Whale Sharks

Category: Research | Date: Feb 25 2008 | By: admin

Greetings from Watamu! Watamu is north of Mombasa and close to Malindi. We arrived late last night and went straight to the bar to meet Garry Cullen the manager of Hemingways Hotel where we are staying in huge luxury. Garry and I have been emailing for months and it was really nice to meet him at last! We also meet Steve and Helen Curtis who own Aquaventures. They are kindly providing us with a boat and dive gear. Last but not least (and perhaps most crucial) we met Rob Dobson the pilot of the microlight and his girlfriend Lynne. They are providing the vital air support. We all had a lovely evening and a delicious dinner under the stars! A really big thank you to Garry and his team here as they are making our stay so wonderful! THANK YOU!

We woke early this morning and after breakfast we set off. This is the first time I have gone on the boat, as Garry and his team have planned everything for us up here so I don’t have to do my usual admin and planning. For a change I get to enjoy the research and watch the tagging! What a treat :) There were no tourists on the boat either so it was just us. This means the boats can go faster and it is also a lot easier for the researchers to work. It is only possible because Garry and the sponsors are covering all the costs in Watamu.

The microlight went up and we waited for our first shark. Helen was on the boat with us too and we all chatted, passing the time. I was enjoying every minute away from my desk and endless phone calls! We were caught very unawares when Lyn came on the radio - “whale shark, whale shark, whale shark”! In a flurry of excitement we all got into our fins, geared up with videocameras and underwater cameras. The microlight guided us to the shark, talking us through the directions over the radio. When we saw it, I was overcome. It’s been ages since I have seen a shark and this one was a big ‘un!!! Estimated length over 8metres!! Volker was first in the water and tagged it so quickly. I have to admit I didn’t actually see it in the water because the visibility was so bad and it was so moving so fast but I knew it was there!!!

We saw the shark again later that morning complete with its tag and have now just come back. Showered, fresh and ready to blog!

This is the flying machine that makes it all possible.

And here (drum roll please) you have the first ever whale shark to be tagged in Watamu.

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Category: Research, Uncategorized | Date: Feb 24 2008 | By: admin

Rough weather really impeded us yesterday and reminded us sharply of how the elements have a direct bearing on our work. We went out on 2 trips, morning and afternoon and spotted a total of 3 sharks. We were able to tag just one. Nobody but Volker got to swim with the shark and everyone had to brave very choppy waves and high winds.

Our kite surfer friends were delighted with the wind, skipping around with glee, doing all manner of down winders!

On board we had KWS officials and researchers, students from Lulu High School, a representative from Pollmans TUI and a collection of hardcore divers.

We continue to tag today before driving up to Watamu later this afternoon to continue up there until Friday.

Total tags deployed now at 9. We are all but half way through the 19 tags so that is at least something.

Will post later on today’s tagging efforts.

Pray for calm.

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Category: Research | Date: Feb 22 2008 | By: admin

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Category: Research | Date: Feb 22 2008 | By: admin

Here is the famous picture that David our volunteer took yesterday. He is being very modest about it. I think it is amazing. Of course I suppose the reasoning is you had to be there to appreciate it in full (which I wasn’t). 

I have just talked to the boat and they have tagged one more so far this morning. Total tagged is now 6. Total spotted is 14.

Unlike last year the sharks are all down past Chale island, exactly opposite to last year when they were in Tiwi.

Today on the boat we have lots of our sponsors and friends - Simon Englefield who owns the boat and has very kindly let us use it, his Camp Kenya directors and team, the Al Noor family, owners of Pinewood Village Hotel where the research team are being hosted. They are having an amazing day out there.

Great news is that Mike the gyrocopter pilot can stay and help us on Sunday. He has postponed leaving so that he can assist with air support for that day. We were going to have to use the plane but we have found that the gyro is so much more effective not to mention less than half the cost!! Mike has been an absolute godsend! He is looking for another gyro for us for next weekend when we come back from Watamu for the final 2 days. Tomorrow and Sunday will be our busiest days so far when we will run full day expeditions giving the team a chance to be out there all day working.

As I write Volker has just sms’d to say he has tagged another two - so TOTAL IS NOW EIGHT SHARKS TAGGED IN 4 DAYS!!!!!!!!!

Expedition 2008 is going for gold here!!

More later!!

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Category: Research | Date: Feb 20 2008 | By: admin

We spotted 5 more sharks today and Volker managed to tag 1. We had Norwegian journalists on board as well some German tourists and our volunteer team. We are all hugely encouraged by this exciting start and hope for better weather conditions for the rest of the expedition. Although the gyrocopter is doing an amazing job, the overcast weather makes it harder to spot the sharks and does not help the visibility for the underwater photographer and videographers.

Volker is going up in the gyro early tomorrow to do some filming and spotting. We have the local press and media on board all day tomorrow. The expedition has been on the local news channel all day and we are front page on Coastweek too.

With a total of 19 satellite tags and a variety of other tags to deploy, we still have a lot to do. Last year we had 3 tags to deploy. It is nice to think that we have done 3 already and we are only on day 2. We are whizzing through the high tech gear and all the fancy camera equipment on board is something to behold each morning.

Some water action shots tomorrow I promise.

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Category: Research | Date: Feb 19 2008 | By: admin

Here we have our gyrocopter pilot Mike Cheffings and volunteer Simon Wanjonah taking off at the start of the day 1 of the expedition. It was Simon’s first time in a gyrocopter and he spotted a whale shark within 5 minutes.

Tomorrow I will have pictures of the tags and tagging for the blog.

