Increasing Biodiversity

Sea fisheries are on the brink of collapse and oceanic Sharks face extinction - but there's a ray of hope, and that is the impact of Marine Protected Areas.

1. Experiments show that reducing the diversity of an ecosystem lowers the abundance of fish
2. Historical records show extensive loss of biodiversity along coasts since 1800, with the collapse of about 40% of species. About one-third of once viable coastal fisheries are now useless
3. Catch records from the open ocean show widespread decline of fisheries since 1950 with the rate of decline increasing. In 2003, 29% of fisheries were collapsed. Biodiverse regions' stocks fare better
4. Marine reserves and no-catch zones bring an average 23% improvement in biodiversity and an increase in fish stocks around the protected area

But the extent of protection is not the only issue, according to Carl Gustaf Lundin, head of the global marine program at IUCN, the World Conservation Union.

"The benefits of marine-protected areas are quite clear in a few cases; there's no doubt that protecting areas leads to a lot more fish and larger fish, and less vulnerability. But you also have to have good management of marine parks and good management of fisheries. Clearly, fishing should not wreck the ecosystem, bottom trawling being a good example of something which does wreck the ecosystem.This is a good compelling case; we should protect biodiversity, and it does pay off even in simple monetary terms through fisheries yield."

Case in Point: Shark Reef Marine Reserve.

The species count has increased dramatically from our baseline study in 2004 yielding 269 species, to January's count of 381.
And this isn't the end of the line, as according to the scientists, "further research is required at SRMR to fully assess the faunal diversity. The fish survey of SRMR is not yet at the point of diminishing returns. On their last dive the observers recorded 5 additional species.
The shallow reef habitat appeared healthier in 2008 than in 2004. Coral growth was prolific in areas previously barren. Easily observed species associated with coral, including the coral-feeding butterflyfishes Chaetodon trifascialis, C. ornatissimus, C. melannotus and C. lineolatus, were recorded in 2008, but not observed in 2004. A prolific and healthy reef supports more species. The health of the SRMR reef may be the result of four years of good stewardship.
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 a 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."

The according increase in Shark numbers has been nothing short of miraculous.
When we started in 2004, seeing a dozen Bull Sharks on a single dive would have been exceptional. Now, we would be kind of disappointed if we didn't see double that number.

We've now named and are keeping track of 35 individuals and on a recent dive in April, almost all of them turned up along with maybe a dozen more perfect, and thus "un-nameable" friends.
Yes, I'm talking 40+ Bull Sharks, on a single dive and in perfect visibility!
What a sight! We all hung back in sheer disbelief and just enjoyed the show as even Rusi just couldn't keep up with the demand anymore.

And in the middle of the stampede, there comes Scarface - only to be taught that size matters, but numbers are better!

Normally, she would just glide in majestically, do a leisurely round to flaunt her importance and then proceed to dominate the hand feed as the Bulls beat a strategical retreat.

Not this time!
Every time she would try to approach, the Bulls would unceremoniously barge in ahead of her, or even physically push her out of the way.
Ever seen a flustered 5 meter Tiger Shark? Very funny indeed!
Finally, she decided to change gears, rush in for a fast nibble and get the hell outta there.

But no worries, she's been back since.
This is the time of the year when we welcome most of our VIP groups along with yet more film teams, researchers and photographers. The list would be too long to mention but Lawrence of Shark Diving International always gets to meet his favorite lady and this time has been no exception.
She's truly a poser and always knows when to make an appearance - this time alongside Brat, the Tiger named by Broadreach Academic Treks.

So, what are you waiting for?
Drop us a line and join us for the experience of a lifetime - and make a valuable contribution to Marine Conservation!

Dire

I always look forward to reading Patric Douglas' excellent Shark Blog which is always entertaining, informative and sometimes controversial - but this time, all the news are dire.

Starting with Delta Airlines' appalling choice of celebration menue, global Shark Conservation is experiencing a backlash: from the Philippines to Australia to, of all places, Tiger Beach in the Bahamas, the indiscriminate slaughter of Sharks continues unabated, fueled by ignorance, greed and outright stupidity.

Or whatever. Trying to fathom the motives of that "sport" fisherman who found it fit to kill and display a pregnant Tiger Shark simply transcends my empathic faculties.

All very distressing and sad, really.

As to Patric's proposal, it is certainly a daunting task - but considering the appeal of Tiger Beach among diving VIPs and aficionados, not an impossible one.
Will they raise their voice in his support?

We at BAD wish you the very best of Success!

