect second dorsal fin. The ratio of first:second dorsal height is 3:1 or less in C. leucas, but over 3:1 in C. amboinensis.

Opinions please!

JSD - David?

Ian - not over yet!

Source.

Shit.

Looks like Ian is gonna hit Tonga after all.

The hiatus over the ocean is lending it new vigor, and it is now anticipated to develop into a Cat 2, turn back East and home in on Vava'u and Ha'apai.

We will get some rain and South-Easterly winds and swell.

Good luck my friends!

Shark fishing in Tonga!

Shark fins in Vava'u - report here.

Remember?

I just stumbled upon this.

The Tongans do eat (great quantities of) pretty much anything, among which Sharks, so I'm not too sure about the allegation that the Sharks are being finned -  but then again, read this!

Apart from the usual factual errors, the petition does contain some reported export numbers that may be useful for making comparisons despite most certainly being too low due to under-reporting.

That was only 4 companies with only a handful of boats. 

So what about those 22 Taiwanese vessels and their impact.

Likely not much when it comes to export figures from Tonga, as the fins are likely to be landed here in Fiji. They will obviously be declared as mere bycatch - and latest since Monday, we all know exactly what that means!

Just saying.

All of this is in no way surprising - but we're approaching an anniversary, and it will play a role then!

Keep watching this space!

Tonga - just great!

Right!

Read this.

Under the licence deal with the Tongan Government, Taiwanese boats can take unlimited shark, and have duty free fuel; the two local boats are limited in shark take and pay steep fuel prices. The Taiwanese do not have to land their catch in Tonga with most of it simply shipped straight to China. 

And the Sharks get landed in...?

More Bull Sharks in Tonga!

Got this message from not just a pretty face Karen in Vava'u.

This is a photo of 1 of 12 babies that were pulled out of a pregnant mothers belly. The mother was caught up in a net just outside the entrance of the old harbour. Do you know what species of shark it is?

Juerg and I both think that this is very likely a Bull Shark.
Yes it appears not to feature the diagnostic falcate dorsal fin - but that may just be due to the fact that like the tail, it is not yet fully developed, and to the crammed positioning of the fetus within the womb. Compare it to this pic of a small juvenile Bull Sharks from our work in the rivers, and the similarities are certainly striking.


Despite of the fact that 13 Sharks have died, this is actually excellent news.
It now appears highly likely that Vava'u is boasting a breeding population of Bull Sharks! This is quite surprising as Bull Sharks are known to pup in rivers and with the exception of a few more or less extinct volcanoes, the islands of Tonga consist of either raised limestone or small coral keys, and consequently feature no rivers whatsoever.

The Old Harbor in Vava'u is a shallow murky bay that may experience a bit of runoff when it rains but is essentially pure sea water.
The entrance is a known site for annual spawning aggregations of groupers and it is also the location where Karen, Paul and myself stumbled upon two subadult Bull Sharks in 2007. Like this time, one was subsequently caught in a net and I was able to purchase the jaw that provided for the ultimate verification of the species. Having alerted Juerg, he then published this paper documenting the first ever record of Bull Sharks for Tonga.

This is the jaw of that subadult specimen of approx 120cm. Of interest, these upper teeth appear notably narrower than those of the adults, maybe indicating a more piscivorous diet like in the case of subadult GWs.

At the time, we thought that these may be just strays.
Now, it increasingly looks like the Old Harbor may be a nursing area for a local population of Bull Sharks. This is further confirmed by one of the local dive master who having experienced our Shark Dive, now claims that he had come across Bull Sharks in the past but had so far identified them as Bronze Whalers.

All very interesting indeed, and certainly worthy of further investigation!

Number One!

Henk (on the left) and deckhand Teao proudly announcing the release of three Blues from his Target One

Bless Henk and Sandra Gros!

They have graciously agreed to act as trailblazers and are now the Kingdom of Tonga's first Shark Free game fishing operators. This is far from being trivial as contrary to many Fijians, Tongans hunt and eat Sharks and will thus regard any attempt at sparing their life as a wasteful and incomprehensible act of utter Palangi foolishness.
Kudos!

