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Predators in Peril is a multi-faceted public awareness
initiative designed to highlight the plight of
hundreds of endangered shark and ray species that rarely if ever receive
media attention. Jump to the
PREDATORS IN PERIL
PROJECT OVERVIEW to read more about the
project.
PREDATORS
IN PERIL PROJECT UPDATES
Summer
2012 Proposed Predators in Peril Expedition
There are plans
afoot for a May/June expedition to California which may not seem like a
very obvious place to find rare shark species but there are a couple of
smoothhound sharks that could use some better representation. More on
this once it takes shape.
Fall
2011 Predators in Peril Cape Eleuthera Expedition
Edd Brooks from
Cape Eleuthera Institute studies the composition of deep sea shark
species in the Exuma Sound. Edd invited me to fly down and document his
work. This was a unique opportunity to jump in the water with a number
of deep sea shark species. I was able to get images of Cuban dogfish
Squalus cubensis, Bigeye sixgill sharks Hexamchus nakamurai
and most importantly, the common gulper shark Centrophurus granulosis
which is one of the most vulnerable shark species in the world because
it matures extremely slowly and has a gestation that lasts for two years
and has just a single offspring in each litter. Unfortunately, the
gulper shark is one of the target species in a growing deepwater fishery
for shark liver oil. All members of the gulper shark family should
probably be globally protected at this point.
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Cuban
Dogfish |
Bigeye
Sixgill Shark |
Common
Gulper Shark |
Spring
2011 Predators in Peril Panama Expedition
The Panama
expedition was specifically mounted to target the small species of
hammerheds that live in the Bay of Panama and extend northward as far as
the Pacific Slope of southern Mexico. There are two species of
hammerheads in the Eastern Pacific that have never been successfully
shot in the wild: The mallethead shark Sphyrna corona and the
scoophead shark Sphyrna media. The waters on the Pacific coast of
Panama are prone to low visibility due to heavy surge and deep ocean
upwellings making photography virtually impossible.
Inshore
hammerhead species are of particular concern because they fall prey to
gill netters that are targeting bony fishes. The scoophead shark appears
to be holding its own but mallethead shark numbers continue to drop and
the IUCN has this species listed as 'Near Threatened'.
After many days
chasing ghosts, I finally managed find some fishermen in the Darien
Jungle that helped me get the first images of a scoophead shark
underwater. While swimming around in murky shallow bays, I also managed
to find a Rogers Roundray which as far as I know has also never been
photographed before. Much thanks to Dr Ross Robertson from the
Smithsonian Field Station in Panama City for tolerating my endless
questions and providing contacts in the artisanal fishing community.
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Scoophead Shark |
Roger's Roundray |
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2010
Predators in Peril funded by Big Fish Expeditions
During 2010 I
spent far too much time chasing funding for PIP. Inevitably, I came to
the conclusion that it was more productive to be out in the field with a
tiny budget than battling NGOs for a bigger one. With this at the back
of my mind, I created
Big Fish Expediions; a
dive travel company designed to put small groups of divers in the water
with large exotic animals. I started running trips to some of the best
shark diving destinations in the world and the response was excellent.
Hopefully as Big Fish Expeditions grows in popularity, it will be able
to fund longer and more effective Predators in Peril Expeditions.
2009
Predators in Peril Expedition
During the
summer of 2009, a self funded pilot expedition was undertaken which
involved a 24,000 km road trip around North America to test out creative
methods of photographing illusive sharks in the wild. Through the
cooperation of divers, scientific researchers and artisanal fishermen,
the expedition was a great success. Images of 33 species of
elasmobranches were obtained including two species that have never been
photographed before; the
Pacific sharpnose shark
and the
Gulf of Mexico smoothhound shark.
The sharpnose images were subsequently donated to the Mexican
conservation organization Iemanya Oceanica to use in future
education campaigns.
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Pacific Sharpnose Shark |
Atlantic Sharpnose Shark |
Gulf
of Mexico Smoothhound |
THE PREDATORS IN PERIL PROJECT OVERVIEW
Predators in Peril
From the shallow waters of the
Sea of Cortez to the abyssal plains of the Deep Atlantic, thousands of poorly known and rarely encountered sharks are being killed
every day for their meat, liver oil, cartilage and fins. Some species
like the enigmatic daggernose shark, are teetering on the brink of
extinction, but there is little effort being made to protect the
remnant population from further fishing pressure.