Science in Action!

Juerg is about to wrap up his first batch of experiments and I've asked him whether he could post a short summary of his endeavors.

Here we go:

"The Fiji Bull Shark Tagging Program is in its fifth season.

What started with a few pop-up satellite tags in 2004 is now a much broader research project aiming at understanding Bull Shark Behavior and Ecology. To summarize the first 2008 field season (January to March): it has been spectacular and highly satisfying!

We've collected lots and lots of data, done spectacular dives, the Sharks have been very well "behaved" and best of all: we learn more and more about these fascinating predators!

So far, we have deployed more than two dozens acoustic tags and a state-of-the-art miniaturized pop-up satellite tag.

Sharks equipped with Acoustic Tags will give us presence/absence data.
Whenever a tagged shark comes into detection range of a so called underwater listening station (receiver), it will be picked up and we will know what individual was there at what time of the day. Some of those tags also tell us the temperature inside the shark’s stomach - any guess what that could be?

The bulk of these tags has been hand-fed, mostly to Bull Sharks.
This is for sure the least invasive technique and Rusi has proven his usual mastery in ensuring that they were placed with the correct individual Sharks.
The downside of this technique is that the tags will only stay in for a few days to maybe a few weeks, but we are able to collect some very valuable data never the less.

In addition, we have attached a few acoustic tags externally and those will hopefully stay on the Sharks for much longer and keep us informed on how often and how long they visit Shark Reef and other reefs during the year.
For instance, we tagged Bumphead externally on February 23rd. That didn't seem to stress her at all and she hung around for a few days before going walkabout. Yesterday, she turned up with the tags still properly attached. Where did she go? Hopefully, the receivers placed on the other reefs will tell us.

But it certainly shows that most probably, the Bull Sharks do not spend all their time on Shark Reef but wander around, sometimes for weeks or even months at a time.

Here, Pop-up Satellite Tags could tell us more.
These tags collect temperature, depth and location data for a preset time interval. After that, the tags detach from the animal, float to the surface where they establish a link to a satellite to which they download the data - and we will eventually get an e-mail message ‘from the Shark’ telling us where it has been and what it has done!
Cool, isn’t it.

Well, of course it’s not quite that easy and and the data require a lot of analysis before we can safely say what has happened. But for sure, it’s exciting.
The satellite tag we have deployed this year is due to pop up sometimes next week.
So keep your fingers crossed that all goes well!

Besides these ‘technical’ approaches, we have also collected Observational Data, for example, who is feeding and how many times, who does not feed and just hangs out with its mates, plus how do the different shark species on Shark Reef interact with each other. Altogether, we are getting to know our beloved beasts better and better!

So next time you visit Shark Reef Marine Reserve, keep looking out for a tagged animal.
And enjoy the show!"

Thank you Juerg and Moce Mada!

Pundits

When it comes to opinions, there’s controversial and then there’s just plain asinine.

Take for instance this, and many other articles and posts dealing with the Bahamas Shark Incident and Adventure Travel in general. They all portray us as as a death-seeking, reckless and lunatic bunch of complete idiots and desperadoes that need to be stopped for their own, and the sake of mankind at large.

Well, as the Germans say, "paper is patient", it does not care about the rubbish people write on it.
So is obviously the web which is increasingly populated by whackos and wannabees hawking their latest Conspiracy Theories (Reptilian Humanoids anybody?), extolling the virtues of esoteric Quackery (how about Cetacean Aquacranial Therapy for a change?) and yes, sniping from the comfort of some air-conditioned suburban office to enlighten us with these increasingly irritating pieces of supercilious horse manure.

What ever happened to the Pundits, "erudite (i.e. non-rude) persons who make comments or judgments, esp. in an authoritative manner"?
As in: intelligent, informed and above all, impartial and unbiased?

Having been drawn into the unfathomable depths of the current US primary process, I'm starting to wonder.
Does the political preference of, say, senior Chihuahua-owning and Bible-thumping middle-class white Baptist widows residing in rural Pennsylvania really constitute a valuable piece of information worthy of profound analysis on Larry King Live?
Is anybody, ever, going to revert to the Big Picture and put things back into proper perspective? And, maybe, educate the public in the process?

Instead, to get back to our nick of the universe, all I can see is an unnerving succession of, I'm sorry to say, uninformed and condescending morons pontificating about the dangers and ethics of feeding Fish and how what we do teaches Sharks to associate humans with food. The "obvious" consequence being that the so conditioned Beasts will then retaliate and devour some other poor innocent and unsuspecting sod when denied an adequate culinary offering.

