Winter sharks return to the bay
June 27, 2011 by dyertrust
Weve been saying for a while now that the winter white sharks have returned to the bay,but its been nothing like ever before. Four days in succession we have seen at least 20 sharks and the average has been around 12-15 individuals per trip, some days its been almost impossible to count! Were seeing quite a lot of new sharks with some familiar fins from earlier in the season. Betty, Chopper and Wolfie are all still here and our fin IDs are rattling along nicely with some interesting re-sights from previous seasons.
Winter sharks do not come along without a catch however This is the time of year when we have the most storms coming through the bay, with winds of 40knots and more and swells reaching a high of 8m this year. Be sure to check the weather before making your booking (anything red is going to be rough) and if in doubt buy some seasickness medication the day before your trip!
Weve had to say goodbye to a fantastic crew member and a good friend. Nick has been with us since December, helping theresearch teamwith tracking and guiding on Slashfin forMarine Dynamics. Hes helped us no end and will be sorely missed in Kleinbaai, with Bobby the dog missing him the most. Nicks always had a passion forsharks
but his heart lies in coral reef research. He came to us from Belize and hopes to be heading to another tropical paradise soon.
Thanks for all your help Nick and good luck for the future.
Our field research has been slowed by the winter storms as tracking and species surveys require flat calm weather in order for good results to be collected but we have plenty of results to write up and sometimes its a good thing for a researcher to be land bound for a little while! Weve been visited by some top international researchers, Neil Hammerschlag and Austin Gallagher who recently published on the value of shark ecotourism dropped by for a coffee. As the news of ourresearch programmereaches further afield so does the reach of theDyer Island Conservation Trust.
Thank you to all supporters in enabling our research.
– Oliver Jewell –
