Wild Waters - new must have Book!

From the description by Michael Patric O'Neill.

Wild Waters is a pictorial and written journal illustrating a handful of vibrant and diverse aquatic ecosystems — Indonesia's Komodo National Park, Lembeh Strait and Bali; Brazil's Bonito region; Mexico's Guadalupe Island; and my home for the last twenty years, South Florida.

On a global scale, these locations cover insignificant, minute territory, but they are unique and contribute exponentially to our planet's richness. These hotspots of biological wealth deserve our immediate attention and care. At the very least, people should be aware of them to understand what's at stake when our actions threaten sensitive areas.

Wild Waters showcases celebratory images as well as those depicting our heavy and messy footprints on the natural world. These photos are more relevant than ever because they can inspire us to make things better. As you follow my bubbles in Wild Waters, I hope you enjoy my images as much as I enjoyed making them.

This is what I like about the man.
Apart from being, without a doubt, one of the planet's leading underwater photographers (awards list here) and photojournalists, he always weaves in a message about conservation. Very much the educator, among his stunningly prolific list of publications, he has found the time to author a whole series of books for children that aim to educate and to foster an in-depth appreciation of the natural world.

Anyway, check out the sample pages - that's what I call being a pro!

Great Images from Cocos Island!

Great pic from the Nat Geo blog - and more pics here!

Here's another video by Howard and Michele.



They being who they are, it is of course stellar as always.
The Whitetip with the small, possibly endemic Gobio Pícaro and the feeding Spotted Eagle Ray are of course the kind of behavioral images for which Howard is famous. And then the Tiger Shark, maybe even the same male I posted about here!
Great stuff!

What however shocked me were the Hammerheads.
Granted, March may have still been under the influence of the El Niño when the all-important thermocline drops down to below 60m (yes I know that for a fact!) and sightings are thus rare. Still, if I think back to when a Hammerhead school numbered thousands, if not tens of thousands of individuals, this is just such a terribly sad sight!

But over to some absolutely amazing stuff.
Edwar Herreño is a Colombian marine biologist, former guide on the Hunters and now a freelance photographer and videographer operating in Costa Rica. Like his predecessor, the forever unequaled Mario Arroyo, he very obviously brings to the table a profound knowledge of the animals and of the environment where he works.
Please go and check out his amazing website: his imagery is quite simply exquisite and elevates the game to once again a totally new level of excellence. Unbelievably impressive stuff!

Enjoy!

Indeed!

Thanks Lupo!

Fantastic Video by Howard!

From the SA Sardine run, by Sasha.

Check this out!
It's of course by Howard and Michele Hall.
We've been friends for a very very long time, and I could go on for pages and pages extolling their virtues - but everything has already been said by others, and undoubtedly much better than I could ever hope for.

Just this.
Despite of their fame and very much like their heroes Ron and Valerie, they are among the kindest, most accessible and most humble people, ever.
That, to me, is the sign of true greatness.

Enjoy!

Tiger Sharks eating a Whale!

Pic from here, story here.

Get a whale carcass and the Tigers are there in no time!

This is a dead Sperm Whale off Port Douglas.
First posted by Patric, it's a bloody cool encounter!



As always, I'm struck by how deceptively placid the Sharks appear, and how tolerant of the cameraman - kind of reminds me of the Oceanic Whitetip scene in Blue Water White Death!
Well... I said kind of!

Plus, that's obviously not just your ordinary Shark grabbing whack.
As my friend Pete informs me, Shane Down is a veteran underwater cinematographer with extensive experience in interacting with those animals - and I may add, endowed with a pair of humongous cojones! Believe it or not, the guy is on snorkel!

Needless to say: Do Not try this at home!!!

Bravo Alison!

Alison Kock got principles and I say well done!

Halle Berry is filming something Shark related in SA.
This is a Hollywood production and as such, a great chance for global exposure and making some serious money on top of that. And yet, when asked to participate, Kock refused - and even managed to weave in some good pro-Shark sound bites!

As the she told the Daily Mail.

"After reading the script we decided it was not something we would like to put our names to.
Our mandate is to try to change people's perceptions of sharks. The first script that we got sounded very much like it had a thriller aspect to it and a personal kind of aspect to it as well.
But fighting off a shark, or surviving a shark attack - we couldn't see the positive side of that, as much as we tried."

Well said - and see? It's that easy not to be part of Shark Porn!
Others are obviously not so fussy - but that's another story for another post.

For those who don't know, Alison is an original Shark Angel, does research on Great Whites and co-runs the SOSF Shark Center in Kalk Bay near Cape Town, SA - Blog here.
She has previously been involved in brilliant pro-Shark media like this CNN feature with Anderson Cooper who himself is a real good man.

Ferretti et al. 2010 - the Facts

The Sharkdive, from lucky man Marty's fantastic new crop - and yes, those are links!

Back to the Sharks and to real science.
This new paper summarizes the current status of Sharks. It’s fascinating reading, sometimes counter intuitive and represents the facts as they are known today.

The good news is that the situation is not uniformly catastrophic but that there are great variations among species, habitats and geographic locations. The bad news is that it is fair to say that most large Sharks are acutely endangered.
Required reading for anybody wanting to speak about the topic.

Bold, italics and links are mine.

From

Francesco Ferretti, Boris Worm, Gregory L. Britten, Michael R. Heithaus and Heike K. Lotze
Patterns and ecosystem consequences of shark declines in the ocean.

Abstract

Whereas many land predators disappeared before their ecological roles were studied, the decline of marine apex predators is still unfolding.
Large sharks in particular have experienced rapid declines over the last decades. In this study, we review the documented changes in exploited elasmobranch communities in coastal, demersal, and pelagic habitats, and synthesize the effects of sharks on their prey and wider communities.

