White Sharks - Guadalupe Trip

[AZTinman]

Just returned from a white shark trip to Guadalupe Island in the Mexican Pacific. While I haven't uploaded to our website (www.cortezbluephotography.com) yet, here are some photos from the trip. Fun trip!

-AZTinman

 

[arcticat99]

thats just awesome

 

[AZTinman]

Lots of big sharks in the 14'-16' range... one was at least 17'. We observed over a dozen different individual sharks on our first day at the island.

-AZTinman

 

[arcticat99]

this would be on my bucket list

 

[oraph]

Do you mind sharing what company you went with and the overall quality of experience?

 

[tilikum]

Are they chummed in?

 

[Hoag]

Are they chummed in?

Normally, yes and then they are drawn in close with a big chunk of tuna. (The tuna is on a hemp rope that is safe for the sharks since it will have a fast degrade rate in salt water.)

 

[tilikum]

How much do thise trips cost typically?

 

[Hoag]

It depends on the length of the trip and the boat. I did it in 2008 on a 5 day trip on the Solmar V. Other boats currently doing the trip are the Nautilus Fleet (Belle Amie, and Explorer) and others.

 

[AZTinman]

The operation (MV Islander) I used doesn't chum. The sharks are already there so there's no need to chum to bring them in. The Islander crew does use bait (typically a tuna head or tail) to encourage sharks to hang around the boat. Typically, sharks come and go throughout the day. Mexico has regulations that define the baiting techniques diving operations can use at the Guadalupe Biosphere. The regulations actually define how baits can be deployed to reduce shark contact with cages.

I understand that some of the operations have violated the regulations by placing bags of frozen chum inside some of the cages to attract sharks. For what it's worth, I got this information directly from an individual who was in a cage that was breached during the season at Guadalupe last year. The chum bag was attached inside the cage beneath the diver. It's also worth noting that videos have been posted on the web showing divers stepping on chum bags inside cages at Guadalupe in an effort to attract sharks. The technique probably works pretty well until a shark gets pushy and decides to enter the cage to get the chum bag. A couple of breach incidents at Guadalupe last season generated a lot of negative PR for the industry.

Different operations charge different prices depending upon what type of cabins are available. Prices typically vary between $3K to $5K. I paid around $3,200.00. I enjoyed the trip, the crew, and the food. The food was amazing. The operation was run very professionally and dive operations were run safely. I'll be going out with them again in October.

This is 'The Legend' a sixteen foot male who actually made a run on me. I was hanging mostly out of the cage and I'm sure I resembled a plump sea lion or small elephant seal. Things are closer than they appear through an 18mm wide angle lens. I simply slid back into the cage to get out of his way as he completed his pass. He's got a piece of biodegradable twine from chomping on a piece of tuna hooked on one of his lower teeth. (Image captured with a housed Nikon D7100 and Nikkor 10-24mm lens... no strobes)

-AZTinman