Dr. Juerg Brunnschweiler !

Finally!

Remember last November's post about our intrepid shark man Juerg from, of all places, frigid land-locked and mountainous Switzerland?

Well, he ain't no student no more!

Having delivered a whopping thesis about several aspects of Shark Biology, many of which have been researched on Shark Reef and my new home base in Tonga, he has brillianty survived a thorough cross-examination and now sports a fanciful Doctorate title!
And an own fancy website!

Along with having invented such useful linguistic weapons as the formal and informal "you", we Central Europeans are quite particular about such things and I already dread our next meeting in December! Will we all be clobbered into subservient adulation?

Juerg has just informed us that he plans to spend the prime Bull Shark season, January to March on Shark Reef. Planned experiments include wrapping up the ongoing small-scale movement study along with researching the Bull Shark mating grounds, general ethograms, dominance studies, food preferences and analyzing our huge data base. We're obviously eager to help and will piggyback by offering Shark Weeks, Shark Biology Courses and possibly, even Volunteer Research Assistance Programs.
There will be plenty of attractive options, so watch this space or drop us a line, whether you plan to come for a single day or for a longer stay!

BAD Publicity!

BAD has just completed some major overhauling and is coming out of the traditional "low" season brighter and shinier than ever!

We've replaced Predators 3-year old engines, we've purchased brand new dive gear for our staff and guests, we've added one more mooring to Shark Reef and overwhelming client demand is pushing us to finally put online Hunter, Predator's posh sister vessel. And we haven't finished quite yet, watch this space for some more cool innovations!
Hunter will be utilized primarily for our ever popular 3-tank wreck and coral dives in Beqa Lagoon, for teaching and also for patrolling the newly established Fiji Shark Corridor (see previous post).
To complement it all, we've re-vamped our local marketing with a brand new brochure and a cool poster featuring some of the fantastic artwork by our friends Michael Aw, Doug Perrine and Michael Patrick O'Neill. We like the poster so much that we've added it to our boutique inventory. If you would like a copy, contact the dive shop or download a lower-res version by clicking on the picture above.
The increased teaching activity and the marketing push are the brainchild of our newest BAD boy, Petero Niurou, a veteran diver, PADI instructor, dive shop manager, television presenter and accomplished entertainer and storyteller. Welcome aboard Pedro!
So, what are you waiting for - drop us a line and join us for the experience of a lifetime!

Very Special Visitors.

Whether you are a professional in the diving industry, a hardcore dive every week kind of diver or a vacation diver; the world of scuba allows us to meet all sorts of people. We at Beqa Adventure Divers are fortunate to be able to dive with some of the icons in the world of sharks and last week was no exception.

To our delight, we were privileged to play host to Stan Waterman, Nancy McGhee and their friend John Crossley. Thankfully Stan managed to fit in a whistlestop visit to us in between charters on the Nai'a and Bilikiki.

The last time Stan paid us a visit we were fortunate to get to dive with all 8 species of shark in Shark Reef Marine Reserve. The sharks must have remembered as Dive Day #1 culminated with a visit by not 1, but 2 tiger sharks. Scarface, the largest of the tigers we see was joined by a smaller individual who we have never before observed. The newcomer was much smaller than Scarface coming in at about 10ft in length.

Dive Day #2 and the heat was on to try and match the previous day's diving. Things did not look good when it was revealed that the bringer of bad luck, Andrew, was going to be aboard for the trip... turns out his luck must have changed as again, we had all 8 species of shark. There was a solitary silvertip, 3 sicklefin lemons, tawny nurses, grey reefs, whitetip reefs, blacktip reefs, over 20 bull sharks and another tiger shark. This time it was Adi, our little princess, who decided to put on a show for Stan, Nancy & John.

So, 2 days of diving, 8 species of sharks, lots of stories being shared and it was time to say farewell once more. Safe travels to Stan, Nancy & John and we wish you a safe and exciting trip aboard Bilikiki.

Until next time, from the team here at BAD, a big vinaka vakalevu.

More protection for our Sharks!

Ever since having established the Shark Reef Marine Reserve in 2004, we have been striving to further expand the protected area. As the data provided from our satellite and radio tagging experiments tell us, the Bull sharks and Tiger sharks tend to roam a much larger territory in this region.

The southern coast of Viti Levu adjacent to Shark Reef comprises the Qoliqoli, or fishing grounds, of the Villages of Galoa, Wainyiabia and Deuba.

After more than one year of sometimes difficult negotiations, we have finally succeeded in signing an Agreement with the relevant Chiefs and Mataqali representatives of Deuba Village stipulating that any catching or otherwise harming of Sharks within the entire Qoliqoli of Deuba Village is henceforth banned.

