Get to know “Screaming Mimi” Great White Shark at Guadalupe Island

We met “Screaming Mimi” a couple of years ago. When I first encountered her, I nicknamed her “Kinky”. She has a very distinct kink in her tail. I have no idea what caused that kink, since she doesn’t have any obvious scars or signs of injury. She was named “Screaming Mimi” by someone through the “Sponsor a shark” program of the Marine Conservation Science Institute. That sponsor program, is one of the ways they raise funds for the Photo ID database at Guadalupe Island.

Mimi is a very active and curious shark. When she encounters something new in the water, she exhibits a typical white shark trait. Unlike what most people think, white sharks don’t just attack when they encounter something they don’t know. They swim by close to check it out. It is actually quite funny some times. A couple of years ago, a beach towel blew overboard and started to drift down. 3 white sharks came by to investigate it. 2 of them jerked away and rapidly swam away, when the towel moved a little in the current. The 3rd. one kept swimming close to it, jerking away, and getting closer again. I don’t know if it eventually bit the towel or not, as I lost sight of both the shark and the towel in the distance.

Watch the video below of Mimi checking out my gopro camera that was attached to a long pole and handled from the boat.

You can see that they don’t just attack something they don’t know. The swim by and check things out first.

Screaming Mimi ©Tim Peterson

Mimi also likes to swim really close to the cages and makes eye contact with the divers.

Mimi is around 14′ long and not quite mature yet. It is amazing how big these sharks have to be, before they are mature and able to reproduce.

I hope we’ll see her again this year. She loves to swim around the cages, sometimes for hours. It never ceases to amaze me that we keep seeing the same individual sharks year after year. It’s not like they are resident sharks. The migrate thousands of miles each year, but come right back to the same spot at Guadalupe Island.

If you want to come face to face with a great white shark and would like to learn how to identify these sharks, join us on one of our “science” expeditions. We do have some spaces open and would love to introduce you to our sharks.

Call 619.887.4275, email crew@sharkdiver.com or visit www.sharkdiver.com for more information.

Let’s go shark diving!

Cheers,

Martin Graf
CEO Shark Diver

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 staff@sharkdiver.com.

12

Jun 2017

By Shark Divershark identification, swimming with sharksComments Off

Get to know “Lucy” Great White Shark at Guadalupe Island

I love “Lucy”, and I’m not referring to the popular TV show in the 50ies. “Lucy” is a large female Great White Shark, that is regularly visiting Guadalupe Island. Most mature females are only seen every other year. They mate at Guadalupe Island and then stay away from the Island until after they give birth off the coast of Baja and in the Sea of Cortes, about 18 months after they get pregnant at Guadalupe.

Unfortunately “Lucy” doesn’t seem to get pregnant. In 2008 she suffered and injury to her tail, most likely from a bite by another shark. Her tail is pretty much mangled and it probably affects her speed. I don’t know if that’s the reason she doesn’t seem to get pregnant, but we have seen her every season, for the last 9 years.

“Lucy’s” tail makes it very easy to identify her. Usually we identify the individual sharks by their coloration. The transition from the white underbelly to the grey top is unique for every individual. Some people try to identify the sharks by their scars. That is how “Bite Face” got his name. The problem with scars is that they heal and if that is the only identifying characteristic you have, you would not recognize that same shark when it comes back the following year. Mutilations, like Lucy’s tail don’t change and can be used in conjunction with the markings to identify her. We have a photo id database that is managed by Nicole Nasby-Lucas from the Marince Conservation Science Institute, with over 220 individual sharks in identified.

If you are coming out on one of our “science” expeditions, you’ll get a chance to learn how to identify these sharks from Nicole herself. You will also get the complete photo ID database, so you can identify all the sharks you encountered and what’s really cool, you will then be able to identify the sharks you see on TV. How awesome will it be, when you see a shark on TV and realize that this is the individual that swam inches from your face at Guadalupe?

Even with her tail slowing her down, she seems to be healthy in every other way. She is definitely getting enough food and is holding her own among all the sharks at the Island. Lucy is a very curious shark and she swims very close to the cages, making eye contact with our divers as she is gliding by slowly.

