Helium Shark!

Pretty cool in a weird way.

Yes this would be CGI.

From what I understand, Thomas Marqué is using this tool - but then again, what do I know.

Anyway, enjoy!

Aaron Moir, Moron!

Source.

Looks like I've missed this whilst I was away.

Anyway.

In the big scheme of things, this is nothing newsworthy, just one more jackass doing moronic things, dime-a-dozen - but I'm never-the-less posting it for future reference. And because Aaron and his pals obviously believe that it is somehow cool.
Oh, and: great marketing for Blue Juice Charters!

NZ GWS Tourism - new Rules!

Source.

Here we go.

Read this.

With baiting and decoys forbidden, one has to wonder how the operators will manage to attract the Sharks to the cages - the flip side being that the Pāua divers will henceforth have a hard time substantiating their claims that Shark diving is conditioning the animals and making them more dangerous!

With that in mind - good decision!

And those moronic TV shows?

Here's to somebody having learned the obvious lessons, and to no more access for those US Shark pornographers!

PS - Controls on commercial filming. Hear hear!
PPS - Permit of Shark Dive New Zealand here, of  Shark Experience here - note Article 7 about termination if the operators do not adhere to the Code of Practice and Schedule 3 about the requirement of special permits for any commercial film productions!

Bahamian Nassau Groupers - Good News!

Source.

After the Cayman Islands, now the Bahamas.

The yearly fishing moratorium is now permanent.

The closure protects the Groupers' spawning aggregation and is hopefully a big step towards having the populations recover, thus protecting the livelihoods of the Caribbean fishermen depending on this important fishery. Once ubiquitous, the Nassau Grouper is now listed as endangered, this principally owing to overfishing.

Well done!

 

WCPFC - fail!

Dirty business. Source. Click for detail.

Nothing good to report from the WCPFC meeting in Apia.

Once again, it has been business as usual.

The depleted Tuna are getting no reprieve despite of reasonable recommendations by Pew and the WWF.  And the dirty politics have continue unabated, with the distant water fleet nations Europe, China, the United States, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan once again refusing to enter into meaningful dialogue and effectively stalling any progress.

And  the Sharks?

There, the outcome has simply been ridiculous. 

Instead of tackling the huge problem of Shark bycatch on Tuna longlines by finally banning both those Shark lines and the use of wire leaders, it is now only forbidden to use them simultaneously.

WTF!

And now?

The leveraging of their development aid by those distant water fleet nations continues to be a huge problem - but slowly slowly, the Pacific nations are recognizing that they need to take matters in their own hands if they don't want to end up losing their most precious resource. The PNA continues to be at the forefront of Tuna management, and their Vessel Day Scheme is reputed to be highly efficient whilst also being highly lucrative. And to my great satisfaction, Fiji has signed the Tokelau Arrangement that will hopefully put the management of the more Southerly Tuna fisheries back into the hands of the real resource owners - and I may add, not a minute too late, read this very interesting report!

So, here's to progress.

Yes it is frustratingly slow - and whilst the parties continue to dither, Tuna stocks continue to decline. But at least there's the hope that one day, things will really start improving.

Fingers crossed!

A Ray of Light II - finally online!

Behold!

Like AROL I, this is simply a masterpiece.
Story including not one but two making of here and here!

Enjoy!

NZ GWS Tourism - more Trouble!

Mobile Shark cage - maybe a solution? Source.

Bingo.

And I cite.

11. In spite of the clear duty of care, the paua industry is currently incurring significant costs as a direct consequence of health and safety risks arising from shark tourism operations, as detailed in the attached case study. This suggests that the current legislative framework is not sufficient to ensure that the duty of care in section 16(1)(a) is :

• reflected in practice by businesses – for example, some shark tourism operators publicly display a cavalier attitude to the safety of others in the vicinity .
  A Stewart Island shark tourism operator, when asked if he would dive with great white sharks without a cage responded “ No that would be stupid! ...the answer is categorically the same each time – NO! ” and yet this operator is well aware that commercial paua divers and other marine users are frequently present (without the protection of a shark cage ) in the waters in the vicinity of his business.
  The same operator allowed a television host, deliberately posing as a vulnerable diver, to goad a great white shark into attacking the shark cage ;

Remember?

