The SECOND Biggest Fish in the Sea

Its been an awesome year so far but before I talk about the action on the last few trips, lets talk about the second biggest fish in the sea:

BASKING SHARKS!

Next June/July I have organized a very unique adventure. Join me on the Isle of Mull off the west coast of Scotland to dive with feeding basking sharks. Although there are other locations like Cornwall and the Isle of Man that get sporadic sightings, nowhere is as reliable as the seas around the Isle of Mull. As well as the frequency of encounters, the visibility this far north is far superior as well, making this the ideal location for serious shark hunters.

We will also dive with friendly grey seals, photograph any whales and dolphins that we see and generally soak up the atmosphere of the Inner Hebredes in a fun filled week on the water.

At night we'll either be staying in a stone cottage in the quaint village of Tobermory or camping on the outer islands right where the sharks are. To me, this sounds like an awesome adventure. Apparently I'm not alone because the first trip sold out the day I posted it on Big Fish Expeditions. The second week has four spots open so jump in while you can! Check out the images, info and an awesome video by Film Maker Simon Spear about the amazing wildlife around the Isle of Mull: Basking Shark Expedition

MANTAS, TIGERS & OCEANIC WHITETIPS

Building on the success of seeing smalltooth sandtigers at Malpelo, our next adventure was in Rugged Socorro which is 200 miles south of the tip of Baja. The manta action at the islands was off the hook. We encountered giant mantas on virtually every dive but unlike many other places around the world, the mantas at Socorro actually crave the company of divers. Many times, a manta would find us and hang out for the entire dive playing in our bubbles. It was a fantastic experience for everyone that went. Read more in the Socorro trip report.

After Socorro I led back-to-back trips to Tiger Beach and Cat Island. Of course Tiger Beach was non-stop shark action everyday but Cat Island far exceeded my expectations. Stuart Cove bought one of his boats over to the island especially for this trip and although the persistent wind made the surface a bit bumpy, we simply submerged into the tranquility of the underworld surrounded by oceanic whitetip sharks on every dive. On our first (and best) day we had 12 big oceanics surrounding our small group of divers! There are some great pics from the trip in the Cat Island Oceanic Expedition Trip Report. I've booked back to back dates again next year and not surprisingly the boats are already half full.

WHALE SHARK AGGREGATIONS

Next up on the Big Fish Calendar is whale sharks at Isla Mujeres in July. This should be a lot of fun. The world's biggest fishes aggregate off of Isla Mujeres each July to feed and we'll be there to play with them! There are two spots left on the second trip. If you've never dove with a whale shark don't miss this opportunity:Whale Shark Expedition

Less than a week after returning from Whale Sharks at Isla Mujeres, its time for Sharkfest. As I write this there is one spot left on the trip which I'm sure will be gone in no time. Sharkfest is a fun filled weekend with three days of diving with Sandtiger Sharks, a night where we screen the best recent shark films and a cook out on the last night. This is the third annual Sharkfest and although its a bit of a monster to organize, I don't think I can break tradition now. So, if you can't come this year then please pencil it into your calendar for next August: SHARKFEST

THE SEA OF CORTEZ WHALES AND HUMBOLDTS EXPEDITION

Then its time for my last guest trip of the season. This will be my second year in the Sea of Cortez diving with whales, sea lions, humboldt squid and sharks. By far the most diverse trip on the Big Fish Itinerary, if you're looking for an adventure with lots of diving plus marine mammal encounters, you can't go wrong in theSea of Cortez

PREDATORS IN PERIL

This fall, I have purposely avoided scheduling any Big Fish Expeditions. I love running guest trips but there is work to be done. I am planning two trips to Mexico to work with researchers and fishermen to try to document more of the endemic shark species that divers do not normally get the chance to encounter. In particular, there are a number of smoothhound shark species that need some time in the spotlight. Hopefully, by the end of the year I should have at least one or two documented but I'm hoping for more. If you've never seen a smoothhound shark, this image shows a Gulf of Mexico Smoothhound; an animal that lives in deep water in a tiny pocket of ocean in the northern Gulf and is therefore extremely vulnerable to depletion.

