Diveme Magazine!

WOW!!!

I had NO idea!!!
Tourism Fiji has released its first-ever online dive magazine, Diveme Magazine, and our friend Lill has somehow managed to smuggle us into the first issue! This is a massive spread and you can check it out on page 11 and following.
Awesome!!!

Well what can I say.
Apart from us BAD boyz and girls, Lill is probably the one other person with the greatest experience of the Fiji Shark Dive, to the point that she may well be able to identify more individual Sharks than most of our feeders - and it clearly shows both in her stellar pics but above all, in her narrative.
Yes there's an embarrassing plethora of citations - but still, the girl just understands.

Kudos and Vinaka Lill - we owe you big time!
And a great compliment to Tourism Fiji and Diveme coordinator Thomas Valentine for this bold and innovative initiative!
Job very well done!

Lill photographing Bull Sharks!

Great pic - and now you know where and how it was taken!

This is way cool, check it out.



The location is obviously the SRMR.
This is the lower pit is in 25m that we use as an alternative to the usual location in 15m. We go there in the off season when the Bulls are extremely shy, when there's too much surge and also, when the theromcline with the clear water is deep like after a lot of rain.

Great pics and surprisingly good footage, well done!
Despite being one of the dreaded semi-professional uw photogs (would you ever consult a semi-professional lawyer or MD?), Lill is really one of us and is thus sitting in the hot spot, very much with a bodyguard at her side - so don't get any ideas here, it's simply not gonna happen!
Just saying!

Enjoy Lill's video!

BAD Viking - Interview!

Yes we got pretty corals and fishes, too!

Brilliant!

The only BAD Viking has been interviewed by Alex the Sharkman.
Lill has announced her visit for May so it is only natural that she is trying to ingratiate herself by saying nice things about BAD - but where she's right is that we have indeed adopted her and actually very much look forward to her return!
It'll be the start of Winter and I fully expect to see her turning up with the dreaded semi-dry - and guess what Lill, after having frozen my poor ass during the last cold season, I may be sporting one myself!
Because I can & because I'm not a Viking!:)

Anyway, enjoy Lill's interview!

Thanks Lill!

Diving with Sharks in Fiji

Posted by FiNS on Apr 22, 2009 in Blog, Destinations, Environment, Marine Life

We received this from Lill Haugen, who is a Norwegian photographer. She’s spending an extended time in Fiji diving with and photographing sharks, helping to establish an image inventory of individual sharks:

Meeting a live shark, face to face, during a dive sounds scary, doesn’t it? A lot of people would say yes…and many inexperienced divers fear sharks. I did too.

The first time I came across a small reef shark, I tried to swim away. Because it was a SHARK, and just the name creates fear in humans. But at the same time, I noticed that the shark desperately tried to get away from me! I was left fascinated and “hooked”, and after that every shark encounter has been magical, and deeply appreciated.

Fear of sharks comes from lack of knowledge…and the inaccurate man-eating image perpetuated by mass media over the years. Driving a car…or just sitting under a coconut-tree…is way more dangerous. However, you do need to treat sharks with respect, as even the most peaceful animal can harm you if harassed or cornered.

If you see a shark while diving, you are very lucky. They are disappearing from waters all over the world. Overfishing, especially due to the demand for shark fin soup, is eradicating sharks in our oceans.

Sharks are slow breeders and will not bounce back if overfished. Nobody knows what will happen to the oceans and marine ecosystems when the last shark has been killed and finned…but it will not be nice.

This is why divers from all over the world now seek out places to dive where they know there will be sharks. They already know that sharks are not mindless killers. Once you’ve met a shark underwater, you see that they are very cautious and intelligent creatures.

I took this picture of a three-metre bull shark on a designated shark dive in Fiji.

Bull shark at close quarters, on a dive in Fiji

Fiji is one of few places in the world where you can have the privilege of diving with these big sharks. On the famous shark dive in Beqa Lagoon, you might encounter up to eight different species of sharks on a single dive, from a small charming whitetip reef shark, to a large, majestic bull shark.

