Shark Sunday: Caribbean Reef Shark Encounter

There is a popular dive site here in Bimini frequented by not only the Bimini Biological Field Station ( Sharklab) for research and education, but also by local dive and eco tour operators. My first visit to the site was in 2004 while working on a research vessel that was visiting Bimini and I have been there dozens of times since; I am happy to report that it never gets old and you never know what you will see.

The usual stars are Caribbean reef sharks with anywhere from 2 to 20 making an appearance. Like any site frequented regularly, you start to recognize specific animals and I am always happy when old regulars show up.

Although the Bahamas is a shark sanctuary, we have seen people and fishing gear on this site with sharks as their targeted species.

The Bahamas Shark Sanctuary Approximately 243,244 square miles

Shark Fishing Gear Left Near Dive Site

Caribbean Reef Shark with a Hook Scar on the Mouth

It had been about a month since Duncan and I visited the site, so with a beautiful day before us we headed out. As soon as we anchored up a single shark finned at the surface. We threw a few pieces of bait in and very quickly we had 4 sharks. We geared up, got the cameras ready and slipped in.

Happiness! Who Needs Diamonds?! Sharks are a Girl's Best Friend

The water was crystal clear and the sunlight danced in ripples on the gray skin of the sharks; I absolutely love days like this. We spent over an hour in the water diving down and holding our breath, being as much part of their world as we could for a brief amount of time. The ocean is quiet place and I love lying on the bottom and just watching. I love sharks, if you hadn’t already guessed, but watching them never ceases to amaze me. Lost in the moment, my body reminded me that I am a land animal and must return to the surface.

Duncan Filming Caribbean Reef Sharks 

Freediving Shark Selfie

Throughout the Bahamas Caribbean sharks dives and snorkels draw divers, film crews and shark aficionados from around the world. These sharks are also responsible for educating thousands of people and changing fear into fascination and respect. Five minutes is all it takes to create a new perception and shark eco-tourism throughout the Bahamas has not only been good for the economy, but good for the sharks that swim around these islands.

We ended our dive and got back on the boat. I threw in some of the last scraps of bait and chatted with the sharks, as I always do. Duncan giggled, like he always does, amused by running commentary. I absolutely love being around these remarkable creatures.

Shark Geeks! Loving The Gorgeous Day!

I am a huge proponent of getting in the water and having your own shark experience, so if you find yourself in the Bahamas or somewhere offering a shark encounter, I encourage you to dive in! If you are in Bimini check out the Sharklab's Research Experience , Bimini Sands for shark snorkels or the Bimini Scuba Center for scuba diving trips.

Shark Week: Bimini Shark Tales

It’s Shark Week, which means people around the world are thinking about, talking about and watching shows featuring, you guessed it; sharks. Although Shark Week is notorious for sensationalism and “mockumentaries,” there arises a great opportunity to have a real conversation about sharks, shark conservation and the problems they are facing around the world. Here in Bimini pretty much every week is Shark Week. This tiny island chain in the northern Bahamas is home to the first Shark Free Marina in the world and is part of the Bahamas Shark Sanctuary. Some of the best shark research in the world has also happened right here at the Bimini Biological Field Station(Sharklab). Despite being small in size, Bimini is truly a world force in shark science and shark conservation.

My husband and I are both Sharklab alumni and have absolutely fallen in love with the island. We spend as much time here as possible and there is rarely a day we do not see sharks. Different species are here seasonally, along with a few regulars we see year round. We spend a lot of our time filming and photographing these amazing animals and occasionally get to assist the lab with research projects.  People travel from around the world to see these sharks, study them and dive with them and for us; we travel to our “backyard.”

Shark Selfie with a Bull Shark Off South Bimini!

My blog has been heavily neglected because all of my time has been devoted to our newest endeavor, Sharks4Kids. We created this non-profit as a means of spreading shark education to kids around the world through curriculum, activities, videos and classroom visits. Please check out the page and feel free to message me for more information. Okay, now back to the sharks.  Over the next few months I will be sharing information, images and videos highlight the sharks we see here in Bimini. I will include our adventures, facts about these animals and notes on shark research and conservation happening on the island. Sharks that will be featured include great hammerheads, nurse, lemons, bulls, Caribbean reef, smalltooth sawfish and the elusive pitbull shark!

The Rare and Elusive PITBULLSHARK!

I hope you enjoy these shark tales each week of the year, because sharks deserve more than a week of global attention! Please feel free to email me any questions you have!  You can also find me on twitter and Instagram @BiminiSharkGirl

FINS UP

Living the Shark Life

Ending October with a Very Sharky Week

Another amazing week of Skype Classroom Visits has come and gone and I am still reveling in the unique, yet always inspirational experience of each visit. The Internet gods have been smiling on our little island and the connection has held for each visit. Writing that statement, though, will surely doom me for a Murphy’s Law moment of Internet failure in the near future. Fingers crossed for continued smooth sailing.

I kicked off the week speaking to 4th graders in Michigan followed by Kindergarteners in Wisconsin. I think Kindergarten and first grade might be my favorite age group to speak with. They have so much energy and excitement about the world around them and it is contagious. The way a child’s mind works at age 5, 6 or 7 is fascinating and I am always amazed at the statements and questions I get. Often times they are random, but I can usually find the logic that might have lead them to a certain conclusion and the journey is always a lot of fun.

Mrs. Harmann’s Kindergarten class wrote in their Skype journals after my visit and here are some of the JAWSOME things they had to say.

