A First, Second, and Eighth Encounter

By: Brenna Padgett

The ocean is an amazingly beautiful and complicated place where creatures great and small have evolved amazing adaptations difficult to understand for Homo sapiens. Growing up landlocked in the Midwest, the Great White Shark had always seemed like a mythical creature that only showed it’s glowing white teeth and amazing power when surfers were present, or there was a rogue shark being hunted down and slaughtered for having a taste for humans. As a prospective scientist with an interest in these amazing creatures, however, I knew that there had to be a reason for these attacks and that the Great White Shark was so much more than the media made it out to be. I could not pass up the opportunity to learn as much as I could about White Sharks and their relatives, and participate in the current research being conducted. That’s how I found myself as an intern for Oceans-Research.

The challenges of research in the ocean are undeniable. Finding, documenting, and identifying individuals take a team effort, and a lot of work. It’s important to have a working boat (even if it’s not a luxury yacht), an upbeat attitude, and a lot of patience. Education goes a long way, and by learning everything we can and sharing this knowledge outside of the scientific community, the Great White Shark has a bright future. But why would someone want to conserve and protect the frightening, hideous sea monster they show on television?

This is a question I’m sure many will ask in my future, and the only way I know how to answer it is to describe my first day on the chum boat. It was my birthday, and the sea was a beautiful blue green as we climbed aboard the Lamnidae. Although I knew I was going to see my first Great White in the wild, I didn’t exactly know what to expect. As we arrived at the site, we all chose jobs. I got the all-important job of taking photos of the dorsal fin of each shark we saw so that we could identify the shark later for population and abundance assessments. As a lookout called down that there was a shark at 3 o’clock, I looked over the side and saw the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. It was a massive shadow moving slowly, passively along the side of our boat, and as it came closer I could see every scratch, scrape, scar, and marking on the massive creature. It came close, lazily bumped the bait, and slowly turned downward and disappeared. Not only had I seen my first white shark, but it was incredibly graceful, elegant, and magnificent.

As the morning wore on, we ended up seeing eight sharks. Although not a record for one day, I’ve learned that seeing eight sharks on one trip is rare. Some were quite aggressive at the bait, while others didn’t even surface to investigate. Each definitely had its own personality, and as we drove away, all I could think of was the power, grace, and enormous misunderstanding that many have of the Great White Shark.

A brand new appreciation and respect for the research and conservation of this apex predator has been planted within my brain, and thousands of questions that have yet to be answered to go along with it. It’s hard not to realize that the ocean is this curious animal’s home, and we are the ones that enter into unfamiliar habitat. If we are able to understand more about the creature, it’s possible that this can raise awareness and allow humans to accept responsibility for entering into shark habitat, the ocean, just like entering a forest requires respect and awareness of the apex predators living there (such as bears and mountain lions). Hopefully this understanding will allow for shark conservation, so that these magnificent animals aren’t lost from this world forever at the hands of Homo sapiens.

It was December...

by Brittany Wald

I had been interning at Oceans Research for five weeks the first time I saw a great white shark do a full breach.

It was December, summer time in South Africa, when the sharks are generally breaching much less often than they do during the winter months. This is because their favored prey, Cape fur seals, do not leave Seal Island as frequently at that time due to their mating patterns. The sharks do still have to eat, though, and this is why we can chum the waters of Mossel Bay to find them. Usually, we chum for great whites so that we can take photographs of their dorsal fins and collect data on several of their other characteristics. These include pigmentation, scarring, gender, and size. This is mainly done for population dynamics research, although on occasion there are other reasons.

On this cloudy Monday morning, we were hoping to attract a 1.5- or 4-meter shark. We would, of course, collect identification data on the sharks as we always do. However, our main objective was to tag a shark of an appropriate size so that we could track it during the coming week. We had attempted a tracking period during the previous month, but almost twenty-four hours after the tagging, the apparatus fell out and we lost the shark.

Nine great whites approached our vessel that Monday of my sixth week, but none were quite the right size. But just as the wind began to pick up and the swell began to rock the boat, our disappointment vanished in an instant. We were all focused on the back of the boat, where a shark had been repeatedly attacking the bait rope. All of a sudden, we heard a splash and saw a 3-meter shark leap completely out of the water. As it cleared the surface, I could swear time slowed down. None of the interns on the boat had ever seen a full breach before, and it was barely a meter from the starboard engine.

I screamed like a little girl.

