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We’ve been getting reports that some divers have reported getting ‘bumped‘ by sevengill sharks at the Cove recently.
With increasing numbers of divers reporting encounters with sevengills, I sent this latest information up to Vallorie Hodges, at the Oregon Coast Aquarium, to get her reaction. The OCA has 9 sevengills and Vallorie and her divers dive with them on a daily basis and are familiar with their behavior.
Bottom line: this behavior should be seen as a warning of possible aggressive behavior on the part of the shark. She is advising divers to leave the water immediately if they are ‘bumped‘ by a sevengill.
My intention here is not to ‘scare’ anyone, but merely to serve the reminder that these are ‘apex predators’ and we are in their territory, and the onus is on us, as divers, to use caution and change our behavior around them, not the other way around.
NOTE: To our knowledge, contrary to some rumors posted on some local spearfishing boards, no divers are ‘hand feeding’ sevengills.
Here is Vallorie’s warning after hearing these reports:
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From Vallorie Hodges, DSO of the Oregon Coast Aquarium, Thursday, 4-29-10:
Q: What does this ‘bumping behavior’ mean?
“Definitely not trying to be friends! In our program, bumping is considered a serious aggressive and threatening behavior. In our exhibits we would be very concerned and exit the water immediately. And that is with captive conditioned 7gills.
In the wild I would consider this behavior even more concerning, and any diver experiencing it should immediately move clear of the area. Remember that these animals are more than capable of biting large 5ft leopard sharks in half (and have done so in our exhibits). They can and do make short work of seals and other large prey in the wild as well.
Also keep in mind that they are strongly instinctively driven, particularly when it comes to foraging. Is bumping territoriality or feeding/foraging or just checking out the diver? I don’t know, and while as a scientist it is intellectually an interesting question, for purposes of the diver in the water, it frankly doesn’t matter what is in the grey matter of these animals. The clear fact is: if they are bumping it is not a good thing, so clear out.
With so many sightings now occurring, it is time to spread the word: Give way, get out of the way, take only photos and video and DO NOT EVER touch them. Do not pursue them, corner them or threaten them in any way. And did I say it once? Let me say it again, do not touch them!
They can reach their tails in an “I-am-not-kidding-micro-second”. And the slow swimming pattern and docile appearance belies the horrifically quick movement they are capable of. As humans we can get complacent very quickly, and we tend to be overly confident, even arrogant and certainly tend to apply human characteristics to things around us. That is a mistake with sharks. Anthropomorphization is not helpful.
It is also likely that the more contact they have with divers in the wild the more they will be conditioned to respond to other divers in similar fashion, so please help spread the word to all divers to help conserve and respect this animal – we should all be acting as stewards of the ocean!
Tell others to observe them quietly and vigilantly from a distance and recognize them for the amazing animals they are. They can appear extremely docile but are still top predators with physical capabilities extraordinaire. It is their space, so share it wisely and respectfully! An error on one diver’s part that results in an injury will potentially have terrible consequences for these animals, and certainly poison public opinion about this graceful and ecologically important species. So encourage everyone to do their part!
Vallorie Hodges
DSO Oregon Coastal Aquarium
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On May 1, California’s underwater state park system will expand to include north central coast hot spots like Point Reyes Headlands, Bodega Head, the Farallon Islands, and Fitzgerald Marine Reserve. The state is creating a series of marine protected areas that stretches from Point Arena to Pigeon Point, connecting with existing parks along the central coast, and eventually forming part of a statewide network. The new protected areas will restore sea life and habitats while leaving almost 90% of the coast open for fishing.
This ocean protection plan, approved last August by the Fish and Game Commission, will preserve the kelp forests, canyons, and reefs where fish and shellfish feed and breed. The new sea sanctuaries, many of which are just offshore from popular land-based parks, are designed to boost education, recreation, and study opportunities and rebuild depleted fisheries.
This marks the latest step in the process to implement the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA), which requires the state to develop a science-based system of marine protected areas down the entire 1,100 mile coastline. California is the first state in the country to propose such a sweeping ocean resource management plan. The MLPA planning process is well underway in the far north and south coasts, with statewide implementation expected by 2011.
Northern California’s marine protected areas were design by local conservationists, divers, surfers, scientists, fishermen and business leaders to maximize economic and environmental benefits. Several new studies released at February’s American Association for the Advancement of Sciences Conference confirmed the effectiveness of marine reserves, citing success stories from the Channel Islands and Great Barrier Reef to show that ocean habitat protection benefits both fish and fishermen. The new marine protected areas will be monitored by scientists as part of the most comprehensive study ever done of California’s coastal ocean. Researchers are in the water now collecting baseline information, and will combine new and historical data to track the results of the new protections over the coming years.
For more information: Background and map: www.caloceans.org Full list of the new MPAs: www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa/nccmpas_list.asp Science information: caloceans.org/document/pnas-fact-sheet-3-8-10.doc, or www.piscoweb.org/outreach/pubs/reserves New video explaining how MLPA works, and highlighting central coast protected areas: http://www.youtube.com/user/Kipevans#p/a/u/0/HWMEFl6-FqQ
For quotes: Samantha Murray, Ocean Conservancy, 415-823-5577, smurray@oceanconservancy.org Karen Garrison, NRDC, 415-875-6100, kgarrison@nrdc.org Lance Morgan, Marine Conservation Biology Institute, 707-938-3214, lance@mcbi.org
Used with Permission/All Rights Reserved
On his fifth day of blue-water diving, in water over a thousand feet deep, Orange County diver Scott Gietler, along with dive buddy Anastasia Laity, were able to capture this dramatic footage of a Purple Striped Jellyfish (Chrysaora colorata).