Shark Reef is a marine sanctuary, protected from fishing. Sharks are sacred to the people of Fiji and of Beqa. They believe in the protective powers of sharks, and they will not hurt any sharks.

The sharks here have never hurt any divers, although they easily could if they wanted to.

Sharing time with sharks on this dive is a great experience, and will alter whatever view you had on sharks forever.

For more information about the shark dive in Fiji, see the Beqa Adventure Divers website.

Editor's note: If you want to see more about what we do, check us out on this feature by MaiTV.
Thanks Lill, you rock - you may stay in the pit for as long as you like!

Lill!

Photo pros, beware of this lady!

Lill Haugen is a Norwegian UW photo pro and Dive Journo who is on a one-year stint in the South Pacific. After she became a regular fixture on our boats, we asked her whether she would be willing to help us establish an image inventory of our 70 named Sharks (the one above is "Bumphead") and she graciously accepted.

She is now allowed to sit in the infamous and much-coveted "pit", a special high-traffic area where selected (and very experienced) Industry Professionals have the chance of capturing those "killer images" that end up populating the dive mags.
Having seen the first results, I fully expect Lill to quickly accumulate a Shark portfolio that will be very hard to match and impossible to beat!

And what about our camera-toting clients?
Well, if you were planning to turn up with your super-duper-ultra wideangle lens in the hopes of pushing it into the face of a large macro predator, you will be disappointed. We just don't do that and "those" pics will always elude the discerning amateur visitor to Shark Reef.

No need for that anyway, just go a little tighter and we can practically guarantee that you will have the opportunity of going home with some world-class images!

Case in point: the following image that Terry Goss (or here) took from the client viewing area.
It's my favorite picture of Scarface and probably one of the best Human-Shark pics ever! Yes I know I'm biased but that's what I believe! Terry has kindly given us a good hi-res edit and I invite you to click on the image in order to explore the amazing detail.
Terry has entered the Dream Assignment Competition and I invite you to go vote for him - great initiative!

Enjoy!

Norway's Spurdogs at Risk!

Looks like those Viking haier need all the hjelp they can get!

Boy was I wrong!

Forget what I said about not worrying.

This is what Lill writes

Also working to enhance the current legislation in Norway, for better protection of these little guys (or shall we say girls, many of them seem to be pregnant females). 

Even though it is illegal to operate a directed fishery for spiny dogfish in Norway, it is still allowed as by catch - up to 15 percent of the catches, settled on a half year basis. . When fishermen encounter giant numbers of sharks (schools of up to 20,000 individuals have been recorded); this often results in a substantial loss of sharks. 

Now that the rules have changed from weekly to half year basis, it allows the fishermen to take more sharks than before, as by catch. The sharks are migratory, and while in Norway, they stay on the coast for about 3-4 weeks at a time. Thus, fishermen can allocate the sharks with all catches they make in six months. 

NOT GOOD. 

Indeed - this really, REALLY sucks!

Talk about a bloody loophole the size of a barn door - and assuming that pigghå means Spurdog, the allowable bycatch may even be as high as 20%! 

Lill?

Solutions?

Readers may remember that Lill is one of the principals of Norway's Shark conservation org Hjelp Havets Haier (= Save the Sharks of the Sea) which is undoubtedly working on this matter.
Should you want to get involved, please contact them here - and should there be a need for wider public participation, you will probably find an appeal on their Facebook page, and I shall be happy to pick it up and propagate it here. 

Keep watching this space for updates!

 

Sota Tale Lill!

Very sad!

Lill has just left for her native Norway after one year of diving with us.
Talk about culture-, and above all, climate shock!

It has been a real pleasure, and a privilege hosting her as she is a really nice person and a brilliant underwater photographer on top of that. As anticipated, it will be very hard to ever match her stunning Shark portfolio, the more as she earned herself the right to establish a quasi-permanent residence in the much coveted pit - actually much to the chagrin of your truly who found himself relegated to much less advantageous locations!
But as they say, pretty girls' privileges!