I hope to see Lucy when we return in the fall. I do have mixed emotions though. While I would love to see her, it would of course mean that she didn’t get pregnant again last season.

If you would like to join us, or just get more information, call 619.887.4275, email crew@sharkdiver.com or visit our website www.sharkdiver.com

Let’s go sharkdiving!

Cheers,

Martin Graf
CEO Shark Diver

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 staff@sharkdiver.com.

10

Jun 2017

By Shark Divercagediving, swimming with sharksComments Off

Get to know “Lucy” Great White Shark at Guadalupe Island

I love “Lucy”, and I’m not referring to the popular TV show in the 50ies. “Lucy” is a large female Great White Shark, that is regularly visiting Guadalupe Island. Most mature females are only seen every other year. They mate at Guadalupe Island and then stay away from the Island until after they give birth off the coast of Baja and in the Sea of Cortes, about 18 months after they get pregnant at Guadalupe.

Unfortunately “Lucy” doesn’t seem to get pregnant. In 2008 she suffered and injury to her tail, most likely from a bite by another shark. Her tail is pretty much mangled and it probably affects her speed. I don’t know if that’s the reason she doesn’t seem to get pregnant, but we have seen her every season, for the last 9 years.

“Lucy’s” tail makes it very easy to identify her. Usually we identify the individual sharks by their coloration. The transition from the white underbelly to the grey top is unique for every individual. Some people try to identify the sharks by their scars. That is how “Bite Face” got his name. The problem with scars is that they heal and if that is the only identifying characteristic you have, you would not recognize that same shark when it comes back the following year. Mutilations, like Lucy’s tail don’t change and can be used in conjunction with the markings to identify her. We have a photo id database that is managed by Nicole Nasby-Lucas from the Marince Conservation Science Institute, with over 220 individual sharks in identified.

If you are coming out on one of our “science” expeditions, you’ll get a chance to learn how to identify these sharks from Nicole herself. You will also get the complete photo ID database, so you can identify all the sharks you encountered and what’s really cool, you will then be able to identify the sharks you see on TV. How awesome will it be, when you see a shark on TV and realize that this is the individual that swam inches from your face at Guadalupe?

Even with her tail slowing her down, she seems to be healthy in every other way. She is definitely getting enough food and is holding her own among all the sharks at the Island. Lucy is a very curious shark and she swims very close to the cages, making eye contact with our divers as she is gliding by slowly.

I hope to see Lucy when we return in the fall. I do have mixed emotions though. While I would love to see her, it would of course mean that she didn’t get pregnant again last season.

If you would like to join us, or just get more information, call 619.887.4275, email crew@sharkdiver.com or visit our website www.sharkdiver.com

Let’s go sharkdiving!

Cheers,

Martin Graf
CEO Shark Diver

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 staff@sharkdiver.com.

10

Jun 2017

By Shark Divercagediving, swimming with sharksComments Off

Get to know “Bruce” Great White Shark at Guadalupe Island

The world is full of celebrities, but how often do you actually get to meet them and spend some quality time with them? Over the past 16 years, I’ve been privileged to do just that. I’ve met many stars of film and TV at Guadalupe Island. Stars like the…

08

Jun 2017

By Shark Divershark identification, swimming with sharksComments Off

Get to know “Bruce” Great White Shark at Guadalupe Island

The world is full of celebrities, but how often do you actually get to meet them and spend some quality time with them? Over the past 16 years, I’ve been privileged to do just that. I’ve met many stars of film and TV at Guadalupe Island. Stars like the…

08

Jun 2017

By Shark Divershark identification, swimming with sharksComments Off

Do shark repelling devices work?

We see a lot of devices advertised that claim to repel sharks. The question is, do they work?
A lot of these devices use either electricity or magnets that are supposed to repel sharks, others claim that a certain color pattern will prevent a shark from biting the wearer.