Now if you take away the screaming, and leave only the awe-inspiring spectacle and open-mouthed stares of our crew, you capture the general feeling of working at Oceans Research. Great white sharks have been shrouded in myth and mystery for decades, and to catch a glimpse of one in the wild is as close as anyone ever gets to seeing them in all their glory. And even these sightings are rare—confined to shark cage diving and watching trips and research expeditions. That is what makes seeing one under the full light of the sun, and discovering the truth about them such an incredible experience.

Oceans Research has been painstakingly documenting great whites for years, working off skin samples, dorsal photographs, and tracking information. They have made breakthrough discoveries about their hunting habits, and about the effect humans can have on apex predators who dominate a world apart from ours. This science can bring the truth about great whites to light (ha ha), and is already well on its way. Oceans' tracking trips alone are the most extensive ever conducted, including two trips lasting over 100 hours straight each. Population dynamics research has been used to estimate the number of great whites there are in total in Mossel Bay, where they are within this area, and how they are linked to other populations outside of the bay. Research on conductivity, temperature and depth has been used to determine oxygen levels at different locations around the bay, and consequently, how these levels affect shark activity.

In a recent live showing, Oceans even conducted an experiment to demonstrate just how disinterested great whites really are in human flesh. Several divers, clad only in bikinis and flippers, swam with great whites and concluded their dive without a scratch. This kind of research is debunking sensationalist media which portrays great whites in a detrimental light, with deadly consequences. Over 100 million sharks are killed annually by humans. Shark fin soup and fear are the leading causes of this phenomenon. Oceans' researchers are out on the water nearly every day, figuring out how to eradicate the later and mitigate desire for the former, by inspiring a respect and appreciation for these 10-million-year-old creatures, whose extinction would be a travesty for a world whose balance is being thrown constantly into disarray by the ignorance and meddling of human beings.

But great whites are not the only marine fauna that are endangered by very little or inaccurate information. Oceans Research also does cetacean and pinniped surveys and maintains an aquarium full of benthic and pelagic sharks, as well as many other teleosts, cephalopods, and elasmbobranches native to the area. The surveys are used to record interactions of these creatures with each other as well as sharks, and to determine what kinds of effects man-made structures may have on their way of life—for example, how dolphin movements have changed as a result of the desalination plant's construction in the bay. Caring for the animals in the aquarium allows Oceans to figure out metabolic rates of the various marine life, and also rehabilitate injured ones. Experiments done there, as well as dissections and displays, also provide educational resources to local children (and adults). Oceans also organizes other activities for Mossel Bay's street children, such as food drives, trips to the aquarium, and treasure hunts. Many of these are done by interns' initiative. In December alone, one intern set up a weekly summer camp to help children interact with marine wildlife in a safe, fun, and educational environment, and another planned a Christmas end-of-the-year celebration for street children, with playground and circle games, candy, and kickball.

Another unique thing about Oceans Research is that it functions doubly as a training institute and research operation. For example, interns are given a special opportunity to learn breath-holding techniques from a world-renowned shark researcher, Ryan Johnson, in order to increase free-diving times. Human beings are much less intrusive organisms within a marine biome without wearing a ton of scuba gear, so it is possible to get much closer to the objects of study when free-diving. Thus, it this a very practical skill that comes in handy for aspiring marine biologists as well as people who just want to impress their friends back home. During trapping trips, interns get to practice their breath-holding skills by diving down into the reefs of Mossel Bay with chum bags in order to catch benthic sharks for our aquarium. Oceans' commitment to educating its interns, giving them a well-rounded background in marine research, is also demonstrated by the lectures that are given two or three times a week. Each primary investigator who is affiliated with Oceans gives a monthly lecture on their work to the interns, expanding their knowledge base and introducing them to the results of real field work in which they participate each day.

Shark Chronicles 094 - Is this a dream?

We were driving in the back of a truck bed, six of us stuffed under blankets and sweatshirts, bundled up with our beanies and gloves, wind whipping our hair as we drove the winding mountain side watching the African sun set behind the snow capped mountains. “Is this a dream?” was all I could think.

The past week that I’ve been living in South Africa has felt like just that: a dream. Whether we’re chumming the water to attract a great white shark to the side of the boat, or squeezing through 27 cm inside a dark cave on our bellies, or witnessing breaching whales from our survey sights, every moment has been a surreal experience that I don’t want to end. The internship days alone make the whole trip worthwhile; however the weekends make up some of the most memorable moments of my African adventure. In just one weekend, we’ve had a night on the town, a beautiful day on the beach, a hike to the lighthouse, a walk through the craft village, a morning of sliding and climbing through a cave, and an afternoon petting tiger cubs and grown cheetahs at a cat park. We are planning a trip to Cape Town and to Durban toward the end of the month, hoping to do some shark dives, a cage dive, and see some natural shark predations.