Take good care of yourself and come back soon - you're part of the team now!

In Norwegian!

Did you notice?

Suddenly, there's plenty of Norwegian signatures on the petition!

The reason:
Årets programmer i Shark Week inneholder derimot titler som "Deadly Waters" og "Sharkbite Summer", som blant annet dramatiserer og "normaliserer" blodige angrep på mennesker. Programmene i Shark Week bidrar dermed til fortsatt å skape frykt, slik som Haisommer-filmene begynte med, og skremte vettet av en hel generasjon - for 34 år siden. Forskjellen er bare at mens Haisommer-filmene ble markedsført som en fiksjon/skrekkfilm, presenterer Discovery sitt "skrekkshow" som vitenskapelig sannhet.

Well, I don't understand it, either - but I love the unusual letters!
Anyway, this is from a piece about Discovery's Shark Porn that Lill has published in Dykking (which I believe means "Diving"), Norway's dive magazine.

Thank you, Lill (again!) - you may keep your place in the pit!

Tiger in Fiji!

Isn't she cute? Yes, it's Scarface - snuggling up to her friend Rusi!
And what a great pic: as anticipated, Lill is getting better and better!

From FiNS Magazine, July 3, 2009.

If you are lucky, you might find yourself diving with a pretty, large female tiger shark on the famous Shark Dive in Fiji, Beqa Lagoon.

She is named “Scarface”, and she has been a regular visitor on the Shark Dive for the last seven to eight years. Everyone is thrilled, both guests and staff, whenever she decides to drop by for a fishhead-snack, along with the 15-40 bull sharks that come in to feed on every dive.

Scarface left this dive site in November last year, heavily pregnant, to give birth somewhere else. She came back on April 27th, after a five-month “maternity leave”, and she’s been around since.

There is no need to be scared if you meet her! She is very sweet, slow and mellow, and she is only there to get her piece of free fish…and to say hello to her old friend, Rusi the Fijian shark feeder, whom she has been around for years.

Some of the other sharks you normally encounter on a day of shark diving include the friendly tawny nurse sharks at 30 meters, the fast-swimming grey reef sharks that come blasting in at ten meters, and finally the whitetip and blacktip reef sharks at around four meters. This last part of the first dive must be the best safety stop ever!

On the second dive of the day, big bulls and sometimes a tiger shark dominate at 16 meters. Occasionally you will also see silvertip sharks and sickle fin lemon sharks on this dive. If you want to experience diving with different types of sharks, this is definitely the place to be.

And then this.
View more pictures from a day of shark-diving in Fiji.

I've asked Lill whether this was really all from just one day she assures me it is.
Very impressive indeed!

Tusen Takk!

Yet another brilliant pic by Lill Haugen (yes this is a link)!

Snakker du Norsk?

Me neither, so I really have no clue about the content of Lill's latest article in Dykking, Norway's leading dive magazine - and it sure didn't help that the author felt it fit to send me the following synopsis, and this is textual: Well - it is easy: .....bla bla bla, gla Mike. Bla bla bla something something, bla bla....Shark Reef, bla gla gla.
Must be Viking humor - or the lean diet!

But what a spread - she sure is an impressive photographer!
So, without further ado: Enjoy!

Lill - excellent!

Just stumbled across the above picture.
It's the winner of the Coldwater category of the 2011 Ocean Art Photo Competition - and quite unsurprisingly, the prize-winning photographer is none other than Lill Haugen, our one and only Viking BAD Girl!
Great pic, the more as it even features a veritable Snell's window!

Complete competition results here.

Dangerous Soup!

Last time I saw that expression, she was being bowled over by Bum!

Lookee lookee!

Must be the Viking way of spicing up one's dives!
May I venture the bold assumption that rummaging around in Oslo harbor could be safely described as utterly boring - especially after having spent one year among hordes of large predatory Sharks in Fiji?