Did I once say that I wasn’t about to join the fray?
Well, I guess I must have changed my mind. Seriously, enough is enough.

About the former, may I point out that people who attract Fish by offering them food are called Fishermen, not Divers.
Worried about the safety of your precious beaches? Go break the cojones of the guys surf casting from the breakwater, how about that.
So, please, take your fight to IGFA and not us.

The latter at least sounds plausible. Plausible, yes - but it is dead wrong never the less.

With the notable exception of a prominent statistician who has obviously never seen it fit to leave his office in favor of some lowly menial in-loco experience, all relevant industry professionals assert that they cannot discern any such behavioral changes. As a matter of fact, nor can we, and this after close to ten years of baiting.
But then, our collective experience is obviously worth precisely zilch as everybody knows that we’re just a gang of greedy reckless lunatics whose sole aim in life is to kill our clients whilst lining our pockets in the process.

And what about the relevant Scientific community?
There, opinions vary but on closer inspection, they once again are not based on facts, but on personal conjecture and on individual preferences instead.
In my experience, your average Marine Biologist tends to be highly paranoid about having some large Shark sniff at his heels (or, God forbid, gobble down a priceless specimen!) whilst he's engaging in some groundbreaking field research. Thus, any activity that could carry even the most remote risk of infringing on his well-being will inevitably be frowned upon, proof or no proof.
The veritable Shark specialists on the other hand could not care less about such mundane trivia and continue to bait, tag, manhandle and generally, interact with Sharks in total impunity. And, some would say, in reckless lunacy.
In brief, nobody has so far deigned to stoop so low as to try and scientifically prove, or disprove those assertions.

Is anybody of Authority ever going to present us with some proper evidence?
Watch this space!

Having said this, I reject, denounce and repudiate, and deeply apologize for the foregoing which is evidently nothing but the un-erudite ranting of some reckless and incompetent lunatic bozo. Considering who I am, not only a Shark diver but also, believe it or not, a Lawyer, I’m sure you understand.
No Pundit intended!

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!

Bravo!

Our friend Michael Patrick O'Neill has just won the Science/Natural History section of the 65th Pictures of the Year International contest.

The stunning winning picture depicts a Goliath Grouper (Epinephelus itajara).
Formerly known as Jewfish , it is recognized as a critically endangered species by the World Conservation Union owing to its relentless pursuit by fishermen and trophy hunters. After the USA and the Carribean began protecting it in the 90s, it is staging a tenuous comeback, however with the fish's slow growth rate it will take some time for those populations to return to their previous levels.
After our Giant, or Queensland Grouper (Epinephelus lanceolatus), this is one of the largest Bony Fish found in Coral Reefs (the largest Bony Fish being the Ocean Sunfish and the largest Fish being the Whale Shark). Of interest, both Groupers are believed to be protogynous hermaphrodites, with all young starting out as females and only a few large individuals becoming males.

Congratulations Michael!

New Kid on the Block!

To the discerning Sharkaholics, male Silvertip Sharks are somewhat of a Holy Grail.
Having dived many of the iconic Silvertip spots from the Burma Banks to Valeries' Reef to Avatoru Pass, I've only ever seen one, a tiny sub-adult hovering above Silverado Rock in Cocos Island.
People in the know tell me that whereas the big females are resident, the males are transient and also prefer much deeper water, well below recreational diving depths.

Same for Shark Reef: so far, Madonna, Joker, Lady and the other Silvertips have all been females - so imagine my surprise and excitement when this lil cocky fella came dashing into the Arena!
Did he only turn up for a quickie or will he make a Commitment and hang around?
Men being men, only time will tell - but he's been back again, as documented by the above picture.

And who is the lucky, and talented photographer, I hear you ask?

None other than the intrepid guardian of not only the Cute and the Furry (or was it "Hairy"?)

but also




the very Big and the very Noisy,

my friend Karen Varndell of Dive Vava'u!

I think it's great that the Bold and the Toothy have a place in her heart as well!



Fingers crossed that our very first male Silvertip will become a regular and thus warrant an own name.

Which one?
Well, obviously, Adam!

Diving with Sharks

There has been a fatal Shark diving accident in the Bahamas and as always, the web and news tickers are buzzing with controversy.