We show that the high natural diversity and abundance of sharks is vulnerable to even light fishing pressure.
The decline of large predatory sharks reduces natural mortality in a range of prey, contributing to changes in abundance, distribution, and behaviour of small elasmobranchs, marine mammals, and sea turtles that have few other predators. Through direct predation and behavioural modifications, top-down effects of sharks have led to cascading changes in some coastal ecosystems. In demersal and pelagic communities, there is increasing evidence of mesopredator release, but cascading effects are more hypothetical. Here, fishing pressure on mesopredators may mask or even reverse some ecosystem effects.

In conclusion, large sharks can exert strong top-down forces with the potential to shape marine communities over large spatial and temporal scales. Yet more empirical evidence is needed to test the generality of these effects throughout the ocean.

From the paper

Here, we attempt to synthesize what is known about the ecological role of sharks, which are among the largest and most wide-ranging predators in the ocean.
This topic has received urgent attention over the past decade, as studies have indicated rapid and widespread declines, particularly of large sharks, because of the direct and indirect effects of fishing.

This has prompted questions about the nature and scale of the ecological consequences.
In this study, we begin by briefly reviewing the ecological features of sharks, highlighting differences from other marine predators. We then analyse the current state and history of shark exploitation, searching for general patterns of community change in coastal, demersal, and pelagic ecosystems. Finally, we synthesize the expected and observed effects of sharks on marine ecosystems from experimental, empirical, and modeling studies. In the conclusion, we attempt to explain under which conditions sharks are expected to play a unique role, and how that role may depend on the ecosystem context.

This study is largely based on all major peer-reviewed papers published on this topic over the past decade, but also includes important earlier work.

Vulnerability to fishing

Most chondrichthyans are characterized by low growth rates, late sexual maturity, and low fecundity compared to bony fish, which makes them vulnerable to fishing mortality. A comparison of 26 shark and 151 bony fish populations found that sharks show twice the fishing extinction risk of bony fishes.
Also their ability to recover after depletion is low on average: rebound potential of 26 shark populations ranged between 14% (Mustelus californicus) and 1.7% (Squalus acanthias) per year with variability explained by a combined effect of size and preferred habitat.
In fact, it was highest for small coastal sharks, intermediate for pelagic and minimal for large coastal species. Deep-water sharks may be among the most vulnerable to fishing, with population growth rates 40–60% lower compared with pelagic, and 55–63% lower compared with coastal species. As a life history trade-off, most elasmobranchs invest more into juvenile survival and growth rather than fecundity.

Elasticity analyses show that changes in juvenile and adult survival and age at maturity have the highest contributions to population growth rate.
This explains why elasmobranch populations generally respond strongly to changes in both predation and fishing. While exploitation often leads to decreased ages at maturity and increased fecundities in teleosts , there is little evidence for such compensating responses in elasmobranchs.

Finally, while life history determines the level of mortality sharks can sustain, their vulnerability depends on the combination of life history, sensitivity to habitat loss and exposure to perturbations such as catchability and availability to fisheries.
The latter relates to many factors including geographic range, habitat use, behaviour, and body size.

Only over the past 5–10 years has the conservation status of many elasmobranchs been systematically evaluated by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Its shark specialist groups concluded that elasmobranchs are primarily threatened by fishing (96.1%) including directed commercial (31.7%), by-catch (57.9%), recreational (0.7%) and artisanal ⁄ subsistence fishing (5.8%), followed by habitat destruction (2.9%) and pollution (0.4%, http://www.redlist.org).
Of the 1159 chondrichthyans known, 881 species have been evaluated globally with 42.8% listed as data deficient (DD), 25.7% least concern (LC), 13.9% near threatened (NT), 11.2% vulnerable (VU), 4.1% endangered (EN) and 2.4% critically endangered (CR, http://www.redlist.org).

Status varies by region, with the highest proportion of threatened (VU, EN, CR) species in the Mediterranean and NE Atlantic, while in the NW Pacific the situation appears less critical.
However, there is considerable uncertainty as many species are listed as data deficient or not yet assessed. Three regional IUCN assessments further highlight the critical situation in the Mediterranean and NE Atlantic, while providing a more optimistic assessment for Australia.

Coastal ecosystems

These studies suggest that even light fishing pressure by artisanal and subsistence fishing on remote islands or sharknetting programs along continental shores can be sufficient to cause dramatic declines in populations of large coastal sharks.
This would explain why such populations are now rare or absent in more impacted systems such as the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and Mediterranean Sea. Moreover, shark-netting data suggest some patterns of ecological reorganisation. As large coastal sharks declined, catch rates of more fecund and wide-ranging species such as tiger (Galeocerdo cuvier) or hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna spp.) increased, at least temporarily, in shark nets in New South Wales, South Africa, and Queensland.
However, it is unclear at this point to which extent these reflect changes in abundance, distribution, or behaviour.

Demersal ecosystems

More than 90% of elasmobranch species worldwide inhabit demersal ecosystems on continental shelves and slopes which makes them vulnerable to trawl fishing. When trawling begins, catches of elasmobranchs are usually abundant and diverse including both small and large species despite the lower catchability of the latter. As fishing proceeds, this initial diversity and abundance can be eroded very quickly. Large sharks often disappear from catches, and the community becomes dominated by smaller elasmobranch mesopredators.
Moreover, major restructuring of elasmobranch communities can occur through differential vulnerabilities to fishing gears, variation in spatial occurrence relative to fishing areas, and release from predation and competition. Over time, trawl fisheries often expand towards further offshore and deeper grounds where elasmobranch communities are composed of less resilient species. At this stage, domains of developed trawl fisheries often exceed the habitat and dispersal range of many elasmobranch species, leaving no spatial refuges. This is the case of the Mediterranean, where a century of trawl fishing led to the loss of 16 of 31 recorded elasmobranch species in the Tyrrhenian Sea, six of 33 species in the Adriatic Sea and half of the elasmobranch species recorded in trawl fisheries in the Gulf of Lion since the 1950s

Pelagic ecosystems

Industrial fisheries in the open ocean started in the 1950s primarily to catch tuna and swordfish on the high seas. Fisheries statistics and scientific surveys were available from the beginning, and early catch rates essentially reflect unexploited fish communities.
Sharks constituted a substantial by-catch, and often a nuisance in causing damage to hooked target fish. In the Gulf of Mexico and Pacific Ocean, longliners caught about one shark for every two yellowfin tuna and in the Atlantic, 2–3 sharks for every swordfish.