While well funded global
conservation groups diligently battle to save our ocean's apex predators, few people are even
aware of the existence of many less celebrated species. Partly this is
because they are naturally reclusive animals that are not easily
studied. Many live in hostile environments such as murky estuarine water
or at crushing depths. And partly, it is because the main stream media
is more interested in publicizing the 'wow factor' of protecting whale
sharks than discussing the critical and complex role that small sharks
play both as predators of tiny fishes and invertebrates and as important
prey species for larger sharks.
PIP
Project Goals
The Predators in Peril Project
aims to draw attention to the plight of poorly known but highly
vulnerable shark and ray species which are largely ignored by
conservation movements.
The project involves working in
the field with artisanal shark fishermen and scientific researchers to
obtain the first live images and video footage of rare and endangered
elasmobranchs in their natural habitats. Each field expedition is
followed by an intensive media campaign consisting of magazine articles, internet promotion, and television and
radio interviews.
Origins of the PIP Project
The project
stems from a clearly identifiable need for better (or in some cases the
first) images of poorly documented vulnerable sharks and rays for
conservation initiatives. In 2006, Photojournalist and Project Leader
Andy Murch, took the first clear images of a free swimming
Porbeagle Shark, while in
the Bay of Fundy accompanying Dr Steve Turnbull and researchers from the
University of New Brunswick.
The images
were subsequently used by the Shark Alliance, the World Wildlife Fund
and a number of other NGOs to illustrate a pending CITIES proposal.
Further
research uncovered a severe lack of high quality photographs of more
obscure species of endangered sharks and rays which spurred the idea of
a series of expeditions focusing specifically on the acquisition of images of
rarely encountered species to aid and incite conservation
efforts.
Predators in Peril Central American
Expedition
Although the
project is global in nature, each PIP expedition focuses on a
specific geographic region that has a high level of species diversity
and where dangerous declines in shark numbers have been recorded.
The present target area is restricted to the coastal waters of Central America
where hundreds of panga based fishermen conduct unregulated long lining
and gill netting activities on a daily basis.
Endemic
species of interest include (but are not restricted to) the following:
Brazilian
sharpnose shark Rhizoprionodon lalandei
Brown
Smoothhound - Mustelus henlei
Daggernose
shark - Isogomphodon oxyrhynchus
Dusky
smoothhound - Mustelus canis
Florida
smoothhound - Mustelus norrisi
Mallethead
shark - Sphyrna corona
Sharpnose
smoothhound - Mustelus dorsalis
Sicklefin
smoothhound - Mustelus lunulatus
Smalleye
Hammerhead - Sphyrna tudes
Smalleye
smoothhound - Mustelus higmani
Whitenose
shark Nasolamia velox
All of these
species occasionally show up in artisanal long-line or gillnet
fisheries. Not all are listed as threatened on the IUCN Red List of
Endangered Species but this does not necessarily imply that they are not
vulnerable to depletion because many are categorized as data deficient.
This classification simply implies that a downward trend in catch
statistics could not be established because of insufficient historical
data. It does not mean that a particular shark species is stable. Most
of these species have not yet been photographed in the wild. And, images
of those that have, generally need to be improved upon before they can
be used in public awareness and conservation campaigns.
PIP Central American Expedition Itinerary
The Central American
PIP Expedition itinerary is divided into a series of satellite expeditions
that focus on specific areas of Central America on each trip. Focus areas of
particular interest include:
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Pacific Slope of Costa Rica and Panama.
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Pacific Slope adjacent to Oaxaca, Mexico.
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Gulf of California
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Pacific (western) coastline of Baja California.
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Gulf of Mexico.
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Trinidad.
PIP Public Awareness Campaigns
PUBLICITY IN
THE FIELD
Where possible, while the team is in the field PIP blogs
are uploaded with
images of shark and ray species that have been encountered or
documented and their IUCN status and notes on their vulnerability. Peripheral images of the fishermen and local shark researchers and the
regions traveled through are also highlighted.
News updates
about the expedition will also appear on Elasmodiver.com and many other
shark related conservation websites.
REGIONAL
CONSERVATION INITIATIVES
The images
resulting from the project will be offered in electronic format to
regional conservation organizations that can be identified as working
within the appropriate geographic region. This facilitates the
production of more inspiring educational material for inclusion in
regional conservation campaigns.
Regional media companies are also solicited while in the field to
stimulate local public awareness.
NETWORK
PUBLICITY
Media
networks are invited to conduct interviews before departure
and follow up with interviews in the field when
communication allows.
MAGAZINE
PUBLICITY
Illustrated
articles regularly appear in a selection of diving magazines and every
effort is made to encourage broader niche magazines to run similar
stories. A wide variety of magazines have agreed to collaborate.