On one side, and sadly spearheaded by a direct competitor, you have the usual assortment of know-it-all, I-told-you-so pundits and self-proclaimed wannabee Shark Experts fanning the flames and heaping judgmental blame, scorn and sarcasm on the operator and the victim alike.
On the other side, the operator's friends and clients have quickly circled the wagons and are busy singing his everlasting praise and fending off any perceived attacks regardless of their provenience or intention. Good on them and good on him, he certainly needs it and most probably deserves it.
And of course there's that smug ueber-charlatan Mr. Ritter desperately trying to garner publicity by sanctimoniously offering his help and "expert advice".

Did a single one of those people witness the accident?
Did I find a single exhaustive description of what really happened?

On a positive note, until now, nobody is blaming the Shark.
Many however blame the Shark diving Industry in general, asking for better regulation or an outright ban of those activities. The latter is highly worrisome, as one of the undisputed merits of Shark tourism is to help change perceptions and to contribute to Shark Conservation. Sharks are still being slaughtered by the millions and deserve any help they can get.
Fingers crossed that common sense will prevail - maybe through more honest dialogue?

Am I about to join the fray?
Hell, no.

But being a Shark Feeding Operator, BAD are being asked for an opinion, so there:

Does diving with Sharks involve risks?
The answer is unequivocally Yes, it does - but what doesn't?

I won't bore you with wonderful statistical comparisons involving collapsing sand holes, Life in general (!) and lightning, I also don't want to discuss the pros and cons and ethics of feeding and I will also not engage in speculation about the causes of Shark strikes, a tedious and ever-changing assortment of sometimes plausible pseudoscientific theories that will never be verified or falsified.
Unless one could convince a thousand volunteers to go thrashing about at dusk in deep water off the coast of, say, Kona , that is.
You get the gist.

The fact is that Shark incidents happen. They are exceedingly rare and poorly understood.

At the end of the day, it all boils down to the question whether adult people should be free to make their own informed decisions about engaging in potentially dangerous activities at their own personal risk.
We believe that the answer should unequivocally be, Yes they should. Life after all holds no guarantees and it should be everyone's personal decision how to conduct it meaningfully and enjoyably - whilst clearly assuming the responsibility for one's decisions.

We however also believe that operators who conduct Shark dives commercially need to do so as responsibly, professionally and safely as humanly possible.
That's what the clients have a reasonable right to expect.

Also, believe it or not, we don't have a death wish.
Thus, upon having taken on the Shark Dive, we quickly agreed that we needed to devise a set of new and stringent safety procedures, and pronto.

Having contacted Gary Adkison, arguably one of the world's most experienced, and generous shark people with decades of experience in Bull Shark interaction, he promptly proceeded to descend on us with messianic fury urging us to discontinue our "dangerous" hand feeding routine.
Thus prompted, we obediently rigged up several humongous chumsicles only to capitulate in the face of prohibitive logistical challenges and the fact that 400 pound Bull Sharks are simply not Caribbean Reefs and will tear anything apart in a matter of seconds. We tried dumping food, only to be confronted with clouds of sand, blood and gore and signs of incipient feeding frenzy. We tried pole feeding only to have the Sharks bite the poles and break off their teeth. Crates got torn to pieces and swept away, rigged fish got gobbled up in the blink of an eye - you name it, we've tried it.

In the end, we all agreed that hand feeding, whilst also providing for the best entertainment value, was by far the safest and most controlled way of handing out food without polluting the reef and incurring uncontrollable risks.

Did we try out metal cages? Frankly, we didn't even consider them.
Procedures are circumstance-specific and cages are probably the best way to safely observe some very large, predatory Sharks like Great Whites, Blues and Makos, especially when diving in open ocean and at very shallow depth to which the animals are being baited. This is however not what we do.
In a reef environment, there are other ways of achieving the same result, i.e. ensuring that the animals do not approach the clients, and vice versa.

This has led to the present format whereby The Shark Dive is essentially a show with clear segregation between Spectators and Performers.
Clients are dressed in dark, full-body garb and gloves, supervised and confined to a walled-off viewing area and any personal and hands-on interaction with the Sharks is being discouraged.
Much easier for the safety divers, much more controlled and also, certainly less stressful for the animals.

Keeping in mind common sense and all of the usual caveats, we are reasonably confident that Sharks are largely predictable and can be conditioned to follow a simple set routine.
Tourists however are not. Fear, bravado or overconfidence can quickly lead to problematic situations. Photographers and cameramen can typically become oblivious of their surroundings or incur unreasonable risks. As a commercial operation, we believe that it is our duty, and interest, to limit those hazards.

