Marine Dynamics Blog

We completed two successful trips today and had many happy clients! It was a very interesting day, not only because of the sharks but because of the odd behaviour seen from the birds! On our first trip we saw a single Giant Petrel, by the second they had increased their group size to about four individuals. They were however not intimidated by the sharks, but rather they were seen competing with them for the bait! These were large 3.9 meter sharks in front of the cage and these birds still stood their ground! The sharks were not as active (jumpy) today and therefore not many out of the water photo opportunities! It was truly a day for the bizarre record books! Got to love those Petrels...

Today we had a rocky start to our trip with our computer crashing! The power was cut off and so the computer shut down! We simply converted back to the old school method of doing things, pen and paper! After successfully getting everyone’s details we headed out to see to find our sharks! At the Dam we were very lucky to spot a massive pod of bottlenose dolphins however less lucky in spotting our local sharks. After a while of chumming the waters at the Dam, our skipper made the call to find greener pastures somewhere else and boy did we find it! We moved our operation to Dyer Island and hit the jackpot! Our waiting paid off with the arrival of a massive 4.1 meter female, who we have spotted on several occasions in the Dam. They other sharks were also large and were very “playful” with our bait handlers, keeping them on their toes! All’s well that ends well...

Everybody was very eager to get out on the water this morning, especially after my “boring” pre-launch briefing and several cups of coffee! We had the same three sharks from yesterday (interestingly enough) paying us a visit today and they invited a friend along as well; the more the merrier! The smaller 2 meter male shark seemed as if it had a jet pack strapped to its back, that’s how fast he was going today! What a rush to see one shark move so fast and suddenly a dramatic change of pace, when a large 4 meter female shark swims passed the cage ever so slowly! Wow, what a day...

How many TV shows have said that white sharks can smell a drop of human blood 100km away?  This shark fact blog dives straight into this issue to find out is this true or just another "Jaws fact"?

We had lovely weather conditions at sea today, even though we had some cloud cover I can guarantee that our clients worked on their tan. We had lots of bird activity around the boat as well today; it seems they have developed quite a taste for our chum :)! We had a large 3.8 meter female shark putting on a great spectacle. This shark had a massive scar on its left side which resembled a bite from another shark. These sharks prefer their space! Our smaller 2 meter shark was bursting with energy and kept our bait handlers on their toes. What a day...

Today got off to a slower start than usual. I was growing accustomed to the last couple of weeks where the sharks were quick to arrive on the scene! It seemed the sharks had a huge party over the weekend and decided to sleep in :)! The sharks who decided to come to work put on an amazing show. I will let the photos speak for themselves! We had some amazing bird sightings on the trip as well; we saw a subantarctic skua, kelp gulls as well as several storm petrels. Our box jellies were also hanging around the boat in large numbers, they love to pose! Even though the sharks were late to arrive today, Mother Nature kept us entertained throughout! Always something new everyday...