While I'm on the subject of Predators in Peril, you may remember that last year I had the opportunity to photograph deep sea gulper sharks with Edd Brooks from Cape Eluethera Institute. Since then Edd has moved into the next phase of the project which involves monitoring activity and species composition on the actual sea floor rather than bringing sharks up to the surface. Here is a link to a video about his recent work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4ecOlFVoSE&feature=share

2013 EXPEDITIONS

Next year's schedule is getting ridiculously busy already. In January we'll be in Mexico for the sailfish migration. Divers can see up to 40 or 50 sailfish attacking enormous bait balls; a spectacular sight! (Just three spots left).

Then in February, we're heading to French Polynesia on a shark safari of epic proportions. First stop will be Moorea to dive with sicklefin lemon sharks. Then we are heading to Fakarava 'where it rains sharks' to dive with 5 species including hundreds and hundreds of grey reef sharks. In my entire shark diving career I have never seen this many sharks in one place. Join me in paradise for an amazing shark filled adventure: French Polynesia Shark Safari

Then a brand new experimental trip. In late Feb, Great Hammerheads congregate in an area near the island of Bimini in the Bahamas. Great hammerheads are usually extremely difficult to see (as many frustrated photographers will tell you). But, in this one small area, Great hammers have been reliably documented by the shark researchers that are based on Bimini. This year, Stuart Cove took his boat over to to try to chum up the sharks and he was extremely successful. At one point he had a 4 or 5 great hammers around the bait. That is the best encounter I have ever heard of so I have asked Stuart to bring his boat back next year to try to repeat the excitement. If you're an experienced diver and you've been waiting for the chance to add a great hammerhead to your life list, this is the trip:Great Hammerhead Expedition

Beyond the hammer trip we're taking another shot at the mantas in Socorro and then its time for Tiger Beach, Cat Island, Scotland and South Africa. To see our entire Big Fish Expeditions Schedule for next year. Please follow this link:

Big Fish Expeditions Schedule 2012/13

See you out there!

For the oceans,

Andy Murch

Big Fish, Big Whales and Big Squid!

Big Fish, Big Whales and Big Squid

WHALES AND HUMBOLDTS TRIP REPORT

I've been home for 3 weeks from this year's Sea of Cortez Expeditions and I'm still reliving the highlights in my mind. It was an incredible adventure with great people and great encounters.

Over a two week span, we spent time in the water with absolutely every big animal that we had hoped to see. From voracious humboldt squid to enormous sperm whales, the ocean just kept delivering us new and amazing animals.

To give you an idea of how diverse it was, we managed to cram humboldt squid diving, a pod of sperm whales, a twenty meter solitary bull sperm whale, a few finback whales, multiple pods of pilot whales, schooling scalloped hammerheads, schooling mobula rays, playful sea lions, scores of reef dives and three whale shark encounters into two weeks at sea.

The shooting opportunities ranged from challenging to great to epic but now I am faced with the daunting task of wading through thousands of images of fish, squid, whales and reefs. The best will be loaded onto Elasmodiver when I have the chance except for the ones that are saved for magazine articles. Every time I open a new folder of pics, I am transported back to that particular dive or encounter. Its a great way to relive the adventures between trips but no substitute for actually being there.

For me this was a very experimental trip and I was not sure if it would all work out. By the time we arrived back in La Paz, I had dates nailed down for next August's squid run so if you'd like to join me next year please let me know:2012 Sea of Cortez Expedition

NEW TRIPS

I've also added two more epic trips to next year's Big Fish Expeditions line up:

In March I am running a Humpback Whale and Manta Expedition to world famous Socorro Island. Socorro breaks the surface 200 miles south of the Baja Peninsula and is reached by liveaboard from Cabo San Lucas. It is probably most famous for the amazing manta encounters that take place there. The rays are some of the biggest that you are ever likely to dive with. They are known for interacting with people at the islands and allowing divers to swim within inches of them (perhaps enjoying the feeling of the divers exhaust bubbles rolling over their skin). Interestingly, the mantas at Socorro have been shown to be able to identify individual divers which they return to time after time for more attention.

The islands are also known for excellent reefs and sharks! Resident species include Galapagos sharks, silkies and whitetips but hammers and other species can also be seen.

