Pete Thomas Outdoors

Enormous great white shark feeds on whale carcass off San Clemente; video

By Pete Thomas 

Fishing became secondary for a group of Southern California anglers Thursday after they encountered a massive great white shark feeding on a gray whale carcass.

The accompanying footage, captured near the San Clemente Pier, shows the scarred predator swimming just off the stern of the 23-foot fishing boat, and moments later sinking its teeth into the whale.

 (It’s not known how the whale died, but whale carcasses often attract sharks.)

The anglers were part of an AllWater Charters expedition out of Dana Point. Allwater posted the video on Instagram and Marc Levine, the company’s owner, shared the footage on Facebook. The shark was estimated to have measured 17 to 19 feet, according to the Orange County Register.

“So awesome and crazy to see a massive great white like this around here,” Marc Girardeau, an Orange County photographer, wrote in the Facebook comments section.

A red lifeguard boat also appears in the footage. Lifeguards planned to tow the whale carcass farther offshore, so it does not wash onto the beach.

The encounter occurred less than a mile from shore. By towing the carcass out to sea, it was hoped that the shark would be drawn farther from swimmers and surfers along the coast.

–Images showing the great white shark near the boat and feeding on the whale carcass are video screen grabs

1,000-pound tiger shark caught by same captain twice in five years–what are the odds?

By Pete Thomas

Five years ago, Chip Michalove and his angling clients reeled in a tiger shark that measured 12-plus feet and weighed an estimated 1,000 pounds.

On Tuesday, the Outcast Sport Fishing captain caught and released the same shark in the same area off Hilton Head, S.C., despite improbable odds of this ever happening.

In fact, this is at least the third time the same tiger shark has been caught.

In 2013, Michalove attached a small tag to the shark. Last year, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources attached a larger satellite tag to the same shark. (Second image shows dorsal fin damage likely caused by the satellite tag.)

On Tuesday, after a 45-minute fight one mile off Hilton Head, as Michalove maneuvered the boat and three clients took turns at the rod and reel, they had the shark alongside the boat.

“It was like hooking a tug boat,” Michalove told USA Today, explaining that the shark went where it wanted for most of the fight, as he pursued with the boat. “A tiger shark this size pulls like a dump truck.”

Tiger sharks, named because of faint vertical stripes on their bodies, are found in tropical and subtropical waters around the world. They can measure 15-plus feet and weigh more than 1,700 pounds. (The International Game Fish Assn. lists a 1,785-pound tiger shark caught off Australia in 2004 as the all-tackle world record.)

Michalove said his clients, a father and two teenage sons, had asked for a challenge before setting out, “and it took everything they had to land that shark.”

–Images of 1,000-pound tiger shark are courtesy of Chip Michalove/Outcast Sport Fishing

 

16-foot great white shark photographed by scientists in Mediterranean; 'historic sighting'

By Pete Thomas

Scientists who encountered a 16-foot great white shark Thursday in the Mediterranean Sea say it represent the first confirmed sighting of a white shark in Spanish waters in 30-plus years.

“In recent years there were possible unconfirmed sightings and various rumors, but this is the first scientific observation of the presence of Carcharodon [carcharias] in Spanish waters for at least 30 years,” the conservation group Alnitak announced on Facebook. “On this occasion, this historic sighting has been photographed, filmed and contemplated by a crew of 10 people from five countries.”

The sighting occurred off the Cabrera Archipelago National Park, part of the Balearic Islands off southern Mallorca (also referred to as Majorca).

The expedition was led by Dr. Ricardo Sagaraminaga Van Buitem a Spanish-Dutch biologist. The voyage involved students and other biologists from Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Austria, and Germany.

The group stayed with the adult white shark for more than an hour, but posted only the one photo on the Alnitak Facebook page.

Great white shark sightings are extremely rare throughout the Mediterranean.

The team is collecting data on sea turtles, sperm whales, dolphins, manta rays, and tuna. The expedition is focusing on the effects of micro-plastics on sea life.

–Photo courtesy of Alnitak

Breaching thresher shark steals spotlight during U.K. nature tour; photos

Breaching thresher shark. Photo: ©Tom Brereton

By Pete Thomas

A college professor leading a tour in search of dolphins and seabirds off southwest England grabbed his camera just in time to snap photos of a breaching 15-foot thresher shark.

“My camera was not nearby so I only got a chance to get two pictures, but I was lucky,” Tom Brereton wrote on Facebook.

His stunning images reveal the acrobatic nature of thresher sharks when they decide to glimpse their surroundings from above the surface.

Reached this week, Brereton said he was leading a Naturetrek Wildlife Holidays tour on June 15 in Lyme Bay when he saw a large creature breach in the distance. He assumed it was a bottlenose dolphin, another animal known for its acrobatics, and alerted the passengers.

“It then jumped out again and the skipper, Ross Parham, who is a keen fisherman, immediately identified it as a thresher shark,” Brereton said. “I hastily went into the wheelhouse to get my camera and the shark continued to jump clear of the water right beside the boat, giving awesome views to the immense pleasure of everyone on the boat.”

