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Lesley Rochat, also known as the ‘ Warrior’ for her passionate efforts in shark conservation, joins a photographic expedition to as part of a shark-awareness campaign and finds her shark-diving experience there to be one of her most moving ever.

PHOTOGRAPHS LESLEY ROCHAT

At certain depths lemon have a pale yellow appearance. Here it is just the pitted skin-surface, like that of a lemon, which is visible.

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While calmly settled on the sand and surrounded by silky “ smooth Caribbean reef sharks, a few lemon sharks, five I’m in paradise: not a single sight of land, only a magnificent turquoise tiger sharks and the odd , all ignoring me, ocean yawns endlessly before me, merging with an equally expansive two words spring to mind about yet another shark myth: blue sky as though they are one. Looking down from the Dolphin Dream total bull!” vessel, about 30 lemon sharks and two large tiger sharks, whose stripes I can count through the gin-clear water, are swimming around the bait box placed on the sand about six metres below on the famous dive site, Tiger Beach. I breathe the moment in and let out a loaded sigh of relief: I’m in the Bahamas with the sharks, finally!

Yesterday when I irst entered this beauteous ocean, its exquisite surrounding another dream being realised – the opening of the irst shade of blue and ininite visibility teeming with ancient predators shark centre in South – had me graciously handing my offer resembled a surreal underwater fantasy world. I yelled with delight over to someone I thought at the time deserved to replace me. Though to the others still on the boat: ‘Wow! It’s totally awesome, magniicent! a sweet concept, I was never sorry for not becoming a Shark Angel, There’s loads of sharks down here!’ Conditions are the same today, but only for having missed the opportunity to dive with the sharks. But I’m feeling apprehensive because I’m about to jump in with all these some things are meant to be ours and a second opportunity arose sharks wearing a blinding bright‐yellow wetsuit sponsored by Coral when invited by underwater photographer Michael Aw to join his Wetsuits, made especially for a photo shoot. Articles I’ve read with photographic expedition to the Bahamas and help him with his new headings like ‘Yum, Yum Yellow!’ which explain how wearing yellow shark‐awareness campaign. It was also a perfect chance to work on a is like signing a death‐by‐sharks wish, since they’re supposed to be new shark‐awareness campaign I am driving. attracted to this colour, has me frozen with the wetsuit halfway up my How this became one of the most popular shark‐diving destinations legs. It doesn’t help when Gail, sister‐in‐law to Scott Smith, the owner in the world began with one man, Scott, and the fate that followed. of Dolphin Dream, exclaims: ‘I would never, ever get in there with all Initially in the 1980s he only ran spotted dolphin trips and it was by of them in that!’ A few more dive buddies mutter similar replies when chance that he started the irst reef shark dive in the area, not far from I test what now appears to be their sanity versus my madness. But Tiger Beach. ‘The reef sharks lived on the reef before we started to I convince myself: ‘I’m the Shark Warrior, right?’ and so I get in. I’m attract them with bait. Back in the 1990s I would anchor around Tiger totally dizzy after spinning around repeatedly, waiting for sharks to Beach area and any ish we caught during the day I would tie off to the begin devouring me, but absolutely nothing untoward happens. While back of the boat, only to discover it eaten by tiger sharks during the calmly settled on the sand and surrounded by silky smooth Caribbean night.’ Scott tells me. reef sharks, a few lemon sharks, ive tiger sharks and the odd nurse During this time he says that Jim Abernethy, now the only other shark, all ignoring me, two words spring to mind about yet another operator, but at the time husband to Anna who worked on shark myth: total bull! I am simply not on their menu, whether coated Scott’s boat, would sail over in his day boat from Palm Beach, follow in this shocking yellow wetsuit or the blood‐red one I wore yesterday, Scott around and tie up to his boat while visiting his wife and charging and which not surprisingly turned black after ive metres (red is the his camera batteries. Apparently he saw the business opportunities in irst colour to be absorbed in water). Sheepishly I’m reminded of the tiger shark diving, and although initially Scott was very much against importance of my very own campaign, ‘Rethink the Shark’, created running tiger shark trips for fear of altering the behaviour of a top for AfriOceans and me by Saatchi & Saatchi to highlight the media’s predator in the area, Jim soon started running liveaboard shark diving propaganda against sharks still perpetuating today. They remain charters. With a ‘you can’t beat them, so join them’ approach, and one of the most misunderstood on earth, attested by this needing to keep a share in the diving business he pioneered in this experience and supported by recent research done with 17 species part of the Bahamas, Scott says he followed suit. of shark that proves they are in fact colour blind. Apparently, what Now as much as I absolutely love the experience of diving with appears more important to sharks while detecting different objects, sharks I would not be a true conservationist if the impact we have is contrast. Knowing this I now understand why, while swimming to the on sharks by baiting for them didn’t beg constant question. Listening surface wearing contrasting yellow and black split ins, I had to push a to Scott’s initial concerns and knowing that he averages 30 trips a persistent lemon shark away that no doubt thought my ins resembled year with over 4500 days of observation on the western edge of the something tasty leeing from her and was worthy of her close inspection. Little Bahama Bank has me probing for more. ‘The population of tiger I had fantasised about visiting this location ever since I gave up the sharks, lemon sharks and even reef sharks around Tiger Beach is not a The disfigured mouth of ‘Smiley’ the tiger invite of becoming a Shark Angel and joining Sean Heinrich, fellow natural population; it is an unnatural population created by chumming shark displays evidence of fishing threats. shark conservationist, to dive with these beauties in a promotional for sharks. Previous to the year 2000 there were almost no reef shark ilm he was making three years ago. At the time, work pressures sightings on the reefs, almost no sightings of lemon sharks and maybe

