Saturday 18 June 2011

Great White Cage Dive South Africa


I knew the time would fly by and it certainly has! Planning my trip to South Africa and to visit the Great White Sharks of Gaansbaai in Cape Town seemed to take ages but I can’t believe it’s come and gone already! As quickly as the day went by, it is one of those moments in life I will never forget! Coming face to face with a Great White Shark, twelve of them to be exact!


The Tag a Turtle ethos is deep rooted in the conservation of all marine species and as well as the plight of turtles we are strong advocates for shark conservation. One of the main reasons I wanted to get so close to these astounding creatures is to highlight their struggle for survival amongst other marine species in the wild.
The Dyer Island Conservation Trust specialises in the protection of Great White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) in this biodiversity hotspot which is home to one of the largest populations of Great Whites in the world as well as an important breeding area for the endangered Southern Right Whale (Eubalaena australis) and one of the few remaining breeding colonies of the African Penguin (Spheniscus demersus).


It is also home to large resident populations of dolphins, Cape Fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus) and thousands of seabirds.
Great Whites are naturally inquisitive and therefore offer fantastic up close viewing opportunities from the safety of a cage. A bit too close for comfort at some stages for me as a great big 4m female kept swimming right up to my side of the cage and peering in at me, before a flick of her tail and she would disappear into deeper water but not before having a chew on the boat’s propeller first! As large and intimidating as they may appear I have to say they are absolutely beautiful and really not the ruthless killers they are often portrayed as.


Marine Dynamics have a dedicated research team tagging and monitoring the behaviour and biology of the Great Whites in the region and offer volunteer/intern programmes for anyone interested in gaining experience working in the field. My pictures of the Great Whites are available to view in the Tag A Turtle photo gallery.

Regards
Nic :)

Cornwall College Green Team Join Tag a Turtle


The cornwall college green team have joined us to help raise funds for Tag A Turtle. This is a huge boost for the project and Nicola & I are so pleased to have them on board! The first event they organised for us was a huge success. It was an evening of entertainment and fundraising at the Mermaid in Porth with brilliant singing and entertaiment by local DJ Seth and Award winning irish singer/songwriter Brian Robb. The evening included a raffle and games with prizes being donated by local businesses. The event was a huge success raising £150 for TAG A TURTLE which was fantastic! Prior to the fundraising evening the Green team did a beach clean on Porth beach. We want to thank everyone in the green team for their hard work in organising the event and to everyone who attended, the event has marked our almost halfway milestone, our current total is now £1430.40. We'll keep everyone posted with upcoming events.

Regards
Nic