Sharks do not have bones-Jacob
Sharks lay eggs called a Mermaid’s purse –Cate
We should not be afraid of sharks –Adam
Sharks can smell their food before they see it –Bennett

This is continuously a learning process for me as well. The world is always changing and the interests often vary from class to class. I am constantly adding new elements and adjusting information to suit the needs of each classroom. They way kids interpret the information is also fascinating. What do they fixate on? What do they remember? What do they think is awesome? My lesson is about being a shark diver and underwater videographer, but is heavy on shark conservation as well. This is a lot of information and the direction each conversation goes depends entirely on questions the students have. I also ask the students a lot of questions because I want to know their ideas and thoughts about sharks. This is critical in providing information to them about sharks and shark conservation, while also making it fun. It is not about driving home the cruel reality of shark finning, it is about providing them with cool facts about sharks, debunking the man-eater myth and instilling the idea that they can make a difference. I want to encourage them to speak up and not be afraid to ask questions. They have a voice and it is important for them to gain confidence in using it.

I still get the, “have you ever been bitten by a shark question,” but not as frequently and I also get different versions including, “do I know someone who has been bitten,” and “has a shark ever tried to attack me when I am diving?” I (touch wood) have never been bitten, but I do know people who have and in each case it was the person’s fault. I am not going to say shark attacks do not happen, but I will always reiterate that we are NOT on the menu for sharks.

This week I was also asked by a few students whether I touch the animals I am filming, like sharks or dolphins. My answer is no. I ask them if they would want some stranger coming up to them and grabbing their shirt? No way, so why would an animal want someone to grab onto it? I talk about respect for wild animals and how important it is. I can see them processing the thought of a person grabbing their shirtsleeve and it not being okay and I know they understand this analogy in relation to wild animals. I do not grab sharks. I do not ride sharks or other wildlife. I don’t see the point and it is not something I support. Yes, sometimes we do swim sharks if they are not doing well and we need to get oxygen into their system, but it is not a joyride. “Sharks are NOT underwater scooters,” as a dear and respected friend in the industry, says.

After an awesome time in Wisconsin I spent 4 visits in North Carolina with Ms. Smith’s third and fifth graders. I finished up the week in New England speaking to fifth graders in Rhode Island. Always good to go home!
A lot of the students this week were very interested in goblin and cookie cutter sharks. I love when students ask about a more diverse range of species. Tigers, great whites and whale sharks are consistent, but goblin shark is rarely mentioned, but definitely deserves the attention for being such a cool animal. I think my favorite reactions came from discussions about tiger sharks being able to invert their stomachs and the fact that bull sharks pee more frequently in fresh and brackish water than they do in the ocean. The “ughhhh,” that is so gross, but so awesome reaction is one of the most fun parts of my classroom visits.

It has been another rewarding week and something I feel blessed to have the opportunity to do. Skype Classroom is celebrating Ocean Exploration during the month of November and I am honored to be a part of it. I have nine visits next week and I cannot wait to recruit more shark advocates around the world!

Thank you to Ms. Smith, Mrs. Naasko, Mrs. Harmann and Mrs. VanRossum for encouraging your students to care about sharks and our oceans.

School is Back in Session: Skype Classroom Visits

I love spending time in the classroom speaking with kids about sharks, but work over the past few months has really limited my ability to do so. My audience is slightly limited because I live on a tiny island, but Skype Classroom has really changed the way the world learns and has opened a lot more doors for me. (Classroom doors that is) I remember having guest speakers as a child growing up in Maine, but it didn’t happen very often and they were always local. I am blown away at the ability to broaden horizons and expand a child’s sense of the world, through a small window on the computer.

I have done classroom sessions before via Skype, as well as interviews for various shark projects, but last week I did my first visit organized through the Skype Classroom program. I was nervous and excited as I waited to connect with Mr. Grabowski’s 6th grade class, located in Guelph, Ontario.

I spent forty minutes speaking about sharks, shark diving and underwater video. The kids had really great questions about why sharks are important and what they can do to help. The time flew by and I closed the connection feeling a renewed sense of inspiration. The world of shark conservation is full of ups and downs and these classroom visits are the peaks that renew my resolve and challenge me to do more.

I did two more visits this week, one with second graders from Connecticut and one with an 8-year-old home school student in Michigan. I wanted to do a few to start and see how the logistics would be before I dove in completely. I think the experience is amazing and I have seven visits booked next week. It really opens the doors for students who do not have access to the ocean or maybe have never even seen the ocean. We all need the ocean and every child needs to know how important our oceans are and how important sharks are. It is also essential that every child realize he or she has a voice and that they can make a difference. Think global, but act local. We need to create the next generation of global citizens by initiating a conversation about things every person can do each day or each week to make a change.

I highly recommend this program to teachers and parents alike. You can bring the world to your classroom or to your children and make connections that cannot be found in any textbook.


MY SKYPE CLASSROOM PROFILE

Junior Shark Ambassador Getting Positive Press

Alyssa is only 9 years old, but sharks are lucky to have here on their team! She already has passion and ambition to help these animals and will continue to be a force; fighting for sharks.

Alyssa’s dad recently sent me a newspaper article about her shark project and I was in tears by the end. I have written numerous times about the struggles, frustration and pain; all frequent emotions felt by shark conservationists across the planet, but articles like this give us that amazing 4 letter word, HOPE. I was completely blown away with her mention of me in the article and felt my heart overwhelmed with happiness.

ARTICLE

Alyssa defines hope. Unbiased and raw hope, unscathed by the cynicism society can deposit on all of us. Kids like Alyssa are the reason to keep fighting. Kids deserve to see sharks and it is not only our right, but also our duty to fight for our oceans and for sharks. She shows the world that anyone, no matter how old you are, can be heard.

THANKS ALYSSA!!!!!

Alyssa's Shark Project