But, like all Big Fish Expeditions, the Socorro Expedition is timed to deliver the maximum amount of big animals so we are visiting Socorro during the humpback whale migration. Late March is an excellent time to encounter female humpbacks with new calves. The calves are very curious and they have a reputation for closely approaching divers and snorkellers before being steered away by their more cautious mothers.

Each day between dives, we will head around the islands and jump in with any whales that we see. Between humpback whales (and possibly other whale species), mantas, sharks, dolphins and other pelagics, this should be an epic adventure. Socorro Humpback and Manta Expedition

I also have a new Whale Shark Trip to Isla Mujeres on the tip of Mexico's beautiful Yucatan Peninsula. Over the last few years, this area has become renowned for enormous aggregations of whale sharks. The number of animals that gather in the area is unprecedented making encounters virtually guaranteed. Combined with warm, blue Caribbean water, and the chance of encounters with other pelagics like sailfish and schooling cownose rays, this is a great place to interact with whale sharks.

This is also the perfect trip for those that want to encounter the largest fish in the sea in style! We will be staying at a beautiful beachfront hotel within walking distance of the center. No crowds, no hassle, just wake up to the sounds of the sea and be whisked away to the whale sharking grounds directly from the hotel. Then jump in and swim with giants all day before returning back to the comfort of the hotel. Wow, I sound like a travel brochure but after some of the hard 'off the beaten path' adventures that I sometimes go on in search of strange shark species, this expedition sounds just fine! Isla Mujeres Whale Shark Expedition

SPEAKING OF OFF THE BEATEN PATH

Its been a while since I had the chance to chase new sharks but in a few days I am heading off to Cape Eleuthera which is one of the lesser known outer islands in the Bahamas Chain. For the next two weeks I will be documenting the work of the Cape Eleuthera Institute while they conduct a survey of abyssal sharks that live in their waters. Once they take measurements and DNA samples from the deep water species, I will have the chance to jump in and photograph the released sharks. This will be a golden opportunity to nail some shots of species that divers would normally never see. The work that is being done on the island is very unique and I am looking forward to telling you all about it after the trip. And hopefully, bringing you some very interesting pics.

THE BIG FISH EXPEDITIONS 2012 LINE UP

2012 is looking pretty amazing and the trips are filling up. Of the first three shark diving expeditions, Malpelo is sold out, Tiger Beach has just two spots left and our Cat Island Oceanic Whitetip adventure has 4 spots open so jump in while you can!

You can now see an Expedition Calendar with all the expedition dates we have planned here:

http://bigfishphotographyexpeditions.com/index.html#BigFishExpeditionCalender

Last but far from least, its a long time until Sharkfest but if you are interested in joining me for a great weekend of brand new shark films, shark diving with sanftigers and generally partying with a group of likeminded shark junkies, please consider joining us next August. Also, if you're a budding film maker (or a seasoned professional) and you have a short shark film that you would like to air at the festival, please send me an email!

More on Sharkfest here: http://bigfishphotographyexpeditions.com/sharkfest.html

See you out there,

Andy Murch

Life is Short (especially for divers).

Life is Short (especially for divers).

August 19th 2011

Life is short. For divers it seems even shorter because we have more to explore and experience. Therefore, we have less time to dedicate to each amazing place or animal encounter. So, I try to cram as much into every trip as I possibly can.

As an example, I have just returned from a two week adventure along the eastern seaboard of the United States. It started with a two day Big Fish Expeditions Trip to see blue and mako sharks in Rhode Island. Then I nipped up to Massachusetts with Film Maker Joe Romeiro and photographer Tom Burns to track down and swim with some enormous basking sharks. 

After that I snuck in a day of shore diving with some New England skate species and other local critters which gave me one free day for an impromptu trip back out to play with the blues and makos. All this was followed by a hell for leather, thousand mile drive to North Carolina to host Sharkfest.

After a fantastic long weekend with new friends, diving with sandtiger sharks, watching shark films and generally having a good time, I jumped back in my rental car and drove a thousand miles back to Rhode Island in time to join friends at a NOAA lab to shoot some scientific shots of shark embryos.

Finally, exhausted but ecstatic with all those sharky experiences, I boarded a string of flights back to the west coast and spent one day at home on Vancouver Island. Phew....