Breaching thresher shark. Photo: ©Tom Brereton

Brereton, a visiting professor at the University of Northampton and a marine researcher, estimated the shark to measure 15 feet and weigh perhaps 350 pounds.

Thresher sharks are found around the world, but sightings are somewhat rare off the U.K., as the sharks tend to prefer warmer mid-Atlantic waters.

The Atlantic thresher shark, or common thresher shark, is listed as “Vulnerable” by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Thresher sharks are easily identified by a caudal fin (tail fin) that can measure as long as the body. The sharks have small mouths and are not considered dangerous to humans. They use their sickle-shaped tail fins to stun schooling baitfish.

They’re incredibly fast and famously acrobatic, making them a prized target for anglers.

Atlantic thresher sharks can measure 20 feet and weigh 1,000-plus pounds.

Said Brereton: “Seeing the shark leap out of the water at least half-a-dozen times really was a surreal and breathtaking experience.”

 

 

Great white shark death in Aptos, Ca., focus of criminal probe

By Pete Thomas

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has launched a criminal investigation regarding the death of a great white shark found Sunday on a beach in Aptos, Calif.

The decision to turn the case over to law enforcement was made after a necropsy was performed at a UC Santa Cruz facility on Tuesday.

Reached Thursday, CDFW spokesman Peter Tira said, "Our Law Enforcement Division has taken up the shark investigation as a result of findings from a necropsy conducted this week. I don’t have any more detail at this point."

The carcass was discovered Sunday morning. There were small facial wounds, perhaps caused during a struggle with a sea lion, but there was nothing immediately visible to indicate how the shark might have been killed.

Giancarlo Thomae, a marine biologist who helped transport the shark to the UC Santa Cruz lab, said several juvenile great white sharks are feeding in shallow water in the Aptos area. In calm weather, the sharks are clearly visible to boaters.

Great white sharks are protected in state waters. Fishing for white sharks has been banned since 1994.

–Image courtesy of Giancarlo Thomae

Mako shark head impaled on fence of marine rescue facility; motive unclear

By Pete Thomas

A volunteer marine rescue group in New South Wales, Australia, is trying to determine why somebody planted the head of a mako shark atop a spiked fence around its facility.

“If you know the people who caught the shark or the perpetrators we don’t need to know the names, we just need them be aware that we do not take kindly to this," Marine Rescue Shellharbour wrote on Facebook. "Please be mindful that our Marine Rescue base and surrounding area is monitored by hidden cctv.”

The macabre discovery occurred Sunday morning at Marine Rescue Shellharbour. It remains unclear whether this was merely a prank, or represents some kind of threat.

Richard O’Connor, a spokesman for the group, told ABC News Australia: “It’s a random thing, there was no message and we haven’t had any issues in the past with disgruntled fishermen or boaters, but that’s not to say that somebody may not be happy with what we have done.”

Marine Rescue Shellharbour is part of the broader Marine Rescue New South Wales group, a nonprofit that receives some of its funding through levies on the sale of boat licenses and registration fees.

The rescue vessels respond to emergencies and states on its website that it is “committed to our mission of saving lives on the water.”

Besides the shark head, volunteers at Marine Rescue Shellharbour found blood on a nearby jetty.

Helicopter video shows kayaker in the water near great white shark; 'Lost my glasses'

By Pete Thomas

Footage has emerged showing a kayaker being followed by a great white shark – and briefly ending up in the water near the shark – in shallow water off Santa Cruz, Calif.

But is the footage misleading?

The footage was captured Tuesday afternoon by the tour company Specialized Helicopters, which titled the video, “Scary! Kayaker in water with shark.”

Giancarlo Thomae is greeted by a great white shark

The kayaker is real, and the juvenile great white shark, measuring perhaps 10-12 feet, is genuine.

But a source who wished to remain anonymous told me that the kayaker is well-known in the Monterey Bay whale-watching community, and that this appeared to have been a publicity stunt. Others have expressed skepticism on Facebook comment threads.

The implication was that the kayaker, an expert paddler, jumped off his vessel intentionally – the video does not show him falling overboard or capsizing – to add a danger element to the video.

Giancarlo Thomae in the water near shark

When asked if this might have been staged, Chris Gularte, director of operations for Specialized Helicopters, said via Facebook message:

“I don’t understand the question? Real shark, real person in water with kayak. We did obviously take the video. Staged is a long way to go from opportunistic.”

Gularte did not elaborate or identify the paddler. But Giancarlo Thomae, a Monterey-based captain, confirmed via Facebook message that he was the paddler.

“Lost my glasses,” Thomae offered as an explanation for falling into the water.

He said he was not in contact with Specialized Helicopters during his paddle, but he did inform the company that he’d be on the water Tuesday afternoon.

Publicity stunt or not, the footage, captured from 1,000 feet above the surface, is interesting.

Juvenile great white sharks are showing in shallow water off Santa Cruz, as they did last spring, to prey on bottom fishes and smaller sharks and rays.

(After white sharks exceed 12 feet in length, they tend to hunt farther offshore near seal and sea lion rookeries.)