The Pāua divers are on the offensive and so far, they are winning.

So far, none of the NZ GWS Shark diving operators has been issued a license and research permits are being withheld. This is the direct consequence of a continued abject lack of outreach and education coupled with naive and greedy operators that have been goaded into those stupidities by the kings of Shark porn, ABC4 and Jeff Kurr.

And so it goes.

To be continued no doubt!

Turtle vs Tiger Shark!

Tiger Shark teeth - remember those old can openers? Source.

Cool footage.

Yes this is how Turtles try and defend themselves.

But as we all know, those Tigers are patient and incredibly persistent. Eventually, the Turtle will have to go and breathe at the surface and then the vulnerable edge of the carapace will be exposed.

Enjoy!

Sustainable Shark Diving?

Really?
 

And now, to that post by RickMac.

But first.

Avuncular? WTF!

That's a whiff of a pico-fraction of a galaxy removed from Yoda, and I don't like it a bit - but then again, coming from the guy at the top, should I even care?
But I do like this - spot on!

Anyway.

Lemme cite.

My very personal and subjective (although I also suspect accurate) summary on what I’ve observed to date is that there is money to be made on shark dive tourism and it is a powerful incentive to “get in on the action,” regardless of experience and awareness of lessons learned.  And like all businesses, there’s a continuum of what I would consider sustainable practice… some are deeply invested in good training, supervision, and safety and some are in it to simply turn quick profit.

Indeed, astute observation!

Now, this is frankly nothing new.

Yours truly and back then, Patric Douglas of Shark Diver have been blogging about the future of Shark diving for years, and for the need of the industry to reform and move towards a more long term sustainable model. Back then, we were being decried as troublemakers and party poopers - but ten years later, the public appears to be shifting towards a more authentic and holistic experience, and much of what did preach back then is now increasingly being proffered in the mainstream. With that in mind, this is a great chance to elevate Shark diving to the next level.

Plus, now, we dispose of the science.

Not of just two papers like Rick asserts but actually, of quite a few. They all come to the conclusion that whereas there are certainly local effects, Shark provisioning appears unproblematic at the ecosystem level i.e. over large spatial and temporal scales, meaning that overall, the impact on Shark populations is negligible to nil.

Not convinced?

Don't speculate - show me the fucking evidence to the contrary and no, rubbish like this doesn't count! And incidentally, no, the Shark feeding in Playa did not precipitate the attacks in Cancun. The Bulls in the Riviera Maya are sexually segregated = provisioned females in Playa and non-provisioned males in Cancun!

And since those events, progress has been remarkable!

Just sayin'!

But of course those local effects are eminently relevant.

It is there where we will discern the biggest discrepancies based on the specific protocols, or lack of, of the operators, and it is there where the various initiatives will hopefully have the biggest impact, by emphasizing the good and reforming the bad.

And yes, some notable NGOs are starting to take notice.

Considering the dead-set opposition to any form of Shark feeding I've encountered in the past, this is certainly progress. I'm not a fan of breathy announcements and will not comment on Rick's name-dropping which is both partly inaccurate, premature and certainly not for him, nor for me to do - but yes, this may or may not eventually result in an initiative to develop a common code of practice and if so, I for one would certainly welcome that! 

This however with the following caveat.

Nice to have academia and the NGO intelligentsia look into our industry and hopefully give us some valuable unbiased pointers for improvement - but any such code will only succeed if there is considerable industry buy-in. And for that to happen, any such rules will not only have to reflect some eco wish list but also be flexible and above all, factually and economically practicable!

But again - at this stage it's nothing for me to comment about and certainly not fodder for social media! 

And then, there is now Global Shark Diving.

We did the soft launch at DEMA and the response has been simply overwhelming. Like I said, potential new members are undergoing a meticulous screening process and will only be accepted if they are already truly invested in conservation and research. Failing that, any aspiring members will first have to establish track record and will only be considered once they are able to produce tangible results on the ground. Our principal asset and the one factor setting us apart from similar ventures is market leadership and credibility - and we will certainly not risk losing that because of shortcuts due to friendship or economic expediency.