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... Tale, a stunning reef with sharks weaving invisible paths over it...”

Caribbean reef sharks were attracted to the bait box on the dive site Fish Tale. They are social sharks that rest in groups by day, often in shallow water on sand.

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one or two tiger sharks over a 10‐square‐mile area. Now the shark population in about three square miles numbers 15 to 20 reef sharks, 20 to 30 lemon sharks and 8 to 12 tiger sharks,’ he tells me. ‘The big question is what impact this unnaturally high population of sharks puts on other parts of the environment, the dolphins, turtles, rays, ish and even the sharks themselves,’ he adds and closes the conversation with, ‘All this talk makes it sound like I’m against tiger shark diving but I’m not, I’m just experienced and honest enough to talk straight about it. I also recognise that the upside is that it creates public awareness about sharks in a positive light.’ Back in shark‐lovers heaven on my favourite site named Fish Tale, a stunning reef with sharks weaving invisible paths over it, a large black grouper, obviously conditioned by divers with offers of tasty morsels, is hanging around me, practically kissing my dome port. As cute as it is, all this ish with Angelina Jolie‐like lips does is make my conservation conscience get the better of me – what impact are we really having on this fragile ecosystem? Are our self‐centered needs the driving force behind something which at irst seems positive and harmless, but actually isn’t? My thoughts are interrupted by a graceful reef shark swimming past trailing a ishing line and then seeing a tiger shark nicknamed Smiley because of her damaged mouth that gives her a permanent grin. Clearly these are the destructive marks of a much bigger threat – ishermen. I’m horriied to learn, when enquiring about the protection status of the 40 species of sharks inhabiting these waters, that although long‐lining was banned in 1993, ishermen have free reign to catch them during ishing seasons. The impact of the scuba divers now pales in comparison to this news and our shark‐awareness campaign, ‘Rethink the Predator’, also created for me by Saatchi & Saatchi, which I’m here to gather images for, is ever more pressing.

This friendly black grouper can grow up to 100 kilograms in weight and 1.5 metres in length. However, it is a slow breeder and caught for its tasty flesh, and is listed on the IUCN Red List as Near Threatened.

