Gulf of Mexico Bull shark project begins!

We kicked off our bull shark project yesterday. Me and photographer/artist Heather Ryan began by heading out to South Padre Island, Texas to talk to the local fishermen, and the shrimp boat captains to see when and where they normally see sharks. We went ahead and asked about the sharks they see, instead of trying to be too specific. The fishermen were a wealth of knowledge when it came to telling us where to find sharks and where to find bulls, as well as the peak season for finding sharks in the Gulf. After they found out we were with SDM, they invited us to join them this summer to see what it is all about. I would like to go and see what kind of sharks they are pulling up, maybe get a chance to tag them, and get some measurements on them. They normally keep what they catch, but I am hoping after reading a few issues of the mags that I left them, they might change their minds about catching and killing sharks. Always hoping!
After we left them we went to the harbor, to where the shrimp boats are kept. I jumped off to talk to them about their boats and what kind of sharks they see when out at sea. They said "It all depends on where they go." Out in Texas waters, they say they are infested with blacktips. Out near Louisiana, they always have a lot of scalloped hammerheads, as well as makos, and sometimes oceanics, and sometimes bulls! I was listening to these guys and I was just drooling, and getting so fired up about going shrimp boat diving again. But then I remembered why I was there, and focused on the project at hand.
The one thing we did notice, was there were a lot of 'for sale' signs on many of the shrimp boat warehouses. The shrimping industry is collapsing here in Texas, and after talking to the shrimpers and listening to their stories of how far out they have to travel to find shrimp, I can see why. A good trip will keep the boats out for maybe 35 days, but if they are having trouble finding shrimp they might stay out an extra 10 days to make the trip pay out. 45 days at sea is a long time to be away from your family, and wait for profits.
We also went down to the sea turtle conservatory, to see who and what the current programs are here on the island. These people are in charge of the conservation of sea turtles here on Padre, watching out for turtles that come on the beach to lay eggs, watching out for stranded or injured turtles and so on. They had this dead turtle on display which looked like it was killed by a tiger shark. This is how a tiger normally attacks and stalks its prey. From behind, biting off a fin to keep it from escaping. That was pretty cool to see. The turtle people would not be happy with my excitement, but shark people can understand!
So over all it was a good day on the beach, driving around asking questions, and getting invites from the fishermen and the bay shrimpers to watch them work. Not that I want to see sharks getting killed, that would hurt too much, but as ironic as it sounds, fishermen are vital in the efforts to help save the species. So we will see how the rest of the summer goes. Stay tuned for more info on our project...
Photographer/Artist Heather Ryan draws out our new logo for our Gulf of Mexico bull shark project Note the map behind her showing the gulf.