Never have I become such close friends with a group of individuals so quickly. The bonding experiences are never ending and our common interests in marine life, not to mention long hours together often in close quarters, make the interns become fast friends. We have all stepped out of our comfort zones together, making our connections to each other that much stronger.

Our field specialists have been extremely supportive on a daily basis, encouraging us to try new things and get our hands dirty. They have taught us some of the important details about field work through lectures, training, and hands-on experience. They have also offered an opportunity to those of us interested to get SCUBA certified so that we can participate in the dives during weekend trips at the end of the month.

With only three weeks left of the internship, I can’t help already hoping that this experience would never end. In Mossel Bay, you never know what might happen next, from a car breaking down and a four hour chum trip in a non-stop downpour, to spotting your first great white shark and being eye to eye with a playful tiger cub. You keep thinking to yourself, “am I really doing this?” It’s the pictures at the end of the day that help you realize it really isn’t a dream and these experiences will remain with you for the rest of your life. I could not recommend a better internship to someone who desired to pursue a career in marine field work.

Lesley Anderson - Mossel Bay Marine Lab intern

Shark Chronicles 093 - 3m Great White Shark breaches into Research Boat

Mossel Bay, 18 July, 2011: Mossel Bay — The Oceans Research team, a marine research organisation working in Mossel Bay, got the surprise of a lifetime today when a 3 meter great white shark breached into their research vessel, shocking a field specialist and her crew.

Field Specialist Dorien Schroder of Mossel Bay, and six crew members had been chumming since 7:30 this morning with sardines off of Seal Island, conducting research for a population dynamics study that has been ongoing for the past three years. They had been chumming for over an hour and had a fair amount of activity around the boat, taking data on at least 4 sharks, including a shark named Pasella, which has been frequently seen in the bay since 2008.

Activity around the boat had ceased for about five minutes and all was pretty quiet at the stern. Schroder describes the incident; “Next thing I know I hear a splash, and see a white shark breach out of the water from side of the boat hovering, literally, over the crewmember who was chumming on the boats portside.” Schroder automatically sprang into action and pulled the crewmember quickly away towards the stern of the boat’s platform into safety. The crewmembers all jumped towards the stern of the boat as the 3m, 500kg, shark landed on the top of the fuel and bait storage containers. The shark had landed with only half of its body onto the boat and Schroder and her team hoped that as it thrashed it would make its way back into the water. But instead the panicked shark worked itself into the boat getting stuck in between the 1.5x2m area behind the container and boats stern. The shark began thrashing around, destroying equipment and cutting the fuel lines as it twisted and turned on the boats deck.

In the meantime, Schroder was able to calm her stressed crew and direct them to walk along the railing towards the bow of the boat to safety. Schroder immediately radioed Enrico Gennari, and Ryan Johnson, both Directors of Oceans and world renowned shark scientists about the incident. Gennari and Johnson quickly assembled a team as they raced to assist Schroder and her crew. Schroder then began pouring water over the shark’s gills consistently until Johnson, Gennari, and their crew of field specialists Riley Elliott and Rob Lewis arrived 15 minutes later. They immediately pulled their boat Lamnidae, alongside the vessel Cheetah, and climbed aboard. Once aboard they made sure that no one was injured, all crew members were safe, and the environment was secure before working their best to figure out how to get the shark back into the water quickly and safely. Johnson and Gennari secured a rope around the tail of the shark and tied the other side of the rope to the vessel Lamindae and attempted to use the side of the boat as leverage to tow the shark out of the boat into the water but were unsuccessful. They then tried this method again using Lamnidae to tow the shark off the platform through the opening in between the motors, but both methods failed. Port authority was then contacted regarding the incident and was requested to assist in getting a crane so that the 500kg shark could be safely lifted off of the boat and released. Since the fuel lines in the vessel had been cut by the shark, Lamnidae had to tow Cheetah back from the island into the harbour with the shark still onboard.

Once back in the harbour, Cheetah moored next to a fishing boat and they assisted giving the crew a water hose which was immediately placed inside the mouth of the shark so that water could further ventilate the gills. The Smit Lombok then moored alongside Cheetah and they connected one of their large lifting hooks to the rope which was secured to the shark’s tail and began to lift the shark off of the boat and into the water. The shark immediately began thrashing as soon as it hit the water and Johnson and Gennari quickly cut the ropes as the shark swam away from the stern, and underneath the Smit Lombok. The shark was then seen swimming towards the harbor mouth.