But when not being aggressed in frigid waters, Lill continues to crank them out like there's no tomorrow.


This time, titled Dangerous Soup, it's an educational piece about the global plight of Sharks in the magazine of Norway's second largest national paper Aftenposten. You Vikings should go and read the story in the magazine itself - we common mortals are simply proud of having made a contribution to creating a very fine Shark photographer and avid Shark conservationist!

Bravo Lill!

Viking Fun!

Look at her frolicking in the snow!

I'm posting this mainly for our staff and for all of the Pasifika friends Lill and Helge have made over the past year - the more as most of them could not possibly know what Winter in Norway may look like!

Keep in mind that the weather is normally NOT like that but foggy, wet and windy instead, that it's freezing cold (yes, precisely: like in the freezer!) and that the sun may only be out for 3-4 hours - meaning that nights last for approx. 20 hours!

That's why the Vikings had no choice but to become the toughest people in the whole of Europe! And I may add: as tough as Lill who insisted on diving in a semi-dry suit even during the hot Fijian summer!
Go wonder!!

So, now you know!

Viking Alert!

Check out the pic - scary, scary stuff!

Yes the BAD Viking is due soon!
We're still negotiating this year's terms of reference because a lot of things that were possible in 2009 cannot anymore be replicated, especially the camping out in the infamous pit - but we've developed some other equally exciting gigs for the professionals and I can't wait to let her experience the many changes and above all, the seemingly ever increasing numbers of Bulls!

In the meantime, check out this post.
It documents Lill's remarkable talent and versatility and I must say, I'm really looking forward to her contribution to the ongoing wallpaper challenge. There are more and more pics populating that category and with Peter having set this year's standard, she sure has her work cut out for her!
Anyway, enjoy Lill's pictures!

Great pic - but single Bull Sharks are so yesterday...

Lill - Photographer of the Week!

Well done Lill!

And of course there's a Fiji Bull Shark!
Story here.

Viking Excellence!

Bravo Lill!

She has just been crowned Norway’s beste underwannsfotograf!
Way to go!

I did check the winning images and what can I say.
Norway’s underwater landscapes are what they are, and managing to paint in colors whilst avoiding backscatter in what appears to be the worst viz, ever, is indeed a major achievement!
So, here’s to Viking toughness, persistence and technical ingenuity – and to itsy bitsy wee crabs!

Having said that, the Bulls are waiting!
Next year, yes?

Sharks and MPAs!

Our Whitetip Reef Sharks - clearly resident and doing great. Stellar pic by Lill.

Nice to see our intuition confirmed!
It may sound trivial, but recent research finally confirms that Sharks thrive within Marine Protected Areas. There may be more, but these are the two new papers I know about.

Evaluating marine protected areas for the conservation of tropical coastal sharks.
Danielle M. Knipa, Michelle R. Heupel, Colin A. Simpfendorfer

Abstract

Global declines in shark populations have created uncertainty in the future status of many species and conservation efforts are urgently needed.
Marine protected areas (MPAs) are used increasingly as conservation tools around the world, but how they benefit mobile and wide ranging species like sharks remains unclear. To evaluate the degree of protection MPAs may provide for sharks, we used an array of acoustic receivers to examine the movements and spatial use of two tropical coastal species within two MPAs in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, Australia. Juvenile pigeye (Carcharhinus amboinensis) and adult spottail (Carcharhinus sorrah) sharks were fitted with acoustic transmitters from 2009 to 2010. Both species displayed long-term use of MPAs, with some individuals detected for longer than 600 days. The mean percentage of time C. amboinensis and C. sorrah spent inside MPAs was 22% and 32%, respectively. MPA use varied seasonally, with C. amboinensis spending a higher percentage of time inside MPAs in summer (mean = 28%) and C. sorrah spending a higher percentage of time inside MPAs in winter (mean = 40%). Although sharks used large areas inside MPAs, most individuals tended to use only half of the available protected space. In addition, all sharks made excursions from MPAs and individuals exited and re-entered at consistent locations along the MPA boundaries.
These results demonstrate that MPAs have conservation benefits for shark populations by providing protection across different species and life stages, and tracking studies can be used to help tailor MPA design to maximize effectiveness.