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Apart from my images, which aim to lure the viewer with awe and wonder into the intimate world of sharks, and as part of the campaign, my intention is to have images taken of me freediving with them to help me promote our message. I need to walk my talk and help show that sharks are not monsters with insatiable appetites for humans, but that humans are the real monsters, their determined stupidity and continued callous greed the evil weapons of mass environmental destruction. As a shark conservationist aware of the tragic situation of our global shark populations, and believing in the power of education and awareness to win public support in order to help save them, I feel the urgency to do whatever I personally can, before it’s too late. But irst we take a break from the sharks, when Scott heads for the broader ocean in search of the spotted dolphins that are endemic to this temperate and tropical area of the . Soon enough a small pod of gregarious spotted dolphins are riding the bow, performing graceful acrobatic displays. In no time we’re in our snorkelling kit swimming with them. An intensely spotted mother, her number of spots a sign of her maturity, and her totally grey baby who will only start getting spots once weaned from her, swim toward me curiously. They glide past smiling, their dreamy eyes half closed since daytime is their rest time. I’m mesmerised, honoured to be with them. They stay just long enough to satisfy our delight, disappearing before the sinking sun smears a warm orange glow across the sky, brushing the puffy clouds that hug the horizon with a classic silver lining. It’s been another glorious day in paradise, and it’s not over yet. The Dolphin Dream, whose name after today is unquestionable, is anchored on a shallow reef for the night where a small wreck lays rest. I’ve already done a dive before sunset, capturing the many abstract shapes of the shattered vessel now home to a proliic array of ish. I’m back in for a night dive with my macro lens, but the surge is too strong to keep focus. Instead I enjoy watching the many ish sleeping and follow four small rays that are swimming in the shadow of the Dolphin Dream, her night‐lights dancing on the surface above me, beckoning me to surface. Every night I hardly sleep; the daily excitement of being surrounded for hours by so many beautiful animals overwhelms me. Fortunately there are other night owls amongst the cultural mix that make up the 12 guests on board, including Scott who never seems to sleep. We often share photos, dive and life stories beyond midnight, then are up again soon after sunrise. There’s a strong sense of comradeship and some people, including my cabin‐mate, pretty Vanessa Mignon who accommodates my odd sleeping habits, and Mo, the 85‐year‐old friend of Scott, stand out as exceptional. Mo exudes a youthful zest for life that makes me look forward to my old age. He is a seadog extraordinaire whose longstanding love affair with the ocean is indelibly etched into his delightful, sunburnt, wrinkled face, framed by striking silver hair. Today he is teaching Dr Saw Huat Seong, nicknamed Doc, a soft‐natured heart surgeon from Singapore and 20 years his junior, how to snorkel. But this is no ordinary irst‐time snorkel since we are back at Tiger Beach and there are a few lemon Soon enough a small pod of gregarious sharks already milling around. ‘Just stay close to me, they won’t bother you, really they won’t,’ he assures Doc who is not looking entirely spotted dolphins are riding the bow, convinced. Back in the water with the sharks I look up to see the men snorkelling close to the boat and Mo holding Doc’s hand. The moment performing graceful acrobatic displays. is respectfully quaint, and I smile. In no time we’re in our snorkelling kit I’m glad we’re back here this morning. The sun is throwing darts of light down onto the white undulating sand and creating moving patterns on the sharks’ backs. Poor Smiley, the tiger shark, is back. She swimming with them. ” It is every diver’s dream to swim with dolphins – a real possibility in the seems really shy and thin and Mike Ellis, the diver master and talented Bahamas where the spotted dolphins photographer, has expressed concern that her injured mouth might have become habituated to humans. be interfering with her ability to catch ish, hence her loss of weight. I

