Hi there

Well first of thanks to Sone and all her hard work the website is looking stunning- well done!

So, here follows the start of my blog. What i shall try and do is update on a weekly basis details of any interesting news with regards to sharks and any other science/conservation based topics.

Monthly breakdown/discussion of our sharks is better detailed in my newsletters which you can subscribe to on-line- home page.

Thanks to Marine Dynamics volunteers February-March-April

We have had the most amazing volunteers join us on the MD volunteer program recently. In March Tami, Penny and Gina joined us from the states, followed by Allyson from Canada in April. They were all an absolute pleasure to have on board. Their hardwork, humour and enthusiasm on shark Fever everyday was much appreciated especially as the shark sightings took a bit of a strain at times. Thanks for being such great team members girls, and hopefully we will be seeing Tami back again in May/June (We cant blame you for not being able to stay away!).

Winter begins:Large sharks followed by cold water:

Interestingly the start of our winter season here in Gansbaai, saw in a batch of female sharks at the island. Some clearly marked with mating scars around their gills the females were highly active and very responsive to chum lines. Notably the vast majority of these girls were over three meters in length and a few individuals were some of the largest animals I've ever encountered here in almost two and a half years! (4.5m). The presence of these sharks occurred just after a previous group of large males(Geldesteen location) just weeks before. We know there is a more mixed ratio of males and females observed at Dyer island in winter months, but these sightings clearly indicate a sex based dispersal of mature sharks with indications of possible mating attempts. Very encouraging observations given the fact nobody has documented shark mating between whites in SA before and all we have is speculation!

Return of Nemo!

One of our most infamous resight sharks (regular visitor to the bay) 'Nemo' was sighted behind Dyer island in the channel mouth this month. Shark Lady's crew confirmed the juvenile white sharks presence. I first recorded Nemo in September 2007. The distinctive (then 1.8m long female) has half her left pectoral fin missing and the dorsal fin has been sliced in half. Explanations for such injuries could be attempted finning but I'm swayed more towards the theory the shark got wrapped up in some kind of rope or line and struggled. After observing the shark in joubertsdam in 2008, we have documented her as one of the few animals to visit both the island and inshore locations. On this latest encounter with her she was said to have grown in length to almost 2.8m- which is fantastic and shows despite her injuries she is a relatively healthy and successful in feeding.

Craig Bellamy

It's always nice to have celebrities on the boat, and this month we were joined by Uk soccer star Craig Bellamy on the 14-04-09. Craig plays for Manchester city football club and is the welsh team captain. ( i had to swallow my pride as i'm a Manchester united Fan but hey!). He thoroughly enjoyed his exclusive trip with Marine Dynamics and his little boy helped me record data and dorsal fin id the sharks. We saw 8 sharks that trip and had a 4.5m female put on the most amazing display. I felt Craig really got an appreciation on why the Great White shark is the great white shark, and his compliments on the excursion were received with pride from our crew!

Other soccer stars we had previously on board include Gordon Strachan (Celtic FC manager) and Bobby Charlton Manchester United.

Sea birds:

Excellent to see the return of our Sun Antarctic skuas and petrols back in the bay. On the few occasions this month we have been lucky enough to witness Albatross and small storm petrols- stunning.