For a fuller account of the dive and more photos, see: www.associatedcontent.com/article/2936584/orange_county_divers_capture_huge_purple.html
and more photos from Scott’s Underwater Photography Guide, see: http://www.uwphotographyguide.com/
For the video that Anastasia took of this beautiful animal, see: http://www.laityphoto.com/videos/clips/20100424_pelagic_purple_jelly_small.mov [Requires Apple Quicktime Plug In]
The dome-like mounds poking up in sonar maps of the seafloor caught scientists’ eyes. They stood out in stark contrast to the surrounding environment off the coast of Santa Barbara, Calif.
“They came up very suddenly out of the seafloor: There were seven of them. The largest we called Il Duomo, and it is about the size of two football fields side by side and as tall as a six-story building,” said David Valentine, an earth scientist at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
“Nobody knew what the domes were made of,” said Chris Reddy, a marine chemist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
See here for more:
http://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/viewArticle.do?id=73026
Remarkable footage of a rarely seen giant deep sea jellyfish has been recorded by scientists.
Using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), they captured a video of the huge Stygiomedusa gigantea.
The jellyfish has a disc-shaped bell than can be a metre wide, and has four arms that extend up to six metres in length.
The jellyfish has only been seen 114 times in the 110 years it has been known to science, say researchers.
See here for video: http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8638000/8638527.stm
Date: 4-24-10
Location: the Pinnacles ['Gayle's Spot' ]Ocean Beach
Time: 10:30 am
Dive Length: 32 mins
Viz: 15-20 ft.
Max Depth: 94 ft.
Temp: a chilly ‘Suunto’ 50 F.
Dive Buddy: Dan K.
Mix: 29%
Marine Life Observed: Strawberry Anemones, Tube-Dwelling Anemones, Red Volcano Sponges, Orange and Yellow Sponges, Red and Gold Gorgonians, Giant Sun Stars, Calico Bass, Sheephead, Blacksmith fish, Scallops, Sea Pens, CA Sea Cucumbers, Treefish, Blackeyed Gobies and some pretty nudibranchs with long Latin names that are doomed to go forever unreported…….
Highlights:
–Cool, sunny surface conditions…….the sun came out after noon
–By prior arrangement, we met up with Steve Murvine’s boat, the Sub-MAR-iner, over at ‘Gayle’s Spot,’ or the pinnacles just south of the ‘Lazy Days’ wreck. What we call the ‘pinnacles’ are actually walls which start at around 75 ft. and drop rather dramatically down to the sandy bottom at around 95 ft. This was the same spot where he and Gayle saw not one, but two sevengills a few weeks back–and we didn’t……don’t get me started.
–Despite the mind-numbing cold, which my Suunto was reporting as 50 F., and Steve says his Oceanic reported as 46 F. [sic], I was able to complete a REEF survey, see above list.
–I saw what had to be the largest Calico Kelp Bass I’ve ever seen in my entire life–local fishermen would be drooling……it was wedged way back into an overhang [perhaps that's how he's been able to survive this long] and hanging out with a large male Sheepehead and a Giant Sea Star: this guy was nearly 3 ft long. He was so huge, at first I thought he was a Lingcod, which are prevalent in this area–but, when I shone my light on him, it became apparent he was just a huge Calico Bass–I’m used to seeing the little guys, about 6 inches long, hanging out in the top part of the kelp canopy….
–as mentioned above., we saw at least two huge Sun stars, mostly hidden in the back for overhangs and crevices……..along with a couple black and yellow Treefish, which we haven’t seen in a while.
–how cold was it, you ask? It was so cold…….we had two wetsuiters with us as well…………that we decided that one dive would be enough. Plus, I have another REEF dive very early tomorrow morning with the San Diego Oceans Foundation, so I didn’t want to get too burned out.
Remember: some days, it’s OK to just do one dive!
But, despite the cold, it was a very nice day in OB……..
Just another day in paradise, folks…….
Dive safe,
Finding a dead porpoise on a California beach is becoming more common. When it is a bottlenose dolphin doing the killing, you might wonder why. When dolphins actively involve humans in the porpoise vs. dolphin battles, is it cause for alarm?
Porpoise vs. Dolphin
The Associated Press reports the recent observation of an unsettling marine fight to the death: porpoise vs. dolphin. Male bottlenose dolphin attacks result in intentionally drowned porpoises, which the dolphins then drag to the boats of researchers. Fact sheets by the American Cetacean Society reveal that porpoise and dolphin are similar with respect to class, order and suborder and only differ in family, genus and species.
Scientists are baffled by the attacks, especially since food shortages do not appear to play a viable role in the porpoise vs. dolphin confrontations. Even more disconcerting is the apparent use of human researchers as “cleanup crews” for the bottlenose dolphin population.
See here for more: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2372622/porpoise_vs_dolphin_deadly_porpoise.html?cat=8
Los Coronados from David R. Andrew on Vimeo.