This led to rapid declines in shark catches over the last 50 years.
In the Pacific, standardized catch rates of Carcharhinus falciformis decreased by 91.7%, while in the Gulf of Mexico those of C. longimanus were reduced by > 99% . In the NW Atlantic, 18 coastal and pelagic sharks showed declines in catch rates of 49–89% in <>

At the community level, declines are not uniform across species.
Less resilient carcharhinids usually declined first potentially benefiting more prolific species such as blue and mako sharks (Isurus oxyrinchus). From 1977 to 1994, pelagic fisheries landings in Brazil revealed the disappearance of 14 species of carcharhinids (dominated by C. signatus), and a concomitant increase of mako and blue sharks. Likewise, in the North Pacific, blue shark biomass is estimated to have increased by 20% relative to the 1970s (Sibert et al. 2006), and this species is now considered the most abundant shark in pelagic ecosystems. Mako sharks appear to have declined less than other large species in the Gulf of Mexico, Central Pacific and NW Atlantic.
However, when intense exploitation continues, all large sharks can be virtually eliminated such as in the Mediterranean Sea.

Approximately 21 oceanic elasmobranch species are commonly caught in high seas fisheries; these are broadranging species with circumglobal distribution.
Although there are no documented cases of local species extinctions, 58% of pelagic species are considered threatened by IUCN, more than any other listed group of chondrichthyans.

The high demand for shark fins in Asian markets is an important factor in the decline of pelagic species, which are often highly priced for their fins.
This has motivated new shark fisheries and prompted others to switch from bony fish to sharks. Pelagic sharks range across extensive, poorly monitored areas, thus the amount of sharks taken globally for their fins is estimated to be four times higher than that reported to FAO.

In summary, sharks have been increasingly threatened by the direct and indirect effects of fishing worldwide.
This has caused marked declines in shark populations, particularly larger and less resilient species such as carcharhinids. These declines have coincided with substantial reorganisation of elasmobranch communities, including the rise of smaller sharks and rays in some regions.

ECOSYSTEM CONSEQUENCES

We are just beginning to understand the potential ecological consequences of shark declines, largely because of the difficulties in studying sharks and their prey in their natural environments. Ecosystem models predict that in some situations sharks will exert considerable top-down impacts on their prey, while not in others.

And here follows a cornucopia of examples from across a wide range of habitats.

CONCLUSIONS

Our overview shows that in natural, unexploited systems, sharks often exhibit high abundance and diversity.
Yet even light fishing pressure is sufficient to cause strong population declines in vulnerable species, particularly large sharks. Such trends have been shown for artisanal and subsistence fishing on remote islands, shark netting programs, and in trawl and long-line fisheries in many regions, resulting in community shifts from large- to small-bodied species.

Population declines of large species often exceeded one, sometimes two orders of magnitude with some local extinctions.
Yet some more resilient species have not declined as drastically or have even increased, possibly via reduced competition or predation. Larger shark populations are still seen in some remote or protected areas, particularly in the Pacific, and may provide valuable opportunities to further understand the ecological role of sharks.

Yet, reported catches of sharks and other elasmobranchs are still increasing in most regions, possibly indicating that more fisheries target sharks where they have not been historically exploited, a trend partially driven by the rising demand for highly prized shark fins on Asian markets.
Many large sharks are the sole predators of smaller elasmobranchs and other marine megafauna, and the depletion of large sharks has likely contributed to considerable increases in these species in some regions. With their wide-ranging distribution and predatory role, large sharks in particular can spread their impacts across different ecosystems. Such spatial connectivity has also been shown to be important in freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems and may increase the connectivity and stability of ocean food webs.

Ecosystem models predict that the loss of sharks should result in complex community changes, including trophic cascades, mesopredator release, and consequent declines in some commercial fish.
The strength and persistence of these effects, however, appear to decrease from coastal and reef to demersal and pelagic environments. Observational studies suggest the presence of strong species interactions in some regions, mediated by direct consumption and risk effects, sometimes leading to trophic cascades. As fishing and netting effort has increased, declines in large apex-predatory sharks have coincided with widely documented increases in smaller sharks and rays, as well as mammals and turtles. These mesopredator increases may be partly explained by decreased predation mortality and risk effects, and have in some cases led to increased pressure on prey species, such as invertebrates and teleost fishes or even seagrasses. We must caution that many of the interactions are supported by limited empirical evidence. We are only beginning to study the complex ecological roles that large-bodied, wideranging predators such as sharks play.

Ritter and the Enablers

Lookee lookee – the Sharkitarians are on the move!

These are the upcoming trips of Ritter’s Sharkschool – and what is more interesting, the names of the enablers!
Don’t get me wrong, if a bunch of whackos want to go on a dive cruise or book a nice hotel in the tropics, all the power to them and especially, to those who take their money! Whackos are certainly one of the most lucrative market segments and the backbone of entire thriving industries – just think of the New Age movement and its various gurus and quacks or, with all due respect, look at the millions raked in by the global Whale watch industry!

But the Shark diving operators?
There’s really no two ways about this: by whatever metrics one applies, Ritter is just a bad, bad guy and any serious and self respecting operator needs to turn down his business, period!
Or is it once again all about the money, as in pecunia non olet?

