with Great White Sharks! Welcome to Jonathan Birds Blue World! One of the greatest places in the world to
see Great White sharks is Guadalupe Island in Mexico. I havent been there in ten years and so
now Im heading back! Guadalupe is a tiny island 150 miles off the
coast of the Baja peninsula in Mexico. Its not easy to reach. My trip begins with a van ride from San Diego
California down to Ensenada, Mexico, passing some ruggedly beautiful coastline.
I board the Sea Escape live-aboard dive boat. This big boat will be our teams home-away-from-home
for 5 days as we travel to Guadalupe and dive with the sharks. On the back of the boat, there are two huge
shark cages just begging to be used. With all the pressure on sharks around the
world, and overfishing of the oceans, will Guadalupe still be as good as it was back
ten years ago? Once the crew and all the passengers have
arrived, we leave the dock and start our 18 hour run to the island.
Within three hours of leaving the dock, we
come across a whale entangled in fishing gear. The crew mounts a daring rescue, which saves
the whale and only costs us a couple hours on our crossing. We are joined by a pod of Pacific White-sided
dolphins on the bow as we continue our way west. The next morning we awake while approaching
Guadalupe.
The island is spectacular. There is little in the way of vegetation growing
on this harsh volcanic rock. About 200 fishermen live on the island in
camps here and there, but most of the inhabitants are birds, and pinnipedsseals and seal
lions. Because the fish life here is so abundant,
the seals and sea lions have plenty of food.
There are thousands of them, frolicking in
the surf. All those big seals and sea lions attract
Great White sharks! In fact, between the clear water and the massive
numbers of sharks, Guadalupe Island is now considered the number one place in the world
to see Great White sharks. Our crew anchors the boat and begins the process
of getting the cages in the water. We barely have cages in the water before the
first shark shows up, wondering what delicious snacks we may have brought.
Ten years of interacting with the sharks has
taught them that divers mean no harm, and usually come bearing gifts. Big, yummy fishy gifts. The bait wranglers have a tough job. This may seem strange, but they are not trying
to feed the sharks.
In fact they are trying to keep the sharks
interested enough to stick around without feeding them. If you actually feed the sharks, they fill
up on bait and then leave. So the trick is to keep pulling the bait away
at the last minute. It gives the sharks a challenge that they
keep pursuing.
Every once in a while though, a sharks gets
one by doing a stealthy approach. So they manage to grab enough baits to feel
encouraged. And the divers love it almost as much as the
sharks! Once the shark action is on, the crew starts
putting divers in the cages. I suit up and get ready for action! And of course, when you dive with sharks,
you always wear gloves so your hands dont look like bait! You have to cover all that skin! Haha! I head down to the swim step with excitement.
The sharks are out there. Nothing is quite as exciting as the first
step into the cage. But first I need a weight belt. 50 Pounds worth.
That keeps me planted on floor of the cage
for stability. Im going to sink like a brick! I also get a regulator hose attached to my
back. The divers breathe from a huge tank of air
on the boat. Its easier and more compact than scuba
tanks, and we have an unlimited dive time.
Divemaster Benjamin Olivari hands me my big
Gates camera, and down I go. I get my camera turned on and focused as soon
as possible so Im ready for sharks. Soon Cameraman Tim joins me in the cage. Now we wait.
The cage is thrown around in the waves. Its not an easy place to shoot steady video. But the sharks are around, and they have a
habit of appearing seemingly out of nowhere. Its surprising how easy it is to miss the
approach of such a large shark.
The solution is to keep an eye on the floating
baits. Thats what theyre after. Take your eye off the bait for one second,
and you might miss it! Not all the divers can be in the cages at
the same time, so we take turns. The people on the boat are getting a great
show.
But the view from underwater is hard to beat. My big Gates camera is a handful inside the
cage, but the action is amazing! Its a wild ride, but everywhere I look,
the sharks are awesome! Sometimes a shark gets very persistent about
getting a bait. This big male is in a battle of strategy against
the bait wrangler. And all the action is playing out right in
front of me.
In the end, the shark wins. And I have it all in the camera! Every once in a while, a shark takes a little
interest in the cage. But for the most part, they only care about
the bait. They have no interest in us.
Now you might be wondering why I dont go
out of the cage and swim with the sharks. The main reason is because the Mexican government
does not allow it. The fact of the matter is that White sharks
are incredibly large animals. Even though they probably have no interest
whatsoever in biting a diver, it is always a possibility.
And even a small bite from an animal this
big could spell death. The Mexican government doesnt want anyone
getting bitten or killed by sharks at Guadalupe. Its bad for tourism and its bad for
sharks. So we have to stay in the cages.
Unfortunately, the wind has kicked up some
big ocean swell, and its throwing Cameraman Tim and I around in the cage like rag dolls. Its all we can do to hold on, which is
making the shooting really tough. Its time to call it a day. As the sun sets, we plan for tomorrows
diving.
The next day, the conditions have calmed down
a bit Im going to go in the deep cage! Its going to be awesome! So the crew decides to deploy the deep cage. While the best shark action is up at the surface
where the bait is, you can get a unique view of the action from down below. Okay, thank you. And since we cant scuba dive down there
without a cage, one of the cages is on a steel cable that can be lowered.
Ben, can you hand me my camera? Its up on the table. The Gates. See you on the flip side! As they slowly lower the cage down, we all
clear our ears. If anyone cant clear their ears, there
is a rope we can pull to tell them to stop.
Soon Im in the deep cage, 30 feet below
the action and looking up at the other cage. There definitely isnt much shark action
down here. Occasionally one of the sharks gets curious
and makes a wide pass, but they know we dont have any snacks for them. We mostly just look up at the sharks above.
Over three days of diving with the White sharks
at Guadalupe, I see more than 20 different sharks. Some of them stay with us for hours on end,
engaged in the game of trying to steal our baits. Most of the time the bait wranglers are one
step ahead of the sharks. But not always! Looking down the island, I can see as many
as 6 other boats here, full of divers that have come to experience the worlds greatest
predator in its natural environment.
Guadalupe Island is an enigma in the ocean
worldone of the few places where the marine environment seems to be improving. With careful administration by the Mexican
government, the amount of marine lifeincluding sharksseems to be getting larger. In an ocean where things seem to be constantly
on the decline, this is a breathtaking piece of good news. So I set out to discover if Guadalupe was
as good as it was ten years ago and the answer is no.
Its better..
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