It’s unique shark videos like these that reveal the absolute best of the island of Bimini, Bahamas.Kudos to CJ Brooks for this amazing look at a genuine shark wonderland. Sharks of Bimini from CJ Crooks on Vimeo.About Shark Diver. As a global l…
About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You…
By Andrew Tafferty, Staff Writer, The Age
A Japanese underwater cameraman’s plans to capture eco fugitive Paul Watson so tourists can throw rotten butter at him in Japan has infuriated conservationists, who said claims the scheme would create peace and harmony around the world “do not add up”.
“The conservation arguments for this project do not add up,” said David Ottley, Japans coordinator for Sea Shepherd.
“You cannot tell me that Paul Watson who is known to enjoy lavish Hollywood fund raising parties with $75.00 sustainable appetizers, can be happily confined to a 20,000 foot enclosure with an exact replica of the Steve Irwin, with no possible escape from tourist stress, no ability to feed naturally, nor seek out the natural conditions that suit him at different times of the year, nor have Internet access.”
The enclosure, south of Higashimuro District, Wakayama, Japan and close to popular tourist beaches, would double as a marine rescue and rehabilitation centre, Mr Suzki said.
“This is not some hoodlum misthought project, my opponents are misinformed,” he told The Age.
“We have been working on this for more than ten years, since Paul Watson first started to try and shut down Japan’s scientific whaling, it’s a million-dollar investment and we have the support of some of Japans leading conservationists and the JWA.”
Some proceeds from the profits of money earned from tourists would also pay for displaced Sea Shepherd crews to process cashew nut shells into oil at factories in Japan.
Mr Suzuki is waiting for final approvals from Japans National Environmental Management Authority, which is expected to decide whether the project should go ahead next week.
About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.
Yesterday we watched the antics of a film crew in Bimini harbor swimming around at a boat dock across from us with baited Bull Sharks in an attempt to place a “fin cam” on the back of an animal. Sadly, as they discovered, the shark site they chose …
Da Shark has discovered a new shark blog and after just two posts we have become fans.Of course that’s also after a few Kalik Beers at one of our favorite Out Island Bahamas watering holes that happens to have crackin’ Internet.And why, you might well …
There’s a new paper from Guy Harvey’s team about Cayman Island’s hugely successful wild animals encounter, “Stingray City” and what rampant and uncontrolled commercialism of species does to feeding and movement patterns.Oh and it’s not good, in fact it…
We just found this website and we have to say it’s a great idea and perhaps an actual solution or stop gap measure to the question of shark sanctuaries and enforcement. Welcome to the fine folks from HEPCA who have had enough of sharks being taken from…
Has it been a decade over there in Fiji?
Looks like it and now we have research driven data as well.
The kind of data that helps an entire industry grow, the kind of data that Fiji and the Team at BAD are so good at initializing and producing – quality work.
If you thought today’s blog post from Fiji and Da Shark was celebratory, you were correct, and congratulations are in order as well for the entire Fiji team who have fearlessly, “done their own thing,” and in doing so laid out a template for sustainable shark diving the world over.
We have long been fans of BAD and Da Shark, and no we’re really not secret investors, we just have an eye out for excellence in the shark diving community and Fiji consistently fires on all cylinders when it comes to commercial shark diving, conservation, and research.
So Kudos to all for this latest paper and another continued decade of adventures to all:
Opportunistic Visitors: Long-Term Behavioural Response of Bull Sharks to Food Provisioning in Fiji
Juerg M. Brunnschweiler, Adam BarnettAbstract
Shark-based tourism that uses bait to reliably attract certain species to specific sites so that divers can view them is a growing industry globally, but remains a controversial issue.
We evaluate multi-year (2004–2011) underwater visual (n = 48 individuals) and acoustic tracking data (n = 82 transmitters; array of up to 16 receivers) of bull sharks Carcharhinus leucas from a long-term shark feeding site at the Shark Reef Marine Reserve and reefs along the Beqa Channel on the southern coast of Viti Levu, Fiji.
Individual C. leucas showed varying degrees of site fidelity.
Determined from acoustic tagging, the majority of C. leucas had site fidelity indexes greater than 0.5 for the marine reserve (including the feeding site) and neighbouring reefs. However, during the time of the day (09:00–12:00) when feeding takes place, sharks mainly had site fidelity indexes smaller than 0.5 for the feeding site, regardless of feeding or non-feeding days.
Site fidelity indexes determined by direct diver observation of sharks at the feeding site were lower compared to such values determined by acoustic tagging.
The overall pattern for C. leucas is that, if present in the area, they are attracted to the feeding site regardless of whether feeding or non-feeding days, but they remain for longer periods of time (consecutive hours) on feeding days. The overall diel patterns in movement are for C. leucas to use the area around the feeding site in the morning before spreading out over Shark Reef throughout the day and dispersing over the entire array at night. Both focal observation and acoustic monitoring show that C. leucas intermittently leave the area for a few consecutive days throughout the year, and for longer time periods (weeks to months) at the end of the calendar year before returning to the feeding site.
About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.