and

Reef Sharks Exhibit Site-Fidelity and Higher Relative Abundance in Marine Reserves on the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef
Mark E. Bond, Elizabeth A. Babcock, Ellen K. Pikitch, Debra L. Abercrombie, Norlan F. Lamb, Demian D. Chapman

Abstract

Carcharhinid sharks can make up a large fraction of the top predators inhabiting tropical marine ecosystems and have declined in many regions due to intense fishing pressure.
There is some support for the hypothesis that carcharhinid species that complete their life-cycle within coral reef ecosystems, hereafter referred to as “reef sharks”, are more abundant inside no-take marine reserves due to a reduction in fishing pressure (i.e., they benefit from marine reserves). Key predictions of this hypothesis are that (a) individual reef sharks exhibit high site-fidelity to these protected areas and (b) their relative abundance will generally be higher in these areas compared to fished reefs. To test this hypothesis for the first time in Caribbean coral reef ecosystems we combined acoustic monitoring and baited remote underwater video (BRUV) surveys to measure reef shark site-fidelity and relative abundance, respectively. We focused on the Caribbean reef shark (Carcharhinus perezi), the most common reef shark in the Western Atlantic, at Glover's Reef Marine Reserve (GRMR), Belize. Acoustically tagged sharks (N = 34) were detected throughout the year at this location and exhibited strong site-fidelity. Shark presence or absence on 200 BRUVs deployed at GRMR and three other sites (another reserve site and two fished reefs) showed that the factor “marine reserve” had a significant positive effect on reef shark presence. We rejected environmental factors or site-environment interactions as predominant drivers of this pattern.
These results are consistent with the hypothesis that marine reserves can benefit reef shark populations and we suggest new hypotheses to determine the underlying mechanism(s) involved: reduced fishing mortality or enhanced prey availability.

Very cool!
The latter paper is thankfully open access so you can read it in its entirety. There are also excellent synopses, one by Juliet right here and others here, here, here and here. What is particularly interesting here is the deployment of totally non-invasive bait cams and the correlation to the lack of fishing pressure (and thus, increased fish density) within the MPA.
Helen tells me that she has observed that Fish appear to know and take refuge within the confines of her Waitabu MPA, and from my days as roving underwater image hunter, I've learned to recognize whether a particular reef is being visited by spear fishermen by observing the behavior of the Fishes, particularly the Groupers - so it comes as no surprise that the Sharks who would be following their prey would also aggregate within the protected areas where they would be equally sheltered against any fishing pressure, find plenty of prey and thus thrive.

And what about the Shark Reef Marine Reserve?
Well we did set it up in the belief that in order to conserve a species one needs to preserve its habitat - but as always, it's complicated.
The Blacktip Reefs and Whitetips live, mate and give birth to plenty of babies right there so the conclusions of the papers are being fully confirmed.
Maybe even when it comes to the Grey Reefs but even there I'm less confident. From all I know, your typical resident aggregation of Greys consists of mature females plus juveniles and sub-adults of both sexes, whereas I thought that the adult males were non-resident and always roving, thus assuring gene flow - but on Shark Reef, most of the adults are males and then, like right now, we see a lot of juveniles. And in May/June, everybody leaves for a month or so, something we believe is correlated to mating opportunities somewhere else. But in reality, we don't quite know what's really going on there, so the whole scenario certainly warrants more investigation.
But when they are here they sure look perfectly happy!