But back to Doktor Ritter and his track record.
He has pretty much singlehandedly destroyed a thriving Shark ecotourism operation and conservation project on Walker’s Cay when he decided to take the money and allow Discovery to air the infamous footage of the Shark attack (no that was not an incident!) that cost him his calf. He has also conned several Shark NGOs, namely at least the Shark Foundation and Shark Project (and I suspect, at present, the SRI) of substantial amounts of research money without ever engaging in proper research, let alone publishing a single paper in exchange.
But then, one could argue that the past is the past and that it’s none of our business anyway, and I partly agree.

As for his scientific credentials, or lack of, what can I say.
It just so happens that I’ve studied Biology at the same University of Zurich as he and thus know that Ritter is a Wildbiologe, a very alpine and equally arcane discipline investigating the life history of Mountain Goats and the like. Having then self promoted himself to Shark researcher, he has published a couple of utterly irrelevant papers that few have read and nobody ever remembers, let alone cites.
Apart from that, the bulk of his productions consists in several idiotic little publications intended to educate, or whatever, the public at large that have been authoritatively reviewed as follows, and I cite

The lack of references also detracts from the ability to assess some of the claims and leaves one with the impression that most of the book is pseudoscience.

Finally, the volume is prone to hyperbole. For example, calling overfishing of sharks the largest ecological time bomb of all is absurd given our understanding of global climate change.

Although this book should be of interest to a general audience and is well intentioned, it does not add to our understanding of shark biology, their natural behavior, or their role in marine communities.

Ritter’s absurd non science quickly catapulted him to notoriety, and then to pariah status among his peers, at which he obviously decided to engage into what the Germans call Flucht nach vorne and to start thinking outside of the box – which quickly landed him way out there in left field and consequently, in the maws of a hungry Bull Shark.

Other would call it the ramblings of a lunatic - I call what he teaches Sharkitarianism.
Very much like New Age, it’s a mixture of truisms, pseudoscience, Rousseau-inspired romanticism and pseudo-visionary platitudes (check out the atrocious video!) that purports to breach the confines of petty conventionalism by creating a web of half truths and inane intuitive and always untested hypotheses, abusing scientific insights and language and accusing the perceived other side of being small minded, biased and intolerant - and in case I’m being too intellectually lofty here: it’s total bullshit, baloney, rubbish!
Case in point, the ramblings in the video I’ve posted here - pure snake oil!

The modus operandi is this – and lemme tell you, like all successful charlatans, the guy is crafty!
Having correctly, and cunningly diagnosed the Angstzination (a clever combination of the German world for fear and that for fascination coined by his then mentor and now victim Wegner of Sharkproject) for Sharks of the public at large, he has proclaimed himself to be the world’s foremost expert in Shark-human interaction.
The latter is a conveniently self-invented fusion of amateur psychology and untested, and obviously untestable insights from the Global (and once again, utterly irrelevant) Shark Attack File where he equally conveniently happens to be the resident Shark Behaviorist. And let’s not forget his stints as self-proclaimed Shark attack pathologist and his sanctimonious creation of SAVN, now apparently suspended!
Add to it the serendipitous occurrence, and above all, the survival of a veritable Shark attack and you have all the trappings for the start of a lucrative career as the world’s premier Shark Attack Guru - oh and for the German speakers: as Shark Shaman, too!
Wow - talk about having gone off the deep end!

But back to the topic at hand: this is precisely the insidiousness of Ritter’s proposition.
It’s exactly like Discovery’s recent roll-out. Forget the attempt at greenwashing by proffering Shark conservation sound bites - this is exclusively about making money by exploiting the fear of Shark attacks, pure Shark Porn!
By preaching to his disciples that they will only be able to safely interact with Sharks once they’ve given him their money, attended his seminars and learned his visionary techniques, he directly propagates the image of the ever lurking, man hunting monster.
Can you see that too - or is it once again just me who is blinded by conventionalism and incapable of thinking outside of the aforementioned box? Looks like I'm not alone!

As to the Fiji trip, now we know.
Nothing to add to what I said here – and no, it comes at no surprise!

Sardine Run - by Sasha!

Forget the Sharks - these birds are lethal!

The man is just insatiable!

Having just digested his latest portfolio from Fiji, here comes a batch from South Africa!
I'm of course talking about Alexander Safonov, aka patsOn, aka Sasha, good friend, very (!) suspect financial markets geek, prolific blogger and above all, gifted and ever more successful UW photographer. Ever since discovering his pics when he first came to Fiji, I've been a great fan of his talent and his perseverance - as have obviously others!

This I believe is his second foray to the Sardine Run - or is it his third?
Anyway, like in Fiji, the pics keep getting better - whether due to experience, luck or his new mega-super-duper wideangle lens, or all of the above!
Or is it the fact that like in Fiji, he's becoming ever more reckless in risking his life when confronting the surrounding army of big predators, close and personal - especially the Piranha-like killer Gannets, pictured above?

Just kidding!
The man is no fool and the descriptions are probably good marketing by the agent, garnished with a dash of the inevitable and endearing Russian heroism!

Well done мой друг - and come back soon!

Whales, Tuna and Kona Kampachi!

Marvelous article!

"Whale carpaccio – 130 kroners." Thus read the lead starter on the menu in an upscale Norwegian restaurant where I was dining on a winter evening not long ago.
Eight slices of whale arranged raw on a plate for the reasonable price of about £13. I have to admit that the prospect of ordering it was intriguing. A near global commercial whaling moratorium has been in effect since 1986, with only Norway, Iceland and Japan refusing to stop. I had never been to a country that still practised whaling, and I had certainly never seen whale on a menu. What would whale taste like, I wondered. Would it be fatty and chewy like beef, or would it have the loose, flaky texture of fish that don't need dense muscles to resist the pull of gravity? Would it be served like prosciutto, with a thin slice of Parmesan cheese? Or, since carpaccio is an Italian dish, would it be more appropriate merely to drizzle olive oil over the whale's buttery sheen?

Please read it!
Extremely well written, extremely well researched, it explores the issue of how our insatiable appetite for Tuna is leading to the extinction of a species, and possible solutions.
I cannot recommend this highly enough!

