Oceanic Whitetip Sharks in Fiji: island cultures revere a threatened pelagic predator

The oceanic whitetip shark is a beautiful but feared shark. A feared shark because of its reputation gained during World War II for being attracted to the sounds of sinking ships and then, what with blood in the water, attacking sailors floating in the water. In Jaws, Quint's fictional monologue about the sinking of the Indianapolis was based on the real account of the ship's sinking. And, in truth, the oceanic whitetip was responsible for a number of sailor's deaths - along with battle injuries, starvation, and sea water poisoning taking its toll.

However, the fact is that the oceanic whitetip is a beautiful, pelagic or open-ocean shark and like many other shark species, its numbers have been in severe decline due to commercial fishing and bycatch. The IUCN has listed the species as vulnerable to extinction and its situation is not holding steady or improving by any means.

An article ran recently in the The Fiji Times Online in support of the oceanic whitetip. Fiji has several species of shark in relatively fair abundance in and about its reefs and the oceanic whitetip is one that will make an occasional appearance, approaching reefs on narrow continental shelves near deep water. Also, Fiji has a cultural history with several Fijian island peoples that revolve around sharks as mythical, even god-like, creatures. Several legends specifically involve oceanic whitetips and have them serving as protectors not predators.

The Fiji Times reported that Fijian "shark campaigner Manoa Rasigatale says the people of [the Fiji island of] Rukua, like elsewhere in Fiji where the shark is revered as a totem and protector, believe the oceanic whitetip and the rest of the species should be saved.

'Saving it is saving their tradition and their marine environment. It is as simple as that. Take away the shark and they lose their traditional tie to it and the story that has been passed on from one generation to another,' says Mr Rasigatale."

It's an interesting opposing juxtaposition to the Asian cultural history that defends the consumption of shark fin soup. Whose culture has a better right to predominate? One that promotes reverence of the shark or one that promotes its consumption?

Although Fiji has strict regulations regarding shark fishing, a movement is in the beginning stages with a shark sanctuary for the entire island chain as its ultimate goal. The Pew Environment Group and the Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) are working with the Fijian government to make the sanctuary a reality.

Commendable as it may be, a shark sanctuary may not be enough to ultimately protect the oceanic whitetip as it is a long range nomad. That means considerable time spent outside of sanctuary boundaries, exposed to commercial fishing - whether deliberate or as accidental bycatch - in international waters.

The Fiji Times Online article is an interesting read both with regards to how the shark is entwined with the island's culture and identifying the specific fishing threats to the oceanic whitetip to which the island nation and supporting conservation groups are trying to address.

Source: The Fiji Times Online

Filmmaker's Journal: working with the serendipity of the moment

Perched on the ledge of a small outcropping of rock, an explosion of white soft coral intermingled with the waving arms of crinoids, against a dark blue backdrop and the faint light from the surface creeping around the edge of the reef wall.

I have used the picture above on several occasions in this blog when talking about coral reef issues and it is a favorite of mine not just for the satisfactory end result but also for the memory of how it came about. It represents what I call the art of the moment which can often be the mainstay of nature photography and videography.

Many long years ago, when the earth was cooling and dinosaurs roamed the planet, I was shooting underwater still photography using a Nikonos V 35mm film camera, which meant no auto-focus, auto-iris - basically no auto-anything. So you had to prepare your shots in advance as much as possible. I was diving on Fiji's Great White Wall, one of the island chain's signature dive sites. The Great White Wall is a wide expanse along a large reef wall in the Somosomo Strait that is covered in white soft coral - small bunches packed in so tight it forms a virtual carpet of white like a fresh layer of snow. At a distance, the soft coral would take on a lavender hue, so shooting wide angle shots meant having to sacrifice capturing the white color. But taking close-ups was a challenge due to a rippin' strong current.

You approached the Great White Wall by descending down about 30 to 40 feet to a large reef head and then drop down another 40 feet or so through a crevice that formed a near perfect tunnel. Once you exited the tunnel, you abruptly turned left - whether you wanted to or not - as there was a powerful current that would sweep you along. You then found yourself flying over the Great White Wall. There was nothing to hold on to without damaging the coral, so your time spent seeing the white coral would only last about a minute before you turned to move out of the current and back to shallower depths.

About half way through the ride over the wall, I saw an outcropping that I thought would make for an interesting shot. But it was fast approaching. I set my focus, set my exposure based on the power of my single strobe at a pre-set distance - all designed to capture this little diversion in the wide expanse of white. However, I looked up and the outcropping was nearly upon me, closer than the camera was set for a proper shot. Frustrated, I thought the moment had come and gone; an opportunity lost.

In an instant, the coral outcropping was right beneath me, whizzing past in a blur. It suddenly occurred to me that there might still be a chance. As I passed, I quickly turned around and with the current continuing to propel me along, I waited for the right moment and took the shot facing backwards and then watched the outcropping quickly sail off into the lavender backdrop of the Great White Wall.

This was in the days of 35mm slide film, so I had to wait until I got home from the trip to see if I was successful in capturing the beauty and singularity of this one geological departure from the Great White Wall's broad, flat expanse. I lucked out. For me, while unbeknownst to all viewers of the image, it is a perfect example of what many wildlife photographers and videographers experience; that combination of preparedness and serendipity that sometimes allows us to capture beautiful images which, a split second later, would be unattainable. That is the art of the moment.

When working on a stage or in a controlled location, the photographer or videographer often works with art by design. You spend time setting your lights, you set marks to ensure your focus will capture the action just right, and you rehearse your camera moves while the actors rehearse their parts. You have the time and the ability to maximize all the resources at your disposal to design the scene the way you would like it to ultimately look. You have a measure of control; art by design. Sometimes the two can work in combination with preparation setting the stage to then catch unexpected magic moments.

