Sharks on the mind

I'm beginning to prep for another trip to Bimini where we will be working quite extensively with the great hammerhead shark.  This unique predator is an endangered species and often difficult to find.  It took me five years of extensive searching, until I saw one and now i'm hooked.  I'm not necessarily sure if their unique morphology, their curious nature, or the ability of being able to share these encounters with friends is the intriguing part about the animals.  ...Or maybe it is the large amount of time spent chumming the waters until that first dark shadow appears on the horizon and begins approaching the boat.  That initial rush of excitment is one of the things I enjoy most about being a shark researcher and photographer.   

With that said, i've been thinking about the white sharks in South Africa quite frequently - I can't seem to get sharks off of my mind.  The white shark is an incredible predator, nearly perfect in its design and is a species I would like to spend substantially more time learning about.  However, although the white shark is protected in South African waters, this particular species is captured and killed quite frequently in beach nets.  Although protected, it seems as though the KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board (organization responsible for deploying beach nets) ignores this mortality, because by killing the sharks, they  know they are inevitably creating safer beaches.  Safer beaches yields increased tourism which yields a boost to the local economy.  I understand tourism is an essential part of the local economy in KZN; however, I do not think economic health should come at the cost of marine organisms. 

On the other hand in South Africa, I believe people in other locations are beginning to learn that the value of a living shark is substantially greater than a dead one.  Through ecotourism practices, whether it be white shark cage diving, diving in search of tiger sharks at the Aliwal shoal, or diving in the kelp forests with bluntnose sixgill sharks, not only are dive companies profiting off of living sharks, but the local economy is receiving a boost.  It is through these practices that people begin to learn the value of a shark, its vital role within the marine ecosystem, and unfortunate misrepresentation within the public media.  I strongly urge people to step outside of their living room and experience some of this wildlife in their true habitats.  It is through these interactions that you will truely develop an appreciation for these animals and essentially create memories that will last a lifetime.

Here are a few more pictures from South Africa:

Is there hope for South African wildlife?

My journey to South Africa  has been incredible.  But the lack of wildlife, except in preserves, reserves, and the like, is stunning.  I've been told by many experts that wildlife, including monkeys, elephants, snakes, lynx and rhino (just to name a few) still face considerable challenges if they are to survive.  All are being hunted at substantial rates.

During this trip to S. Africa, I went to Aquila Game Preserve and it was truly an inspiring feeling to be sharing space with elephants, rhinos, and lions.  However, halfway through our tour, we learned that two months prior to our visit, poachers snuck over the fences of the preserve, tranquilized a white rhino, removed its horns and left the rhino to slowly bleed to death.  I didn't believe this type of behavior still existed, but the more I ask around, the more horror stories I hear.  At Aquila, they must now keep their rhinos and elephants on a 24-hr watch to prevent any future poaching attempts.  It is acts such as these that make me wonder if these animals truly have a chance...

Also, while at Aquila, we went to an animal rehabilitation center.  At this center there were several beautiful lions that looked perfectly healthy.  We later found out that these lions were rescued from another location where lions are bred, raised, and released into "wild habitats" (large gated areas), and foreign "big game" hunters come to hunt the "wild lions". 

Another terrible story is the endangered mountain gorillas.  Mountain gorillas are incredible animals and although I have yet to see one or travel to their habitat (maybe on a future trip to Africa), they also face immediate peril.  Today, people still illegally hunt gorillas for meat, trophies, and to capture and keep/sell their live infants.  Not only are the gorillas in a bit of danger, but so are the people protecting them.  There is one particular reserve in Rwanda that I know of which lost 11 of its rangers in 2011 to rebels. 

I guess most know about these issues, but to me, I was surprised to hear that this barbaric behavior still occurs.  On the bright side, there exists groups of people who are willing to dedicate their lives to protecting the endemic animals of Africa, giving hope for the future and survival of these incredible animals.