And here's a great interview and piece about the author, Paul Greenberg!

Third Party Endorsements!

Papa and Whitetip, stellar pic by Sasha

This why we love doing what we do!

We surfaced, cheering out loud from the adrenaline and then hop up into the boat fast since the tiger is still beneath us somewhere, and we know we are still in her realm.
On the way back the Divemaster tells us a story that went something like this: “One day the tiger shark, Scarface, showed up and she was agitated, angry, I could tell. She circled and circled above me and finally showed me the problem. There was a large metal hook in her mouth, right through the skin. She kept circling and so I knew what I needed to do. Scarface knows me, I’ve dove with her so many times, so I swam to her and put my hand on her mouth and stopped her, and I pulled out the hook.” The Divemaster goes to the front of the boat and pulls out a huge fishing hook, he keeps it in a box onboard as proof.

When deciding to go shark diving I had a lot of reservations, not only about the safety but about the fact that if I participated I was making a conscious decision to feed the sharks, to disrupt their natural patterns. In the end I’m glad I did the dive. I understand now more the power and beauty of these sharks. The divemasters say the sharks don’t come around every day, the tigers go missing for weeks at times, so they are still in their natural behavior, they still leave to mate and feed.

This opportunity has also provided the divemasters, all Fijians who believe they are protected from the sharks, the chance to intimately get to know these sharks and give us insight into their patterns. These divers can tell when a shark is pregnant; they know each shark by name. They have also started a tagging program for the bull sharks, to gain insight into their movement. While I didn’t feel the need to repeat the dive in Fiji, I think going once is a great experience. I don’t have a list of sharks to see and won’t be chasing them on a bunch of shark dives, but as our desire to see the world first hand and preserve the animals in it increases, we all need to decide where we stand on feeding or tracking or swimming with all animals. For me, seeing these animals once was enough to appreciate them more, I’ll never forget that dive – but from now on I will leave them to cruise the oceans on their own.

More by Mariah Boyle here - about darn Damsels!

I sometimes just go and search the web for comments by our clients.
They are completely beyond our influence and as honest as it gets, and thus constitute excellent feedback. Of many I discovered for 2010, here's a nice one about us and the fabulous Uprising Beach Resort, a glowing endorsement (yes, Nani rocks!) but what is obviously a very happy customer and a short trip report with video.
Among more "editorial" stuff, I found a really good writeup about the Shark dive, a more general piece featuring the fabulous clip by the BBC, a very (!) insightful description by a travel agent and finally, a fantastic series of pics by Sasha on CNTV!

And then, there's this video clip.
It's actually got nothing to do with us but depicts BLR over on Beqa Island and irritates me because somebody has just ripped one of our DVDs and stolen the footage, like on 3:12ff. The man with the yellow cap is of course Rusi .
But then again, it shows some nice vistas of reef diving in Beqa Lagoon and above all, it features historical footage and audio on 4:00ff. Yes this is Manasa aka lucky man Papa, probably about 10 years ago! He truly is the friendliest, most goodhearted, most positive, most wonderful person, ever!
And before you ask: yes, he's doing great!

Enjoy!

What we are and do – and not!

Just in case!

From a recent message by a friend
It's getting to the point where the inmates are running the asylum.

Indeed – but not in Fiji!
Here are some considerations that we’re about to post on our home page. They reflect the fact that we’re catering to a specific market segment and mindset, and will as a consequence always remain unattractive for some other demographics.

Here’s why you should choose Beqa Adventure Divers.

• This is the original product. Yes the company has only been established in 2004 but some of our staff are the very people who have discovered and named most dive sites within Beqa Lagoon and above all, developed the Fiji Shark Dive. No dive team in Fiji is this experienced! The Shark dive on Shark Reef has been conducted since 1999 and is the only such dive that has been described as The Best Shark Dive in the World by Ron and Valerie Taylor and a whole host of diving icons and publications thereafter.

• This is principally a marine conservation project that includes a dive operation, and not vice versa. Our seamless integration of diving, conservation, education, outreach and research has been hailed world wide. We are not on the hunt for awards and personal fame of whispering and the like, but instead, prefer to work hard at researching and protecting Sharks in Fiji and elsewhere. We also do not enable anti-Shark media.
  

• You are going to dive within Shark Reef Marine Reserve, Fiji’s first marine sanctuary dedicated to the protection of Sharks that has been established by one of our shareholders in cooperation with government and local stakeholders. This is the original site that has been featured in countless publications all across the world.

• We are a renowned ecotourism operator and always strive to further reduce our ecological and carbon footprints. From installing fixed moorings on all of our dive sites to running fuel efficient engines, everything we do is geared to minimizing our impact on the environment.

• We are beholden to Fiji. We cooperate closely with Fiji's government and local communities and stakeholders, and generally strive to make a contribution to enhancing the country’s international reputation and prosperity, and that of its people. With the exception of the directors, all of our staff are Fijians who partake directly in our success via a generous bonus scheme. All of our earnings accrue and are taxed in Fiji, meaning that we do not operate offshore booking offices and do not dodge taxes by circling our cash flow via shell companies in tax heavens.

• Safety is our main concern and our safety record is pristine. Whilst always striving to provide a memorable and highly enjoyable experience, we observe stringent safety guidelines comprising regular maintenance, upgrades and surveys of all of our infrastructure, highly trained staff, exhaustive dive briefings, special Shark diving procedures, high staff to client ratio, non decompression diving and comprehensive emergency equipment and protocols.

• We provide for excellent and exclusive service. BAD is a high end operator and we pride ourselves in being highly professional and mindful of the needs and comfort of our clients. Specifically, we limit the number of customers on our boats and you will never experience any dive where divers from other operations will join in and spoil your exclusive experience.

• You will be able to capture stunning images. We are experienced UW photographers and videographers and know our sites, Fishes and Sharks. We have designed the Shark dive in view of allowing for unobstructed and clear views of the animals, and experienced elite amateurs will be safely positioned in strategic locations from where they will be able to shoot top-notch pictures and video.