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feel sorry for her; she smells the bait box and must be hungry. Unlike the lemon sharks – which remind me of our beloved raggies (grey nurse sharks) in South Africa that cruise just above the sand, staying close to the bait box and sometimes bumping into one – Smiley swims in very wide circles, moving in occasionally. I want to capture her beauty, uninterrupted by divers and other sharks so I position myself far from the others. I’ve noticed that every time I make eye contact with her she gives me a wide berth. ‘Make yourself as small as possible, and peek through the corner of your eye until she’s close enough to take the shot,’ Mike had told me when discussing how to get the tiger sharks to come up close. Now all alone crouching on the sand and hiding behind my camera, I wait until Smiley curiously moves in to investigate the yellow blob on the ocean loor, giving me the chance to capture her splendid beauty. I like the relaxed atmosphere of Scott’s operation; it suits my maverick style of diving and independent spirit that abhors unnecessary rules. It allows us all day long to be in and out of the water, spending up to two hours or more at a time underwater, surrounded by sharks. Lack of air does not drive one out since it’s so shallow, nor does the cold since the water is so warm. Only hunger calls, but with a quick top‐up we are back in the water until low light concludes the day. Today is the freedive shoot day. I planned this shoot weeks before arriving and the reality of its magical moment is beyond all I imagined. After being weighed down by scuba gear I’m free, in nothing but my bikini, loating on the surface with a few tiger sharks and about 20 lemon sharks below me, some coming up to investigate me. It’s hard not to feel vulnerable, but I’m calm, globally aware of the sharks and where I am in relation to them. I respect that no matter my familiarity with them, they are supreme predators, and complacency in the presence of any wild is unwise. Being allowed to freedive with them is a privilege not given to many and I still thank Scott for supporting my campaign. It’s nearing the magic light time of day and soft golden rays light the underwater scene. I surrender in the now, take a deep breath and descend to join the sharks. I do this a number of times. One time the temptation is just too great and I break the barrier and touch a lemon shark. She takes no notice of me holding onto her dorsal in. I guess I’m nothing more than like a hitching a ride. Mike, who kneels on the sand, camera in hand, signals he has the shot. I’m sorry because I want to stay longer, free like this with them. For the irst time on the trip that night I sleep peacefully, saturated in satisfaction, dreaming of sharks. Nothing but new friends and incredible memories are taken home after 10 days of bliss, but the gnawing concern that the sharks of the Bahamas are vulnerable to exploitation remains. Fortunately, while researching the script for the slide show of my trip, good news spreads worldwide – shark ishing is banned outright in the Bahamas, effectively turning 630 000 square kilometres (243 000 square miles) of the nation’s territorial waters into a shark sanctuary. Activists and non‐proit organisations rallied together to gain protection for the sharks after being alerted that a local seafood company announced in 2010 plans to export shark meat and ins to Hong Kong. The power of the people, including agriculture minister Larry Cartwright who approved the ban, pulled through for the sharks. This is another great victory for shark conservation as the Bahamas archipelago now joins places such as Raja Ampat, Honduras, the Maldives and Palau in outlawing shark ishing. Up until now I’ve been struggling to ind the last line to the script, but with this news I ind it: ‘We are the sharks’ greatest predator, their worst enemy, but we are also their only hope.’ This hope is extended to seeing South Africa following suit Lemon sharks, which aggregate in small groups and AfriOceans, who is leading shark conservation in the country, and are most active at dawn and dusk, swim being supported in our WANTED! DEAD or ALIVE? lobbying campaign, below the Dolphin Dream vessel at Tiger Beach.

