Tag: Sharks

Shark Project – Final Blog

Written by adminmike on October 15, 2016. Posted in Pole2Pole, Shark Study. No Comments on Shark Project – Final Blog

The boat buzzes with Young Explorers, each with a job to leave Pangaea, our home for the past ten days, in a condition Mike is happy with, and we sit and reflect on the Pole2Pole Shark Project. To try and find one word to describe it would be difficult but the word that comes to mind is, ‘dynamic.’ The people we interacted with, our team and what we did were all remarkably, dynamic.

Working with Shark Spotters, the Laureus ‘Sport for Good’ Foundation, Waves for Change and GrassRoot Soccer gave our project a scientific and social aspect to our time here in Cape Town. It was both inspiring and motivating to work with such passionate and dedicated people in each of these organisations and gave us great hope for future change. The shark tagging expedition contributed valuable data to increase what we know about the seven-gill shark species here in South Africa and allowed Young Explorers the opportunity to be hands on in a once in a life time experience. The shark diving day allowed us to really interact with shark species in their natural habitat and was aimed at abolishing the negative stereotypes that the media associate with sharks. The second part of our project included engaging with local communities and allowed us an insight into a world that we are extremely sheltered from. These experiences are vital for global awareness and personal growth and allow us to identify key areas that require change as well as the tools in order to drive that change.

An unexpected positive impact of this project was the reunion of Young Explorers from different expeditions and from all around the world. Each person felt revitalized and our passion to drive social and environmental change was fuelled. Conversations were always inspiring and excitement for our future was tangible. Working as a team of Young Explorers is an extraordinary experience with dynamic individuals contributing a variety of skill sets and expertise to create something unique and highly impactful.

Ultimately, this project is just the beginning of many Pole2Pole projects to come. Our team of over 200 “Young” Explorers have grown to become veterinarians, scientists, journalists, communicators, and everything in between. Mike will be completing his extraordinary circumnavigation of the planet for the next two years; our fundamental aim is to utilize our diverse group of young people to drive the environmental and social change that the world needs.

Education is the Key

Written by adminmike on October 12, 2016. Posted in Pole2Pole, Shark Study. No Comments on Education is the Key

Education is the key,
Let us rewrite history,
On the fields we will learn,
And our lives will take a turn.

Grassroots Soccer is the place,
Where we begin to chase,
Our dreams, big or small,
We are supported through it all.

Laureus Foundation run the show,
And enable us to grow,
Self confidence and respect,
Their involvement is direct.

From land to sea we travelled,
Our love for surf unravelled.
Uncontainable joy and pride,
When we get up for the ride,
To stand up for ourselves,
Into our full potential we delve.

Working with local groups,
Rallying international troops,
When we all come together,
We create bonds that we’ll treasure.

United by our common goal,
We all need to play our role,
Give more, consume less,
Let’s clean up this mess.

These poems were inspired by our activities today which included joining the Grassroots Soccer Programme and Waves for Change surfing programme in the Khayetlisha Township, just outside of Cape Town. We were moved by how the Laureus team use these sports to both instil life skills as well as build confidence in the youth. We were overwhelmed by how much joy and love the children had to give and thoroughly enjoyed interacting with them on the soccer field and in the waves. Our team took away many learnings and insights including the power of sport as a means of uniting and connecting people and the ability to empower through creating a sense of belonging.

It’s encouraging to know this isn’t country specific and we’re excited about how we can all better utilise sport to connect and empower our communities.

By Leni Greundl & Saskia Bauer

“Fish are friends, not food”

Written by adminmike on October 9, 2016. Posted in Pole2Pole, Shark Study. No Comments on “Fish are friends, not food”

My ears perked up at the sound of conversation nearby and forcefully opened my eyes. Could it be 6am already? It felt like I had just gone to bed. I was feeling nervous, a little apprehensive and excited. Today was a much anticipated day. Freshly qualified as an open water diver, this would be the first time I would officially dive, and we would be diving with sharks. Wow.

I swallowed down a quick breakfast, loaded my bag with gear and off we went. Looking up through the windscreen I gazed at droplets falling from the threatening skies. The chill in the air and ominous clouds didn’t really calm my nerves.

We arrived at the Dive Shop, suited up in thick neoprene, and made our way to the dive site. Previously known as Pyramid Rock, the renowned Shark Alley has been renamed due to regular shark sightings. Gave me shivers. I felt cold water trickling into my wetsuit and down my back as I descended into the kelp forest below. I gave my dive buddy the signal and we all met at the sea floor. Two darth vaders under water. I had to stay focused in order to remain close to the group seeing that the visibility was low. The idea that a shark would only be visible once it was within 5 metres of me was an uncomfortable thought.