By the same token, you should NOT book a dive with us

• If you are not cool. Fiji’s has been rightly called the friendliest country in the world and we are eager to please you in any way we can – but this is still a developing country, cultures differ, and quality standards and above all, the concept of time are subject to interpretation. We generally run a tight ship but transfers may run late, luggage may be lost (but is usually found) and bookings may be mishandled - such is life in the tropics and Paradise comes at a price. In general, all problems get eventually resolved and losing one’s temper usually makes things worse, not better. Please also keep in mind that service providers are not servants and that nobody likes to be talked down at.

• If you are an adrenaline junkie. Yes our Shark dive is in many ways a spectacle, but we respect the animals and our show has nothing to do with intrepid native heroes showcasing their courage and manhood, or whatever, by wrangling lethal apex predators. We try to convey a sense of wonder and awe and do not subscribe to notions of extreme Shark diving and the like. You are invited to join us as a spectator - and thank you, but we do not need your help. Concurrently, we do not enable radical close-up captures by amateur image hunters.

• If you’ve been everywhere, seen it all and now it all better. You may indeed be incredibly important and good - but please, let us be the judge of that. We’ve been operating successfully and safely for many years and nobody even remotely matches our experience when it comes to these specific dives. Whilst you may unleash your experience, skills and creativity on our reef dives, our Shark dive is a tightly choreographed event where you will not be allowed to roam and improvise but will be directed and supervised instead. We very much encourage constructive feedback as a vital contribution to improving our product – but we take badly to vocal public lecturing, posturing and self-professed stardom. In the softest possible way, if icons like, say, Ron and Valerie Taylor, Stan Waterman and Doug Perrine don’t display those attitudes, neither should you.

• If you are a Shark hugger. Large predatory Sharks are potentially lethal and need to be respected and not romanticized. Also, our Shark dive has nothing to do with a natural situation where the animals display natural behavior: it is essentially a show where we have conditioned the animals to observe a uniform, predictable and safe routine, this principally for safety reasons. Feeding Sharks is controversial but we believe that it does not harm the animals, a fact that is consistently being confirmed by all relevant research - and no, we’re really not eager to engage in this debate!

• If you are an anti-smoking zealot. Smoking is a personal choice and we allow it during the surface intervals, provided that smokers retire to the stern platform which is downwind from the cabin and the fuel tanks. Smokers are not criminals and smoke does not travel upwind, ever.

There you have it - now you know!

Discovery Shark Week - same old same old!

Well, I guess the cat is out of the bag.

I just had a look at this year's Shark Week lineup and nothing has changed.
Underwater Thrills and Oceanic Dreams are uncharacteristically mellow. Like me, they're probably tired of wasting time on the subject, as despite of hopeful signs like the management re-shuffle, etc, Discovery appears hell-bent on once again focusing on attacks and thus, reducing the animals to dangerous man-hunting monsters.

As to whether this may be educational?
What education??? What can anybody possibly learn from this rubbish?

Oh well, as I said, I'm tired of this shit.
Cris Palmer and Peter Kimball over at the Huffington Post basically say it all. Great post and kudos for having brought this to the mainstream media.
Excerpts below, links and italics are mine, not theirs.

"Teeth of death," "Shark feeding frenzy," "The Worst Shark Attack Ever." It is that time of year again, when the Discovery Channel brings out shows like these as part of its annual "Shark Week" programming. This week of bloody feeding frenzies and vicious shark attacks is part of a larger trend in nature programming. Instead of seeking to educate or to promote environmental conservation, these shows focus only on presenting graphic, sensationalized animal violence.
Programs like those in Shark Week -- while they might garner high ratings and attract advertiser dollars -- all too often mislead the audience, exploit animals, and fail to promote conservation.

We applaud Discovery Channel's partnership with Senator John Kerry to help end shark finning, but the general effect of the graphic Shark Week programming is not to promote conservation but to instill fear, terror, and hatred in the viewer.

Networks, studios, and filmmakers need to improve the quality of their work and invest in nature shows that encourage conservation and entertain without misleading.
However, viewers must also take responsibility for the programs they watch. We cannot expect to see more ethical, responsible filmmaking as long as we continue to support those shows that sensationalize and exploit animals.

One Million Views - and counting!

Story here.

One more Darn Damsel!

Cribrarula exmouthensis rottnestensis anybody?

Thought so!
Thing is, when I started collecting Cowries, my trusted field guide featured one Genus, Cypraea and two species of Sieve Cowries, cribraria and cribellum.
Now, Cypraea has been elevated to the rank of Family and there's a plethora of Genuses, among which Cribrarula - and as to what happened to the species, what can I say: there's a whole array of cribraria all the way to Cribrarula cribraria cribraria zadela; Cypraea cribellum has become Cribrarula esontropia cribellum; and the above-mentioned West Australian Sieve Cowry has slowly morphed to its current nomenclature from no less than Cribrarula (Cribrarula) cribraria occidentalis f. rottnestensis!
Are you still following me?

The whole fiasco appears to be the brainchild of one Herr Doktor and avid conchologist (as opposed to malacologist) Felix Lorenz.
May this taxonomic orgy be in any way related to the fact that shell collectors are suckers for punishment and will consequently have to obtain a specimen of each species, race and variation? And that Herr Doktor Lorenz just happens to own a website where a gem rottnestensis fetches 150 bucks, and a Cribrarula exmouthensis magnifica, a whopping 800? Honi soit qui mal y pense!
And before you ask: guilty as charged! I own one of each - and a zadela!

Enter Gerry Allen and Joshua Drew - yes, as in barberi!
I spare you a repetition of the litany about Biodiversity, Endemism, Speciation, Continental Drift, Isolation, Splitters and Lumpers: it's all here should you care to be confused further.
Anyway, they've done it again.