The Oceans team had hoped that the shark would be able to orient itself out of the harbour however about 30 minutes later the shark had beached itself onto a small beach inside the harbour. Enrico Gennari and Ryan Johnson returned to aid the shark in its orientation by physically trying to walk it however the shark was unable to orient itself and again veered towards the beach. The team of scientists then decided to fasten the shark to Lamnidae using two ropes attached to both the tail and behind the pectoral fins with the sharks head tilted upwards in order to ventilate the gills properly and slowly made their way out of the harbor. About one kilometer from the harbor the shark began to regain its orientation and strength and as the ropes were cut the shark powerfully swam away.

“When working with animals this large you have to take every precaution possible to ensure the safety of the scientists and sharks. However, it is impossible to predict everything that can happen. What is important is how you respond to such situation. No one was injured and the shark survived, this is a credit to our team, the port authorities and members of the community who assisted”.

Cassie Heil- Oceans Initiative Marketing Director

Shark Chronicles 092 - What is Oceans Research for me

If I were given the opportunity to live through December 2010 again, I honestly do not know if I would have signed up for the Oceans Research Internship. It’s not that I dislike the experience – to the extreme contrary! Rather, being from Singapore, it is not exactly very practical to pursue shark/dolphin/whale research internship. And yet, the Oceans Research Internship has been a tremendously amazing experience for me.

When I had been accepted into the internship programme, I had expected to come here and learn about marine mammal research knowledge. However, that was a rather narrow way of looking at things. Well, it is true that working with Great White Sharks, dolphins and other cetaceans make for a pretty exciting story. It is also true that Mossel Bay provides for some spectacular scenery. However, to me, the internship experience was so much more.

When I was asked to write this blog post, I did not really know where to begin. There is already so much that I have seen and learnt. I already have close to 2000 photos (which many of my fellow interns find fascinating – but that itself deserves a different blog post), and I do not think I’ll ever run out of things to write about. Things change so fast here depending upon what research is available. What then has been unique about my experience here?

I will perhaps begin by commenting upon the way that Oceans Research try to reach out and to educate the public. They work closely with the tourism industry in town and also regularly hold talks for schoolchildren in Mossel Bay. They are also very open to collaboration opportunities and are not afraid to admit that there is so much more they need help with. This mentality means that they have offered various opportunities and ample support for students to pursue their own research projects. It also means that they have a shark aquarium (Shark Lab) that serves to bring the Mossel Bay community closer to sharks.

This feature of Oceans Research was something that I felt to be very important. Today, there is a lot of material on the Internet which is poorly supported by empirical data. As a result, people make decisions based on very inaccurate information. Researchers are the ones best equipped to quell these rumours. However, scientists have in many cases not been forthcoming about what they know. There is in particular a curious lack of scientific opinion in the journalism and media industry. Perhaps a very appropriate example is the numerous misrepresentations of sharks in movies. Sharks have largely been depicted as ferocious, bloodthirsty killers that are primitive and unintelligent (example: Jaws + Deep Blue Sea). It does not take much effort to learn that this is not true. Yet, it is an effort that few have taken; and as a result, the opinion of sharks is often skewed.

In addition, there is ample documentation relating to the damage that humans are causing to the environment. Clearly, the best way to stem such damage would be for science researchers to reach out to people. However, what we see in the world today is a lot of radical activism. Such activists demand practices that in effect would require societies to stop development – it is therefore not a practical way to address the issue.

I have only been here for a week, and so cannot qualitatively say anything about whether the work by Oceans Research has positively impacted communities around the world. Yet, there is much potential for the relationship between Oceans and the Mossel Bay community to integrate tourism, science, education and policy-making. It has been very eye-opening and exciting to see how such a model plays out in the real world.

The second feature I wanted to recount is the way that Oceans Research is open to work with undergraduate/masters/PhD research projects. As a result, I have had the opportunity to gain extensive experience in so many areas of research. Thus far, I have done seal surveys in the freezing cold morning; I have tried to identify sharks based on their dorsal fins; I have worked on projects that seek to test if shark behaviour can be conditioned. The specific details of what each of these projects entail can perhaps be read from other blog posts. What was particularly exciting for me, however, was that we as interns get to engage in interesting dialogue with the researchers – whether they are honours students or PhD experts. Field specialists are housed in the same building as interns, so the amount of interaction opportunity has been tremendous.

For me, it was exciting to see for myself that environmental research is so complex that no single study can sufficiently stand alone. Shark behaviour is dependent upon seal behaviour, which in turn might rely on the moonlight timings and city lights. In turn, everything is dependent upon environmental conditions – which are heavily influenced by human behaviour. Everything works in tandem with each other, in a circle of life.

