MORE WILDLY SUCCESSFUL BIG ANIMAL EXPEDITIONS!

'Wildly Successful' pretty much sums up this year so far. Our 2014 expeditions have been wildly successful! As I mentioned in my last update, we found the Killer Whales we were looking for in Norway, we had two amazing Great Hammerhead weeks in the Bahamas and we swam with hunting Sailfish and False Killer Whales in Mexico. Since then. we've added two more great expeditions to our list of successes. Read on to find out more:

SOCORRO & ROCA PARTIDA

We enjoyed a great week of world class encounters at Socorro Island and Roca Partida aboard the MV Southern Sport.

Not only did we see Giant mantas, Galapagos sharks, scalloped hammerheads, silvertips and whitetips in abundance, this year we had an (out of season) whale shark circling Roca Partida to the delight of everyone on the liveaboard. All the action and some great images can be seen here: Socorro and Roca Partida 2014

INSANE TIGER SHARK ACTION AT TIGER BEACH

This was our best year ever for tiger sharks at that infamous sand bank in the northern Bahamas that has come to be known as Tiger Beach. There were so many sharks that it was impossible to keep track of them all but at one point I counted at least 5 tiger sharks, a handful of nurse sharks, more than a dozen lemon sharks and countless Caribbean reef sharks. If you want to see the images of that crazy adventure, please follow this link: Tiger Beach 2014 Trip Report

PREDATORS IN PERIL BAJA 2014

After Tiger Beach we headed down to California and San Felipe in Northern Baja, Mexico. This was partly a scouting trip for California shark species and partly an opportunity for me to take more shark fishing pictures for the Predators in Peril Project.

While in Long Beach, California, I went out chasing makos with expert shark tagger Keith Poe and Captain Chris Wade who will be our host for our California mako shark trip this September. The water was amazingly clear compared to other places where you can sometimes see makos and we saw at least ten different shortfin mako sharks in a single day. It was great trip and I'm looking forward to coming back for our Big Fish Expeditions California Mako Shark Adventure. Join us in Long Beach this September!

After California we continued into Baja. Mexican shark fishermen head out of sleepy San Felipe to gill nest for a number of different food fish. Unfortunately they inadvertently pull up a number of different sharks that they collectively refer to as Cazon or Tollos. The bycatch generally includes a number of smoothhound shark species plus Pacific sharpnose sharks, mall blacktips, juvenile hammerheads and tope (soupfin) sharks.

Some of these species are heavily fished and are in danger of depletion in parts of their range. Our intention was to find out what species they were catching and at what times of year. There is virtually no accessible catch data available so a field trip was the only way to gather this kind of information.

As I have come to expect, the fishermen were cautious but approachable and I managed to talk my way onto one of the fishing boats to get a broader understanding of their efforts. While I was onboard I saw a number of grey smoothhound sharks come up in the nets. Sadly only one was still swimming and after a quick negotiation with the Captain I returned it to the ocean and took a few images as it swam off into the jade green waters of the northern gulf.

We left San Felipe with the intel and contacts we needed to plan a second trip that will hopefully result in some images of new species and the release of far more sharks.

A BUSY SUMMER AHEAD!

May will be a busy month at Big Fish Expeditions HQ on Vancouver Island because at the beginning of June we launch into an insane summer season of back to back shark trips. Here is the run down if you are looking for a great adventure:

FALSE BAY SHARK SAFARI June 1-8. 1 SPOT AVAILABLE

Flying Great Whites, Sevengill Sharks, Catsharks and Blues and Makos!

THE SOUTH AFRICAN SARDINE RUN June 8-18 4 SPOTS AVAILABLE

Baitball action with Bronze Whalers, Blacktips, dolphins, feeding Brydes Whales and diving birds.

SCOTTISH BASKING SHARKS June 22-28 SOLD OUT

Migrating basking sharks around the Isle of Mull, Scotland.

ALASKAN SALMON SHARKS July 6-12. 1 SPOT LEFT, July 12-18 2 SPOTS LEFT.

Salmon Sharks, Bear watching, Salmon dives and exploratory reef diving in pristine Alaska.

MEXICAN WHALE SHARKS July 20-25 5 SPOTS AVAILABLE. July 25-30 SOLD OUT

The largest aggregation of Whale Sharks on Planet Earth.