EXHIBITION
PUBLICITY
Once the
field work has generated sufficient results, an exhibition of images will be constructed.
The Predators in Peril exhibition will focus on the perilous position of
the shark and ray species encountered and will also comment on the
adventurous aspects of the work undertaken. If it can be arranged, the
exhibition will visit a number of key North American cities and will
include presentations by the Project Leader. Prominent aquariums,
universities and galleries will be targeted venues.
Funding
and Field Expenses
PIP is solely funded
by Project Leader Andy Murch who runs
Big Fish Expeditions; a
dive expedition company that puts divers in the water with big animals
in the most amazing settings.
PIP expeditions
are not lavish affairs. Much of the work involves camping at remote
shark fishing camps where services such as fresh water are nonexistent.
Consequently, daily life is fairly primitive and overheads are
kept to a minimum but unavoidable expenses still occur and PIP will take any help with equipment that organizations or individuals
would like to offer:
Predators in Peril Equipment Wish List
Utility van
- needs to have a solid engine and good ground clearance.
The PIP ground
vehicle which was used during the 2009 North American Sharks Expedition
needs to be retired. The VW Eurovan now has 370,000 km on the
clock and while it is still going strong, it is unlikely to be able to
handle the remote dirt roads of Central America.
Underwater
Video System
The project will
be more successful if there is a way to capture video footage for blogs
and presentations as well as still photography. The video will also be offered for inclusion
in news reels. A compact HD system would be ideal but anything that
becomes available would be useful.
DNA Sampling kits and funding for processing DNA samples
To confirm the identity of some of the more cryptic shark
species that are encountered DNA should be collected by using
a noninvasive fin clip method. Not all sharks currently have DNA
profiles in Genbank so this is an opportunity to collect this information and
contribute it to Genbank to help taxonomists and geneticists build a
better understanding of the relation between different species. Each kit
including processing fees will cost around $80. 20 DNA sampling kits
would be a great start.
$$$ for
Additional
Field Expenses
Beyond acquisition of critical equipment, a variety of
other field expenses need to be addressed. Additional expenses include:
Vehicle field repairs and maintenance
Vehicle security retrofits
Occasional Panga (small boat) Rental
Fuel Contributions to fishermen that are helping with
collection
Equipment insurance
Ferries and/or flights to offshore islands
Fuel
How You Can Help
PIP is all
about public awareness. As well as financial support, PIP needs partners
in the media world and help from individuals to spread the word about the
Predators in Peril Project.
If you have a website, blog, Facebook profile or are part of any other social
networking platforms please link to this page and to elasmodiver.com
You can also
purchase an 'Elasmo Tee' from Elasmodiver. All of the proceeds go
directly towards funding Predators in Peril Expeditions.
Please follow this link to the merchandise page
for more details: Elasmodiver Tee Shirts
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Andy Murch PIP Project Leader
Andy
is a Freelance Photojournalist
and outspoken conservationist
specializing in shark and ray imagery. His elasmobranch
photographs have appeared in many scientific journals and
natural history and diving magazines around the world. His
images are frequently used by conservation groups such as the
Shark Alliance and the World Wildlife Fund to promote the
protection of endangered species.
Andy
is the driving force behind the Predators in Peril Project.
Contact Andy Murch:
250-588-8267
elasmodiver@gmail.com |
Primary Scientific Advisor and Supporter
Eric R. Hoffmayer, Ph.D.
Gulf Coast Research Laboratory
The University of Southern Mississippi
Field
Collaborators
Dr. José Leonardo
Castillo-Geniz
Investigador Titular
"C", Programa Tiburón, Centro Regional de Investigación Pesquera de
Ensenada, B.C., Instituto Nacional de la Pesca (INAPESCA), carr.
Dr. Mauricio Hoyos Padilla
Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas
La Paz, Baja California Sur, México.
Dr Juan Carlos Perez Jimenez
El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR)
Campeche, Campeche, México
Jorge Luiz Silva
Nunes, DSc
Professor Adjunto I - UFMA
Universidade Federal do Maranhão
Chapadinha - Maranhão - Brazil
Dr Jose Rodrigo Rojas Morales
Instituto de los Recurso Costeros y Marinos, Costa Rica.
Other
Notable Supporters
Dr. Stephen
Turnbull
Executive Director - Canadian Shark Conservation Society
APICS - Chair of Animal Care / Treasurer
Director of Animal Care - UNBSJ
Biology Department - University of New Brunswick
Dr Mark Marks
Senior Scientist
Save Our Seas
Foundation
Celebrated Film Maker Tom Campbell
Tom Campbell’s HD Productions
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