I have always been skeptical of these devices, since I have seen sharks been simultaneously attracted to and repelled by the same object. Some of the makers of these devices use videos that show sharks jerk away from their gadgets in their advertising. (just search for shark repellent on youtube) In my experience, anything that causes a reaction by a shark, even one that shows it jerking away and taking off, is also peaking its curiosity, which could mean that these devices may actually increase your chances of getting bit.

I have seen 3 white sharks swim in to investigate a beach towel that got blown overboard. All of them jerked away and took off. While 2 took off for good, one came back, jerked away again, but kept coming back. I don’t know weather it eventually bit the towel or not, because I lost sight of them, as they descended too deep to see. It definitely did show though, that even if something causes a shark to take off, it can also peak its curiosity and bring it back to investigate.

Now we have proof that at least one of these devices definitely does not work. The Daily Mail reports that a surfer in Florida got bit while wearing the “sharkbanz”

source

The article states that:

“A teenager has been bitten by a shark while wearing the new shark-repelling band he got for Christmas for the first time. Zack Davis suffered a huge bite to his arm while surfing near Avalon Beach State Park on North Hutchinson Island in Florida. The teen was wearing a new band with magnetic technology that claims to repel sharks away from swimmers.“ Read the entire article here

Of course I’m not the first to say that these devices don’t work. DaShark has called it back in January, when he wrote “Sharkbanz – total scam” You can read his what he said here

Don’t get suckered in and buy these products. At best, they simply don’t work and at worst may actually increase your chances of a shark encounter.

Cheers,

Martin Graf
CEO
Shark Diver

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 staff@sharkdiver.com.

30

Dec 2016

By Shark Divershark repellent, shark scam, swimming with sharksComments Off

Do shark repelling devices work?

We see a lot of devices advertised that claim to repel sharks. The question is, do they work?
A lot of these devices use either electricity or magnets that are supposed to repel sharks, others claim that a certain color pattern will prevent a shark from biting the wearer.

I have always been skeptical of these devices, since I have seen sharks been simultaneously attracted to and repelled by the same object. Some of the makers of these devices use videos that show sharks jerk away from their gadgets in their advertising. (just search for shark repellent on youtube) In my experience, anything that causes a reaction by a shark, even one that shows it jerking away and taking off, is also peaking its curiosity, which could mean that these devices may actually increase your chances of getting bit.

I have seen 3 white sharks swim in to investigate a beach towel that got blown overboard. All of them jerked away and took off. While 2 took off for good, one came back, jerked away again, but kept coming back. I don’t know weather it eventually bit the towel or not, because I lost sight of them, as they descended too deep to see. It definitely did show though, that even if something causes a shark to take off, it can also peak its curiosity and bring it back to investigate.

Now we have proof that at least one of these devices definitely does not work. The Daily Mail reports that a surfer in Florida got bit while wearing the “sharkbanz”

source

The article states that:

“A teenager has been bitten by a shark while wearing the new shark-repelling band he got for Christmas for the first time. Zack Davis suffered a huge bite to his arm while surfing near Avalon Beach State Park on North Hutchinson Island in Florida. The teen was wearing a new band with magnetic technology that claims to repel sharks away from swimmers.“ Read the entire article here

Of course I’m not the first to say that these devices don’t work. DaShark has called it back in January, when he wrote “Sharkbanz – total scam” You can read his what he said here

Don’t get suckered in and buy these products. At best, they simply don’t work and at worst may actually increase your chances of a shark encounter.

Cheers,

Martin Graf
CEO
Shark Diver

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 staff@sharkdiver.com.

30

Dec 2016

By Shark Divershark repellent, shark scam, swimming with sharksComments Off

Is shark diving beneficial for the sharks?

With the recent coverage of the cage diving accident at Guadalupe, a lot of people have commented that shark diving should be banned.

Obviously my view on that may be biased, since I own a shark diving business, but I have some facts that may change your view on shark diving.

Did you know that shark diving operations have prevented poachers from fishing for sharks at Guadalupe? At this point, everyone knows there are great white sharks at Guadalupe Island, including the poachers. If we would stop shark diving there, the poachers would have easy access.