Galoa and Wainyiabia Villages, our partners in the Shark Reef Marine Reserve, have since joined in by also declaring their own entire Qoliqoli to be banned for Shark fishing.

To compensate for any losses in income, Deuba Village will be entitled to a share of the Marine Park Levy collected on Shark Reef, for which the Swiss Shark Foundation is very kindly providing a minimum income guarantee.
To that effect, the Marine Park Levy on Shark Reef has been increased to $20.

In April 2007, the Fiji Department of Fisheries has sanctioned all relevant Agreements, making them legally binding and thus enforceable.

The protected area, which has been named the Fiji Shark Corridor, comprises approx. 30 miles of coastline and thus hugely expands on the original Shark Reef area. In fact, when you visit Shark Reef, the entire coast as far as you can see in either direction is now protected!

Our special thanks go to

• the Villages of Galoa, Wainiyabia and Deuba for their kind assistance in making the above possible
• Manasa Bulivou, our spokesperson, for his tireless Village diplomacy
• Gary Adkison and Dr. Alexander Goldknecht, of the Swiss Shark Foundation, for their unwavering moral and financial support
• Dr. Juerg Brunnschweiler, for collecting the relevant scientific data
• Aisake Batibasaga, Principal Research Officer and Acting CEO, Fiji Department of Fisheries, for his assistance and guidance
  

Rusi lending a helping hand!

It's not uncommon on The Shark Dive to witness several sharks trailing long lengths of fishing tackle from their mouths. It's very hard to tell whether it is from sport fishing boats, local fishermen or the dreaded longliners; no matter where the hooks originate from though it always means pain and discomfort for the animals.

One of the tiger sharks that we observe, Adi (Princess), showed up 3 weeks ago with one such fish hook lodged in the corner of her mouth. Unfortunately there was not much line for us to work with, a mere 18" extended from her mouth and the hook was clearly visible.

Rusi, one of the shark feeders, took it upon himself to help Adi and remove the fish hook. Adi, at 13ft, is not the largest of tiger sharks but she is still one very large fish. She will approach cautiously at first, checking everything and everyone out ensureing that there is no treat to her; once confident that all is safe Adi will then make close passes of the feeders and take the bait offered up to her.
On one such pass, there was no bait on offer, instead Rusi reached out and plucked the fish hook from the corner of Adi's mouth. Surprisingly she did not flinch ot show any signs of discmfort upon removal of the hook. On subsequent passes Rusi then held up the hook to Adi so she could see what it was that was lodged in her mouth.

Mass Extinction?

"Human beings are currently causing the greatest mass extinction of species since the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. If present trends continue one half of all species of life on earth will be extinct in less than 100 years, as a result of habitat destruction, pollution, invasive species, and climate change."
from massextinction.net

Did you know that:

• If current trends continue, one half of all species of life on Earth will be extinct in 100 years. (E.O. Wilson, The Future of Life, p. 102)

• One quarter of all mammal species face extinction in 30 years. (United Nations, http://news.bbc.co.uk/)

• For every person in the world to reach present U.S. levels of consumption we would need 4 more planet Earths. (Wilson, p. 23)

• Humans currently consume 50% of the Earth's available freshwater, leaving what's left over for all other species. (World Wildlife Fund, http://www.panda.org/)

• Humans currently consume 40% of all organic matter produced by photosynthesis on Earth, leaving what's left over for all other species. (Wilson, p. 33)

• Every species of great ape on the Earth (gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees, and bonobos) is in imminent danger of extiction. (United Nations, http://news.bbc.co.uk/)

• Every species of tiger on Earth is in imminent danger of extinction. (World Wildlife Fund, http://web.archive.org/)

• The number of lions left in Africa has fallen 90% in 20 years -- there are now only 20,000 remaining. (BBC, http://news.bbc.co.uk/)

• 90 percent of all large fishes have disappeared from the world's oceans in the past half century. (Nature Magazine, http://www.cnn.com/)

• Human population is expected to increase by at least 50% over the next 75 years. (United Nations Population Division, http://www.enviroliteracy.org/)

from speciesalliance.org

And what about Sharks?

"By 2017 it is anticipated that 20 species of shark could become extinct due to hunting, indiscriminate fishing techniques and, ultimately, man's greed."
from bite-back.com

So what if we kill them all?

Cascading Effects of the Loss of Apex Predatory Sharks from a Coastal Ocean

Ransom A. Myers, Julia K. Baum, Travis D. Shepherd, Sean P. Powers, Charles H. Peterson

Impacts of chronic overfishing are evident in population depletions worldwide, yet indirect ecosystem effects induced by predator removal from oceanic food webs remain unpredictable.
As abundances of all 11 great sharks that consume other elasmobranchs (rays, skates, and small sharks) fell over the past 35 years, 12 of 14 of these prey species increased in coastal northwest Atlantic ecosystems.
Effects of this community restructuring have cascaded downward from the cownose ray, whose enhanced predation on its bay scallop prey was sufficient to terminate a century-long scallop fishery.
Analogous top-down effects may be a predictable consequence of eliminating entire functional groups of predators.
Science 30 March 2007



This is the newest and probably, also the most compelling study about the consequences of Shark overfishing. You can download the full document from the link above and we're also shortly going to post it on our website.