CANADIAN BELUGA WHALES August 3-9 2 SPOTS AVAILABLE

Encounters with thousands of friendly Beluga Whales in Hudson Bay.

MEXICAN CROCODILES August 17-23, 24-30. SOLD OUT

Snorkeling with American Crocodile at Chinchorro Banks, Mexico.

CALIFORNIA MAKOS AND BLUES August 31 - September 4. 6 SPOTS AVAILABLE

Makos, Blue Sharks, Angel Sharks, Horn Sharks and More.

THRESHER SHARKS OF MALAPSCUA

As soon as the exhaustion has worn off from our summer expeditions, it'll be time to head to marvelous Malapascua Island in the Philippines. Monad Shoal (a 10min boat ride from tiny Malapascua) is the best location in the world to dive with thresher sharks.

Around Malapscua you can also find whitespotted bamboo sharks, banded bamboo sharks, coral catsharks and all manner of crazy macro critters like pygmy seahorses, blue ringed octopuses, mating mandarinfish and reefs ablaze with beautiful orange soft corals.

As I write this, we have four spot left on the expedition. Join us there! Thresher Shark Expedition.

LOOKING FAR, FAR AHEAD...

In 2015 we'll be back at many of these great locations, starting with another chance to swim with orcas in Norway, cavort with Melonheaded Whales in French Polynesia and enjoy two back to back Great Hammerhead trips in the Bahamas. All of these are either full or almost full so please email us if you'd like to snag one of the last spots.

There are opportunities to enjoy world class big animal dives with us throughout the year as we now have 20 expeditions on the schedule and more in the planning stages! To see what you can join and when, please visit our schedule page: BIG FISH EXPEDITIONS DIVE SCHEDULE

  

  

  

  

  

  

INTRODUCING THE HUMPBACK WHALES OF THE SILVER BANKS

I am very excited to announce that in March 2016 we'll be spending a week swimming with humpback whales and their playful calves at the world famous Silver Banks in the Dominican Republic.

News of the trip has already got out so if you would like to enjoy a world class adventure in the company of whales, please let us know as soon as possible: Humpback Whale Expedition 2016.

That's it from me. Time to break out my drysuit and enjoy some great Vancouver Island kelp forest diving while the visibility is still spectacular.

See you down there,

Andy

Andy Murch is a professional big animal photographer and the founder of BigFishExpeditions.com

AFRICAN SHARKS AND CANADA'S ICONIC WHITE WHALES

AFRICAN SHARKS

& CANADA'S ICONIC WHITE WHALES

SOUTH AFRICA WAS AMAZING!

Its been a month since I returned from our first South African Shark Safari and I still can't get that incredible experience out of my head. With the possibility of fourteen species of sharks I knew that it would be a good trip but I had no idea how good. Cape Town is a shark diver's paradise! On one memorable dive we slipped into a beautiful kelp forest amid a handful of broadnose sevengill sharks and then swum amongst five species of catsharks that were hunting on the reef. A couple of shy spotted gully sharks also made a brief appearance making a total of seven species on one dive alone! That would be enough to set the West Cape apart from almost every other dive site in the world but just a few kms away from the reef is Seal Island where you can also dive with hunting great white sharks and still be back in time to watch African penguins waddling along the beach in the afternoon sun.

SEE THE SHARK IMAGES AND READ THE FULL REPORT HERE

By the end of that amazing week, I was so impressed by South African shark diving that I immediately booked dates for 2014. Join me in Cape Town next year if you can: 2014 WEST CAPE SHARK SAFARI. After sharing a few pics on Big Fish Expedition's Facebook Page this trip is already almost full so please contact me asap if you'd like to come!

A NEW BIG FISH EXPEDITION: THE SARDINE RUN

With so much world class diving on offer, it would be crazy to go all the way to South Africa for just one adventure. So, next year after the Cape Town Shark Safari, Big Fish Expeditions is staying in South Africa for the world famous Sardine Run. For most people the Sardine Run needs no introduction but for anyone that has been living in a bubble, the Sardine Run occurs each year when cold upwellings force millions of sardines to the surface. The resulting river of bait-fish is so enormous that sharks, dolphins, whales, diving birds and huge schools of tuna congregate off the Wild Coast of South Africa in record numbers to feast on the oil rich fish. The bait-ball action that sometimes occurs at this time is one of the most spectacular oceanic events on the planet. Join me in the thick of it!