A sense of freedom overcame me as I glided through the water. Seeing marine life that is exposed to a really small percentage of the world left me feeling humbled and in awe. I felt a something poke me on the shoulder and I turned around to see my dive buddy frantically pointing to the left. And believe it or not, there was a shark! Instantly all my senses were alert and I felt so alive. Every fibre of my being was tuned into the movements of this fascinating animal. For a few seconds time stood still. I gazed at the beauty in which the shark wove through the kelp. Calm. At ease. Content. At first I thought these words were fitting to describe the shark, but I realised that those were actually my own feelings.

Being able to see a shark in its own environment was surreal. Fear was replaced by awe. The shark and I were in the same space and we were both okay. I didn’t think I would be okay if faced with a situation like this. Before disappearing, the final swish of its tail was like a confirmation of our companionship. I think I would like to see him again.

By Lani van Niekerk & Shruthi Vijayakumar

“Shark! We have another shark!”

Written by adminmike on October 7, 2016. Posted in Pole2Pole, Shark Study. No Comments on “Shark! We have another shark!”

“Shark! We have another shark!” Yesterday, 22.23 o’clock, the fifteenth shark was in the books. This meant that we surpassed everybody’s expectations, since we all had thought we would catch far fewer sharks. This fifteenth shark is the end of our scientific shark research. Now, being back in Cape Town Harbor we had some time to reflect on those eventful and busy days spent onboard Pangaea.

I was personally always quite reserved towards sharks. Coming from Germany, where sharks don’t play a big role in the media, I never came in touch with the topic of sharks. That’s why in the beginning I stayed rather passive, watched the specialists do the work and was nervous about joining in. However, when I saw Dr. Allison Kock and her team bring the first shark onboard, I realized that there is no reason to be afraid of these animals. I looked at the shark, a 1.87m male, and was amazed by the sheer sight of it. Never had I dreamed that I would see a shark or even get the chance to touch it and be involved in the process of tagging it. I realized how beautiful those animals are, just as beautiful as any other kind of living being on this planet. This first encounter with a shark took all my fears away and I even jumped into the water after the first day of tagging, without being afraid of the animals that live beneath the surface. This experience once again showed me that fear is oftentimes only caused by a lack of knowledge.

Looking back, all Young Explorers feel extremely privileged of having had the unique opportunity to join a world class shark research team on one of their field trips. But not only joining and watching, but even being actively involved in the whole process. Only when you come in contact with a shark first hand, you can form a judgment about this endangered species, which is often portrayed in a very misleading way.

By Leni and Saskia

15 Sharks Tagged in 3 Days!

Written by adminmike on October 6, 2016. Posted in Pole2Pole, Shark Study. No Comments on 15 Sharks Tagged in 3 Days!

We left the familiar waters of Dassen Island and set sail bright and early into the rocking waves of the Atlantic. Our destination was an unexplored lagoon, where no sharks had been tagged before. Research around the world has shown that shallow, sheltered waters, like those in the lagoon we set sail for, often are of particular importance for shark reproduction. We were rewarded with three large females and one smaller male that we successfully tagged. They averaged 2.4 meters in length and over a meter in girth. Their large size necessitated the use of a mesh cage making them more difficult to control. Two out of the three sevengills had bite marks on their sides, which were most likely inflicted by male sharks during mating.
Feeling more confident with the new skills and practice the Young Explorers gained the last few days, we were much more involved with the tagging process, even though these sharks were significantly larger than those caught on previous days. Throughout the day we were once again amazed by the many skills and knowledge that each member of the diverse shark project team bring to the table. In one corner you could see people learning how to tie sailing knots, in the other they were practicing surgical stitching. Everyone had something to offer the group. Once again we were enthralled by Mike’s passion for exploration. We gathered around to his endless stories of childhood dreams becoming reality which ended in discussions on the feasibility of interplanetary travel.

Imagine living on an island by yourself for four years.

Written by adminmike on October 4, 2016. Posted in Pole2Pole, Shark Study. No Comments on Imagine living on an island by yourself for four years.

Imagine living on an island by yourself for four years.

There is no one to talk to apart from birds and penguins, and the closest town is a six-hour boat ride away. Intriguingly, it’s the reality of Marlene – a woman we met at Dassen Island this afternoon while navigating to our next shark tagging spot.

“I’m not a people person,” she told us, while showing us around her backyard. “I get to see people sometimes, about once a month.”

The rest of the time she walks laps around the island to count bird colonies, some of which are endangered. To get there we had to sail for several hours while whales, sea lions and dolphins followed Pangaea.

