Tiger Shark baiting in South Africa - now the good news!!

Actually, not just "good" news - EXCELLENT news!!!

This is the message I received today from Allen Walker, Scottburgh:

"We have completed everything now and I am very happy with the outcome. A solution that works 100% and is maintainable and sustainable, this was important for me, I wanted a solution that will not deteriorate over time resulting in the continuous use of raw materials to sustain a so called "Shark Friendly" baiting method but not environmentally friendly one."

"The bait stem should last 15 years, if not a lifetime making it a viable solution to the other operators even though it is a rather costly solution."

"Bait Ball" is 850 mm in diameter and perfectly round, therefore no purchase points, with a hinge mechanism made from strapping (weight belt). Has rounded shackle for connection to the bait stem."

"A complete solution to all concerns raised i.e. teeth, cuts, scratches, entanglement etc."

You've done it, Allen, you've done it!!

If we were together now, I would kiss you, man!! Guess you are glad that some 12.000 km separate us, huh?..... :-) :-)

I really don't know what to say other than this: Allen Walker was instrumental in working out a viable solution of the problem I had already drawn to Blue Wilderness' attention, unsuccessfully I am afraid to say, back in the early months of 2008.

While the Addisons did not even feel like discussing my more recent concern about tiger sharks getting hurt and sometimes very seriously entangled with the baiting tools they and most other shark operators use in Aliwal Shoal, it was their friend Allen who finally convinced them to think about more shark-friendly baiting techniques.

So Allen and Mark Addison then worked together, along with friends of Allen who were also very much interested in the matter, to develop and test baiting tools that would do the job.

What they have come up with is absolutely perfect, and now Blue Wilderness can boast, thanks to Allen's relentless commitment, to have the best equipment to attract sharks efficiently and in an eco-friendly manner.

I might also mention that Allen and his wife Ronelle bore most of the financial burden and invested a lot of time in looking for, and eventually finding, a viable solution of the problem.

Congratulations to you, Allen, and all those who have been actively involved in creating the new baiting tools!

This fantastic equipment should now be acquired by ALL shark dive operators to ensure that no Aliwal Shoal tiger shark will ever get hurt again in the baiting process.

A big compliment also to Walter Bernardis of African Watersports who took a keen interest in the matter, and drummed up the other shark operators to discuss ways to replace the hitherto used baiting tools, i.e. steel cables, old washing machine drums, edgy nuts and bolts.

On a personal note, and to conclude this regrettable controversy, I would like to state with some sadness that because most of my South African friends (also one Belgian and one Canadian) turned their backs on me for stubbornly insisting that it was absolutely necessary to introduce better baiting tools, I found out what these friendships were really worth - not much, to put it mildly.

Even though I was quite disappointed to see so little support, and what we call in German Zivilcourage, I could deal with it. These folks who all seemed, or at least pretended, to like "da old Wolf", simply did not understand what drives me, and preferred to be "politically correct" so as to not to antagonize their Blueish friends...

Well, now my ex-friends know that when it comes to testing my convictions, I am quite stiff-necked, and that I put the welfare of sharks above friendships, if circumstances force me to make such a choice.

Amen.

Discovery Shark Week 2010 - Into The Shark Bite

The second episode of Discovery’s Shark Week 2010 seems to be more applicable to last year’s lineup which is unfortunate as Ultimate Air Jaws was well done.  The network describes Into the Shark Bite as: “Go on a wild ride as we show you the last thing you'd ever want to see in real life: close up views of attacks by the world's most deadly sharks — from inside their mouths! Shark expert Mark Addison and underwater cameraman Andy Casagrande risk life and limb to get their special mini-HD cameras INTO THE SHARK BITE!”

• Logo used had the usual blood streaks that Discovery loves so much 
• Show was hosted by Andy Brandy Casagrande IV, A.K.A ABC4, and Mark Addison
• ABC4 is known for his involvement as cameraman or producer for shows such as Deadly Waters, Great White Appetite, and Shark Attack Survival Guide.  Deadly Waters did nothing positive for sharks, nor did this one…and I will see what Shark Attack Survival Guide is all about tomorrow. These shows just seem to add to what has become known as shark porn.  Andy is also a singer – he wrote a song about white sharks.  Throughout the show, ABC4 reminds us how dangerous the situations are that Mark and he are in – he also screams too much.  I met Andy at a Shark Saver’s fundraiser event – he sang his song.  Mike wrote a bit about him as well – read post here
• Mark Addison is an experienced shark diving operator in South Africa.  He was part of a phenomenal shark documentary called Deadly Stripes.  Surprised as to why he would participate in the production of this show, a show that refers to “his” Tiger Sharks as the second most deadly sharks.  Read their blog description, it tells a different story from this show. (It should be noted that all operators have been incident free).  
• Mark is bumped by a black tip on the surface – why would they show this as part of the show?  A rhetorical question, of course. The bump made this look as a dangerous situation which it was not.
• The HD GOPRO is a phenomenal product.