Bad News

"The world's oceans are a shadow of what they once were.

With a few notable exceptions, such as well-managed fisheries in Alaska, Iceland, and New Zealand, the number of fish swimming the seas is a fraction of what it was a century ago. Marine biologists differ on the extent of the decline. Some argue that stocks of many large oceangoing fish have fallen by 80 to 90 percent, while others say the declines have been less steep. But all agree that, in most places, too many boats are chasing too few fish."
From a chilling report by National Geographic.

Got some great pics and video?

Maybe as good as this one by Doug Perrine?
(Incidentally, that was right before Scarface took that nibble at the end of the infamous naughty file! Check out the pic and you'll see how she's already starting to bend back the monitor! )

Give it your best shot (and I mean that literally) and join the "Under the Blue 2007" International Underwater Photo and Video Competition!
We're one of the main sponsors and you might end up getting some more great price-winning shots on The Shark Dive.

But hurry up, submissions close on May 12.

Best of luck and hopefully, see you soon!

Crazy Stuff !

All of you out there who still think that we're crazy, check out this !!!
I cite: "faut vraiment etre debile, le jour ou il tombera sur un requin moins stone on va bien se marrer" - but who am I to say (-:

Enjoy!

New Beachfront Resort Opens its Doors.

As with a lot of things in Fiji, it took a little longer than initially expected; however it was well worth the wait. Opening its doors in February, The Uprising Beach Resort offers beachfront accommodations with unparalleled views over to Beqa Island.

Uprising Resort has 12 traditional bures available, 6 beachfront and 6 garden all set amongst some beautiful tropical foliage. The swimming pool is encircled by an expansive deck that leads to the bar and restaurant and is a short hop, skip & jump from the clear waters of Beqa Lagoon.

So if you're coming to Pacific Harbour, why not take a look at The Uprising as one of your options?

Amazing video by our clients - and a surprise!

Lots and lots of rain this March, and quite a few cyclone warnings: perfect weather for chilling out at home, do some editing and surf the web!

I've always wondered what our camera-toting clients manage to put together after their short visits with us and all I can say is: amazing stuff!
Here's a good example from a lucky 1-day dive on Shark Reef, and here, a nice slideshow/video combo. What really did blow me away however was this production featuring double tiger sharks: fantastic, bravo!!!

And, then a huge surprise: there's even a re-edited version of my very own naughty file!!!



I was kinda speechless but then again, an audience of next to 23,000 is way cool, too.... though I like my original music much better and the aspect ratio is off, meaning that in reality, the Sharks are NOT that fat! 
Having identified and talked to the culprit, we've both decided to leave it there.

Enjoy!

The Original Crocodile Man comes to Fiji

The team at Beqa Adventure Divers were proud to play host to the "Original Crocodile Man", David Ireland and his cameraman Mark for 2 weeks in early March.

David & Mark were visiting to shoot a documentary about the legendary Shark God, 'Dakuwaqa' for their latest series, The Wildlife Man. In Fijian folklore, the people of Beqa are protected from shark attacks and in exchange they will not harm, kill or eat sharks.

All of Pacific Harbour welcomed David & Mark, with Uprising Beach Resort kindly hosting them for the 2 weeks, Arts Village took them for a tour of the cultural centre and Beqa Adventure Divers took them diving.

Keep an eye out for the finished product airing on Discovery HD and Channel 9 Australia later in the year.

Long-term Decline in Shark Attack Numbers.

UF study: World shark attacks rise slightly but continue long-term dip.

Shark attacks edged up slightly in 2006 but continued an overall long-term decline as overfishing and more cautious swimmers helped take a bite out of the aggressive encounters, new University of Florida research finds.

The total number of shark attacks worldwide increased from 61 in 2005 to 62 in 2006 and the number of fatalities remained stable at four, far below the 79 attacks and 11 fatalities recorded in 2000, said George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File housed at UF's Florida Museum of Natural History.

“This was a nice dull year and we love dull years because it means there are fewer serious attacks and fewer victims,” Burgess said. “It’s really quite remarkable when you have only four people a year die in the mouth of a shark and puts in perspective how small shark attack is as a phenomenon.”

Read on here...

Good News for Mexican Sharks.

Mexico Passes Shark Finning Ban. New Protections for Great White, Whale and Basking Sharks, Manta Rays.