Tiger and Hammerhead Sharks Protected in Florida

This is incredible news!  The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission has come to an agreement that three species of hammerhead shark and tiger sharks in Florida waters are illegal to capture and posses.  Both hammerheads and tiger sharks are K-selected species, meaning they are characterized by slow growth, late are of maturity, and low fecundity and therefore the fact that anthropogenic shark mortality will be minimal, hopefully, the protection will aid in the population rejuvination of these species.  Additionally, since most sharks are such an integral part of marine communities and  have a top-down predatory impact within their respective ecosystems, it is likely that this move will also positively impact the health, biodiversity, and spatial distributions of these marine communities. 

Why am I so excited about this protection?

A nightmare to conservationists, Mark the Shark, is responsible for an unbelievable amount of shark mortality in Floridian waters.  Nearly every day (if weather permits and he has clients) he will seek out, catch and kill endangered Great and scalloped hammerhead sharks, as well as many other species.

Here are some examples:

Endangered great hammerhead shark captured and killed by Mark the Shark Chaters.  Copyright  Mark the Shark.

Endangered scalloped hammerhead shark captured and killed by Mark the Shark Charters.  Copyright Mark the Shark. 

Blacktip shark captured and killed by Mark the Shark Charters.  Copyright Mark the Shark.

Treating a shark as a trophy rather than a valuable ecological predator is an issue that continually needs to be addressed.  Although this protection in Floridian waters is a huge success, it is only a start--a tiny change in human behavior which may lead to healthier seas for future generations. 

Western Australia: Shark Cull

For those of you who are not familiar with the current situation in Western Australia, there has been three fatal shark attacks over the past two months.  In response to these attacks, the Western Australian Government is considering:  (1) increasing the shark quota for commercial fishermen, (2) searching for the shark reponsible for the most recent attack, hunting it down, and killing it, (3) installing anti-shark nets, and (4) a shark cull. 

Now let’s take these options and see how much sense they make:

(1)  There is absolutely no evidence that shark populations are increasing in Western Australian waters.  Therefore, increasing the shark quota for commercial fishermen could be disasterous.  Sharks play a fundamental ecological role within our marine ecosystems, so increasing fishing impact may essentially deplete shark populations in Western Australian waters and will have devastating impacts with WA and adjacent marine ecosystems. 

(2)  The idea of hunting down the shark responsible may be the most “bogus” idea i’ve heard in a very long time-well I guess since the movie “Jaws”.  I understand that the shark responsible may have been a fairly large shark; however, there is more than one large shark in our oceans so how in the world do they possibly think they can find the exact shark responsible?  The thought of government officials permitting such behavior is truly saddening and it is hoped that they strongly reconsider their actions/proposed actions. 

(3)  Installing anti-shark nets is an alarming solution.  Anti-shark nets are currently being regularly used in areas such as KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, Queensland and New South Wales, Australia.  These nets are deployed to prevent the potentially harmful interaction between the “unsuspecting beachgoer” and a shark.  Within a given year, shark mortality peaked at 2500 and scientific evidence demonstrates that these nets are responsible for the near elimination of local shark populations where the nets exist.  What does this mean for the local environment?  I think you can figure it out.

Also, in addition to the large amount of shark-related mortality within the nets, these nets are also responsible for a substantial amount of bycatch mortality, such as:  cetaceans, sea turtles, teleosts, rays, etc. 

(4)  Culling sharks in Western Australian waters may perhaps be the worst solution i’ve heard to date.  For those of you who aren’t necessarily familiar with the term culling-it is essentially identical to killing; however, the killing wouldn’t be indiscriminate, it would be selective towards a particular type of criteria.  In the case of Western Australia, sharks that fall under the “large” criteria will be the ones that are culled.  There are currently several petitions that are going around to halt this effort. 

Final Thoughts:

A humans’ false sense of power and dominance is our true problem.  In many cases, we act without thinking and therefore rather than solving the problem, we only amplify it.  In the situation with Western Australia, the killing of large sharks, or implementing beach nets to indiscriminantly kill marine life to keep beachgoers safe, or allowing commercial vessels to kill more sharks, is completely irrational.  Although the attacks occurred, we, as humans, have to understand that we are taking the risk by entering into a sharks environment.  There are a variety of non-violent percautions we can take to minimize the risk of being attacked and it is strongly urged, that these percautions are taken.  Again, the key to a successful life and keeping our planet healthy is keeping the “long term” in mind.  We must think about our consequences and how our actions, now, may impact future generations. 

Best wishes!