Overall, I did not find an educational value or any other meaningful purpose to this episode…I think it still feeds off the fear that people have being inside a sharks mouth.  If anything, it reinforces the message of angst.  You can watch some excerpts of the show here – of course it features the Black Tip bump.


Wonder what the next episode holds...

Hanli Prinsloo of South Africa - future freediving world champion?

Hanli Prinsloo - she is blue water....

At the rate Hanli is moving forward I wouldn't be surprised at all....

Read this press release:

FREEDIVING PRESS RELEASE FROM NORDIC DEEP SWEDEN

4 NEW SOUTH AFRICAN FREEDIVING RECORDS SET IN SWEDISH FJORD

Cape Town based Freediver Hanli Prinsloo has been on the West Coast of Sweden competing in the Nordic Deep Freediving Competition. Freediving is the sport of diving as deep, as long or as far as possible on one single breath of air.

She surprised herself and her competitors by setting 4 new South African records and winning the competition. Free Immersion is a depth discipline where the diver pulls herself down and back up a rope.

Hanli broke the previous record of 42meters by doing a 50meter dive into the black cold waters of the Gullmarsfjord. The pool disciplines started with a Dynamic No Fins record, where the diver swims breaststroke under water, here Hanli broke the previous 78meter record by swimming 126meters under water.

This dive ranks her among the top 5 women in the world.

The next day Hanli broke her own Static Apnea record, floating face down holding her breath, with a 5minute 39second breath-hold. And on the last day Dynamic With Fins, she broke her own 129meter record by doing a successful 150meter dive, swimming underwater with a monofin.

Hanli now holds 4 of the 6 South African Freediving records.

Hanli has been freediving for ten years and teaches freediving in Cape Town, Mozambique, Egypt, Sweden and with Blue Wilderness in Umkomaas. Her focus is on wildlife freediving, scouring the oceans for big fish and mammals, freediving with whales, dolphins, sharks and any other fish. Nordic Deep 2008 was her first big competition since the 2006 World Championships

Hanli - YOU ABSOLUTELY ROCK!!! Congratulations!!!

If you want to take freediving lessons with Hanli, and practice holding your breath among tiger sharks, all you have to do is book one week with Blue Wilderness.

Mark and Gail Addison of Blue Wilderness are the only shark operators in the world (!) where you can do both: learning how to freedive with a world class instructor, and freediving with the most beautiful sharks on earth or should I say, more appropriately, in the ocean?

Shark Diving at Blue Wilderness goes Free

Record freediver William Winram dancing Paso Doble with a striped beauty

(Photograph by Felix Leander, 2008)

Mark Addison pioneered Tiger Shark diving in South Africa some 25 years ago, and has since become one of the most experienced and respected shark dive operators world-wide.

Those who have seen Mark in last year's Shark Week program ("Deadly Stripes")* will perhaps recall that he normally freedives with his gentle striped pets. He does so because he has long ago found out that only freedivers can interact with sharks in a truly non-obstructive and close way.

This year, Mark and his charming wife Gail will introduce free-diving courses at their base. Blue Wilderness will thus be the first shark operation on the globe to formally teach scuba divers how to freedive with sharks.

Congratulations, Gail and Mark: That will be yet another pioneering step forward in shark diving!!

Now, the teacher won't be just anyone - the Addisons are lucky to have a world-class freediver to run the courses: Hanli Prinsloo, South African freediving champion.

Not unlike Tanya Streeter, a former world champion, Hanli is a petite, almost fragile looking young woman. But make no mistake: This lady is extremely disciplined and has a will of iron. I have seen her diving once, and could only marvel at her - Hanli is a true mermaid, she moves, rather flows, with a grace and lightness that defies description.

