finally i finished the promotional video for the great escape charter company. in march, fran and me spent two weeks cruising the kimberley coast on mv great escape. the task was to compress 6 hours of video down to a 7 minutes emotional ad. we are pretty happy with it - it reflects the beauty of the australian kimberley coast. we think.
Monday, 16 June 2008
Tuesday, 13 May 2008
famous 'stumpy' and first manta rays
we swam with a well known whale shark called 'stumpy' today - i did, not the customers - as 'stumpy' was too close to the reef and it was too dangerous to put the groups in the water. 'stumpy is by far the most famous whale shark at ningaloo reef. click here for an article on 'stumpy'. for more information about this shark click here: A-001
the other good news is that the first oceanic manta rays have arrived at ningaloo reef. every year the stay here in large numbers between may and august. it's always more than just a bonus on the whale shark tours to snorkel with manta rays while the spotter planes look for whale sharks. they are gorgeous creatures.
Tuesday, 6 May 2008
a fin lovin' whale shark
today we swam with two whale sharks of which one was very curious.
it was a 2.5m male shark constantly chasing the snorkellers - they didn't know where to go a were afraid of getting their fins bitten off. this shark was good fun.
Thursday, 1 May 2008
nice big shark
the first big shark this year - almost 8 meters long. this whale shark has been encountered every year at ningaloo since 2002 which is great news. for more information about this shark click here: A-130
Thursday, 24 April 2008
first whale shark this year
first time out this year and we had a great shark in clear blue water. it's a 4m male whale shark that has not been identified before. for more information about this shark click here: A-450
Sunday, 20 April 2008
another whale shark season
in 2008 i'm back on the gold boat 'darling isabelle'. the crew is completely new this year but fran helps out on the boat so will spend a lot of time on the water together which is great!
Friday, 18 April 2008
a nice day out on the boat
the weather was gorgeous so fran and me decided to take our boat out for a scenic and a snorkel.
my good old friend big al and his girls loved it as much as we did.
my good old friend big al and his girls loved it as much as we did.
Thursday, 3 April 2008
kimberley cruise
fran and myself were lucky enough to be invited on a luxuriuous cruise along the stunning kimberley coast. we spent 14 nights on board the beautiful 'great escape', travelling from broome to wyndham in the north of western australia. the vessel takes 14 customers max, each of them paying about 15000.00 australian dollars for the two-weeks-cruise. fran and me paid ... nothing! she was the domestic, i was the videographer on the boat. we even had our own cabin. we swam in freshwater ponds, caught some barramundi, did some great bushwalks, had a lot of 4-star-meals and escaped the saltwater crocodiles. the kimberley coastline has the most spectacular scenery we ever came across and we highly recommend this trip to everyone - if you have the cash ;-)
Saturday, 2 February 2008
fränzi comes to ningaloo
she finally makes the big step and leaves switzerland behind for a while. we gonna live in exmouth together for at least a few months - very exciting! on the way from perth to exmouth we camped at the famous pinnacles, of course.
Saturday, 16 June 2007
whale shark attack!!
today was one of the most exciting whale shark days i ever had. within 25 minutes we found and swam with four different whale sharks in one small area just off ningaloo reef.
but not just that. i filmed something probably no one else in the world has ever encountered before: a whale shark attacking another whale shark! we snorkelled on top of a four meter shark cruising along in about 5-6m of water when all of a sudden a huge (8-10m) whale shark came out of the blue from underneath the smaller shark and clearly attacked and chased it. unbelievable! the water was quite murky but you can still see the attack in my footage:
Friday, 25 May 2007
gentle giants in decline
it's big news on australian tv and radio today: new research shows that the numbers of whale sharks are dwindling:
the iconic whale sharks that congregate at ningaloo reef off western australia are declining in number, according to a recent study published in the journal of animal ecology. researchers from the australian institute of marine science and charles darwin university have used 12 years of whale shark photographs from ningaloo reef to monitor and predict trends in population size. the scientists’ models show a steady decline in numbers of the giant fish. the study follows increased efforts over the last decade to learn more about the ningaloo whale shark aggregation due to fears that over-harvesting outside of australian jurisdiction could pose a threat to the gentle giants. ‘australia’s whale shark population is shared with many other countries in southeast asia and around the indian ocean,’ says fish biologist dr mark meekan. ‘although many countries including india and taiwan have recently halted or reduced their commercial take of whale sharks, continued harvesting throughout southeast asia is probably still occurring.’
