Gill Envy; Subsurface Trip Report – Tenerife, October 2013.
Hit the following dive sites over 2 days; El Puertito, Abades Micro Marine Reserve, San Miguel Ray’s and Poris. On the Underwater Camera Hunt for Green Turtles & Stingrays, all of the diving was with Amarilla Diver’s Tenerife. The Green Turtle – Chelonia mydas, is one of the largest sea turtles reaching 78-119 cm in […]
Possibly my favourite shark to date…
Species: Blue Shark. Location: Faial Island, Azores. 2013. Upon arriving at the dive site, a few hours boat ride from Faial Island, I became acutely aware that I had based my entire reason for this trip on this dive – no pressure Blues (please, please, please, show up)!! Given that the water was a couple […]
The Conservation Status of the Blue Shark
Over 8 years ago I wrote an essay on the conservation status of the Blue Shark (Prionace glauca), the essay formed part of my BIOL3301 module, which contributed to my final year studying for my BSc in Marine Biology and Coastal Ecology degree at the University of Plymouth. The essay in its entirety can be […]
Awesome aquatic acrobatics
Species: Black-tip Reef, Whale shark & Manta Ray. Location: South Ari Atoll, Maldives. 2011. For me the novelty of being able to see juvenile blacktips every day whilst enjoying a paddle did not wear off! These shark nursery areas were ever present around many of the islands, providing visitors with a unique glimpse into their […]
Living and Breathing the Underwater World of the Philippines
Species: Whale, Pelagic Thresher, White-tip Reef, Grey Reef shark. Location: Philippines. 2010 Looking back at my diary I kept whilst in the Philippines – not a day went by when I wasn’t describing my underwater encounters as “mind-blowing, phenomenal, stupidly amazing, out of this world… etc.…” The truth is no words can describe the kick […]
Sharks on tap in Palau!
Species: Grey Reef, Black-tip Reef, White-tip Reef, Great Hammerhead shark. Location: Palau. 2010. As if I hadn’t had my fill of shark diving – straight after the Philippines I headed over to Palau to indulge in some more! Technically speaking this was “out of season” for Palau, lucky for me it was as I am […]
Getting my shark fix in Hawaii
Species: Galapagos and Sandbar shark. Location: Oahu, Hawaii. 2009. December 2009, I visited the Pacific Islands of Hawaii. Steeped in sea faring history and the birthplace of surfing as we know it. It was a privilege to surf on the shores of Oahu and to witness a potentially once in a lifetime event “The Eddie” […]
Assessing the precarious conservation status of the spiny dogfish
Species: Spiny Dogfish. Location: Loch Sunart, UK. 2009. During my research into the shark immune system, I became particularly interested in the conservation status of one of our focal species; the spiny dogfish, also known as Spurdog (Squalus acanthias). Due to population segregation and aggregation, stocks are assessed as subpopulations. The Northeast Atlantic sub-population that […]
An impressive yet underrated and overlooked shark
Species: Small Spotted Catshark. Location: Aberdeen, UK. 2006. A short note on the small spotted catshark. I remember being slightly unimpressed the first time I worked with this species. I’d seen them in various aquariums; they had been the ones sitting on the bottom not doing an awful lot. However, after working with them in […]
An early trip to South Bimini, the Bahamas
Species: Lemon, Tiger, Bull, Nurse, Blacktip, Blacknose & Sharpnose shark. Location: South Bimini, Bahamas. 2006. As part of my field research for my PhD, I was fortunate enough to head out to the Bimini Islands in the Bahamas. Stationed at the incredible Shark Lab founded by the legendary Doc Gruber on the South Island, I […]