Direct Shark interaction -especially in baited conditions- is a special skill requiring years of experience and also, great respect and knowledge of the animals, both individually and as a species.
It is loads of fun and highly rewarding - but in a commercial operation, we believe, it needs to remain confined to Industry Professionals.
Some of our staff have logged thousands of hours interacting with Sharks and none of them would ever claim to be in total control of those situations.
After all, big Sharks are never pets and giving them cute names and ascribing anthropomorphic attributes to their behavior should never detract from the simple truth that they are hard wired, powerful and potentially lethal apex predators. It is probably true that they don’t perceive us as nourishment but it is equally true that they certainly don’t perceive us a “friends”, either.
Generally speaking, they will tolerate our vicinity provided that we display adequate behavior and remain calm, alert and sometimes, assertive. And sometimes, we might be prompted to leave.

No dive briefing, however exhaustive, detailed and professional, will ever succeed in uniformly transmitting those skills to a group of, essentially, strangers with diverging backgrounds and experience.

You can however rest assured that we'll always try our very best to entertain and amaze you with a well-choreographed, exhilarating, mellow and above all, safe experience!

Guaranteed?
Well, yes - but it will always be you who will need to make your own, informed decision.
After all, you are an Adult.

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!

The Renaissance Man

Meet John Earle, Homo universalis extraordinaire!

How to describe the man?
For sure, a bonvivant and raconteur. A sportsman and adventurer. A brilliant analytical mind. A Philosopher. Meticulously attached to minutiae whilst never forgetting the Big Picture. Wits that always manage to crack me up. Husband to formidable (and obviously, endlessly tolerant) corporate lawyer Jackie. Father and, I think, grandfather (at which, having become biologically redundant, he had to devote himself to other worthwhile tasks).
Bachelors degree with honors from Princeton University. Ex Navy and airline pilot. One of the original Hawaiian surfing bums. Extreme climber. Accomplished fly fisherman. Dives since 1957 and once "cornered" the market for rare endemic Hawaiian shells, pocketing a small fortune in the process. Has three fish, two shells and one shrimp named in his honor.
Did I miss anything? Most probably!

Certainly once a reckless mad dog, John must have somewhat mellowed as time went by.
His latest, and passionate incarnation sees him as a Research Associate in Zoology at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu and fervent disciple of Prof. Dr. John E. "Jack" Randall, the unmatched guru and elder statesman of Fish Taxonomy, considered by many to be one of the more tedious disciplines of Ichtyology.

Did I say: "mellowed"? And: "tedious"?
With Jack having described every reef fish all the way down to the limits of certain death by DCS, John and fellow researcher, and desperado, Dr. Richard Pyle decided to strap on a couple of Cis-Lunar MK4 closed circuit rebreathers and headed straight down into the twilight zone.

Several near-death experiences and quasi fatal decompression accidents later, they are considered to be the pioneers of tech diving and deep water exploration. With every dive yielding one or more new species, they have thus positioned themselves smack at the very cutting edge of science.

I first met John in July 2002 when he and Jack joined Pelagian's infamous Voyage of Discovery from Kimbe Bay to Rabaul, PNG. The trip yielded Amblyeleotris neumanni, a pretty shrimp goby from remote Lolobau Island and my very own ticket to immortality.
Like most people touched by Jack, we became friends and have since tried to keep contact, not an easy feat considering his ever busy ichtyological schedule and my own erratic girovagations.

When we established Shark Reef Marine Reserve in 2004, John was gracious enough to fly in and conduct a first baseline fish count.
267 species in 7 dives represent a (and I cite) "high species count for a few dives in a limited area, especially considering that the presence of large sharks distracted somewhat from a focus on smaller fishes. The fauna of Shark Reef is exceptionally rich."
Ceci-dit, it was always obvious to me that the condition of Shark Reef was way below its true potential. The hard corals were just beginning to stage a tenuous comeback after the double whammy of the 2000 coral bleaching and tsunami; and the reef had been transformed into a garbage dump by the previous operator, thus tipping the balance in favor of predators, grazers and scavengers.

Four years later, the coral is thriving and we've substantially reduced the amount, and augmented the quality of introduced nutrients.
John enthusiastically offered to come document the changes to the ecosystem. Having achieved mental mastery over 5,000 fish species along with all of their distinguishing features, he's now a scientific silverback in his own right, all the way to turning up with a wise man's beard and his very own first disciple, Rob Whitton, a young, smart, promising computer whiz.

And boy, what a harvest this has been!
Preliminary findings point to a much more balanced ecosystem harboring over 370 species, and counting, among which such oddities as Cockatoo Waspfish and Longtail Ghostpipefish.