(click here for the full story)
whale shark products are sold in many southeast asian countries. it is reputed to be the world's most expensive shark meat. there are various products used from whale sharks including:
- cartilage, blood, gall bladder, corneas and liver are used in a variety of medical treatments
- the meat is eaten and sold as flake or shark meat in fish shops
- the fins are considered a delicacy in asian cooking (shark fin soup)
- the skin can be turned into leather
- the liver oil is used in cosmetics
the iconic whale sharks that congregate at ningaloo reef off western australia are declining in number, according to a recent study published in the journal of animal ecology. researchers from the australian institute of marine science and charles darwin university have used 12 years of whale shark photographs from ningaloo reef to monitor and predict trends in population size. the scientists’ models show a steady decline in numbers of the giant fish. the study follows increased efforts over the last decade to learn more about the ningaloo whale shark aggregation due to fears that over-harvesting outside of australian jurisdiction could pose a threat to the gentle giants. ‘australia’s whale shark population is shared with many other countries in southeast asia and around the indian ocean,’ says fish biologist dr mark meekan. ‘although many countries including india and taiwan have recently halted or reduced their commercial take of whale sharks, continued harvesting throughout southeast asia is probably still occurring.’
(click here for the full story)
whale shark products are sold in many southeast asian countries. it is reputed to be the world's most expensive shark meat. there are various products used from whale sharks including:
- cartilage, blood, gall bladder, corneas and liver are used in a variety of medical treatments
- the meat is eaten and sold as flake or shark meat in fish shops
- the fins are considered a delicacy in asian cooking (shark fin soup)
- the skin can be turned into leather
- the liver oil is used in cosmetics
a large whale shark slaughtered in china
Thursday, 24 May 2007
whale shark A-320
a cute little female with parts of her fins bitten off. for more information about this shark click here: A-320
Thursday, 17 May 2007
four sharks in one day
what a great day! we swam with four different whale sharks! one of them was roger, the 10m leviathan we saw three and five days ago. for more information about this shark click here: A-047
Tuesday, 15 May 2007
whale shark A-399
a whale shark that has never been encountered before. for more information about this shark click here: A-399
Monday, 14 May 2007
whale shark roger
today we swam with the same 10m male shark we found two days ago. as he'd been encountered more than 20 times now we decided he deserves a name. we nicknamed him roger, after our crew member roger who was badly injured two days ago in a car accident on the way to the tantabiddi boat ramp. for more information about this shark click here: A-047
Saturday, 12 May 2007
more sharks for us aquarium
today i found more sad news about the way we treat whale sharks:
two more whale sharks appear to be on their way to the georgia aquarium. fisheries officials in taiwan are ready to approve the export of the male whale sharks to the atlanta aquarium, said a whale shark expert on the east asia island who has reviewed the aquarium's applications. one of taiwan's largest newspapers reported this week that officials have signed off on the transfer."they will probably be exported to the united states in june," said z. shouzheng, an associate professor at national taiwan ocean university. the whale sharks' arrival would raise to five the number of the creatures, known as the world's largest fish, circling in the aquarium's ocean voyager exhibit. the decision to ship the sharks represents an apparent change in opinions about the aquarium's care of them. a male whale shark died at the aquarium in january, prompting questions about a chemical used in their tank to treat parasites, which could have curbed their appetite and led to force-feeding of the fish. the 22-foot whale shark, named ralph, died from peritonitis, an inflammation of the stomach lining. he also had perforations in his stomach, possibly caused by the pvc pipe used to force-feed the leviathan. the aquarium has declined to release the necropsy report detailing the cause of ralph's death. ralph came to georgia in june 2005, along with norton, another male. both were in ocean voyager when the aquarium treated the sprawling tank with a chemical to prevent leeches. the two fish soon stopped eating, prompting the force-feedings. norton is still undergoing the feedings, the aquarium said.