Gerald R. Allen, Joshua Drew and Douglas Fenner: Amphiprion pacificus, a new species of anemonefish (Pomacentridae) from Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, and Wallis Island, pp. 129-138

Amphiprion pacificus n. sp. is described on the basis of four specimens, 30.9-48.3 mm SL, from Wallis Island and Tonga in the western Pacific. Underwater photographs also reveal its presence on coral reefs of Fiji and Samoa.
The new taxon is nearly identical in appearance to A. akallopisos from the Indian Ocean. Both species are generally pinkish brown, grading to orange or yellowish on the lower half of the head and side and possess a white stripe on the dorsal midline of the head extending from just anterior to the eye to the dorsal fin origin, continuing along the base of the dorsal fin to the caudal fin base. However, genetic results indicate that A. pacificus is more closely related to A. sandaracinos from Western Australia and the Indo-Malayan region, forming a moderately supported clade that is well differentiated from A. akallopisos.
Aside from genetic differences A. sandaracinos differs from A. pacificus in having a uniform orange colouration and the white forehead stripe extends onto the upper lip. There also appears to be modal differences in the number of soft dorsal and anal rays (usually 19 versus 18 and 13 versus 12 respectively for A. pacificus and A. sandaracinos).

Great!
So now we got ourselves a Pacific Skunk Anemonefish to complement the Orange Skunk and the Skunk Clownfish proper! Meaning, another identical Fish featuring modal differences in ray counts and forming a moderately supported clade!
Sure puts a whole new twist on the meaning of skunked!

As my guru laconically comments, we are going to see more of these very similar, geographically isolated populations described as new species, as the DNA guys seek recognition for their research.
Gee - can't wait!

All of which leaves me in a conundrum.
Am I gonna continue to follow the tribulations of a bunch of guys gallivanting off to some remote locations in search of ubiquitous and long described Fishes that may, or may not feature slight modal differences - or shall I rather be incredibly impressed by people like John, Richard and Rob that strap on their rebreathers and come up with unequivocal and spectacular discoveries from completely new habitats?

Take a wild guess!

No way!

No, this is for real!


Not quite - but bloody cool!

Hat tip: Blogfish!

Dolphin-safe Tuna - epic Post!

Once again, huge kudos to David!

He continues to expose the smoke & mirrors that is Dolphin-safe Tuna.
Having expanded on his previous award-winning post, this is as crystal clear as it gets, and great reading on top of it. Extremely well researched and brilliantly formulated, it is also highly thought provoking as it sheds light on the complexity of conservation where nothing is just simply black or white and everything is interconnected.

There are no simple solutions here.
Like it or not, humans will continue to consume animal protein and satisfying that demand will always come at a cost, and any viable solutions will always have to be pragmatic compromises. Amid a multitude of bad alternatives, the best ones will be those focusing on long term sustainability and adequate management measures. This also implies a commitment to preserving biodiversity as a whole rather than attributing special status to selected pet species.

As David writes
A conscious choice to go back to a previously-banned fishing method that kills large numbers of charismatic animals puts a bad taste in my mouth, but the fact is that fishing for dolphin-associated schools of tuna catches primarily non-endangered dolphins and adult tuna. Dolphin-safe tuna fishing is killing dozens of species, many of whom are endangered, and threatening the integrity of entire ecosystems.
The old way may be the better of two bad choices.

Totally agree!
With one caveat: are we really unable to develop techniques allowing us to segregate among the bottom-oriented Tuna and the surface-oriented Dolphins when catching Dolphin-associated Tuna?
Really?

Mega Jaws - Pop or Porn?

Have we all been screwed?

Meaning myself, BAD, Kristina from Niuwave Media who acted as the local facilitator and put her reputation on the line, as did Papa who mediated the contacts to a storyteller in Rukua, the Tui Cacau who graciously agreed to being interviewed, the Fiji Audio Visual Commission who facilitated the shoot – and above all, Fijian ancestral beliefs and traditions?
I hope not – but things sure look suspect!

I’m talking about Mega Jaws by Yap Films.
It has just aired on History Channel Canada and is slated for SyFy as part of Beast Legends , a series about mythical creatures that are being re-created through computer graphics. The episode explores the legend of Dakuwaqa, Fiji’s best know, albeit by no means only Shark God.
And yes, we were part of it!

From our initial correspondence.

Day 2 - The bite force test - we have obtained a Gnathodynamometer from the University of Oklahoma. The Gnathodynamometer measures the bite force of sharks. We would like to have Steve dive with it. Is that possible? We can bring it and have you and your team check it out.

"Experiments": as already discussed, I believe that kind of "off-the-cuff" stuff to be utterly useless, scientifically irrelevant and in the present case, a disservice to sharks which are once again being reduced to "teeth", if you get what I mean. I actually blogged about just such a "feat" here. So, the bad news is that the answer is "no thanks".

I assure you that we are not reducing sharks to merely "teeth."
In fact, we are hoping to work with Dr. Sam Gruber to show just how intelligent sharks are. We have had extensive discussions with him already and I am very hopeful that we will be able to work with him.

Day 4 - Final Sequence - Dakuwaqa prevents a modern day pirate ship boat from pirating.

Dakuwaqa preventing piracy etc.
Look, in the softest possible way, some tribes here really believe in the Shark God and one must be culturally sensitive. You would also not dream about re-writing the Holy Bible and staging some bogus miracle by Jesus Christ which you just happen to make up on the fly - right? Thing is, there's no piracy in Fiji and even if there were, D just doesn't do those things. D helps members of selected tribes by guarding their boats during ocean crossings and by saving those people (and no others) when they may get shipwrecked. He apparently also punishes miscreants on Taveuni. He also will not attack the people of Kadavu as he lost the fight with Kadavu's guardian spirit, the Octopus. He apparently also helps corral the fish during fish drives on Beqa. Full stop.
What you propose is going to be viewed by some as sacrilege and the last thing we want is to be the operation that has enabled that stuff. So, if you want to re-enact anything, do re-enact what people will tell you when you interview them whilst you're scouting.

