The final week of November was also the final week for several of the interns.
Starting out with a seal survey on Sunday night that all went according to plan, the week carried on to be shark-filled and gloriously sunny.
It was evident to all of us that the sharks had come back to the bay to bid us farewell, seeing at least four sharks per chum trip with over ten one afternoon! There was a noticeable increase in the average size of the sharks we were seeing in comparison to Octobers chum trips, with the same 3-4 metre sharks revisiting the boat almost every day. Despite the need for data all across the bay, everybody desperately wanted to chum right by the Kleinbrak river mouth, as this was where the sharks were lingering.
An injured seal was found on the rocks near the aquarium, but there was no evidence of a shark attack…supporting the fact we had seen no sharks around the island in a while.
Our intern manager, Amy, went home on Thursday, and Friday was the final chum trip for our other intern manager Jonathon, during which they saw 11 sharks…so not a bad send off at all! That evening was the “grand finale” for most of us, with dinner and speeches for everyone.
Once the weekend came round, the week seemed to have flown by and the house was getting emptier and quieter.
The week was rounded off on Sunday with a trip on Shark Warrior, where 3xe (Trixie) came to play and put on quite a show for the tourists. Seal survey again on Sunday night, but the sea was calm and it was a pleasant way for us to say goodbye to the bay and the island…
Rachel Walls (OCEANS Research intern- Mossel Bay)
No comments:
Post a Comment