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A nurse shark glides past a diver. An adept feeder, it feeds on bottom invertebrates, bony fish and stingrays and can even extract conch snails from their shells.

aimed at gaining protection for a number of South Africa’s shark Bimini; Dr Neil Hammerschlag is studying migratory patters of large species, including tiger sharks. We need help to win the battle in coastal sharks such as tiger sharks and bull sharks using satellite South Africa too. technology at Great Isaac and other locations; Aleks Maljkovic is Since I spend most of my waking hours focused on sharks, it may studying the impacts of shark feeding on shark populations and reef be said I’m obsessed with them. But only those who remain ignorant ish in the Bahamas, mainly in Nassau; and a number of scientists, of their magniicence would say that. And only those who’ve spent including Sean Williams, have recently collaborated in the satellite‐ time with them, particularly in the magical, crystal clear ocean of the tagging of oceanic whitetips in Cat Island (research information Bahamas, really understand why I love them. Despite many hours courtesy Sean Williams). spent diving with sharks, those of the Bahamas have touched my soul in a profound way like I’ve never experienced before. For days after my MOST COMMON SHARK SPECIES SEEN BY DIVERS return, whenever I close my eyes I see vivid images of them swimming Tiger shark Galeocerdo cuvier Found worldwide in temperate with me. They consume my thoughts, inspire me to write poetry, and and tropical seas. Can reach up to 5.5 metres in length. The bold strengthen my resolve to champion their plight. I keep thinking about stripes and spots fade as they mature. Usually solitary, strong seeing them again, but not before I’m taught to become a competent swimmers that travel long distances. Have large litters of up to freediver. Next time, with little else but the air in my lungs, I want to 80 pups after a gestation period of more than 12 months. stay down longer with them. IUCN RED LIST: Near Threatened. Nurse shark Ginglymostoma cirratum Found in east Pacific, west RESEARCH IN THE BAHAMAS Atlantic and east Atlantic. Can reach up to three metres in length. Over 70 million sharks are being slaughtered annually and many Identified by long barbels and broadly rounded dorsal fins. Use species have declined by 90 percent due to overexploitation. Scientiic muscular pectoral fins to clamber on bottom and snout to root our prey. research assists in the understanding, management and protection of Some 20 to 30 pups are born after a five to six-month gestation. various shark species. IUCN RED LIST: Data Deficient. Bimini Biological Field Station The longest‐running shark research Lemon shark brevirostris Found in tropical west Atlantic, station in the Bahamas is the Bimini Biological Field Station (BBFS), northeast Atlantic and east Pacific. Can reach up to 3.4 metres in length. operated by Dr Samuel Gruber. The BBFS primarily carries out Adapted to low-oxygen shallow-water environments and may travel short research on lemon sharks. A ‐fringed lagoon is a nursery distances upriver. Mature at five or six years and give to up to 17 area for the lemon sharks and just after they give birth the BBFS pups after a 10- to 12-month gestation. IUCN RED LIST: Near Threatened. conducts its passive integrated transponder or PIT project; 2011 Caribbean reef shark perezi Found in west Atlantic and marked the 17th annual PIT project, making it the largest and the Caribbean. Can reach lengths of almost three metres. Able to lie longest‐running mark‐recapture and genetic database of any shark motionless on the bottom, pumping water over gills with pharynx. After population in the world. a one-year gestation every two years, three to six pups are born. Cape Eleuthera Institute The Island School at Cape Eleuthera is a IUCN RED LIST: Near Threatened. semester abroad study programme for high school students from the USA and Bahamas. It runs the Shark Research and Conservation In partnership with DiveSite magazine, Lesley is planning Program, and student projects are carried out on Caribbean reef a Bahamas Photographic Expedition on board the Dolphin sharks, tiger sharks, lemon sharks and oceanic whitetip sharks. Dream, which includes a photographic underwater course with her Other research projects Dr Dean Grubbs is satellite‐tagging in late 2012. Only five spaces offered. For more information contact smalltooth sawish in western Andros; Dr Demian Chapman is Lesley on [email protected]. To find out more about Lesley’s work, studying deepwater sharks and doing genetic studies on a number as well as how you can help save South Africa’s sharks, go to of shark species; Dr Guy Harvey is satellite‐tagging tiger sharks in www.aoca.org.za or www.lesleyrochat.com.

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