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 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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Sharkfest

Predators in Peril Expedition Reborn

First the bad news... Our 2010 Central American Predators in Peril Expedition got turned down for funding. I'm not sure why but rather than dwell on the time wasted in drawing up funding proposals, I'm happy to move on and look for creative ways for us to fund the expedition on our own. Through a combination of revenue sources including Photography Workshops, Sharkfest, a pending photography exhibition and some good old fashioned hard work (at the Winter Olympics) we think we can pull off a modified PIP Central American Expedition that incorporates almost as much as the original plan. The new plan is to turn the proposed epic road journey into a series of fly in - fly out satellite trips. This ultimately works better because we can work on other projects in between shoots, we will have better opportunities to keep the world updated on our successes and we can avoid the rainy seasons much more easily by heading to the right places at exactly the right times.

Sharkfest!

About a month ago I was looking at places around North America where I could run a cheap fun filled shark diving weekend. Moorhead City in North Carolina was the obvious place because it is easily accessible, warm enough to be popular and full of extremely photogenic sandtiger sharks. Olympus Dive Center (which is the premiere dive center in the region) was keen to host the trip so we started hashing out the details. Shark diving trips with Olympus are always fun because they can cater to big groups and their store and staging area are set up well for apres dive entertainment. Rather than just a dive party I wanted to create an event that shark fanatics would really enjoy. The result is Sharkfest - a shark diving weekend and mini film festival just for shark people. As soon as I mentioned the idea to people they started getting excited. Information about Sharkfest only went online just over a week ago and the first boat is half full already so I think it is going to be very popular. The good thing is that Olympus has two big boats so we could get a record number of sharky people in one place at the same time which is bound to be memorable. Attracting film makers to submit their short films will probably be the hardest part to organize but we have two films on the way already and screening times will be limited to the evenings. I hope I don't have to reject submissions - that would be tough. If you're interested in submitting a short but you're not sure if your shark footage is up to scratch don't worry about it. Sharkfest isn't Sundance or Cannes and you won't find a more appreciative audience anywhere! H2O Photo Pros in California has kindly offered to sponsor the festival with prize money and I am having a really special trophy made called an ELASMO for the crowd favorite. More on that when its done and I have a picture to show you. I hope some of you can make it out for the whole event and come diving. Anyone that can't get there during the day but wants to show up in the evenings to talk sharks with us is more than welcome. More info here: SHARKFEST

Rhode Island Expedition

Right now we are at Olympic Village in Whistler BC. I am helping with some of the organizational nightmares of this monstrous event. As soon as the Paralympics finish in late March I am flying to Providence to dive with Film Maker Joe Romeiro. Joe has a friend in the commercial fishing world who is keeping an eye out for deep water species of sharks and skates for us. If he finds some while I am there we are going to do a captive release photo shoot. If any of you remember the 'walking the dog' blog that I posted during the shark tour this will be the same kind of shoot. We'll release the deep water species in one of the bays and try to get some i.d. shots before they head for the hills. Its a pretty hokey way to shoot elasmobranchs but its the only way some species will ever be photographed unless I strike it rich and buy my own deep water submersible. I'm still working on that.

Sharks in a Fading Light

I have a local gallery interested in a shark photography exhibition. Dates have yet to be arranged but we're past the hand shake stage. The exhibition will be in two parts. The first series of images focus on the traditional view of sharks, portraying them as majestic apex predators. The second series of images looks at the change that is starting to take place in the public's perception and the plight that sharks now collectively face. It contains enough 'pretty pictures' to make it appealing but also depicts sharks on long-lines and other unpleasant realities. I initially wanted to avoid any toothy shots that would paint sharks as aggressive animals but I've had a change of heart on this subject lately. Instilling fear into people is obviously detrimental to sharks but painting them as teddy bears is also foolish. Sharks are not monsters but they are formidable creatures. Hopefully my images will convey that sentiment.

For the sharks,

Andy Murch

A new decade of sharks to sink your teeth into...

A NEW DECADE TO SINK YOUR TEETH INTO...

02/01/2010

First, The Tiger Shark Photography Workshop

I'm running a workshop at Tiger Beach in The Bahamas in April. Space is limited to ten shooters. The boat is half full already so please let me know if you're interested. Its going be a fun trip. Amazing shooting opportunities and lots of tips and presentations. We'll also have 7 evenings to kick back and talk sharks - my favorite subject. More info on the shark photography workshop page

Second, a little religion

I have spent the last decade sliding over or diving into the ocean. Quite often, I was diving with sharks but sometimes I was just snorkeling and looking down longingly at the world below. Occasionally, I had the privilege of piloting submarines.; driving over the seafloor, exploring the mysteries of the deep from the safety of my acrylic goldfish bowl. Every time I entered the water I came back nourished from the experience even when I was charged with difficult tasks. And, when I finally dragged my water logged body back to land, my mind remained deep in the ocean and there I expect it will stay forever.

Of all the creatures that I encounters none affected me as strongly as sharks. Sharks have been such a captivating and pivotal force in my recent life that I now only accept jobs in places where I can find sharks and I scrimp and save to go to remote shark diving spots between shooting for magazine articles or sub piloting gigs.