And there's more: at least 2 range extensions, among which the spectacular hovering shrimp goby Stonogobiops yasha.
Last time I saw one of those was in 2002 in Palau. At that time, I was still a photographer and my attempt of getting the ultimate picture of both gobies together with both shrimp, a blue-faced shot at 43m on Nitrox 32, earned me both 125% EAN and a permanent excommunication by my trusted Aladin Computer.
This time, yasha was peeking out from a hole in the midst of a colony of equally beautiful Yellownose Shrimp Gobies. Must be that the presence of large sharks had so far somewhat distracted me, too.

And, very possibly, Shark Reef might boast the presence of not one, but a whopping three species new to science!
Two shrimp gobies are "cf", i.e. comparable (yet clearly different) to known species, requiring DNA sampling. One, a dragonet, is obviously something brand new, triggering a Code Red Capture Alert from Jack in Hawaii.

Intrigued?
Click the pictures and judge for yourself!


All-in-all, very very cool indeed!

And, what next?
I cite John: "...........our return next year with collecting gear to capture these species and surely add more to the list. On our last dive I added 4 additional species to the list, so the well is not dry and the count could eventually exceed 400 species. This is astounding given that I have not used ichthyocides….yet. A little whiff of rotenone does work wonders in convincing recalcitrant Amblyeleotris to become scientific specimens."

Watch this space!

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!

New Suits for The Shark Dive Team

As I'm sure you can all imagine; the daily rigours of diving take their toll on scuba gear; none more so than wetsuits. You pull them, yank the zippers, stretch them and generally they get manhandled to a degree that they eventually give up. When one's foot passes through the knee pad, you definitely know it's time for replacement.

Having heard great reviews from guests about Pinnacle Aquatics line of suits, Andrew headed over to check them out whilst at DEMA earlier this year. It did not take long to be convinced about the suits and the order was placed for new dive team suits and new rental suits.

The crew are now decked out in the 5mm Merino Elastiprene and the rental fleet of suits is now made up of the 5/4mm Merino Fusion suits. If you are looking at reducing your travel bag weight; rest assured that a complete line of top-notch rental gear is available in a range of sizes. Maybe you are considering a Pinnacle suit but want to try one out; just ask one of the crew and they'll be more than happy to set you up with one next time you go diving with us.

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.

Whow!!!

Ever heard about TOPP?

Me neither, until Karen from our Tongan friends and partners at Dive Vava'u (please ask about our special, two-country adventure packages during the Tongan Humpback season) pointed me to their awesome Website.

TOPP stands for Tagging Of Pacific Predators and aims at determining the Pacific Ocean's hot spots where apex predators congregate to feed and mate, as well as the prevailing oceanic migratory routes they follow.

It began in 2000 as one of 17 projects of the Census of Marine Life, an ambitious 10-year, 80-nation endeavor to assess and explain the diversity and abundance of life in the oceans, and where that life has lived, is living, and will live.

Several dozen TOPP researchers from eight countries began venturing into offshore waters, remote islands, and along rugged coastlines to attach satellite tags to 22 different species of top predators that roam the Pacific Ocean. As of 2007, they have tagged more than 2,000 animals, including Elephant Seals, Great White Sharks, Leatherback Turtles, Blue Whales, Squid, Albatross and Sooty Shearwaters.
As these animals began sending back data via Argos, a polar-orbiting satellite, they opened the door to a world we'd never seen before: a picture of their migration routes and their ecosystem.

Take as an example the map pictured here which shows the interweaving tracks of several tagged pelagic species , including Laysan Albatross (blue dotted line in the western Pacific Ocean), Leatherback Turtles, (white tracks), Salmon Sharks (in red), and Elephant Seals (in green).

And what about the tagging we do at Shark Reef?
In due course, I don't know when, I don't know how, we'll be part of it all - and that's a Promise!

In the meantime, the site offers a cornucopia of Data, Publications and News which is second to none and that will entertain and amaze you for weeks and months to come.

Enjoy!

Awesome new Pictures!

Meet Klaus Jost, gentleman and photographer extraordinaire!

Never mind having to schlepp along half a dozen cameras and a score of strobes, never mind being limited to 36 exposures allowing for only moderate, and above all, tedious post-production: Klaus is truly what the Germans call "alte Schule" and wouldn't dream about relinquishing his venerable Nikonos RS with its unique underwater optics in favor of that modern digital "Firlefanz" cluttering the camera market.
And why should he: so far, the quality and detail of his wideangle shots remains unmatched!