The Silvertips, Nurses and Lemons?
As I stated somewhere else, they are increasingly being displaced by the assertive and ever more numerous Bulls, likely due to competitive exclusion - so although I'm sure that much like they've done in the past, they would love to turn up much more frequently, I equally fear that the deterrent is currently much too big for us to ever witness an improvement in numbers, MPA or no MPA.

And the Bulls and Tigers?
Mike's hypothesis stipulates much larger home ranges that have been confirmed by Juerg's telemetric studies - but they sure love to come visit for a juicy snack and maybe, even for some good company! :)

Anyway, all very interesting!

H/T: Demian and Rick!

Swamped!

Impressive, huh?

Actually, this is the very moment when our Bull Sharks are at their most harmless!
This Shark has just taken the bait and is swinging out from the pit whilst munching on a Tuna head - a funny thing actually, as some individual Sharks just swallow the heads whilst others, like Crook, Bumphead and Chopper always engage in this particular behavior. Anyway, with their mouths filled to capacity, they could not be less interested in the (happy) photographer!
As I said, Lill's portfolio will be impossible to beat!

Thing is, we're being swamped!
Whereas only a couple of years ago, a dozen Bull Sharks would have been a great dive, now we're talking 25-30 and on exceptional days, more than 40!
Not counting the Tigers, Silvertips and Lemons who can swing by anytime!

This of course has yet again led to an overhaul of our safety procedures.
Not concerning the customers who continue to be completely separated from, but still very close to the animals - but concerning the feeders! Keeping track of what's going on whilst concentrating on feeding has become next to impossible and we've had to second two bodyguards who are positioned next to the bin and ensure that everybody continues to behave!

All very exciting and loads of fun!

Scarface from Malaysia!

Stellar portrait by Lill - notice the spiracle?

Despite of my usual reservations: cute PSA from Malaysia!

And!
It features footage of Scarface along with the smaller Adi and our oldest (but not anymore biggest) Bull lady Granma, all from the Fiji Shark Dive on Shark Reef!

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The bad news: we haven't seen Scarface since November!
No I'm not hinting that something has happened. She was heavily pregnant and may have just gone walkabout to give birth - and judging from what we know from research in the Atlantic and Hawaii, that may have been a long long way away!

But there's also this.
There may just be too many Bulls!
The population of Bulls keeps increasing and we have certainly noticed a corresponding decrease in the number of the other deeper water species like the Nurses, Silvertips and Lemons. My personal explanation for it is that

• Bulls prey on Sharks and those impressive numbers may just be to high for comfort,
• as the Bull Shark numbers are ever increasing, I'm observing (and recording) clear signs of inter-specific aggression whereby the Bulls ram and sometimes bite other species of Shark (but not other Bulls!) that compete for the bait, and finally
• those other Sharks have a much decreased chance of ever approaching the feeder and that they are consequently not being adequately rewarded for the risks they incur
  

Yes I'm speculating and yes, Juerg is looking into it!

The same is apparently happening to our Tigers.
In the past, the dozen or so Bulls would slink away whenever one of them would turn up - but not anymore! Even Scarface with her impressive 4.5+ meters appears increasingly hesitant whereas the Bulls are becoming positively cocky, to the point where I've recorded them simply shouldering her away!
Yes size matters - but numbers apparently matter more!

And the good news?
There is no such thing as too many Bull Sharks!
After the usual slight dip at the beginning of April, we're back to 50+ individuals on each dive and well on track for my predicted one hundred in June! The last couple of Shark dives have been, hmmm, hectic and as a consequence, we are now strictly enforcing the pit ban, and this also for long term good friends! So if you are eager to take up the wallpaper challenge, make sure to read our protocols as right now, there will be no exceptions - seriously!

And on this happy note: what are you waiting for!

Rusiate Balenagasau 1960-2015

I've just received the tragic news of the passing of my friend and dive buddy Rusi, the man in the yellow hood. A gentle and humble man, he loved and understood his sharks like no other.

May you dive in endless seas filled with friendly sharks.

David here.
Alex.
Cristina.
Martin.
Lill.
Michele.