two more whale sharks appear to be on their way to the georgia aquarium. fisheries officials in taiwan are ready to approve the export of the male whale sharks to the atlanta aquarium, said a whale shark expert on the east asia island who has reviewed the aquarium's applications. one of taiwan's largest newspapers reported this week that officials have signed off on the transfer."they will probably be exported to the united states in june," said z. shouzheng, an associate professor at national taiwan ocean university. the whale sharks' arrival would raise to five the number of the creatures, known as the world's largest fish, circling in the aquarium's ocean voyager exhibit. the decision to ship the sharks represents an apparent change in opinions about the aquarium's care of them. a male whale shark died at the aquarium in january, prompting questions about a chemical used in their tank to treat parasites, which could have curbed their appetite and led to force-feeding of the fish. the 22-foot whale shark, named ralph, died from peritonitis, an inflammation of the stomach lining. he also had perforations in his stomach, possibly caused by the pvc pipe used to force-feed the leviathan. the aquarium has declined to release the necropsy report detailing the cause of ralph's death. ralph came to georgia in june 2005, along with norton, another male. both were in ocean voyager when the aquarium treated the sprawling tank with a chemical to prevent leeches. the two fish soon stopped eating, prompting the force-feedings. norton is still undergoing the feedings, the aquarium said.
(source: atlanta journal www.ajc.com)
whale shark ralph before he died
Wednesday, 2 May 2007
stuffed whale shark
i accidently came across this sad and rather weird story:
the largest flordia keys fish story took place in 1912 just off of knight's key. captain charles chompson of miami harpooned a 38-foot-long whale shark that reportedly took about 39 hours, five harpoons and more than 100 bullets to subdue. the 26,594-pound whale shark was towed to miami, preserved, stuffed and exhibited on a railroad flat car. the sign on the flat car read "weight 30,000 lbs. length 45 ft." all went well until it was accidentally destroyed by fire in 1922.
the largest flordia keys fish story took place in 1912 just off of knight's key. captain charles chompson of miami harpooned a 38-foot-long whale shark that reportedly took about 39 hours, five harpoons and more than 100 bullets to subdue. the 26,594-pound whale shark was towed to miami, preserved, stuffed and exhibited on a railroad flat car. the sign on the flat car read "weight 30,000 lbs. length 45 ft." all went well until it was accidentally destroyed by fire in 1922.
Friday, 27 April 2007
whale shark under boat II
this young boy of 3-4 meters was very friendly. we didn't have to find it, it found us and swam under and around the boat for 20 minutes. this gave our skipper justin his first chance to swim with a whale shark. he didn't even need to put his fins on.
to find out the sex of the whale shark i had to duck dive right next to it. usually whale sharks bank or turn their back towards you for defence if you come to close. this shark didn't bother at all, it even turned its belly towards me.
for more information about this shark click here: A-393
to find out the sex of the whale shark i had to duck dive right next to it. usually whale sharks bank or turn their back towards you for defence if you come to close. this shark didn't bother at all, it even turned its belly towards me.
for more information about this shark click here: A-393
Tuesday, 17 April 2007
whale shark A-391
one of my first whale sharks this year - a 4m female. for more information about this shark click here: A-391
Wednesday, 4 April 2007
whale shark under boat
today i swam with my first whale shark this year! a very special one, too. probably my best whale shark encounter in 9 years of sharking at ningaloo reef. i was out on my own boat late in the afternoon when i found an 9m shark feeding in a bait ball surrounded by reef sharks and a manta ray just off south passage. my girlfriend fränzi and me swam with it for about half an hour.
...and finally gave it a kiss on the side with its head out of the water. it even pushed the boat around a few meters while fränzi sat on the boat.
at some stage the shark found our 5m runabout more interesting than the bait ball. it swam off towards the drifting boat, circled a few times under the hull...
...and finally gave it a kiss on the side with its head out of the water. it even pushed the boat around a few meters while fränzi sat on the boat. it was fränzi's first ever whale shark - can you be more lucky?!
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