Far from recovered, I dumped all my hard drives and drove west to Tofino which is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Pinnacle Scuba Adventures had arranged a three day dive trip in Clayoquot Sound and in the scheme of things, sleep came a poor second compared to diving on the rugged west coast of Canada.

I remember the super endurance I felt as a youth, when stopping to rest was for mere mortals. But sadly it turns out that I am human after all and so with blurred vision and nursing a raging throat infection, I then spent four gloriously slow days at home with my girl recuperating.

Which brings me (chronologically speaking) to the plane that I am currently sitting in while writing this blog. I am on a red eye flight to Baja to join 18 likeminded souls that think that racing through the Sea of Cortez in search of fin and pilot whales and chasing humboldt squid is a fine way to spend their vacations.

All the guests appear to appreciate how short life is too, which is why we are planning to dive on all the reefs that we can cram into our trip and try to hit a sea lion colony or two to boot. And for good measure, the liveaboard operator has agreed to let me chum now and then to see if we can bring in a few sharks. Now that is an action packed itinerary!

I will be home in early September. As the water temps decline in the North Pacific, so does the plankton which leads to great visibility. The steller sea lions will have migrated in too and I can't wait to spend some quality time with them. Stellers are so enormous that they remind me of underwater grizzlies. Fortunately they are rather more playful than your average land carnivore so its possible to float along underwater while they contort and pirouette in front of your camera.

By the end of September I'll be back on the road. Bound for Cape Eleuthera to document a deep water shark tagging project. Expect some cool new shark species on Elasmodiver after that trip.

Looking ahead to what's bubbling...

There are only two spots left on the Malpelo Shark Safari in Feb. Its going to be an epic trip filled with lots of different sharks and extraordinary reef life. Top of the bill if we find them will be the illusive smalltooth sandtiger sharks. More on this adventure on the Big Fish Expeditions Site.

We're going back to Tiger Beach in April for my yearly shark photography workshop. This time we'll be dedicating a day to swimming with spotted dolphins. I've always wanted to dive with them but I've never been able to tear myself (or the group) away from the sharks. This time its officially a 'shark and dolphin' trip. The boat is about half full already so jump in if you want to come. Its far more about sharks than shooting, so non shooters will have just as much fun. At Tiger Beach the pool is always open so expect endless shark encounters every day.

Straight after Tiger Beach I'm running another trip to Cat Island to shoot Oceanic Whitetip Sharks (and reef shark species closer to shore). This is the best place in the world to dive with threatened oceanics! Space is very limited.

Then in July I'm organizing a trip to Isla Mujeres on Mexicos beautiful Yucatan Peninsula to dive with the masses of whale sharks that migrate into the area at that time. There are more whale sharks at this location than anywhere else on the planet. Sometimes there are so many that aerial footage makes them look like a cloud of krill milling around on the surface. And the water is warm and blue!

I'll build a page for this trip on Big Fish soon but space will be limited so if you want to ensure a spot on the boat please let me know asap.

I'm sure there will also be more blue and mako trips to Rhode Island but I'll figure those out in the spring.

Even further ahead is Sharkfest 2012. I am chartering the Olympus for next year which holds 24 divers. The Midnight Express (Olympus Dive Center's other ship) is simply getting too small for our yearly festival. I actually tried to charter both boats but I couldn't find a weekend when both were available. Maybe we'll get both for 2013. Imagine that - 40+ shark junkies congregating in one place to shark dive, watch shark films and party. Now that's gonna be fun!

Its a long way off but this year the Sharkfest boat filled up in two weeks so if you want to come and enjoy the fun please drop me a line.

See you out there,

Andy Murch

Big Fish Diving and Photography Expeditions

GROWING ELASMODIVER & OUR NEW SHARK DIVING EXPEDITIONS

KEEPING ELASMODIVER GROWING

Last year, more than a million people spent some time clicking through Elasmodiver's 400+ pages of information and shark images. Hopefully, some of them took away a little more knowledge and respect for our world's endangered Elasmobranchs.

It is important to me to keep expanding the shark and ray field guide, but as I slowly tick off the few remaining shark and ray species that are relatively easy to dive with and photograph, I find myself planning increasingly more abstract expeditions, often working with researchers and sometimes even commercial fishermen.