But worry not: more members are going to be announced very shortly indeed!

And BAD?

We will continue to do what we've been doing all along, and that is to lead from the front. We may or may not be the best - but we're certainly among the leaders in Shark ecotourism and have every intention of keeping it that way!

The establishment of Fiji's first national marine park via a ground-breaking public-private partnership has been a great milestone. But of course the proof is in the pudding, and we have no doubt that for it to succeed and be picked up elsewhere, the honor bestowed upon us needs to translate into a lot of hard work on the ground. To that effect, we have started establishing new baselines by recording the current coral cover and conducting a census of all the Fishes and Sharks. We will also considerably enhance enforcement by conducting more frequent patrols and by training further honorary fish wardens. And finally, we are currently developing yet another project that will hopefully have repercussions Fiji-wide and even abroad.

So, keep watching this space.

Like always, it's not a matter of making announcements but of coming up with actual results - and I can say, so far so good!

To be continued!

A Pet Tiger Shark?

Tiger Beach. Everybody does something different - and who is explaining it to the Sharks? Source.

And I cite.

Please do not attempt this. 
Tiger sharks are powerful wild animals, interaction with them requires years of training and experience to prevent harm or death to the animal or the person.

And now, watch this.

Remember this post? 

Sure you do! :)

Like back then, I am conflicted.

Obviously, there's food in the water, you can see it intermingled with the sand. But equally obviously, there's something else going on. Tarantino may have come in because of the food but it really appears that in this specific sequence, she is actively seeking some personal interaction, and this in a friendly way.

My take remains essentially the same.

Jimmy is one of the good guys. He's not in it for the money, he spends most of his life in the Sea because he loves doing what he does, and because he loves the animals. It is absolutely possible that in all those years, he has developed personal relationships with some of his Sharks, and it is equally absolutely possible that those bonds may include something akin to mutual affection. Like I said in that old post I linked, Valerie has been petting the Sea life for decades, and some of her personal bonds with individual Fishes are the stuff of legends. I've personally witnessed it many, many times and those interactions are both baffling and endearing - but what is most important, is that they are certainly authentic.

Case in point.

Long story short?

I believe that what Jimmy is showing us is equally authentic, much like I believe that Cristina has a special bond with some of her Sharks.

I equally strongly believe that this must remain the absolute exception.

Of all those famous Shark dives, Tiger Beach is the one that is now the biggest clusterfuck, this owing to those legions of self promoting media whores, wranglers and whisperers that have parachuted in for ever stupider exercises in pseudo-conservation, ever more disrespectful camera stunt work for those horrible productions and ever stupider and disrespectful exercises in manhandling.

We certainly don't need more troglodyte Shark diving on top of that.

Jimmy has earned himself the right to pet Tarantino by having spent thousands upon thousands of hours in the water with the same animals by which he has obviously developed personal bonds to a few individual Sharks.

Good for him, and for the Sharks.

You have not.

For you, the rule remains: watch but don't touch!

Elena - roughing it!

Surrounded by BADness - source.

And whilst I'm sorting out my shit.

Meet Elena Salim Haubold.

Thanks to her Rolex Scholarship, she's been gallivanting around the globe in Shark research and conservation.

And here's what shes been doin' in the first six months.

Enjoy!

Back Online!

Home sweet home - stellar pic by Allen.

Good to be home again!

For those of you in the know: things have gone reasonably well.

Other than that, between DEMA, the monster GWS, emergency self catheterizations (ouch - and no please don't ask) and killer Arizona bed bugs, it sure has been eventful.

Anyway.

More as I sort thru the e-mail clutter and update myself on Sharky matters. All I can see right now is that SRI's Antoniou is once again making a fool of himself - but considering the person and the institution, that's hardly surprising. And then there's this interesting piece by my my friend RickMac that deserves some elaboration, and that likely sooner rather than later.

Talk soon!

Time Out!

C'ya!
And if yer there - booth 1433!

CMS - bravo Fiji!