As viewers can see, the shark is curious about the kayak, and seems to have been briefly spooked when Thomae was in the water. It’s not clear how well he could see the shark, which was clearly visible from the helicopter.

As of Wednesday afternoon there were 41 comments on the Specialized Helicopters Facebook page. A couple inquired about the identity of the paddler – even throwing out Thomae’s name as the man they suspected was the paddler.

Most, however, were from people who seemed merely to appreciate the footage.

–Images are video screen grabs

Whale watchers discover carcass teeming with hungry blue sharks; video

Blue shark savors minke whale flesh in video screen grab

By Pete Thomas

When Capt. Todd Mansur spotted a floating whale carcass through his binoculars on Saturday, he had a feeling there might be hungry sharks nearby.

Sure enough, the dead minke whale, believed to have been killed by orcas, had become a buffet for perhaps two dozen blue sharks. The sleek predators star in a highlight video published Sunday by Dana Wharf Whale Watching.

The surreal footage was captured beyond the remote windward side of Santa Catalina Island during an 8-hour excursion that also featured live whale and dolphin sightings.

As viewers can see, the sharks were not frenzied; they roamed the whale’s perimeter slowly and took turns tearing flesh from the base of its fluke.

Alisa Schulman-Janiger, a researcher who was aboard the Ocean Adventures during this encounter, noted that the whale’s tongue and throat were missing.

Transient orcas, or killer whales, are known to prey on minke whales, and removing the protein-rich tongue is one of their trademarks. The researcher said it was likely that orcas killed the 30-foot whale at some point before the sharks arrived.

Encounters such as this are rare for Southern California whale watchers because these events typically occur far offshore.

Most whale-watching voyages last 2-3 hours and boats do not stray far from the mainland. Dana Wharf offers sporadic 8-hour voyages – the next is scheduled Jan. 28.

Massive great white shark, possibly Deep Blue, spotted 500 feet beneath surface (video)

Great white shark appears in lights of submersible at 500 feet

By Pete Thomas

A great white shark named Deep Blue, measuring 20-plus feet and spotted sporadically at Mexico’s Guadalupe Island, has been called the largest great white shark ever caught on video. 

The massive predator was featured  three years ago by Discovery, along with researcher Mauricio Hoyos Padilla. 

Two years ago, Hoyos posted a clip to Facebook showing the female shark cruising ominously past an open-topped cage, dwarfing the divers. “I give you the biggest white shark ever seen in front of the cages in Guadalupe Island,” Hoyos wrote. 

On Friday, Hoyos shared new footage showing what the researcher believes is Deep Blue swimming in the lightless depths at Guadalupe (video posted above).

RELATED: Scuba diver struck from behind by massive great white shark (video)

“Deep Blue in deep water?” Hoyos wrote. “We did an expedition on a submersible at 500 feet in Guadalupe Island this week and look what we saw!”

Viewers enjoy only a fleeting glimpse of a giant white shark turning in the vessel’s lights before vanishing in the darkness.

Deep Blue in a video screen shot from footage shared in 2015

“It’s so big. It’s really big. Wow, look at the belly!” Hoyos says in the footage. “Oh my God… Oh my gosh, it’s really, really big. Wow! Jesus Christ!”

Hoyos confirmed the depth of the sighting – nearly 500 feet – but did not say for sure whether the shark was, in fact, Deep Blue.

Guadalupe Island, 165 miles west of the Baja California port of Ensenada, is seasonal home to dozens of adult great white sharks. Many of the sharks are named, based on distinctive markings, and repeat divers look forward to seeing their favorite sharks on return trips. 

Deep Blue, obviously, is one of Guadalupe’s most sought-after sharks. 

Surfer buzzed by shark off San Francisco; catches encounter on video

By Pete Thomas

A surfer paddling for a wave Tuesday off San Francisco was surprised to see a large fin slicing the water just a few feet away. “I thought I got this peak for myself, until [this] old mate came from the bottom,” Ignacio Salazar wrote on Facebook and Instagram. 

The likely shark encounter occurred off Ocean Beach as a north swell delivered waves in excess of 15 feet. (Viewers can see the fin – and hear the sound it generates – within the first 10 seconds.)

Salazar told me he was using a mouth-mount for the camera, and that he somehow remained calm despite the presence of what friends later told him was a great white shark.

“My reaction for some reason was to observe and be calm,” Salazar said. “I guess I learned that skill from big-wave surfing. So at the same time, I thought there was no reason to panic or scream, as there was no one around.”

It’s difficult to identify the species based on such a quick glimpse of the fin, but white sharks feed in Bay Area waters during late fall and winter.

Drew Scerbo, a marine biologist and scientific adviser for White Shark Interest and Advocacy Facebook pages, told me he could not even verify that the critter was a shark.

However, Keith Poe, a prominent California shark tagger, said it looks like the fin of a white shark.

Said Salazar: “I’m not sure about it. People say it’s [a white shark], but as I said I’m very amateur with knowledge of shark fins.” 

The surfer added that the fin was in the back of his mind as he jockeyed for the incoming set. “As I was observing to see any other signs of shark fins, I could not see any more,” Salazar said.