There are parts of the world like Southern Africa that I have been purposely avoiding. I could probably find a dozen new species in a week or two of diving around Cape Town but before I take off to such exotic locations, there are a number of elasmos from North America that still need some time in the spotlight. There are a couple of hammerheads from the Pacific slope that are virtually unknown and a number of Central American smoothhound sharks that are heavily targeted by the artisanal shark fishing fleets. Those species come first.

The latest shark species that was added to the Field Guide (a few weeks ago) was the Dusky Smoothhound. Smooth dogfish (as they are called in New England) are very common sharks but they are rarely encountered by divers.

Getting these images involved a trip back to visit my shark diving buddy Joe Romeiro in Rhode Island. Although we did everything we could to try to shoot a dusky smoothhound in the wild, we eventually gave up our fruitless search and found an aquarium that would let us shoot in their tank. A natural encounter would have been better but sometimes, this is the only way to get the shot.

A big thank you to Biomes Marine Biology Center for letting us work in their excellent facility.

  

SHARKFEST 2010

After many months of planning, a boat load of Shark Fanatics finally descended on Morehead City, North Carolina, for our weekend of shark diving, film screenings and good times. The whole event could not have gone better so we are planning to do it all over again next year - with a few very cool changes. Check out some of the great shark photos that came out of Sharkfest 2010 and find out what we have in store for next year: SHARKFEST 2010 TRIP REPORT

     

BIG FISH DIVING AND PHOTOGRAPHY EXPEDITIONS

If you know your way around Elasmodiver, then you'll have noticed that there are a lot of new links pointing to Big Fish Photography Expeditions. This is our brand new expedition website that showcases all of the trips that you can join me on to meet the world's top predators on their own ground.

These are not your average wildlife expeditions. They are one of a kind adventures tailored to adventurous people that want to enjoy up-close, in-water encounters with apex predatory sharks, whales, dolphins and even giant squid.

Our first expedition kicks off in February next year in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. Playa has recently become a hot spot for bull shark encounters and the Bull Shark Feed that takes place there from November to March is second to none.

I am timing our bull shark diving adventure to overlap with a scientific shark tagging expedition which is being conducted by Dr Mauricio Hoyos who is Mexico's leading Great White Shark Specialist. Mauricio and I worked on a white shark film together a couple of years ago and he has agreed to do a talk about his white shark research on Guadalupe Island and explain what he hopes to learn about the bull sharks in Playa.

I have some great ideas for creating the perfect shooting environment and if the sharks cooperate I expect that we will return with some amazing images.

In April I will be running a second Tiger Beach Photography Workshop. This year's trip was a bit hit with scores of lemon sharks and 24/7 tiger shark action, not to mention encounters with reef sharks and nurse sharks too. For some people it was their first introduction to shooting big animals. For others it was a chance to hone their skills. I'm looking forward to getting back there and doing it again in 2011. Next year's boat is already half full so if you're interested in joining us please let me know as soon as possible.

I am also running trips to Cat Island in the Bahamas to shoot Oceanic Whitetip Sharks (only one spot left) and an amazing week long adventure, diving and shooting on the reefs of the Sea of Cortez which will include encounters with whales and giant humboldt squid dives

I guess that's more than enough bragging about expeditions. The ones we have scheduled so far are all listed on the Big Fish Photography Expeditions website. I'll update you on new expeditions that I intend to run, as soon as they come together.

WHATS BUBBLING...

This year is quickly getting away from me. Fortunately, late summer is the time when things start to get interesting here on Vancouver Island so I am dedicating the next month to the Pacific North West Elasmo Hunt.

Next weekend I will start by working on the wild west coast in an area called Barkley Sound which is a great place to track down sixgill sharks. I already have some sixgill shots but I'm hoping to improve them and get a much better variety that really capture the bluntnose sixgill's enigmatic personality. We have our bait crates ready to go and a boat rented for this very purpose. If any local divers want to join us on the hunt, there may be a few spots up for grabs.

Late summer is also when deepwater skates start making their way into the shallows to feed on crustaceans and other benthic invertebrates, so I'll probably be spending a fair bit of this month swimming around in muddy featureless bays, hoping to encounter a skate or two. Wish me luck!