As is his generosity: despite being a full professional, Klaus will always donate his pictures for the cause of Education and Conservation, as documented by countless websites and publications worldwide. Bravo und Danke mein Lieber!

Having gained international recognition with his pictures and reports about breaching Great Whites, Klaus has shifted his focus to the South Pacific. He has been with us three times now and his shark portfolio is a vivid testimony to both his excellent skills and the fact that Shark Reef never fails to produce. This is a long-term endeavor as Klaus has embarked on the monumental task of trying to document not only every Shark, but also all of the other Fish life within the Reserve.

With a new fish count imminent in January, that task is likely to become even more daunting!

You can savor Klaus' latest Fijian crop on his website, especially in the sections about Bull Sharks and Tiger Sharks.

Enjoy!

Ultimate Shark Toy!

Xmas is just around the corner and here comes Mattel with a wonderful new toy combining great entertainment and stellar epistemological value and quite possibly, an invaluable tool for fostering cross-cultural awareness and respect!

Ingeniously named the "Mattel Matchbox Mega Rig Mega Set 2 in 1 Adventure with Shark Ship and Squid Sub " and featuring exquisitely suggestive, premium quality artwork, it not only contains one, but two Monster chomping Sharks and even a Killer Squid! Talk about value for money!

The mission is as delightfully straightforward as it is unendingly exciting:
"You're a marine biologist scouting the deepest depths of ancient seas to find undiscovered creatures. As your man in the diving cage is attacked by a 50-foot Shark-Saurus, you know you have to act fast to save him and capture the great grey beast."
Indispensible accessories include CAPTURE GEAR! a FIRING HARPOON! a SHARK GRABBER! + SHARK MISSILE!

Thankfully, parents have been quick to recognize the awesome pedagogical virtues of this monumental innovation, as documented by this proud testimony:
"My sons current favorite toy (and here follow 5 stars out of 5)
Bought this for my 6 year old boy and it was the clear winner from all of his BD gifts. He couldn't wait to start playing with it. It has a lot of variations to toy around with and he particularly enjoys having the shark eat the captain, which is foundly (sic) named Captain "Crunch". "
Whow! How adorably witty!

My only modest suggestion for improvement would be to add a) a small sharp knife, b) two toothpicks and c) a tiny porcelain bowl.
That way, when kiddo should ever get tired of hunting, shooting, killing and grabbing the Monster Shark, the parents could even introduce him to the arcane mysteries of Asian Culture!

How?
By chopping off the fins for a delicious soup, thus making a valuable contribution to cultural Tolerance and Respect and ultimately, World Peace!
Plus, wouldn't that dovetail -just oh so beautifully!- with Mattel's much-applauded and exemplary cultural ties to China?

Chomp chomp!

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!

Excuse my French !!!!

What comes to mind when you think of the Galapagos Islands?

A glance into trusted Wikipedia reveals the following:
"They are famed for their vast number of endemic species and the studies by Charles Darwin during the voyage of the Beagle that contributed to the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection."
and
"Though the first protective legislation for the Galápagos was enacted in 1934 and supplemented in 1936, it was not until the late 1950s that positive action was taken to control what was happening to the native flora and fauna.
In 1959, the centenary year of Charles Darwin's publication of The Origin of Species, the Ecuadorian government declared 97.5% of the archipelago's land area a national park, excepting areas already colonised.
The Charles Darwin Foundation was founded the same year, with its international headquarters in Brussels. Its primary objectives are to ensure the conservation of unique Galápagos ecosystems and promote the scientific studies necessary to fulfill its conservation functions. Conservation work began with the establishment of the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz Island in 1964.
In 1986 the surrounding 70,000 square kilometres (43,496 sq mi.) of ocean was declared a marine reserve, second only in size to Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
In 1990 the archipelago became a whale sanctuary.
In 1978 UNESCO recognised the islands as a World Heritage Site, and in 1985 a Biosphere Reserve. This was later extended in December 2001 to include the marine reserve."

And then, there's the Diving!
Clouds of schooling Hammerheads, the resident pack of supersized Galapagos Sharks on that corner in Wolf, the funny Redlipped Batfish, friendly Black Galapagos Sea Turtles, mating giant Whale Sharks right in front of Darwin's Arch, boiling bait balls, wandering flocks of Silkies, flights of Golden Cownose Rays - pure magic!

Well, it seems, not for long anymore.