In a surprising move, the Mexican government has recently published sweeping new regulations and protections for sharks, including a shark finning ban, an extension of the moratorium on new commercial shark fishing permits, and extensive protections for great white sharks, whale sharks, basking sharks and manta rays.

“Mexico has taken a real leadership position here” says Patric Douglas CEO of Shark Diver http://www.sharkdiver.com/ a shark cage diving company based in San Diego. “The rest of Latin America is watching what Mexico does with great interest now, this is good news indeed.”

Learn more....

We are not Aquatrek

We were recently copied on a press release by our local competitor, Aquatrek Beqa.

In that remarkable piece, they eloquently claim to have set up a Marine Park, to have trained "fish wardens" patrol it, to have established a scientific data base about their dive and to conduct scientific research there.

Sound familiar?

To top it off, they claim that we've been the victims of an accident.

The truth is: not a single one of those assertions is true!

In terms of conservation and science, Aquatrek have nothing to show for. And now, they are obviously trying to take credit for our own achievements, and to slander us in the process.

For too long, we have sat back and allowed those lies to remain unchallenged.
Now is the time to set the record straight.

For a passionate in-depth analysis of Aquatrek's press release, please click here

Beqa Adventure Divers scoop diving award.

2006 AON Fiji Excellence in Tourism Awards

On Friday the 8th February, the who's who in the Fiji tourism world gathered at the Sofitel Resort on Denarau Island for the 2006 AON Fiji Excellence in Tourism Awards Gala Dinner.

The Fiji Police Band welcomed the crowd with a mix of music, ranging from traditional Fijian tunes to the Macarena; most bizarre though highly entertaining.

The 2006 AON Fiji Excellence in Tourism Award winners were announced throughout the evening and Beqa Adventure Divers were honoured to be the recipients of the Diving Award for their services to the diving and tourism industry in Fiji.

MV Predator Survey

The requirements to operate commercial vessels in the Fiji Islands are very demanding. There are various licenses required, one of which is a survey license. The Fiji Islands Maritime Safety Authority (FIMSA) require commercial vessels to undergo surveys every 6 months, with the annual survey requiring the boat to be aslip for hull inspections.

December 2006 brought about annual survey time for our main dive boat, MV Predator. Having the boat aslip means we can really get a good look at the hull and give her a good scrub from top to bottom. We've opted to not use any antifouling paint on the hull of Predator, prefering to scrub her clean on a regular basis. Both engines underwent a full overhaul under the watchful of eye of David, our technician.

After spending a day working on her, it was survey time. The FIMSA representative inspected the integrity of the hull before boarding Predator. The safety of passengers onboard are top priority, so items like life preservers, fire extinguishers, EPIRBs, life rafts are all checked to be in working condition.

With the safety equipment all ticked off, it's now time for the sea trial and down into the water we go. With the surveyor onboard, we cruise the Qaraniqio River back to our base at Lagoon Resort while he checks that both engines are in tip-top shape.

No matter where you go diving in Fiji, if you're in any doubt as to the boat's safety, be sure to ask to see the licenses that are required to be available onboard. Survey License, Safe manning Certificate, Coastal Trading License and of course the Captain's License.

Happy New Year!!

With Fiji's position right on the International Date Line, we were some of the first people to welcome in 2007. There were all sorts of parties going on, the street party in Suva, beach parties in Pacific Harbour and then the big blow-outs at the Tiki Bar/Arts Village and The Pearl South Pacific.

The heavens were smiling on us and we were blessed with some fine weather throughout the day and into the night. The dive team couldn't party too hard though, we had a trip running on the 1st January and wow, what a way to start off '07.

Beautiful blue skies and 30m visibility greeted us at daybreak. Waiting for the bull sharks to return can be nerve-racking; wondering which day will be the day. Well, January 1st, 2007 was the day and over 15 different individuals graced us with their presence for over 45 minutes. Many of the females bore wounds from their mating season, it's truly remarkable how these wounds will be completely healed and invisible in a matter of weeks. We're looking forward to some great shark diving in the months ahead!!

The Running of The Bulls!!!

You read correctly, the team at BAD are waiting with bated breath for the running of the bulls; not the 4-legged variety though.

Late December into early January are the months when the mature bull sharks will return in droves from their annual birthing/mating migration. This year they departed our local waters in September whereupon we were left witnessing mostly juvenile sub-adult bull sharks and the odd adult straggler who, for whatever reason, decided not to leave Shark Reef with the other adults.

Joining us this year to meet the bulls on their return are the team from The Bull Shark Tagging Programme, Juerg Brunnschweiler and Gary Adkison. If you have questions regarding bull sharks, or other shark species for that matter, the New Year period would be a great time to pick the brains of two highly respected figures in the shark world. If you would like more information on how to join Juerg and Gary and learn more about the research at Shark Reef Marine Reserve, contact us here...