For the sharks,

Andy Murch

SHARKFEST 2010 TRIP REPORT I must admit that I was a little nervous about putting together a shark diving / film screening event like Sharkfest but it worked out better than I could have imagined. For a while it was looking as though Tropical Storm Colin would upset our plans to dive the sharkiest wrecks on the Outer Banks of North Carolina but Colin fizzled out just in time. Our first day out was delayed by a few hours because of fierce offshore winds that were punishing any vessels crazy enough to head to sea but by the afternoon the gale had calmed down to a gentle breeze so we set sail for a couple of inshore wrecks - The Titan and The Indra. I was dubious about our chances of shark action so close to the mainland but the shark gods smiled on us. Both wrecks had unusually good visibility and more importantly they had enough sandtiger sharks for us to play with all afternoon. In fact, the Indra had such friendly sharks that I was able to swim around with them to my heart's content: That night, while our images downloaded, we set up a projector in Olynmpus' Dive Lodge and screened our collection of short shark movie submissions. The standard of the films was truly world class and I am flattered that so many well known film makers went to the effort of submitting their work. After the screenings we talked about sharks into the early hours and after little more than a nap, dragged ourselves back to the dive boat for another day of shark diving. With clear skies and flat seas we made straight for the wreck of The Spar which lays in 110ft of water about 1.5 hours from shore. The Spar is famous for the amount of sharks that frequent its decks and I could see the first enormous sandtigers hovering above the conning tower of the 200ft long wreck as I over-armed down the mooring line. Although it was a little dark down on the sand, the visibility above the thermocline was excellent and we spent two glorious dives framing image after image of sandtigers doing what sandtigers do best; swimming slowly around defying gravity and looking far more menacing than they really are. I tried to capture as many diver / shark interactions as possible and the images below tell the tale of great shark diving encounters with approachable sharks: Once back on terra firma we grabbed a bite and settled in to try to get through as many more shark movie submissions as we could. After a long sun-swept day at sea I was surprised that so many people stayed up to watch them all. Thank you to everyone that attended and helped to turn an idea into a real mini film festival. After much deliberation the crowd favorite turned out to be Requiem by Joe Romeiro and Bill Fisher / 333 Productions. closely followed by Lesley Rochat's excellent, award winning shark conservation film Sharks in Deep Trouble. Joe and Bill will receive a girt cert from H2O Photo Pros who sponsored the event. The next morning we returned to The Spar and enjoyed two more dives with many extremely cooperative and tolerant sandtiger sharks. The weather remained perfect and the sharks posed in just about every angle: After the diving, a few Sharkfesters were forced to take off back to the real world but the rest of us threw together a BBQ on Olympus Dive Center's dock and talked about exotic shark locations and our crazy shark encounters long into the night. As we said our farewells the next morning the inevitable question was raised: Will there be a Sharkfest 2011? It was a lot of work to put Sharkfest together but we had such a good time that I have decided to do it again. So, save a little space in your shark diving calendars next August. Sharkfest 2011 is going to be bigger and even more fun than 2010. Thank you again to everyone that attended, thank you to Olympus Dive Center for hosting the event and thank you to everyone that submitted their short films! This year's Sharkfest submisions (in no particular order): The Great White Shark Song – Andy Brandy Casagrande Death of a Deity – Joe Romeiro & Bill Fisher / 333 Productions Elegance in Black and White – Richard Theiss / RTSea Productions Friends Found – David Ulloa The Way It Used to Be – David Vik A lateral Line – Joe Romeiro & Bill Fisher / 333 Productions Who Patrols These Waters – Barbara Lloyd / Stella Luna Productions Sharks in Deep Trouble – Lesley Rochet Big Fish Utila - Johannes Leichtle & Dan Cain The Shark Con – Rusty Armstrong / Endless Perseverance. Island Of the Great White Sharks – Richard Theiss / RTSea Productions Shark Divers – Danny Mauro / Sport Diver TV Walter and the Tigers – Jason Perryman Requiem - Joe Romeiro & Bill Fisher / 333 Productions Shark Business – Danny Mauro / Sport Diver TV SIGN UP FOR SHARKFEST 2011 (Dates in August 2011 to be arranged)

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