Oh those damn Shark Tags!

Notes from a Shark Junkies Journal with Eli Martinez

Ok as shark lovers we are not supposed to talk about these things, because it is wrong, I mean we are talking about the greater good. But I have to admit, I hate it. I hate the tagging of sharks, I hate the hooking of sharks, the biopsies, the cutting and clipping…just hate it. I UNDERSTAND that some of it is necessary for the conservation of sharks. And please believe me, I am not trying to slam shark researchers work, because there are some really good people out there working hard for sharks and doing good things... But the reality is, many of them are not and I really hate it!

I am a Shark Diver, I enjoy diving with sharks, interacting with sharks and occasionally (when they feel like it), playing with sharks. So it pains me when they show up to the dive sites with tags, or boxes drilled into their dorsal fins, because it means that the shark has been hooked and tied up to the side of a boat, or lifted out of the water, to get worked on. It means that shark has been through a tramatic experience and they are emotionally scarred. Again, I understand why it is done…or at least I think I do?

And I know that some researchers don’t think much of us Shark Diver’s feeding sharks or interacting, or touching them and that’s ok. It is good that we can agree to disagree, debate is healthy. What should matter is that we all love sharks, each in our own way. And I know that researchers have the best intentions. But it pains me to see a shark that I knew very well show up and be completely afraid to come in close. On my last trip out to Tiger Beach, I could see one of my tiger buddies hanging out in the peripherals watching safely from a distance. I was watching her, without having to wonder why she wouldn’t come in…that box bolted on her dorsal fin told me the whole story.

I was watching her, with her dorsal fin shriveling up from lack of use, trying to muster the courage to come in. But fear won out and in the end, she retreated back into her inky blue world. Again, I get it - I know that the information they will retrive will somehow help the cause…I am proud that she has become a spokesman for her species, I just wish there was a less invasive way of getting that information from her. (I wonder why pole spear tagging does not work?)

But because the information is important, I should be able to overlook my illusions that this shark is my friend (or was my friend) and she once was very comfortable coming in…because there is something bigger going on, right?

But as I see her swim back out into her world, with that box ticking away, revealing her secrets to science, I have to admit, as much as I love knowing she is out there, helping us to better understand her species…the only thoughts going through my mind are…I miss my friend and I really, really hate it!