19/09/09:

Today was Shark Teams first day back at sea in the last 5 days  due to bad weather. We were anchored up South of Geyser where we had an excellent winter season. The day was slow with sharks coming up to the boat for a sniff and then going about their own business elsewhere. Is this the end of our winter season and the start of the inshore seasonal migration?  We had good visibility so everyone had a fantastic look at a Great white shark on both tours.  We had very few sharks for the day but did have one shark that would later prove to be a real player. I have called this 3.0+/- female Ike! Ike is short for Ikelite as she would later earn her name by proceeding to destroy the wide angle lens on the Ikelite under water housing.

The real highlight of the trip was having a Southern right whale mother and calf circle the boat 3 times or so. The visibility was good and we could see the mother swimming below the cage with the calf on the surface just a short distance away. The mother moved towards the bow and met the calf at the surface and they continued to circle us as we prepared to leave for the afternoon tour.  

We were also lucky enough to have a Shy albatross and a Gannet circle the boat over head. The Gannets are spectacular dive bomb experts when they are catching their prey, usually shoaling fish such as sardines.

20/09/09:

Today was our first day down in our inshore grounds known as Joubert’s Dam. Joubert’s Dam and the area where we work is very close to shore, within 2-3 km. The sharks were phenomenol! We had all sorts of behaviour around the boat including ‘breeching’ when the sharks clear the water’s surface and spy hopping which is when the shark sticks the head out of the water and checks out things above the surface. We had 13 different sharks on the morning trip and 8 in the afternoon. Joubert’s Dam sharks are awesome early on in the summer season! Not so much in the latter part unfortunately. This decline in shark activity in mid summer is very interesting from a scientific point of view. Where do the sharks leave to? Are they still there but remaining very placid like yesterdays trips? Are they feeding? Are they pre-occupied with other more pressing issues like reproduction? Who knows?

We had a 3.0metre female around the boat that had a large gash in the trailing edge of her dorsal fin. It is not clear what caused the injury but the fin has been cut and bent over to the left hand side. It would therefore appear that something has cut into and then pulled down through the dorsal fin, possibly fishing line or a rope of some type and then compressed it to the left hand side.

21/09/09:

Meet Ike! All nose, perhaps the nosiest shark I have ever seen! And Ike does what Ike wants she is a very determined shark. We first had Ike at the island on the 19^th September. She must have moved inshore over night, quite a long distance but nothing compared to the 22,000 kilometre marathon, transoceanic migration that Nicole did to Australia in 2003/2004. Ike was also unpredictable reminding us that these animals are truly wild and must be respected and admired for what they are, one of mother natures’ finest creations.

Ike is aptly named in short of the Ikelite underwater housing she destroyed today. She was investigating the whole of Shark Team from Bow to Stern and cage to motors, both above and below the surface. To see an animal investigate its environment with such vigour tells me that there is so much more to their minds than we will probably ever know. They are so inquisitive but on the same hand just as cautious in unfamiliar surroundings. Some sharks are bolder than others, just as humans have different personalities so do white sharks. Ike has one of those personalities that you will remember forever! We had to resort to pushing Ike away from the back of the boat with a pole (with a plastic cover) as she was mouthing everything. White sharks investigate objects by mouthing them as they do not have hands to sense and manipulate the environment with. Experts believe most bites on humans are most likely attributable to investigatory bites as they are rarely fatal.

22/09/09:

We had a total of 17 different Great white sharks today on the morning tour.  There was almost continuous shark activity around Shark Team with 3 sharks spending all morning taking turns to come in on the bait. The white sharks show a high degree of complexity in their social structure with large animals dominating smaller individuals regardless of the sex. Sometimes there are smaller sharks that are very bold and dominate in a situation and there are also some sharks that appear to be tolerated more than others. In general smaller sharks are excluded from a face-off situation due to the bulk and size of larger specimens as well as the fighting equipment, the teeth!

23/09/09:

Shark Team observed a total of 17 different sharks on the morning tour today in the shallows. The behaviour was a little more relaxed with the sharks making a few passes to check out the situation and then moving off elsewhere, maybe they had a very busy morning hunting natural prey close to the back line of the breakers! Many of the sharks are covered in parasites at the moment. Sea lice can be seen on the head of this large 3.0metre female. They are small copepods that attach to the shark via the orange disc shape and the tails trail behind the body

24/09/09:

The winter season has ended properly now giving the Cape fur seals a break until next February/March when the sharks will return to take full advantage of the fat pups. The seal pups are high in calories but low in experience and therefore make ideal targets.  Our morning tour in the shallows was very successful with a total of 7 different sharks identified. The wind is still blowing North-West (winter wind) so for our afternoon tour we moved to the Channel mouth for more comfortable conditions between Dyer and Geyser islands. We only observed 2 different sharks at the island both were around 2metres in length. They were very lethargic and remained deep for most of the tour so people in the cage had a great look at a Great white. This was however our last trip to the island as the winter season has drawn to a close and the summer season is beginning. I look forward to seeing some familiar individuals this summer.

25/09/09:

We had 11 sharks in the morning and 10 or more in the afternoon. Ike made an appearance on both trips although she had calmed down a lot since the last time we saw her. Rene also circled the boat a few times and investigated anything that caught her eye. The sharks are on pretty good form at the moment with lots of exciting activity. The sharks have been paying particular interest to the back of the boat at the moment. It seems as though these animals are unfamiliar with the boats, perhaps they have migrated in from the deep sea and not seen a boat before!

26/09/09: NO SEA DAY

27/09/09: NO SEA DAY

28/09/09: NO SEA DAY

29/09/09: NO SEA DAY

30/09/09:

We have had some amazing trips down in the shallows so far this season. The sharks have been generally quite large, around 3 metres long with a few small 2 metre individuals. These small sharks are usually very clean in appearance and are perfect little copies of their parents. They are very muscular and extremely fast both in and out of the water. These juvenile sharks are very quick as when hunting their normal fish prey such as tuna they have to be. It is also encouraging to see small individuals around the vessel as it means there is at least some large reproductively active specimens patrolling our waters.