It's done.

All 21 proposed Rays and Sharks are now listed under the CMS.

With the pelagic Manta already listed, Fiji did propose the Reef Manta and all 7 Mobulas, and they are now listed under both appendices.

Bravo - excellent job!

And bravo Ian - you know why!

Cocky Sea Lion!

Cool.

But long-term, probably not so much. 

That big male may become aggressive, and it may end up getting hit by the props.

Story here.

Maldives Shark Sanctuary - Case Study!

Maldives Shark Sanctuary - only a SINO? Source.

Interesting!

Remember this 2013 report by TRAFFIC?

Back then I was wondering why the Maldives were listed as exporters of Shark products despite of their designation as a Shark Sanctuary.

Now, I understand.

Read this.

The Maldives had always been an important Shark fishing nation (an here) - and when they decreed the sanctuary by forbidding Shark fishing but failed to adequately ban the possession of Shark products, the fishing and the trade did continue, this mainly due to insufficient monitoring and enforcement but also lack of awareness and compensation of the fishermen.

There are obviously lessons to be learned here.

Nothing spectacular mind you - just that those things need to be meticulously planned, and that whoever advocates them needs to take on his share in facilitating their implementation.

Remember?

Jackass jumps on Shark!

Another Ozzie jackass - with a real Tiger!

No way!

This shit has gone viral.
But that is never a Tiger Shark - if that is Australia like reported, then that's a Tawny Nurse.
JSD?

Anyway, watch.

Global Shark Diving - the Ambassador!

Behold!

Douglas David Seifert is our first GSD Ambassador.

He will be doing what he's been doing all along, i.e. liaising between the people and the marine life - and being arguably the world's best shark photographer, I cannot think of a better person to take on the role of telling the public about the many remarkable initiatives the GSD members are spearheading around the globe.

And, there is this.

Check out his Facebook page.

See? Zero breathy self promotion!

He just goes to those places, incidentally on his own dime, works incredibly hard and comes back with images others can only dream about. Much like the other truly outstanding photographers and cameramen like e.g. Howard and Michele, the other Doug, MPO and Aussie Sam - and very much to the contrary of all those media whores!

But I'm digressing as always.

Welcome aboard buddy!

 

Shark Fishing vs Shark Finning - Video!

Source.

Wow!

6 minutes 46 seconds of correct information!

I am impressed - after years upon years upon years trying to educate the animal welfare crowd, it really looks like the narrative is slowly shifting away from Shark finning to the real issue, Shark overfishing.

Well done - better late than never!

Enjoy!

WWF - Shark Reef Marine Reserve!

Yet another stellar pic by Allen!

Very nice.

Read this!

So the cat is out of the bag: the management committee for Fiji's first National Marine Park will comprise Aisake Batibasaga from the Department of Fisheries as representative of Government, with full ultimate decision authority; Ian Campbell, Manager of the Pacific Shark Programme, a joint initiative between WWF and TRAFFIC as the representative of civil society; Juerg Brunnschweiler and Ciro Rico as the representatives of academia; and finally yours truly as the representative of BAD which has been tasked with the day-to-day management of the park. 

We are all Shark divers, have all dived the SRMR multiple times and are all uniquely equipped to make the best decisions for safeguarding the long-term future of the SRMR but above all, that of its priceless Shark population - so the future looks bright indeed!

One last word about the management model.

This public/private partnership is truly ground-breaking, and I sure hope that the delegates at the upcoming IUCN World Parks Congress are going to take notice. As an example for its practical application, the governments of lesser developed countries could deputize the local staff of those countless beach resorts whereby they could monitor the resorts' foreshore and apprehend any poachers etc; or mutatis mutandis, the same powers could be bestowed upon those liveaboard vessels plying the remote waters of Raja Ampat or e.g Cocos, Malpelo and the Galapagos - and the list goes on and on and on! In brief, the private operators would be investing their resources into defending their most precious business assets whilst relieving those resource-strapped governments from part of their burden.

Talk about a big win-win for everybody involved, and especially for marine conservation!

So here's to this model being quickly adopted elsewhere.

Fingers crossed!