For me, both experiences, art of the moment and art by design, can be exciting and very gratifying. Each have their own challenges and each can be fun for wholly different reasons. Either way, they hopefully contribute to the cinematic goal of telling a story in a compelling way without being obvious or intruding upon the viewers' own experience by visually shouting "look at me, look at what I did."

Fiji's Sharks: study shows big business and locals are depleting a tourism and natural resource

Following on the accomplishments of island nations like Palau to establish shark sanctuaries, there is a movement developing to do the same in Fiji. While it has not yet reached the point of actual legislation or regulations for consideration by the Fijian government, it would appear to not be a moment too soon either.

According to a study just completed by Dr. Demian Chapman of the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science, Stony Brook University in New York, shark fishermen are targeting at least 10 species that are listed on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List. Included are sharks that make up a large part of Fiji's shark eco-tourism operations which contributes to the islands' tourism base.

Working in consort with the Fiji Fisheries Department, Dr. Chapman, who gained scientific recognition for his research in shark DNA that allowed for the tracking of hammerhead fins back to their place of origin, studied two shark fin traders in Fiji and combined his data with that of other researchers to paint an overall disturbing picture of the shark fin trade between Fiji and Hong Kong.

Three species - blue sharks, oceanic whitetips, and the silky shark were being targeted as bycatch from the tuna fisheries. However, one aspect of the study that was of particular concern was the extant to which local fishermen were involved, catching species more commonly found closer to shore. These are the sharks that divers from around the globe come to Fiji to see and so it represents a sizable lost economic value for the shark eco-tourism operators and the islands as a whole.

"I also observed a number of fins from inshore species. According to traders, these come from the coast of Fiji and are collected by local people who are paid by the dealers for shark fins and sea cucumbers," said Dr. Chapman.

This points to one of the major problems with the shark fin trade. While there is a large industrial fishing component that must be combated, there are also locals involved, merely trying to make a living. Like organized crime or the drug trade, these locals are not paid top dollar for their efforts - that's reserved for those further up in the shark fin distribution food chain - but they are tempted to participate as it could mean food on the table in a tough economy (not every Fiji citizen is employed by or benefits from the tourist trade).

And speaking of those further up the food chain, the amount of product that is being moved through Fiji alone is staggering. As reported in The Fiji Times Online, Dr. Chapman said, "I estimated the total number of fins present at each dealer by counting the number of fins visible in digital photographs taken onsite. Since most sharks produce four marketable fins (dorsal, two pectoral and lower caudal), I divided the estimated total number of fins by a factor of four to estimate the total number of individual sharks killed. One dealer had approximately 1000 fins drying, which represents at least 250 sharks killed.

"The dealer also had four large freezers full of frozen fins that were impossible to count. The other dealer had three very large piles of dried fins that I estimate contained a total of 10,000-12,000 fins and represented 2500-4000 dead sharks. The dealer indicated that they were exporting this volume on a monthly basis from Nadi International Airport to Hong Kong."

Twenty-five hundred to four thousand sharks each month, potentially coming from Fijian waters. Fiji's shark species and reef ecosystems can not withstand this kind of harvest.

The Fiji Times Online also quoted Ratu Manoa Rasigatale, who is spearheading an awareness campaign for the Coral Reef Alliance and Pew Environment Group to turn Fiji's waters into a shark sanctuary, '"It is sad to note from Dr Chapman's assessment that locals are heavily involved in the killing of reef sharks,' said Ratu Manoa, dubbed the Sharkman for his efforts to spread the gospel of shark conservation to all levels of the community in Fiji."

The only upside to a report like this is that it represents the kind of factual data needed to support a drive for establishing a shark sanctuary. No moral arguments about finning, no anecdotal evidence or stories of tradition or folklore; just the cold hard facts. Economic facts. Somebody is making a lot of money and it's not Fiji's everyday citizen; and one of the islands' major economic engines - the tourist trade - is at risk. Hopefully, that should catch the attention of government officials who are willing to look at the long-term future of Fiji's economy, its reefs and the sharks that call those reefs and the surrounding waters home.

Read about the shark fin trade in Fiji in The Fiji Times Online.

Fiji Going "Shark-Free": shark-free marina initiative catches on

The Shark-Free Marina Initiative is expanding its international reach with the islands of Fiji embracing the concept of "no caught sharks allowed" at Fijian marinas.

According to a press release from Stuart Gow, director of Matava, a leading eco-resort on the Fijian island of Kadavu:

KADAVU, FIJI ISLANDS - 14 July 2009 - Matava - Fiji's Premier Eco-Adventure Resort and Bite Me Gamefishing Charters are proud to take a world wide leading role in the the international Shark-Free Marina Initiative. The international Shark-Free Marina Initiative works with marinas, boaters and fishermen to develop policy designed to protect a vital component of the oceans health, our sharks.

Matava Director Stuart Gow said "We have worked hard over the past few months in Fiji at certifying many marinas and charter fishing boats as 'Shark-Free Marinas' and so far have more than any other country worldwide. Matava and Bite Me Gamefishing Charters was the first in Fiji to sign up and is actively promoting, coordinating and distributing information about the Initiative. We are working towards when Fiji can be the first country to be proud to announce itself as a 'Shark-Free Marinas' Country!"

In not allowing caught sharks at marinas, the Shark-Free Marina Initiative promotes "catch and release" techniques for sport fishermen. It's an incremental step that has proven effective with other over-fished species. Over 500,00 sharks are lost each year to sportfishing. It's a big number, although not as big as the 40 to 100 million sharks taken commercially. But it's a good start in changing the mindset of people directly connected to the ocean. Their attitudes can be leveraged in the future for other important long-term strategies.