Did you know that shark diving created a National Marine Park in Fiji? The efforts of Beqa Adventure Divers, have directly led to the creation of the Shark Reef Marine Reserve. When they started diving there, they went to the local fishing village that were the traditional owners of that reef and made a deal with them. They would receive a levy from every shark diver in return for a promise from the village to not fish on that reef. Beqa Adventure Divers also hired and trained their Divemasters, Instructors and boat Captains from that village. After 10 years of diving there, the number of fish species on the reef increased from around 280 to over 480. In 2014 that reef became an official National Marine Park, the equivalent of a National Park in the US.

Shark Reef Marine Reserve

Did you know that Shark Diver donates a significant portion of it’s proceeds to research? We primarily support the Marine Conservation Science Institute who created and maintains the photo ID database of all the sharks at Guadalupe Island.

Did you know that Shark Diver started Shark Free Marinas?

Did you know that Shark Diver works to get fishing tournaments to have catch and release divisions, instead of all kill? This is actually something we have been criticized for by people who don’t want to see shark fishing tournaments at all. Well, I don’t like them either, but catch and release is far better than catch and kill. One step at a time!

Shark Diver is just one company among many operators who actively uses the business to support conservation. We try to emulate our buddies in Fiji. Beqa Adventure Divers who state that they are a “Conservation project, masquerading as a dive operation” We have a long way to go, but we are working on catching up.

So how about the issue of conditioning the sharks, by providing them with food? I leave the answer to that question to DaShark who wrote a blog about that issue a while back.

The late Rusi feeding his sharks.

He writes:
Conditioning via Positive Reinforcement, the big no-no.
Yes, I confess, this is precisely what we do!
We reward the Sharks whenever they approach, very much in the hopes that over time, more and more of them will turn up for a meal – which of course, being smart Apex Predators, they do!
We do so in order to show them to our clients – as opposed to, as I shall never tire to repeat, Fishermen who do exactly the same thing in order to catch and then kill them.
Get the hint? Who has the way biggest, and most negative impact on the animals? Are we going to abolish fishing as a consequence? I wish!

Just to remind you, this comes from the guy who was largely responsible for creating that national marine park I mentioned above.

There are many, many more reasons I could list that show that shark diving, when done properly can greatly benefit not only the sharks, but the ocean in general. It is easy to just oppose shark diving with often unsubstantiated claims, without taking into consideration what the alternative would be.

How many of you would be interested in sharks, or aware of them, without all the pictures and videos on TV and social media? None of those would be around, if not for shark diving?

Weather you agree with my stand on shark diving or not, let’s agree on something. Just offering our opinions on social media and criticizing others is not saving a single shark. Only actions can do that. Let’s be activists, not slacktivists and keep in mind who is killing sharks. It’s the fishing industry, not shark divers!

Let’s go shark diving! Or clean up a beach or…..

Cheers,
Martin Graf
CEO Shark Diver

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 staff@sharkdiver.com.

15

Oct 2016

By Shark DiverShark reef marine reserveComments Off

Is shark diving beneficial for the sharks?

With the recent coverage of the cage diving accident at Guadalupe, a lot of people have commented that shark diving should be banned.

Obviously my view on that may be biased, since I own a shark diving business, but I have some facts that may change your view on shark diving.

Did you know that shark diving operations have prevented poachers from fishing for sharks at Guadalupe? At this point, everyone knows there are great white sharks at Guadalupe Island, including the poachers. If we would stop shark diving there, the poachers would have easy access.

Did you know that shark diving created a National Marine Park in Fiji? The efforts of Beqa Adventure Divers, have directly led to the creation of the Shark Reef Marine Reserve. When they started diving there, they went to the local fishing village that were the traditional owners of that reef and made a deal with them. They would receive a levy from every shark diver in return for a promise from the village to not fish on that reef. Beqa Adventure Divers also hired and trained their Divemasters, Instructors and boat Captains from that village. After 10 years of diving there, the number of fish species on the reef increased from around 280 to over 480. In 2014 that reef became an official National Marine Park, the equivalent of a National Park in the US.

Shark Reef Marine Reserve

Did you know that Shark Diver donates a significant portion of it’s proceeds to research? We primarily support the Marine Conservation Science Institute who created and maintains the photo ID database of all the sharks at Guadalupe Island.

