White Shark Trust - Field Research Assistant - October 2003

The White Shark Trust Field Research Assistantship is proud to introduce you to our assistants:

Alan DUNCAN (Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland), Chris MILNES (Grantham, Lincolnshire, England), Andy CASAGRANDE (Santa Cruz, California, USA), Polly CROUCH and Alice CLARKE (London, England).

	On Thursday the 9th of October, after some problems with our engines, we went to sea for what turned out to be a fantastic day: absolutely flat ocean, very clear water, good sharks and good fun! We observed 11 different White Sharks! We also welcomed Deon Van Eck, a friend of Morne Hardenberg who workd for Shark Diving Unlimited.


The only unfortunate thing about the day were the clouds... which made the water surface glare quite uncomfortable... But if you look at the two pictures on the right, you might notice something weird... two sets of fins swimming in opposite directions... we had two sharks swimming close together coming to the bait at the same time... an amazing view!




















	Our new engine covers, sponsored by Shark Diving Unlimited, wer used for the first time today... and they are perfect! It is so relaxing to know that the Sharks are now protected from harming themselves against the engines and props... We hope that the commercial cage diving companies will adopt similar methods to protect the Sharks!


The day was so perfect that we took a drive to nearby Dyer Island, Geyser Rock and Shark Alley... the sea was flat, the water in the channel between the two islands was crystal clear and the Cape Fur Seals were playfull! Alan, Chris and Andy made the most of these conditions by taking underwater pictures of the seals from the boat...