Piracy – Your notes are completely understandable.
The problem that I am having is that we are operating without knowing exactly what we will hear from the tribal leaders. My hope is to have Kristina from Niuwave visit them this week so that we have a better idea of what we’ll hear about DW from them. Once this happens we can start to write the scenes of our show based directly on what hear from the tribal chiefs. This is quite urgent as there are computer graphic portions of our show that need to be confirmed and approved as soon as possible. We also don’t want to offend anyone and want to describe and portray the legend accurately.

Keep in mind that once again, people here really do believe in the legends as part of their unique cultural heritage and that it is not automatic that they will be willing to share them with outsiders - this requires a lot of respect and cultural sensitivity and needs to be approached accordingly.
I cannot emphasize enough that Fiji is not Hawaii with its bogus "traditions" and that the indigenous population are proud of their heritage and thus need to be treated with respect and not as some actors in some kind of "native soap opera". Having said this, there's no need to embellish anything anyway: you will be able to record fascinating stories against the backdrop of a fascinating country, people and huge predatory sharks: more than enough for great programming! Are we on the same page regarding this?

I hope my answers above show that we are on the same page.
If you have any concerns or comments please let me know and it would be great to keep the lines of communication open as we move forward. I am really looking forward to working with you.

Light blue is yours truly, dark blue is Jeff Thrasher of Yap who acted as Director.

The Fiji shoot was not easy.
During our research, we came to understand that the legend of Dakuwaqa is complicated and that different traditions are in part contradictory. Untangling the confusion is difficult as people won't easily share with strangers, the more as they have been convinced that upholding their ancestral beliefs may be regarded as being un-Christian.

As a minimum, there’s one Dakuwaqa who may be living in the village of Rukua on Beqa but who may have also left when the Fisherman Clan of Rukua re-located to the islet of Benau near Taveuni following a dispute over a sweet pudding.
Then, there’s also a Dakuwaqa who was born as a human being but went to live in the sea whereas his brother became the first Tui Cacau, or Paramount Chief of the province of Caucadrove encompassing parts of Vanua Levu and Taveuni.
And then, there’s also another Dakuwaqa of unknown origins that likes to engage in fights and is mentioned in the legend about why Sharks don’t attack the islanders of Kadavu.
And yes, there's more!

Anyway, Jeff arrived with Associate Producer Alex McIntosh, likeable hosts dashing Steve Leonard and Kathryn Denning (beautiful, majestic killing machines??? Really???) and filmed on the Shark dive, in Rukua and on Taveuni.
Apart from the inevitable clusterfuck and raw nerves, the shoot was uneventful, the animals cooperated, the team was genuinely pleasant and everybody seemed very happy with the results.

Once they were back in Canada, we had the following exchange.

As per today’s conversation, I’m giving you my footage for free.
I know that you and Alex understand that Dakuwaqa must be treated differently than, say, Dragons as this is not a legend but a living God. We’ve talked about it before, you can thus just not “add” to the story by inventing stuff like the “pirate attack” etc, the same as you can also not “add” to the Bible. I also know that you understand that I’m a Shark conservationist and as such take exception to people reducing Sharks to teeth, aggression and attacks. Hence the following conditions: you may NOT use my footage if in the final edit

• Dakuwaqa turns into some toothy aggressive monster, etc (he is essentially a protector)

• The Sharks are being depicted along the usual stereotypes, with mention of attacks, testosterone , aggression and the like. You have now witnessed yourselves how timid they really are despite of their size.

Also, that footage is for this show only and must be destroyed upon the completion of the show.

I assure that we meet the requests that you laid out in your email and are not painting sharks and vicious, predator machines.
We have acknowledged your requests and have a copy of your email with the materials release that you signed while we worked together in Fiji. The show is coming together quite well and I think you'll be very happy with it. The underwater cinematography is impressive across the board and the shark feeding/dive scenes are amazing. I am sure you’ll also be happy with how our story is respectful of the Fijian people and their culture.

So, I hear you ask, what’s the fuss all about?
Why I’m increasingly concerned is that I literally stumbled across a synopsis of the episode on the Beast Legend website. As far as I can remember, it explains that after Fiji, the team travels to Florida to meet Burgess who assists in reconstructing the jaws of a Shark that is larger than the Megalodon to serve as a template for the Shark God. They also travel to Bimini where they meet Doc who explains the various Shark senses.
The final reconstruction then apparently displays computer graphics of a gigantic Dakuwaqa attacking a nuclear sub (!) wanting to perform illegal test in Fiji waters!

Having asked Yap for clarifications, they have all gone AWOL.
Not only are they playing ostrich, they have also deactivated the link which is http://www.beastlegends.com/episode-guide/mega-jaws/ – not quite what I would call being transparent and accountable, and trying to address my concerns!
So, what are we to believe?

Thing is, I do have some understanding for poetic license and the constraints of wanting to produce a successful program. In that sense, a larger-than-life toothy Shark God may be regarded as Pop culture and not strictly Shark Porn.

But the buck stops at the depiction of real Sharks and above all, at Fijian culture - and when it comes to that, I’m increasingly becoming apprehensive!
Or am I just being a paranoiac sissy?

So here’s the deal.
I’d be very interested in any feedback from viewers in Canada. The episode can also be viewed online once it is not anymore not currently available.
Opinions?

As to the good people over at Yap.
I shall send them this post so that they have yet another chance and clarifying the matter – as in living up to one’s claims of integrity, high standards!
Fair?

Anybody taking bets?

PS taken up by Patric here. What can I say - he's a Canadian!
Just kidding - as is he!

PS2 just had a good talk with Jeff who being a freelancer cannot officially speak for Yap. Very good convo that has gone a long way in assuaging my fears. Kudos for having chosen to respond!
More as I get to see the episode.

PS3 read Diving Discoveries' comments here.