Just on its own,The Sardine Run would be an epic event but to make our expedition even more special, I am combining the Sardine Run with some exploratory chumming dives for endemic catsharks on the inshore reefs of the Wild Coast and with offshore, blue water, baited dives for bronze whaler sharks, oceanic blacktips and any other shark species that show up to feed. Join me on the 2014 SARDINE RUN AND WILD COAST SHARK SAFARI Just one spot left!

ANOTHER NEW BIG FISH EXPEDITION: CANADIAN BELUGA WHALES

I'm very excited to bring you this new trip! Each summer, thousands of Beluga Whales congregate in Hudson Bay to feed, breed and socialize. Join me on a ground breaking expedition to swim with and photograph these iconic white whales in their natural environment. We will spend four mornings swimming among large pods of belugas. These are extremely curious animals so it is likely that they will approach us very closely.

In the afternoons we'll drive into the tundra and look for topside wildlife such as polar bears that forage on berries during the arctic summer. And then on our final day, we will trade in our zodiac for a proper tour of the tundra on the world famous tundra buggy. This is an adventure that you will remember forever! Join me in Churchill, Manitoba for the CANADIAN WHITE WHALE MIGRATION

WHAT ELSE IS BUBBLING...

BASKING SHARKS WITH COLD FEET

Last week we were in Scotland searching for basking sharks. Scotland was ruggedly beautiful but because of a very late spring that brought unseasonably cold weather, the sharks did not arrive as predicted. We saw a couple of sharks breach but there was no opportunity for in-water encounters. It was tough luck but if you go on enough trips this will inevitably happen sooner or later. We had a great group so everyone had a good time anyway and we did get to dive with seals and other Scottish marine life and explore some interesting reefs around Tobermory. Next year we'll be back there to finish what we started!

WHALE SHARK SEASON IS FINALLY HERE!
Next week we begin our whale shark season in Isla Mujeres, Mexico. I'm happy to report that the sharks have already arrived in their hundreds so we're expecting some great encounters over the next few weeks. We have just two spots open from August 2-7. So if you want to swim with the world's biggest fish please drop me an email.

While we're in Isla Mujeres, I am hoping to put together a film about this unique aggregation of enormous animals and the problems that they are facing. I'll let you know how that went after this year's trip.

BACK ON THE HUNT FOR RARE SHARKS & ILLUSIVE TORPEDO RAYS FOR ELASMODIVER.COM

Big Fish Expeditions would not exist if it wasn't for the popularity of Elasmodiver.com. The Elasmodiver database remains one of the largest collections of shark and ray images on the internet and is an unbiased source of shark diving information. The images on Elasmodiver are frequently used by conservation groups to help push through regulations and treaties aimed at protecting sharks and rays (aka elasmobranchs) around the world.

After our whale shark trips, I am heading to California to look for a very illusive deepwater shark and to try to add some other elasmos including the Pacific torpedo ray to the Elasmodiver database. If you happen to see any along the southern California coast in August, please drop me a line!

Then at the end of August I'm back in Rhode Island for a sold out Blue/Mako/Dogfish Shark Safari. After the charter I'll be shore diving for a few days around Rhode Island and Massachusetts to hunt for more endemic sharks and rays. Specifically, I'd like to track down an Atlantic torpedo ray so if you're diving up that way and know where they're hanging out this year, please email me with info!

MARLIN MADNESS IN MEXICO

We are planning a quick trip to Argentina to chase illusive sharks in November and then in early December I have an exciting Big Fish Expeditions trip to Baja for a week of chasing striped marlin, whales, mola mola and sharks. When the sardines are running, Baja's west coast is a dynamic place to dive where anything can show up to feed. Join me there for a week of adventure!

2014 ORCA OPENING!

Finally, I have one spot that opened up on my Killer Whale trip to Norway in January. If you want to swim with one of the largest predators in the sea, this is your chance!

See you down there,

Andy Murch

READ MORE BIG FISH EXPEDITIONS BLOG POSTS:

Are Crocodiles the new Sharks?

Diving with Swords and Hammers

Nothing But Shark Diving All Year Long!