2012 Tiger shark expedition, Bahamas
After months of waiting and planning I drove to W. Palm Beach where I boarded the 65’ Shear Water for the 5 hour crossing to the Bahamas. This was a night crossing and we didn’t leave until 2am due to the fact we had an early appointment to clear customs in the Bahamas. Once we cleared customs we made it to our first dive site. It didn’t take long for the lemon sharks to show up once the crates full of dead smelly fish parts was dropped into the water. At least 6 – 10’ lemons showed up within ab...
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Dry Tortugas dive trip
Just got back yesterday from a 3 day trip on the Ultimate Getaway to the Dry Tortugas. I’ve taken the photo trip into the sanctuary every year for about 12 years now and cannot remember the last time the conditions were as good as they were. Mother nature cooperated in a big way with calm seas and a few thunderstorms around, but not over us. This made for a beautiful light show at night as we anchored near Ft. Jefferson. Clear skies above us made for an awesome display of stars and a very visabl...
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Blue Vision Summit
I just got back last night from Washington DC where I attended the “Blue Vision Summit”. The event kicked off Saturday evening, and went through Sunday, Monday with meetings, and ended with lobbying visits on the hill Tuesday. It was very informative and covered a number of ocean conservation related issues. Some sponsors for the event included; National Geographic, Ocean Conservancy, Wyland Foundation, PEW Charitable Trusts and a number of other respected organizations. Wyland himself was there...
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Sustainable seafood
Before I begin I would like to make it clear that I am not opposed to commercial or recreational fishing at all. I am a recreational fisherman myself and have taken my fair share of dinner from the sea. I have also eaten my fair share of surf and turf from my local restaurants. I only wish to educate those of you who care enough about the ocean, our playground, to make smart choices when buying seafood from the store or at a restaurant. In the end, I will refer you to several web sites that prom...
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Aquaculture in the Gulf of Mexico
One thing I haven’t seen is any media coverage on the current status on offshore aquaculture. Aquaculture is coming due in large part to years of unsustainable fishing. The NMFS and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council has dropped the ball and now several species of reef fish are overfished, or currently experiencing overfishing including our beloved gag grouper. Many recreational fishermen will argue that there are plenty of grouper out there, and even more juveniles inshore. Study aft...
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Opportunity to help sharks
Support SRI, Dive with Sandtigers! Upcoming Expedition:Experienced sport divers are invited to join the Shark Research Institute on an expedition in the Gulf Stream waters of the North Carolina to study sandtiger sharks, Carcharias taurus.The shipwreck laden waters off North Carolina offer world class wreck diving and it is known that sandtiger sharks aggregate on specific wrecks. As with many shark species, the sandtiger shark not only plays a critical role within it’s oceanic ecosystem, the sh...
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Ocean conservation
Dear fellow divers I have never written a blog before but I am willing to give it a shot in hopes to get some of you motivated to help the oceans. Ever since I was a child I found the ocean to be an amazing, mysterious place. Growing up in the Jaws error I feared sharks like everyone else who went to see Peter Benchley’s masterpiece on the big screen. I didn’t start diving until years later when I was able to overcome my fear of sharks. Now I love to see them. Unfortunately, that fear still keep...
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