In the big scheme of things, this will again turn out to be a wise business decision - like everything the Gros' have done so far.
They are among the original pioneers of tourism in Vava'u and have struck gold on practically every one of their ventures. On the accommodation front, they operate one of the first, and still the only clean and reliable backpacker hostel, Adventure Backpackers and are the developers of Mystic Sands, one of only two beachfront resorts on the main islands. Sandra and Kiwi Magic's Pat also operate the only reliable and highly successful agency for holiday homes in Vava'u, Vava'u Holiday Homes and provide access to reliable and trustworthy local help through their Vava'u Property Services.
Yes, I did indeed stress the term reliable, and for good reason! Whatever your provenience and intentions: nowhere does caveat emptor (and I'm not only talking in terms of legal transactions!) apply more than in the Friendly Kingdom- and I'll leave it at that!

Henk himself is the quintessential factotum and provided that he likes the project, you can avail yourself of his expertise for anything from building your next home (he did build mine) or installing a smoker for the most delicious home-smoked Wahoo, all the way to constructing and then successfully deploying a FAD in 1,000-odd fathoms of azure pelagic waters.

But his true love is game fishing and his Target One Sportfishing Charters is one of the most successful (and reliable!) such ventures in the whole of the Kingdom.
Vava'u prides itself on some of the most pristine fishing grounds in the whole of the South Pacific and anglers flock there from all over the globe to try their skills against good sized Sails, feisty (but generally, rather small) Blues, Wahoo, Mahi Mahi and in season, great numbers of migratory Yellowfin. This is also the place where one can still experience important numbers of pelagic Sharks, be it Silkies, Bronzies and even elusive Oceanic Whitetips.

Until very recently and much to the joy of the locals and the chagrin of the environmentalists, all fish caught in Vava'u were being landed and consumed, this largely regardless of species, season and size.
But progress being inevitable, more and more enlightened customers have been asking that the Billfishes be tagged and released and even the most backward operators had to grudgingly abide, to the point where the last national tournament was held under that formula - and won by none other than Henk and his Target One!

This is hopefully yet another step in the right direction.
After Palau's epic declaration and Fiji's simply mind-blowing performance, Tonga is hopefully on its way to becoming yet another Pacific island nation that fully embraces the concept that Shark conservation is not only essential for the health of the marine ecosystem but constitutes great tourism marketing on top of that!

Fingers crossed that after Target One, many more game fishermen in Vava'u will see the light and embrace the Shark Free Marinas Initiative!
Bravo Henk and Sandra - and Malo 'aupito!

Uh oh ...............

Back in Tonga and the Ocean in front of the house is swarming with Humpback Whales.

Not that I really care, they're just too un-toothy to really tickle my interest.
Of course, I once did do my due diligence, took a swim and came face-to-face with a big female - at which we both looked at each other and decided not to bother. No life-changing experience by any stretch of the imagination, just a boring encounter with a placid and equally boring behemoth.
But I did do it and now I know why I'm gonna continue sticking to Sharks.

The whales are the mainstay of Tonga's tourism and town is bustling with the usual assortment of wide-eyed Palangi, many of which waaaaaaaaaaay waaaaaaaaaaay out there in la-la land, sometimes frighteningly so. But some are sharp and have taken it onto themselves to make a contribution to research and to conservation, and need to be applauded for that. As Wetpixel's Tony Wu whose nice Blog is well worth reading and whose website is displaying an array of breathtaking pictures.

So, I hear you ask, why do I bother writing this post?

The reason is This.

"New Zealand's Great White Sharks migrate to tropical waters off Australia and islands in the Pacific to feed on baby humpback whales, scientists say.
After tracking tagged sharks using GPS, New Zealand fisheries scientists have concluded the giant ocean hunters appear to be regular winter visitors to tropical waters.
Tags have popped up in New Caledonia, Vanuatu, and halfway to Tonga and these trans-oceanic migrations to tropical waters have changed perceptions of the sharks as cold water, coastal creatures.
"We think they may be searching for newborn humpback whale calves, because all tags have surfaced in or near known humpback calving sites," National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research fisheries scientist Malcolm Francis said."

Halfway to Tonga? Humpback calving sites?

As in Vava'u, Tonga?

Well well, may we be in for a surprise after already having come across Reef Sharks, Tigers, Silkies, Oceanic Whitetips, Whale Sharks, Lemons, Zebras and Tonga's first ever recorded Bull Sharks?

Quite frankly, I just can't wait......