27/06/09

After 4 days off sea, the cold front finally rolled through. We worked the Geldsteen Reef around Dyer Island for the first time in a couple of weeks. We had one trip today with a total number of 8 sharks, the smallest being 2.5 metres and the largest 3.0 metres. Only 1 shark on this trip was a confirmed as a re-sight, a shark we named BSPOT2R. The tip of her caudal fin (tail) is bent and she has a very distinct dark spot on the right hand side of the dorsal. The shark activity was good but they are still a little quiet after the storm and the water is cold for this time of the year, however, every day you get to see a white shark alive in the wild is a privilege and a good day. We were also lucky enough to observe a predation about 200 metres away. Getting photos of this is very tricky but I will keep on trying for you!

28/06/09

Waiting to launch in the harbour we observed a juvenile Southern Right Whale just beyond the kelp. I am no whale expert but maybe this juvenile was separated from its mother during the storm or it may have been a youngster that was born last year and has returned this year without its mother. The bird life was also fantastic today with many different species being present, the most impressive of which was the Shy Albatross.   

We observed 4 different Great whites on th morning tour one of which I know well and called Dropsy; her dorsal fin is damaged and bent to the right hand side. We are not sure what damaged her dorsal it could have been another shark, a propeller, fishing line, seals amongst many other reasons. The afternoon trip was a little better than the first, we had shark activity before we had even attached the cage, its’ always a pleasure when there is no waiting! 7 different sharks approached the vessel. BSPOT2R made an appearance and appears to have picked up a long white cut down her left flank. We had 2 small sharks around 2.5 metres in length that were very inquisitive, one stuck her nose in the cage briefly and then the other was mouthing the propellers to try and figure out what the nice shiny objects were.   

29/06/09

Today was nice at sea, the sea was calm and the sun was shining. Four sharks were observed on the morning trip and 10 on the afternoon. Nemo and Dropsy both made an appearance around the boat. Slashfin has unfortunately not been seen since before the storm so he has probably moved off on the rest of his journey wherever he goes, I wish I knew! We look forward to seeing you next year Slash. A shark which I suspect I know was seen but as no fin-id photos were taken I can’t be sure it was her, a 2.6 female with a very distinct arked bite wound on her left hand flank. This still was taken from video footage shot in 2008. Video footage is valuable to aid with identification of specimens but should only be used as a back up to compliment the dorsal identification process.

30/06/09

  Shark Team ran 2 tours today the first proving very good with 10 magnificent different Great     whites. The afternoon was to prove the trip of the week though, with 11 different sharks, but its’ not quantity that is important with white’s, its’ the quality, they really delivered on this trip! We had 4 different sharks circling the boat at any one time with new ones coming in and others leaving. Some sharks were spy-hopping around the boat, mouthing objects and staring up at us to try and figure out what we were. When sharks mouth objects they are investigating it in order to understand what it is, they do not have hands to feel with so they use mouth.

The highlight of the trip was when a juvenile seal popped up right next to the boat and a small 2.0-2.5 metre shark fully breeched on it taking it in its mouth, the poor little seal didn’t know what hit it, AWESOME! 

01/07/09

The bird life the whole of this week has been very good. Recently we have had a lot of sub-adult Giant Petrals around, fighting over bits of chum and generally misbehaving.    

  The sea was nice and calm again and we got back to our preferred spot, close to    Geyser rock. We had 8 different sharks on the morning tour, all of which appeared to be new animals, although some were difficult to identify without dorsal ID’s. Nemo worked very nicely around Shark Team but showed little interest in the bait. She circled the boat and approached the cage but then sped up as she passed it, only to come back around and have another look. I don’t think she likes the cage very much as she was very clumsy last year and hit the cage many times after she lost her dorsal and pectoral fins.                             

02/07/09

No stills or data were taken today as I was filming. One interesting note on behaviour was again with the Giant Petrals. In the afternoon we had 4 of these large birds snapping up the scraps of chum and pecking at the tuna head on the bait line. They were squabbling over the food and trying to dodge the nosey investigation from the sharks circling the boat. Most of the time the sharks would just move in close to have a good look, maybe bumping the birds and then withdrawing from the situation. This just shows that Great whites are not mindless killing machines and eat anything they come across. This repertoire went on for about an hour. Eventually a small 2.5 metre shark moved in for a closer look and nosed one of the birds. The Petrals just moved out the way and carried on with their squabbling. The shark proceeded to rush the birds a second time and then partially breeched on another. As to why the shark was investigating the birds! It could have been predatory, but let’s face it if the shark wanted to eat them it would have. The shark may have been trying to remove the birds from the bait and saw them as competitors, it could have been using them for target practice or might simply have been having fun, bird bashing!!! 

 

03/07/09

The sea has started to get ugly again with swell around the island. We anchored up in the channel between Dyer and Geyser islands for the trip. We observed a total of 8 different sharks today including Nemo. The sharks were a little sporadic, coming and going but we had a great trip none the less. Nemo was the smallest shark at 2.5 metres and the rest were around the 3.0 metre mark.

04/07/09

Shark Team anchored up low on Geldsteen Reef for our volunteer exclusive trip. We had 10 different sharks work around the boat today. There was still a bit of swell but it didn’t seem to affect the shark’s activity. We did not recognise the sharks today as we have mainly worked the other side of Geyser Rock.    The sharks were very active, rushing and breeching on the bait and spy hopping around the back of the boat. To say we could not get to our preferred location on Geldsteen Reef the sharks were excellent, winter is in full swing, finally!

05/07/09

Today’s shark activity was fantastic, sharks everywhere. The activity in the afternoon picked up a little bit from the morning. We waited for 25 minutes in the morning but when the sharks came they were a little reserved but we had a large 3.7 metre female which was an awesome sighting. In the afternoon we had 10 different sharks, seven of them being 3.0 metres plus. Nemo paid a visit to the boat and seems to be a little more confident, not been so skittish around the cage. Hopefully through responsible bait handling and her not smacking the cage, she is considering the threat from our boat to be minimal. 

We were also lucky enough to have a Shy albatross and Giant Petrel, amongst other bird species around the boat. On our way home we passed close to Geyser Rock and observed a seal with a bite wound on the hind quarters, it looked very sore but the seal will be a little bit older, wiser and more careful tomorrow.