Atlantic White Shark Conservancy

East coast sharks

Hosting the Conservancy was a privilege for our team and fascinating for both parties as we had so much to learn from each other. Greg had visited the Island a number of times in the past, most recently with his involvement with the acclaimed Shark Week documentaries “Jaws strikes back” and “Jaws of the deep”. Greg is an expert in shark behaviour, working with them for many years along the East coast and given the different behaviour of his sharks (compared to Guadalupe sharks) we knew this trip would offer a captivating collaboration.

2016 Expeditions

The Conservancy led by Greg hosted two back-to-back trips in November. Most of the guests onboard had never visited Guadalupe Island or even been in the water with a great white shark before! East coast waters are known for their poor visibility so diving with sharks there is almost impossible. When you compare this to the average Guadalupe diving conditions and water clarity, it is the complete opposite. Excited to meet our sharks, the trips where such a huge success that plans where immediately made for a follow up trip in 2017.

Trip 1

Our first expedition was all about “Lucy” and “Scarboard”. These two famous female sharks had been regularly visiting for the weeks leading up to this trip and where once more the stars of the show! Lucy has become so well known over the years now that I think she is the shark that most visitors to Guadalupe Island will remember seeing. “Scarboard” at 18ft was the biggest and best performer of the 2016 season and although we had seen her for many trips in a row, this was to turn out to be the last time we would see her this season.

Trip 2

The second trip was an interesting one as we had varying behaviours and sharks around the boat during the course of the 3 days. The first day was similar to a classic September Guadalupe day. Lots of sharks (mostly younger males), very interactive and playful on the baits. During the afternoon of the second day one of the Island’s future mega sharks, “Byn Penny” turned up and put on a great show. This shark favours the deep bait and made attempts at grabbing it time after time much to the excitement of the divers both in the cage and topside.

Hosting these two special expeditions was a great experience for our team and we are already looking forward to joining up again this coming November for a 2017 repeat expedition with Greg and the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy.

SDX Team