In turn, meeting with interns from all over the world who are engaged in diverse areas of interest that somehow coincide with your own is a very exciting experience. When everyone brings their own unique experiences to the table, it tends in turn to enrich your own. Oceans Research does provide a very inviting environment that encourages people to share such unique experiences, providing for exciting and interesting dialogue. The relationships and experiences formed from this internship therefore go way beyond just simply “marine mammal research”.

As for the “marine mammal research” segment, it has been tremendously awesome! But you could probably have guessed that from the other blog posts…

Jerome Kok – Mossel Bay intern

Shark Chronicles 091 - What is a great white for me

After almost a month here at Oceans, I have learned that there is absolutely nothing about working with sharks that will ever get old. Whether its assisting small benthic sharks through a maze, observing predator-prey relationships, taking pictures, recording and entering data, getting wet, being cold, hauling the anchor, bait-roping, tying bait heads, bagging hundreds of pounds of fish heads, or crushing sardines with hands and feet.

With good reason, you may wonder what one might find attractive about being elbow deep in fish guts. Particularly with sardines, because they are so oily, it takes days to remove the smell from your hands, and your clothes are more likely to decompose than ever smell fresh again. For me, this smell is more inviting than any perfume. Its not that creating fish-gut soup is my favourite activity in itself (although, at this point, I’m pretty much an expert). The thing is, at Oceans, you learn that the smell of dead fish means chum, and chum means Great Whites.

The feeling I get every time I see a Great White is no different than the feeling of excitement, awe, and utter astonishment I felt when I first saw one: Peering over the edge of our boat ‘Cheetah’ into the murky blue-green ocean I saw a shadow deep in the water. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, but as I continued staring the shadow started to take shape. Large triangular wings protruded from the expertly shaded 3.5 meter long torpedo-shaped body. The powerful caudal tail moved only slightly as it propelled this marvel of evolution through the water with seemingly unprecedented efficiency. The shark cruised casually by the boat and eyed the bait-fish floating nearby. My jaw dropped. I had to shake my head and pinch myself. I’ve seen countless documentaries and pictures, but nothing compares to seeing this animal in real life. Its absolutely surreal - almost as if it doesn’t belong in this place or this time. It is a prehistoric leviathan, more effective than any of its ancient relatives and so well equipped that it has been able to defy nature’s merciless ways for millions of years. For me, seeing a great white is like staring into the past.

The shark was so amazing and so beautiful that I wanted to jump in the water and swim with it. Thankfully, my usually absent voice of reason chimed in and reminded me that this was still a powerful apex predator and it would probably not be too thrilled with being hugged by some starry-eyed human.

Since that first sighting, every time I see a Great White my appreciation and admiration grows. I am constantly witnessing new behaviours and new personalities. Different sharks show different levels of aggression, interest, and effort, and they all have different strategies for attacking the bait-head. Bait-roping is the strategy we use to bring the shark to the surface so that we can get photo identification and note defining characteristics. The idea is to pull the large fish head out of the water before the shark is able to bite it. Sharks come from different directions at different speeds making bait-roping one of the most intense jobs on the water. Imagine holding a rope attached to a fish that is floating in the water a few feet from the boat. The visibility in the water is less than two meters. You know there is a shark around, so you can’t take your eye off the bait. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, you see a nose, then mouth, then eyes of a Great White coming in from the left. You pull the fish out of the water just in time as the shark opens its mouth and lunges slowly. Two minutes later the shark comes from the right, a little faster this time, you pull the fish out just in time again. This isn’t so hard. The shark disappears for several minutes. Then, faster than you can react, a massive set of jaws with countless razor sharp teeth speeds in from directly below and crushes your bait. Momentum carries the monstrous shark halfway out of the water before it crashes back and starts to barrel roll, flailing its tail and splashing everyone on the boat. In a few seconds the shark is gone and you are left only with the pathetically frayed ends of your rope. Did I just get outsmarted by a fish? No, you were outsmarted by a Great White. Incredible.

I came to Oceans because I have always been simultaneously fascinated and terrified of sharks. After my time here, my fascination is through the roof, my respect is unparalleled, and my fear is non-existent. Many people have a negative image of sharks because they don’t understand them. The media likes to make sharks appear like dangerous killers because they’re top predators in a realm that is mysterious and foreign to us. Here at Oceans, we study what sharks eat, when they eat, where they go and when, what they do, how they behave, and how they think. After only a month, I feel closer to sharks than ever. I have a newfound understanding of their intricacies, personalities, and objectives. Its like with anything: the more you understand something, the less apprehension you have towards it. I now understand fully that the shark is a marvel of nature that should not be feared, but should be embraced and protected.

Brendan Sanders