Who should take freediving lessons? Everybody who loves the ocean. All you need is to be in good shape.

I will take a course with Hanli next year, as I am sure she will be able to teach me how to improve my freediving skills by at least 30%, if not more, in no time.

As we say in German: "Man lernt nie aus" (= You never stop learning).


*) I can't hold back: What a completely misleading, utterly sensationalistic title for a documentary about tigers sharks!

Mark Addison speaks up in support of Jim Abernethy

Mark Addison about to attach an acoustic device to a Tiger Shark in Aliwal Shoal

Mark Addison of Blue Wilderness, pioneer of Tiger Shark diving in South Africa, makes a forceful plea for cage-free shark diving in support of Jim Abernethy and other professional shark operators who believe that educated divers who take personal responsibility need not be patronized by some 'well-meaning' Big Brother.

To whom it may concern

The reason for this letter is to place on record my support for Jim Abernethy and the like-minded “cage-less” operators of this world. First and foremost, my sympathies to Mr. Groh’s family and friends on his untimely passing. Secondly, my sympathies to Jim and his team – this is a traumatic time and despite the unnecessary distractions contained in the vitriol of Mr. Neal Watson and his cronies – I wish them well.

I live and work in South Africa. My business has crystallized around “cage-less” shark diving over the last twenty years. My efforts span the entire eastern seaboard of South Africa, which brings me in contact with many wonderful shark species and some fantastic locations and marine settings. My privilege of working with these many species over such a prolonged period of time in no way makes me an expert but I have experienced the gamut of this strange world’s people.

As a pioneer in this field in South Africa I have been accused of many things, as no doubt Jim is being accused of now. As safe as I believe the “cage-less” experience to be and as successful as the experience has been for my clients - I would never consider a cage dive as an option - and yet I am always aware of the potential risk that any client is exposed to in the “cage-less” environment.

I am acutely aware that we have managed all risk out of our lives and to me; “the cage” promotes this soulless experience. The connectivity to nature in a “cage-less” environment is a freedom of individual choice and in the case of many species of shark on our coast, the only way to experience them in their world and on their terms.

This experience is under threat from ill informed opinion and extractive abusers worldwide. Much of this justification for Jim and his chosen method of working with sharks will probably seem lame to many people but it is what it is. I do not ascribe to the bravado/machismo thing and have used my experience and that of the many thousands of people who have enjoyed South Africa’s shark product with me, to the positive benefit of sharks in South African waters.

I am indeed saddened by the loss of sharks from the coastal waters of South Africa and the world. I use my operations on our coast as an educational platform with the imperative of education through experience. The reality is that too few people care and those that do, like Jim, are faced with the difficult task of creating awareness and affecting change through experience in the face of ever decreasing shark populations.

In my case, I know of many people – both young and old - who were profoundly affected by their “cage-less” interactions with sharks on our coast and who have turned this into a platform for action: One of many such examples was Dr. Jon Cooper, who donated a very expensive camera system so that each client could go away with a complimentary set of images of themselves with the sharks of Shark Park. The collection of these images of the sharks has been archived for science and forms an integral part of the longest running tiger shark identification database in the world.

Another example is Arthur Limbouris, who owned the Quiksilver brand in South Africa. Arthur sponsored the first acoustic tags for the tiger sharks of Shark Park – a project that now receives phenomenal international funding from the Save Our Seas Foundation. Who would have believed that a surf brand would be at the forefront of shark research and conservation in South Africa?

In a recent case where a fisherman illegally killed three of the tiger sharks at Shark Park on a fateful Friday in February, a feisty servant of the sharks – Wolfgang Leander – stepped up to the plate and created so much international pressure that the government department responsible for South Africa’s Marine Living Resources is actually doing something to protect sharks.

I could go on …

Sharks need us… they don’t need the kind of people that Mr. Neal Watson represents – the cupboard love people, or the self enrichment gurus, the opportunists, or the extractive abusers… they need us. People like you and I, people like Jon Cooper, Arthur Limbouris, Wolfgang Leander… and people like Jim Abernethy.

We are not crackpots, adrenaline junkies or lunatics. We are family men. We are passionate about sharks and their environment. We care!

In the case of the Tiger Sharks of Shark Park I say… “No Bars - Just Stripes”.

Thank you Jim Abernethy for giving sharks a chance!

Kind regards

Mark Addison

Umkomaas / South Africa, March 05, 2008