• One year ago, in its wisdom, the all-powerful Darwin Station cancelled all of the popular two-week dive cruises, no reasons given. In brief, you can forget about any meaningful diving in Shark Heaven, Wolf and Darwin Islands.
  
• Then, it doubled the quotas of the fishermen operating in the area.
• In June of this year, UNESCO has added the Galapagos to its List of World Heritage Sites in Danger.
• One month ago, the Darwin Station withdrew the operating license of all diving vessels except for the two biggest operators. Again, no advance warning and no reasons were given, stranding scores of pre-booked tourists and causing untold damage to the reputation of the Industry. At the same time, huge foreign cruise ships are being allowed into the Archipelago, thus increasing pressure on the ecosystem.
  
• Now Rafael Correa, the President of Ecuador, in his wisdom, has repealed Decree 2130, the Law of 2004 banning the fishing, commercialization and exportation of Sharks. No reasons given of course.

In the week following that decision, more than two tons of Shark fins alone have been seized, then released back to fishermen who claimed they had caught them as bycatch.
In brief, the floodgates have been opened for the indiscriminate slaughter of Sharks in the Galapagos. Half of the 29 Shark species that frequent those waters are considered threatened.
At the same time, Correa announced that he was expelling Sea Shepherd's Local representative in Ecuador, Sean O'Hearn Gimenez, who had organized the successful seizure. That unconstitutional attempt was successfully thwarted.

What the Hell are those Morons doing?

The Darwin Station has long been the laughing stock of the Conservation community. Its Galapagos Directorship is a revolving door and its policies are only noteworthy for their arrogance, incompetence and inefficiency. Millions in Park entrance fees are being squandered in its bureaucracy and their recent track record, as shown above, is abysmal. Need there be more warning than the move by UNESCO in June?
When will the Board finally stop this pathetic travesty?

As to Correa, what can I say.
Everybody knows that the Shark Fin trade is a Mafia money laundering operation mounted by the Chinese Triads. Big money, and plenty enough to buy the President of an impoverished thirld world country. And, it's election time.

Several organizations, among them Sea Shepherds, The National Geographic Society, Peter Hughes Diving ( phddivemail@waterpath.com), my friend Dom of DiveAdvice (dom@diveadvice.com) and Wild Aid through its local representative Oswaldo Rosero (oswaldo.rosero@gmail.com) are organizing public letter campaigns addressed to Correa, requesting him to reverse his decision.
Please, if you care, write such a letter and show this blog to your friends.

One request for support I received included the following piece of advice:
"Ecuador is a sovereign nation, and most of us are not citizens of Ecuador, so please be cordial in requesting President Correa's help."

"Cordial"?
Yeah - right!!!

Doomed?

Coral Reefs Vanishing Faster Than Rain Forests

Helen Scales

for National Geographic News

August 7, 2007

Coral reefs in the Indian and Pacific Oceans are dying off much quicker than previously thought, a new study shows.

For the last two decades, Indo-Pacific reefs have shrunk by 20 percent —a loss equivalent to nearly 600 square miles (1,553 square kilometers). That makes the rate of reef loss about twice the rate of tropical rain forest loss.
The research also revealed that the decline began in the late 1960s—much earlier than had been assumed.

"Twenty or 30 years ago reefs with a high cover of coral were fairly common," said study co-author Elizabeth Selig, a marine ecologist from the University of North Carolina.
"Today there are comparatively few reefs in the Indo-Pacific that we would traditionally think of as being pristine."

"Regional Decline of Coral Cover in the Indo-Pacific: Timing, Extent and Subregional Comparisons", by John F. Bruno and Elizabeth Selig

A most welcome newcomer.

It's many divers dreams to be able to witness up close and personal one of the ocean's top predators and it does not get much bigger or better than a tiger shark encounter.

We are fortunate that we get to dive with these majestic animals on a regular basis but even we still get excited when a tiger shark turns up on one of the dives at Shark Reef. However, there's no greater feeling than the post dive high of diving with a brand new shark, no matter the species.

In June, we were blessed to have an encounter with a new, small tiger shark about 9ft in length. Well, good news, it seems that she has decided to make the local waters her home for a little while.

'Brat', as she has been affectionately named, returned again in July for another visit during our first ever Shark Studies trip with Academic Treks. On this encounter she cruised around Shark Reef for about 20mins and everybody managed to get a really good look at her. One of the participants, Simon Rivard, managed to capture some cracking images of Brat; congratulations Simon.

We hope this is not Brat's last visit to us and there are many more to come.