Did you know that Shark Diver started Shark Free Marinas?

Did you know that Shark Diver works to get fishing tournaments to have catch and release divisions, instead of all kill? This is actually something we have been criticized for by people who don’t want to see shark fishing tournaments at all. Well, I don’t like them either, but catch and release is far better than catch and kill. One step at a time!

Shark Diver is just one company among many operators who actively uses the business to support conservation. We try to emulate our buddies in Fiji. Beqa Adventure Divers who state that they are a “Conservation project, masquerading as a dive operation” We have a long way to go, but we are working on catching up.

So how about the issue of conditioning the sharks, by providing them with food? I leave the answer to that question to DaShark who wrote a blog about that issue a while back.

The late Rusi feeding his sharks.

He writes:
Conditioning via Positive Reinforcement, the big no-no.
Yes, I confess, this is precisely what we do!
We reward the Sharks whenever they approach, very much in the hopes that over time, more and more of them will turn up for a meal – which of course, being smart Apex Predators, they do!
We do so in order to show them to our clients – as opposed to, as I shall never tire to repeat, Fishermen who do exactly the same thing in order to catch and then kill them.
Get the hint? Who has the way biggest, and most negative impact on the animals? Are we going to abolish fishing as a consequence? I wish!

Just to remind you, this comes from the guy who was largely responsible for creating that national marine park I mentioned above.

There are many, many more reasons I could list that show that shark diving, when done properly can greatly benefit not only the sharks, but the ocean in general. It is easy to just oppose shark diving with often unsubstantiated claims, without taking into consideration what the alternative would be.

How many of you would be interested in sharks, or aware of them, without all the pictures and videos on TV and social media? None of those would be around, if not for shark diving?

Weather you agree with my stand on shark diving or not, let’s agree on something. Just offering our opinions on social media and criticizing others is not saving a single shark. Only actions can do that. Let’s be activists, not slacktivists and keep in mind who is killing sharks. It’s the fishing industry, not shark divers!

Let’s go shark diving! Or clean up a beach or…..

Cheers,
Martin Graf
CEO Shark Diver

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 staff@sharkdiver.com.

15

Oct 2016

By Shark DiverShark reef marine reserveComments Off

Is cage diving safe?

A lot of you have seen the news coverage of 2 recent cage diving incidents and are wondering, “Is cage diving really safe?”

First of all I want to point out that neither of these incidents happened involved our company. We have been operating safe and sane shark dives for 16 years, without any incidents.

In the latest video you can see that the shark is going after a hang bait that is just laying in front of the cage. This is mistake by the bait handler. The bait was too close to the cage and should have been removed. Excerpt from the regulations for Guadalupe: The permit holder shall ensure that the bait line is immediately removed from the water if the white shark following the bait approaches within 6.5 feet (2 m) of the vessel.

When the shark was going after a bait, it rolled it’s eyes back and lunged for the bait. When it did that, it was essentially blind and it’s momentum carried it into the cage. Since it can’t swim backwards, it just started thrashing around blindly, eventually coming out of the top of the cage.

There is nothing wrong with using hang-baits. Responsible use of hang-baits actually enhances safety, as it allows us to direct the shark. The shark typically follows the bait and when it lunges for it, the follow through is in the same direction. Proper use allows us to lead the shark parallel to the cage instead of into it, as happened in the video above.

You don’t have to have the bait close to the cage to get great shots.

In addition to adhering to all the established safety standards, our cages are made out of round tubing which is both stronger than the square one and safer for the sharks, since it doesn’t have any sharp corners. We also only use surface cages with a redundant air supply, that are securely attached to our vessel.

Back to the general safety question. While nothing is ever 100% safe, so far in innumerable cage dives around the world, there have been zero fatalities, which is to say, it is far safer than recreational SCUBA diving.

Let’s go shark diving!

Cheers,

Martin Graf
CEO
Shark Diver

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 staff@sharkdiver.com.

14

Oct 2016

By Shark DiverUncategorizedComments Off

guadalupe island