After I loaded Elasmodiver.com onto the web in 2002, I found even more reason to travel to unusual coastal destinations; the pursuit of rarely encountered species to add to the growing elasmodiver field guide.

Initially, shark pictures were simply trophies in my collection. I was a big game hunter with an underwater housing and a bucket list of shark species that I wanted to photograph. I really didn't know that much about the plight of endangered species. I was simply overwhelmed by the beauty and grace of the animals themselves.

I am still just as infatuated with elasmobranchs (large and small) but now I am also starkly aware of the sad decline of our ocean's top predators. Regardless of the controversy over specific decline rates, few would disagree that many sharks and rays are in trouble. According to the IUCN, At least a third of the world's shark species are considered threatened. Many more are data deficient implying that further research could reveal more bad news.

The enormity of the problem makes me feel pretty helpless. I want to do something tangible to help but I am just a photojournalist. I can tell people what I have learned but the people that read diving and nature magazines already love the ocean and the natural world. While its important to reinforce the message lest we forget, there has to be a way to spread the word to a wider audience.

I'm not sure what the answer is or if anything can really be done to reverse the trend but I'll do my bit. In 2010 I am planning to play the part of a missionary and my mission is to bring the word about over fishing, shark finning and habitat destruction to people that still don't understand what is happening below the surface of the sea. I hope that you will all do your part too.

Spreading the Word through the Elasmodiver Network

Elasmodiver gets around 150,000 hits a month. That still blows me away!

Not everyone that lands on the site wants to read about the plight of sharks but there are more and more shark conservation pages being added for those that care to look.

I'm also trying to sneak as much conservation information as possible onto every page without turning people off. To that end, I am in the process of updating every species in the Elasmodiver Shark and Ray Field Guide with IUCN info. That means that when little Johnny cuts and pastes a page about great white sharks into his grade 7 school project, he inadvertently learns more than just how big they grow. It all helps.

There are now Elasmodiver pages, channels and blogs on Facebook, Blogger, Wordpress, Twitter and YouTube. So, whatever way you like to get your news there is no escape from Elasmodiver. Don't sign up for our Twitter feed unless you want to live and breathe sharks. I am turning that account over to our new social networking guru Bo Moran. He'll be tweeting and re-tweeting Elasmodiver news and general shark stuff multiple times a day.

The pen may be mightier than the sword but what is wrong with keeping a sword handy just in case?

Outside of the web, I am now trying to write every shark diving article with shark conservation in mind. That's not always easy to do when you're writing about how much fun it is diving with tiger sharks but I'm committed to squeezing the message into the text wherever I can. I'm also pitching my stories to way more magazines this year. I'm a slow writer and I'm starting to think that I may be mildly dyslexic so its really cutting into my shooting time but its a worthwhile platform even if it is preaching to the choir.

In the next couple of months, I have articles slated for Diver, Invertum, Oceans (a new mag - keep a look out for this one), Xray, Shark Diver (of course) and a few others that must remain nameless for now. I'll keep plugging away on that front so expect to see more of my writing on the news stands.

I also contributed an interview for a photographic magazine which annoyed the hell out of me. No matter how many times I pointed out that I don't spend every waking minute 'in the jaws of death' they were not interested in any other angle. It frustrates me to think that many editors outside of dive/nature mags are still stuck on the sensationalist man-eater model - its time to claw your way out of the 70's guys!.

At the end of the day I'm really not sure if what I write has any effect. I plan to keep it up but I look at Sea Shepherd and the front line approach that they have taken by harassing whaling ships and ruining catches and I wonder if that would be a more effective method in the battle to save sharks. I know that I'll be labeled as a radical if I go down that path but on a whim I registered SharkShepherd.com the other day. Every successful army has a political and a military wing. I'm not sold on the idea of direct intervention yet but I'm open to suggestion.

Predators In Peril Project update - The PIP Exhibition

On a less controversial note, PIP is progressing. I have built a portfolio of images for the Predators in Peril Exhibition and I'm out pounding the pavement, looking for suitable venues. The exhibition consists of a number of my most dramatic shark images. Each image is accompanied by a smaller image that conveys the plight of that species and a message about the decline of sharks in general. Sometimes I use images of dead sharks and sometimes I use images with a more symbolic reference. I plan to use fishing hooks to hang the images in each gallery if the curators don't object. For a sneak peek at some of the images that are included please follow this link: Predators in Peril Exhibition

I have invested a fair chunk of my net worth in this project. The images are printed on archival silver rag and they look gorgeous. The intention is to educate everyone that comes through the galleries and to raise funds for the 2010 Central American Predators in Peril EXPEDITION which will take place later in the year.

Elasmo Ads

This year we're also throwing our doors open to advertisers in the scuba diving and photography industries to help raise funds for Predators in Peril. There are banner, button and full page advertising opportunities. Our rates are unbeatable considering our web presence so if you are a manufacturer, dive shop or operator and you want a button on all 480+ pages on Elasmodiver please let me know. First come, first served. Advertise on Elasmodiver

Happy new year! Thanks for tuning in and for supporting Elsmodiver.

For the sharks,

Andy Murch

Shark Pictures