The Dorsal Fin

YouTube user, BubbleheadJace recently posted some of the highest quality whale shark (Rhincodon typus) footage I’ve seen in a long time. The footage was shot in 2009 off Koh Tao, Thailand. The video encourages viewers to visit WhaleShark.org to learn more about whale sharks and how to protect them.

UK media outlets, The Sun, the Telegraph, and the Daily Mail, have all run photos from Amos Nachoum taken at Guadalupe this fall. The one photo in particular that seems to be drawing the most attention from the media outlets is head-on shot of a “smiling” white shark that the media outlets are comparing to the character Bruce, from Pixar’s Finding Nemo.

This photo might not look like Bruce from Finding Nemo.
But, it does show that you can take a close-up of a smiling great white shark from inside a cage at Guadalupe.

While the head-on shark photo may be the center of attention for the average viewer, I have a feeling that one of the other photos, which features an underwater photographer diving cage-less in close proximity with a white shark, will likely cause some shark diving operators to cringe when they see it. Amos’ decision to take recreational divers cage-less at Isla de Guadalupe recently drew sharp criticism from some shark diving operators, as well as shark diving blogs, including Underwater Thrills: Swimming with Sharks and The Best Shark Dive Ever, due to the fact that it is against the law to offer cage-less dives on a commercial level at Isla de Guadalupe. The appearance of these images in the mainstream UK media probably are not going to alleviate that criticism, as Mr. Nachoum’s media promotion of this illegal dive will likely serve only to further threaten legitimate dive operations at Isla de Guadalupe.

Following hot on the heels of the “monster shark” hysteria, The Sun refers to the white shark in the photo as “giant,” while the Daily Mail calls it “gigantic.” The actual length of the shark was reported as 14′ (4.25 meters) in length.

The now infamous cage breach video shot at Guadalupe in 2007 continues to get more mileage in the media. The latest outlet that it has shown up at is Tru Tv’s World’s Dumbest series. For some reason, media outlets just love this video and making generalizations about white sharks and shark diving, in general. While there are countless hours of exceptional Guadalupe white shark video footage out there, for some reason a few seconds of this footage keeps showing up all over the place and continues to give a bad impression to viewers about what really goes on with cage diving at Guadalupe.

In what may be some good news to the ears of shark tour operators, the Honolulu Advertiser is reporting that a proposal to ban shark diving operations on O’ahu has been abandoned. The decision was made yesterday (October 7) by the Executive Matters and Legal Affairs Committee following a 7-1 vote against the bill, which was preceded by close to three hours of testimony from those both for and against the ban.

Opponents of shark diving operations suggest that the tours can create a hazard to the safety of the general public. However, there is no scientific evidence to support this claim. According to the article, the committee was advised by attorneys that concrete evidence needed to be provided which supported the safety hazard claim. As of now, only anecdotal evidence exists, according to Todd Apo, council chairman.

The bill was proposed by Charles Djou, the chairman of the Executive Matters Committee. Djou stated that he believed enough evidence was presented in yesterday’s testimony to support the idea that shark tours can pose a threat to the public. Based on the 7-1 vote, it would seem the rest of the council disagreed.

YouTube user Jero Prieto recently posted 91 seconds of some excellent shark footage. According to the YouTube info, it was shot last month in the Galapagos. The footage features schooling hammerheads being closely followed by a whale shark. The camera angle as the whale shark passes by really makes for some fantastic footage. Take note that at no point in the video do the divers decide to hitch a ride on, stand on, or have a party with 14 of their closest friends on the whale shark.