Just want to let all my amigo sufers know that theres a definate increase in the amount of Seals visiting our shores here in Baja norte, and that
means theres Sharks in the area as well, last Saturday me and my brother spotted one about 20 Mts from us when we where surfing Baja Malibu, i wasn't
close enough to guess his size, but a shark is a shark non the less so keep your eyes open my friends.JESSE - 1-27-2004 at 10:05 PM
More sightings off of Sunset Cliffs last week, and an increase in Leopard Shark activity off the Hawaiian Islands, another surfer killed. The State of
Hawaii is tagging the sharks, but they cannot explain the increased activity.
Maybe the sharks are getting back at us for polluting theirwaters, a mass uprising,
like Hitchc-ck's "The Birds".Markitos - 4-26-2004 at 06:13 AM
WHooooa Margie... That idea just sent chill up my spine............My friend was chewed on back in 86. Scary stuff but we surfed humbolt where GW
lives! Surfed with hammerheads in Puerto Escondido that was fun Margie - 4-26-2004 at 02:10 PM
Please tell us more about Puerto Escondido, what was the drive like and everything else!
Hammerheads?Oh, I couldn't do that, I'd be scared to death, YIKES!Ken Bondy - 4-26-2004 at 08:49 PM
Hammerheads are very shy. You are lucky to get close to one. The sharks in Hawaii are most likely tiger sharks, not leopard sharks. Leopard sharks
are a harmless cold-water species found in California and other temperate waters. Tiger sharks are one of the three dangerous species of sharks
(there are 400 total shark species).Margie - 4-26-2004 at 09:17 PM
I meant Tiger Sharks, I'm sorry.
So, the three dangerous ones are the Tiger, the Great White and what is the other?
Which ones are being sighted in So. CA &
northern Baja?
Could you post pictures of the ones we need to be aware of, as far as safety goes that is.
Also, are there sharks in the Sea of Cortez
that bite? I like to swim and snorkle there, and people tell me I'm crazy for going so far out, but I figured it was ok since the fish population was
so depleted.
Thanks!
[Edited on 4-27-2004 by Margie]BajaNomad - 4-26-2004 at 09:20 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Ken Bondy
Tiger sharks are one of the three dangerous species of sharks...
Ken,
I'm familiar with the reputation of the GW's and Tiger's.... what's the third one?
Thanks,
--
Doug
btw.... are there ever any sightings of Tiger's in and around the peninsula, or is the water temp (or other factor) enough out of their comfort zone
to keep them far enough away?
[Edited on 4-27-2004 by BajaNomad]Ken Bondy - 4-26-2004 at 09:34 PM
Margie and Doug
Most shark experts rate the bull shark as the third of the truly dangerous species. The oceanic white tip is also often rated as dangerous but they
are rarely seen and there is little documented evidence of their danger. Bulls have killed people. Yes, there have been tiger shark sightings in the
Sea of Cortez (and on the Pacific side as far north as California) but these are very rare. In all of my photo chasing of sharks around the world I
have never seen a white, tiger, or bull shark. Whites are regularly seen by shark diving trips at Guadalupe Island off the Pacific coast of Baja. I
guess I'll just have to bite the bullet and do one of those. I have lots of shark photos posted at http://www.kenbondy.com/latinamerica.htm
Ken Bondy - 4-26-2004 at 09:51 PM
Margie
I'm sorry, I didn't address your question about sharks in the Sea of Cortez. By "bite" I assume you mean "bite humans". All sharks bite something .
The Sea of Cortez is loaded with sharks, none generally thought to be dangerous to man. The predominant pelagic species are thresher, mako,
hammerhead, silky, and occasionally Galapagos sharks. All of these species feed on relatively small fish and you are much too large (don't take that
personally) to be of much interest to them. I have been diving in the Sea of Cortez for more than thirty years now, and I am unaware of any
documented occurence of a human being killed or injured by a shark. I think your chances of being injured by a shark is less than being struck by
lightning. Sharks in the Sea of Cortez have much more to fear from us than we do from them. See photo below (taken at Punta San Francisquito) of
fins that used to be attached to magnificent thresher sharks.
Ken's Site
Margie - 4-26-2004 at 10:08 PM
Those were the most fabulous photos I have ever seen, plus you guys have been all over the world !
Thank you Ken for the information...er...
I'm still a little chicken to do that swim from Coyote out to the island again, think I'll just stay a little more close to shore.
Who cut the fins off of the sharks?
You have first hand experience for many years at the Sea of Cortez. Have you seen a radical reduction in the fish population since the netting
techniques used by the Japanese there, and do things look as though they might improve, especially in areas where there are now
controls, for example, in the waters off of Loreto?
Many thanks, Ken.
[Edited on 4-27-2004 by Margie]
Shark fins
Ken Bondy - 4-27-2004 at 07:40 AM
Margie
Thanks for the kind words about the site. The sharks were finned by Mexican fishermen fishing in the Midriff area of the Sea of Cortez. There is a
huge market for shark fins in Asia. The fins are used for soup. The fins are salted and trucked to La Paz for shipment to Asian markets. The fins
are cut off while the sharks are alive and the remaining (living) body is simply thrown overboard to die a slow death.
I haven't seen much change in the quantity of reef fish in the areas I dive. The reefs look pretty much the same now as they did 30 years ago. I
think the longliners have made a significant dent in the billfish population, and the shark population has certainly been reduced by finning, but
divers normally don't see the effects of those things at the more popular divesites.
++Ken++
[Edited on 4-27-2004 by Ken Bondy]Margie - 4-27-2004 at 03:50 PM
Thank you, Ken.
The whaling off of Iceland is bad, too. That is also going to the markets in Asia,
if anyone is interested, log into Greenpeace International, and sign the petition to ban the Icelandic Whaling, it only takes a few minutes.
I remember seeing Basking sharks in England, they would just lay flat ontop of the water, and it still is an unsolved mystery where they go after they
finish basking, weird, huh?Markitos - 5-3-2004 at 09:18 AM
Margie. Puerto Escondido was a blast! However I got worked!! first few days it was 5-6 foot super fun, then an increasing swell brought it to 10+ the
next day was HUGE!! to my So cal Standards, I got sucked over the falls on one I shouldnt have gone for and hit bottom soooo bad I almost ripped my
nose off my face!!! Doc Peppe fixed me up pretty damn good with the horse hair stitchs. but with open wounds and the water down there I was stuck in
the cantina for a few days before taking the bus back home. My brother also got stitched by Doc He was sucked into the rocks down at the point. It was
a busy week for ole Mr Peppe lots of guys got hurt during that swell, But more guys got piped beyond they'er dreams!!! Lucky I did get some great
barrels before getting smaked so it's cool. I think we are going to sail back up from La Paz to San Diego this summer and surf as we go Should be
fun
Markitos
Margie - 5-3-2004 at 11:54 AM
Wow, sounds tre bueno, you lucky dogs.
I hope you carry BACTROBAN with you for your owies, they don't sell it in the States, but you can get it down here at any pharmacia, it kills just
about anything.Nikon - 5-3-2004 at 06:39 PM
There's a jawbone with teeth, of a GW at Alfonsina's restaurant. It was not trucked in.
Nikon!!!
Margie - 5-3-2004 at 08:30 PM
Nikon, you're back, your're back !
We got the message, thank you, I tried to e-mail you back, it was entitled 'The Idiot.'
But you had a firewall up and apparently it didn't go through. I still haven't figured out how to use u-2-u yet.
Anyways, hope you stick around, just ignore the blockheads and carry on.
Now, all we need is the guy whose signature read"Hallburton, sieg heil! sieg heil!"