It was a peaceful end to a day that started in a rush. We got woken up by the sound of marine scientists trying to catch sharks at the back of the sailboat at 5am. Still rubbing our sleepy eyes, we made our way to the navigation room where we started our anchor watch.

The following hours were exciting as we tagged four more sharks, bringing our total to nine on this trip. Dr Alison Kock and her team took advantage of our different skills to help tag the sharks and record our findings. It was more hands-on than yesterday but we enjoyed getting out of our comfort zones, even jumping into the sharky water for a swim afterwards.

We also convinced Marlene to get out of her comfort zone and invited her to join us for dinner onboard before she returned to her beloved, beautiful paradise.

By Andrea Lavarello and Shaya Laughlin

Poem: A Shark Date

Written by adminmike on October 4, 2016. Posted in Pole2Pole, Shark Study. No Comments on Poem: A Shark Date

Shark project in Cape Town, South Africa with Alison and her team from shark spotters on board of Pangaea with Mike Horn and Young Explores. — Setting sail for Robben Island!

The sun began peeking up through the sky,

We looked back at the table and bade it goodbye.

Within the sails the southern wind played,

As we headed for Robben Island where Mandela stayed.

Onto our lines we hooked on our bait,

With the seven gill sharks we made a date.

They fell for our charm and devilish good looks,

Until we had their data signed in our books

Into their abdomen we inserted a tag,

To track every place their tails would wag.

The date was short it was time to go,

With a push and a shove we said later bro.

No time to be sad no time to despair,

Because date number two was already there.

We repeated the process and by the end of the day,

We had lots of sharks being tagged on their way.

The cherry on top of Tim’s birthday cake,

Was seeing dolphins and whales in the boat’s wake.

In wonder we watched as the sun receded,

Content and happy with expectations exceeded.

Lani van Niekerk & Shruthi Vijayakumar

Why Tag Sharks?

Written by adminmike on October 2, 2016. Posted in Pole2Pole, Shark Study. No Comments on Why Tag Sharks?

Understanding shark movement and location is a central component of effective conservation strategies. In many cases, policy makers have been unable to conserve threatened sharks due to the lack of appropriate data on shark movements and behaviours, data which tagging and tracking work can provide.

Two types of tags are primarily used: satellite and acoustic tags. The satellite tags are short-term data loggers that pop off the animal, float to the surface and transmit to a satellite. Acoustic tags are a long-term data collection option. They emit a series of pulses for up to 10 years, their pattern individually identifying each tag and therefore each shark. Tags are attached to the sharks usually with a tag pole when a shark swims near the surface in proximity to a research vessel.

You may be wondering if the tagging causes the sharks any pain. Many tags are attached on the fins, which have no nerve supply, and therefore do not harm the study subject. Scientists and engineers are constantly working together to improve tag performance, power, data acquisition, sensor capabilities, as well as reduce tag size, drag and improve animal welfare.

The Pole2Pole Shark Project is Underway!

Written by adminmike on October 2, 2016. Posted in Pole2Pole, Shark Study. No Comments on The Pole2Pole Shark Project is Underway!

Sunday, 2 October 2016

The Pole2Pole Shark Project is underway! With the team all together, piled into the Mercedes Benz G-Wagons, we made our way from Pangaea along the Cape Peninsula to Fishhoek Beach, the home of the Shark Spotters.

Fishhoek was once a hotspot of white shark attacks in South Africa, but the the Shark Spotters pioneered environmentally-friendly and proactive methods for dealing with this issue. As opposed to lethal, expensive, and often ineffective shark culls as a response to shark bites, the Shark Spotters minimise the risk of a shark encounter by simply keeping watch on the ocean from the nearby mountains and clearing the waters when a shark poses a risk to swimmers.

Established in 2004 as a result of public pressure on the Western Cape Government, the Shark Spotters Programme employs 30 spotters to monitor the waters of surrounding beaches for shark activity. The team made their way up to one of the Shark Spotters huts which is raised 90m above the popular Muizenburg beach. The job requires extreme patience and in-depth knowledge on what to look for and what to do.

After a quick surf, we made our way back to Kalk Bay to visit the newly upgraded and highly interactive Save Our Seas Shark Education Centre. It was fantastic to see an organisation doing proactive marine conservation with local schools and we all learnt something new about shark species from around the world.

By Tim White and Mikhayla Bader

Let the Shark Adventure Begin!

Written by adminmike on October 2, 2016. Posted in Pole2Pole, Shark Study. No Comments on Let the Shark Adventure Begin!

Shark project in South Africa in Cape Town

& the Pole2Pole Shark Project begins!!! We are so excited to be on board Pangaea and kick start this exciting project. But first things first! Delegate boat chores and tasks, clean the deck, and go through the equipment.