Shy of people, the shark didn’t pose for a photo, so here is the image from the release back in March (© Rene Buob 2012). 

Photos by Rene Buob (copyright 2012).

We dispatched some of the team to Tubbataha with a mission to film and photograph sharks, possibly even some of the rarer varieties, at the Philippines World Heritage site (more about the ongoing trip soon!).

There was also a check-up on Calypso Reef with a Dive Against Debris that happily yielded very little trash due to ongoing efforts of divers and also through education of visitors to Boracay Island.

We spread the word about Earth Day and AWARE’s shark protection efforts through face painting, and had our shark education evening for the week (running throughout April for the Big Shark Shout Out). Lots of signatures have been collected towards the many needed by AWARE for the CITES meeting early next year.

Thanks to all who contributed so far. There’s lots of events ongoing so join us down at Boracay beach, and of course look out for the shark images from Tubbataha soon…

Wow, congratulations to Simone, who achieved 4 further specialties and PADI Master Scuba Diver this week! What a great combination: Peak Performance Buoyancy, Night, Deep and Naturalist. We explored Maniguin’s natural treasures, introduced Simone’s cousin to the world of scuba, visited the new Tri-Bird wreck and enjoyed flashlight fish at night on Camia II, to name just a few of the highlights. What an adventure and a great acheievement. The Calypso Team very much look forward to May for Search & Recovery Specialty and Divemaster programs.

Camille and Ansley of Calypso Lounge bar and restaurant discovering scuba diving with Jade and the team. Congratulations to you both on your first fun underwater adventure.

These beautiful, misunderstood and incredible creatures are under constant threat the world over despite their existence being essential to the future of life on earth.

Project AWARE are trying to tackle the worsening shark situation, and are calling upon governments around the world to provide better protection for sharks via their 2012 campaign “Big Shark Shout Out”. They are encouraging divers and the ocean-loving community at large to stand up and raise our influential collective voice against shark fishing, finning, and the common misconception of sharks as something to fear.

When our divers ask us if they’ll see a shark on their dive around Boracay the typical response is, “well, fingers crossed!”; unfortunately it is far from a guarantee. Returning from a beautiful (if shark-free) dive to the new TriBird Wreck, we were surprised to spot two sharks sitting in a tank at a Chinese restaurant metres from the dive shop. We lamented that the only sharks you see on a dive should not be on the walk back from the boat.

Later that day, armed with a handful of Project AWARE’s “I shouted for sharks” stickers, Divemaster-in-Training and AWARE Shark Conservation Distinctive Specialty Diver, Denéa Buckingham, accepted the task of discussing the situation with the restaurateurs and ideally negotiating the release of the sharks.

Both sharks are nurse sharks, flown in by the larger hotel conglomerate responsible for the restaurant and attached hotel, a popular accommodation destination for Chinese tourists. Shark meat has been on the menu but, as Denea soon discovered, is rarely ordered; less than once every 6 months, according to the staff. The result of discussions was better than expected with the head chef, also a scuba diver, agreeing to remove shark from the menu and to use only synthetic ‘shark taste’ products in the restaurant’s dishes.

Rene Buob, CEO Of Calypso Diving and Pinjalo Resort, then negotiated the release of the two sharks. Nicknamed “Ni” and “Hao” the sharks eagerly awaited their imminent freedom. Overnight the Calypso team revved up supporters in more than 40 countries who watched Ni and Hao’s release through social media including Facebook, Twitter and Project AWARE’s MyOcean. A crowd of divers, locals and tourists gathered on White Beach outside Calypso Diving and Resort at 10am the next morning as the sharks swam free.

Nurse Sharks are classified as data deficient on the IUCN Red List (follow the link to read more). Some scientific studies suggest that these sharks prefer to remain in one area. Maybe Ni and Hao will stay around Boracay, so look out for them on your next dive, and if you see them say “ni hao!” (hello in Chinese).

Story by Denéa Buckingham and photo by Rene Buob

The Tribird is a 21 meter long 3-engine airplane with a 25 meter wing span and passenger capacity of 36. The wreck dive site depths are around 22 – 30 meters, with the nose on the deeper part of the gentle slope. Beyond the wreck, the reef drops off as a steep wall.

Donated to the Boracay Association of Scuba Schools (BASS) for an artificial reef, Calypso Diving staff where the first to photograph this new site on the west side of Boracay Island.

A very exciting new addition to the area, we look forward to monitoring the marine life development as corals begin to take hold and fish make it their home, as we saw with Camia II. We’ll be visiting Tribird, the second wreck site of Boracay, regularly for fun diving and Advanced courses. For those who want to take a look inside, we’ll be running PADI Wreck Specialty training on request.