Sea Voices book interview… Part 1

Sea Voices is a non-profit initiative featuring a select group of influential people who have the power and ability to move people, and to redirect the publics actions. A diverse list of individuals have been chosen to attain as broad of audience as possible including scientists, musicians, actors, teachers and more. This is the first part of a four part interview with Marine Biologist and Sharkdiver Luke Tipple.

SV: As a marine biologist and shark specialist can you please explain why sharks are critical to our oceans?

LT: Sharks are critical components of a healthy and diverse oceanic ecosystem. Over the last 40 million years sharks have evolved to inhabit most, if not all, of the niche environments in the ocean. In fact you can pretty much point to any place in the ocean, be it a shallow coral reef, the deep abyssal trenches, brackish fresh water mangroves or blue open oceans and you will find a species of shark that has adapted to the particular challenges of that environment, and dominate.

As Apex predators sharks are at the top, or near top, of the food chain. This position is extremely important as they are responsible for keeping the numbers of many of their subordinates in check. Without this population control we would see an over-abundance of animals which, having no predators, would quickly overrun the natural balance of the area causing instability in the food web and ultimately a potential crash in biodiversity and hence productivity of the ocean.

What most people don’t realize is that sharks have natural mechanisms for their own population control and thus need no unnatural population control. They can take up to 15 years to reach sexual maturity, require direct sexual contact to reproduce and exhibit low fecundity when they do succeed in mating. Add to this the challenges of finding a mate and surviving the gauntlet of cannibalism in their juvenile years and it’s amazing that they are even able to reach the numbers necessary for their survival! In contrast their prey are usually characterized by high fecundity and broadcast spawning where literally millions of juveniles can be made by only a few individuals.

Without sharks we would have a very different ocean that most likely would be characterized by much smaller species of animals that probably would gain much of their energy from sunlight, plankton or other broadcast spawners.

It is unknown exactly where the trophic web would balance out but it is fairly safe to say that without sharks in the ocean the food web would collapse from the top down, resulting in an ocean depleted of fish and human nourishment. In a very real sense the measure of a healthy ocean is the presence of sharks.

Sea Voices book interview… Part 2

Sea Voices is a non-profit initiative featuring a select group of influential people who have the power and ability to move people, and to redirect the publics actions. A diverse list of individuals have been chosen to attain as broad of audience as possible including scientists, musicians, actors, teachers and more. This is the second part of a four part interview with Marine Biologist and Sharkdiver Luke Tipple.

SV: Will you explain your initiative for Shark-Free Marinas?

LT: The Shark-Free Marina Initiative is a fairly simple concept with a singular purpose, to reduce worldwide shark mortality. The idea came in September of 2007 when reports and photos of a sport caught 13ft female Tiger shark in the Bahamas hit the desk of a commercial shark diving and conservation blog called ‘Underwater Thrills: Swimming With Sharks’. The blog, run by Patric Douglas of Sharkdivers.com reported that these sharks had been killed by visiting tourists and that one of these female sharks was gravid (pregnant) with her near term pups cut out and left to die. The Tiger Shark is an Endangered Species.

After extensive conversations Patric and I came up with an idea: “What if the marina simply did not allow a caught shark to be brought to the dock?” The idea grew and started to make sense, by supporting catch and release fishing we could still allow fishermen to have their sport but we would save the animals from a useless death. We believe that this is an acceptable middle ground and supported the idea of sustainable use of the oceans resources rather than the traditional ‘ethical’ use argument purported by most environmental groups.

There is another reason for Shark-Free Marinas, setting a global principle. It is all too easy to point the finger at Asian countries for shark depletion but we seem to ignore the regular news features of the man who ‘caught the monster’ and the bloody pictures of an endangered species of shark hung up for proud display before being thrown in the dumpster. Currently almost every species of fish which is caught for commercial or and recreational purposes is fished beyond a sustainable level and commercial fishing fleets currently remove around 40-60 million sharks per year. Many shark species have declined in numbers by 90% and there are currently over 150 species of shark listed on the IUCN’s red list as near threatened or worse.

While action certainly needs to be taken on a global scale the fight to save our oceans needs to take place in your own backyard. In 2008 the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration reported ½ Million sharks harvested for recreational purposes, most of these were large sharks and most likely of breeding age. The vast majority of the anglers responsible for this catch are private boat owners and charter fishing boats. Under the Shark-Free Marina Initiative these animals would still be alive. Our realistic goal is to save millions of sharks per year while also setting a new global standard for responsible management of our oceans resources.

Sea Voices book interview… Part 3

Sea Voices is a non-profit initiative featuring a select group of influential people who have the power and ability to move people, and to redirect the publics actions. A diverse list of individuals have been chosen to attain as broad of audience as possible including scientists, musicians, actors, teachers and more. This is the third part of a four part interview with Marine Biologist and Sharkdiver Luke Tipple.

SV: Do you have any tips for people who encounter sharks while they are diving to keep them safe?