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Category: Research | Date: Feb 19 2008 | By: admin

Day 1.

Those of us involved in the expedition didn’t sleep last night - excitement, fear of not seeing any sharks or jet lag kept us all awake! We had 16 members of the public, all keen and eager to get out there and see sharks. The gyrocopter took off just after 1130 and within 10 minutes had spotted the first shark. The plane followed suit. And I got the call I was waiting for.

Within 30 minutes, 2 sharks were tagged

Am dashing back down to Aqualand to welcome back the team and toast the flying start. Will post more details later!

To all of you who crossed your fingers for us - THANK YOU, it worked!!

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Category: Research | Date: Feb 19 2008 | By: admin

I met today with the KWS Kisite Marine Park Warden, Yussuf. This was the first time we met and it was nice to put a face to a name. We resolved to push for an MOU between the EAWST and the KWS. Our ultimate goals are to illegalise the whale shark trade in Kenya, carry out an aerial survey and put in place a proper system for whale shark eco-tourism in our waters. Lots to do!

I also met our super star local pilot Peter Zanetti, who has so selflessly helped with us with our whale shark tagging. He flies up and down tireless, spotting sharks and guiding the boats to the hot spots, keeping everyone happy both researchers and tourists alike!

And BIG news! Our researcher, Brent Stewart, has just arrived all the way from San Diego, California. It was wonderful to see each other again after a year of planning, emailing and hoping. He endured a 30 hour plus flight to get here and arrive in one piece, amazingly. Our gyrocopter pilot, Mike Cheffings, also arrived in one piece, perhaps more amazingly (!!), all the way from Langata in Nairobi. It took him 5 hours to fly down to Diani and he landed on the beach in front of Aqualand with style. We were all agog at this little green helicopter circling for a bit and then landing right in front of us. Brent arrived with all manner of goodies - high tech radios, tags, chocolate! We toasted Expedition 2008 - Ronnie the manager of Pinewood Village, providing the accommodation to the team; Volker Bassen our founder and local expert; Simon Englefield, director of Southern Cross Scuba and Camp Kenya, providing the boat and other logistical support; Simon and Ruth our volunteers.

It is the beginning of something special - we could all feel that.

Ready, steady, TAG!!

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Category: Research | Date: Feb 15 2008 | By: admin

Volker Bassen (our founder) has gone off to Mombasa today to modify a spear gun which will be used to deploy the satellite tags. He loves that kind of mechanical engineering stuff and likes to call himself Bassen Engineering. This modification will allow us more success we hope. The actual tagging is quite a tricky and involved process, made just that more stressful because as the tagger how can you put out of your mind that each tag costs USD5000!! You need to be sure that you get it in the right place and in deep enough to stay on so that there is maximum data retrieval. The tags are set to detach themselves are a specified period decided by the scientist. We can’t watch the tracking in real time (wouldn’t that be nice!) so we have to wait until they detach to transmit all the data to the satellite and then back down to us. We are still waiting for last years data. Christmas will come twice for us next week as we start our 2008 expedition and last years tags are set to detach. We will have lots of news for you soon.

Thank you for reading our blogs. I am still glued to my computer answering mails and taking booking for next week. Brent Stewart our head scientist arrives on Monday along with our first volunteer (we lost so many due to the political situation) so three cheers for David for coming!!

We still need donations in order for the expedition and of course all our projects to work. This week in particular we need a phone to Brent to use whilst he is here (his American one doesn’t work here). The project doesn’t own a phone. A phone would cost about USD60. You would be directly assisting us with the expedition if you helped us with this as it will be used by Brent will on the boat so that he can communicate with the air support if necessary. We will have radios too of course but we like to play it safe and have mobiles too.

Have a nice day! With best wishes from Diani.

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Category: Research | Date: Feb 11 2008 | By: admin

We have less than one week until Expedition 2008 kicks off. Somehow, with a lot of help from various parties, we are going to pull it off, despite the political problems in Kenya which have made the planning very difficult. For example, there is a shortage of Avgas (fuel used by small planes) which has meant major headaches all round. We have persevered though, and now we will have a plane (if funds and fuel allow), a gyrocopter and an ultralight too! It is the first time that we will use either a gyrocopter or an ultralight and we are hugely grateful to the owners and pilots who are donating their precious equipment and time. These 2 aircrafts are much, much cheaper to run than a plane so we are pleased about that! Our stalwart scientist will arrive from San Diego next Monday and I will update you daily on how many whale sharks are spotted and tagged. Generous sponsors have donated 15 satellite tags - the most ever to be deployed in one expedition. Fingers crossed for Expedition 2008 which has taken on new meaning for all of us as our country recovers from the recent political unrest.

We at the project feel that we are fortunate to be able to play a part in the conservation of our planet and its many species. It is both an honour and a privilege to be able to carry on with our work, even when times are tough. We feel very strongly that we owe this work to our planet and all the bright and beautiful creatures in it.

If you read the front page of the SF Chronicle recently, you would have read about a female humpback whale who had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines. She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail, her torso and a line tugging in her mouth.

A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farralone Islands (outside the Golden Gate) and radioed an environmental group for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was so badly off that they only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her - a very dangerous proposition.

One slap of the tail could potentially kill a rescuer.

They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her. When she was free, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and other diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed them gently around - she thanked them. Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives.

The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth says her eye was following him the whole time, and he will never be the same.

May you and all those you love be so blessed and fortunate to be surrounded by people who will help you get untangled from the things that are binding you. And my you always know the joy of giving and receiving gratitude.

I pass this story on to you in the same spirit.

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