LT: First and foremost they should realize that they are lucky to be in the presence of these animals, shark numbers are depleting around the world at a staggering rate and opportunities like this will become more rare. However for some people such an encounter would not be desirable so here are some tips to help you stay safe in the water:

1. If you do not want to be in the presence of sharks, don’t swim in the ocean… seriously though there is a much higher chance of an encounter when swimming in river mouths, morning or dusk hours or in any area where there is a large amount of food such as bait fish or seals. Also try to avoid areas where there is a sharp drop-off such as a ledge or sand bank as sharks often patrol the deeper water hoping to catch something by surprise. Avoid wearing sparkly jewelry or bright colors, as a visual predator anything that grabs their attention is likely to be investigated.
2. If you see a shark and are either snorkeling or scuba diving you have a big advantage, you can see the animal. Sharks are predators and like to take their prey by surprise. By simply keeping you eyes on the shark they are less likely to be curious and think about an attack. Never turn your back and frantically swim away, that’s what food does. In fact if a shark is acting aggressive (look for erratic swimming, a hunched posture or eyes rolling in the head) you are better off swimming directly at it. They will take this as an offensive maneuver and are likely to leave the area.
3. If the shark comes too close for comfort a swift kick or punch to the snout or eye area will usually be enough to deter them from further investigation. A shark is not unused to being touched and will probably be quite startled by the unfamiliar aggression.
4. In the worst case scenario a shark will try to bite. In this situation you have no option but to leave the water. Swim back to the boat or shore making sure to never turn your back on the animal. Keep your eyes trained on the aggressor and be ready to fight should it decide to bite.

Sea Voices book interview… Part 4

Sea Voices is a non-profit initiative featuring a select group of influential people who have the power and ability to move people, and to redirect the publics actions. A diverse list of individuals have been chosen to attain as broad of audience as possible including scientists, musicians, actors, teachers and more. This is the first part of a four part interview with Marine Biologist and Sharkdiver Luke Tipple.

SV: If you had one message to relay to people about our oceans what would it be?

LT: The ocean is the most important resource on the planet. I don’t care if you are a believer in evolution and science or a higher creationary power such as God, every theory or theology gives credit to the ocean as being the source of all life. As this is the case it is senseless to believe that we can continue to thrive as a species without addressing the very serious issues our ocean is facing.

The ocean today is at a crisis point; global warming, pollution and land reclamation are already destroying the fragile balance of the sea. When we add to that the destructive effects of over fishing and mismanagement of fish stocks the scientific community agree, we may well witness a partial or total collapse of the oceans ecosystem within our lifetime. Within our current generation we will see severe changes from sporadic and unpredictable weather patterns to eradication of species and worldwide hunger.

As we start to address the many, many issues that need to be resolved I think there is one word that should be taken on as the conservationists mantra.

Sustainability.

Too often I see conservation groups ranting and raving about the ethics of animal use and distribution of ocean resources. These groups are often passionate but lack the scientific backing that really can speak to the masses. It’s time that we adopt a universal language, that of mathematics and scientific data. Rather than spending millions of dollars saving a cute cuddly animal from cruel but limited use we should be spending that money on the larger issues such as reversing land reclamation, pollution, and replacing unsustainable fishing methods such as trawling and seine netting.

We are in a fight that ultimately will determine the quality of life as we know it. When deciding on where to allocate resources I would urge our decision makers to lean towards working on developing sustainable practices of ocean resource use… if the cost of saving an ecosystem is the loss of one cuddly species then as a scientist I find that acceptable. However as a human I am disappointed in our species that we have squandered and destroyed our evolutionary home to such a point that we have to pick and choose what we save.

Speaking of success in Ontario

So I’m on a huge stage in a stadium, I have 1300 people listening to me deliver my talk “Sharks Don’t Scare Me!”… I’m surrounded by lights, 4 cameras, two huge Trinitron screens and even a smoke machine! What an experience, but who would have thought it was me who would learn something from this event?!

It came about as I was invited to speak with my friends at the Extreme Entrepreneurs as part of the Summer Youth Employment program in San Bernardino, CA. The attendees ranged from 14-24 and were completely stoked with the prospect of learning some secrets to entrepreneurship and success.

Everything about the event was huge… huge venue, massive crowd, high expectations and super-high energy! Our part of the tour was flawless with Arel Moodie hosting and doing an amazing job (you seriously have to see this guy speak) as well as Michael Simmons delivering an awesome keynote. When it was my turn I was pumped, the crowd were super responsive and I just hope they learned something from my shark stories and life experiences.

What happened after blew me away and left me so thankful for being there. While the guys went to run workshops I sat down and was chatting to a couple of people, which turned into another couple and ended up being a line of more than 200 audience members wanting me to answer questions, sign autographs and take photos! I was actually hugely surprised by the attention but I heard so many stories of hardship and triumph from these kids that I was simply humbled. The energy they had was inspiring and I was left with a feeling that we had really been a part of inspiring hope in this group.

I wish them all the success in the world, they definitely deserve it.

Thanks to Michael and Arel the speakers and the ever hard working Glenda for making it all run smoothly for us. Check out Extremetour.org for the next event.

New great white shark haunt to be revealed with conservation in mind

Check out the white shark video to try to determine the location: (a) Guadalupe Island; (b) South Africa; (c) South Australia; (d) Farallon Islands; or (e) none of the above?

The answer is “e.”

It’s a newly discovered white shark aggregation site and news of its existence is sure to pique the interest of scientists and documentary teams.

An announcement regarding the site will be made this weekend by Shark Divers, a company that used to be in the commercial cage-diving business but now specializes in working with film and television crews.

For now, its code name is Oceana and Shark Divers CEO Patric Douglas, who labels it the most exciting white shark site discovery since Mexico’s Guadalupe Island in 2001, would only confirm that it’s a very remote island in the Southern Ocean.

Douglas said a limited number of crews will begin visiting the location early next year and that it remains unclear whether a commercial cage-diving operation will be established.

Cage-diving operations are beneficial in that they allow the general public to develop a better understanding and appreciation of the embattled apex predators. But they can also be harmful to sharks–especially those that accidentally get caught between cage bars–and some charge that chumming habituates the sharks.

Because aggregation sites are so few, they do need to be protected and diving operations need to be regulated. “These sites need to be protected with everything we’ve got,” Douglas said. “Now that the site is known, we’ve  got to get the public behind it so the local government can say ‘Yes, we need to turn this into a special place.’ ”

–Pete Thomas, for the LA Times