Over the past 3 years, dive operators across Fiji & their diving & snorkelling guests have been recording their Shark, Ray & Turtle sightings over the months of April & November. Thanks to those dedicated divers, we now have some interesting facts to share about Shark populations in Fiji.
Results on Feeding (Baited) Dives ~ 3 years ~ 2012-2013-2014
Average Numbers of animals seen per dive during each count
Average Numbers of animals seen per dive during each count
Shark numbers were ten times more than seen on non-feed dives.
Overall populations appear to be increasing slightly.
Many of the baited feeding dives in Fiji involve large numbers of Bull Sharks which are known to have seasonal breeding patterns, reflected in lower shark numbers every November and higher numbers every April.
Ray and Turtle sightings on the feed sites are infrequent, and numbers generally low.More info here…
Results on Non-Feeding Dives ~ 3 years ~ 2012-2013-2014
Average Numbers of animals per dive during each count
Average Numbers of animals per dive during each count
Over the years, across Fiji, divers have seen an average of 1.22 to 2.03 Sharks on every dive, plus one Ray and one Turtle every 5 to 10 dives.
Shark sightings varied year by year, but the general trend appears stable or slightly increasing.
Ray and Turtle sightings appear to be very stable.More info here…
Voluntourism contributes greatly to the Great Fiji Shark Count
The involvement of three of Fiji’s largest voluntourism organisations has added a large amount of data and collectors to The Great Fiji Shark Count in 2014. They are a diverse group of youngsters in different parts of the country, and have been very helpful in sending in data and boosting our results.
As the total number of observations are important to the science (the more data points, the more robust the results, the better the outcomes) these groups have greatly improved the volume of reports and surveys this year.
We look forward to their input and data during the November count, which is sooner than you think!
Ocean Action Project 2013
Congratulations! Our supporters voted and our Ocean Action Project is one of six winning projects across the globe. Project AWARE support our project The Great Fiji Shark Count.
84 applications worldwide, 10 finalists and six winners. A new wave of Ocean Action is about to begin thanks to everyone’s vote.
Vote for The Great Fiji Shark Count in Ocean Action Project 2013
Vote for us in Ocean Action Project 2013
Help us get the financial support we need to run the next Great Fiji Shark Count!
Voting is on for the Ocean Action Project 2013 and we need your vote for The Great Fiji Shark Count! Projects will be chosen by the Project AWARE community through a voting system via Facebook.
Now we need our supporters and community cast their vote for The Great Fiji Shark Count this November.
Great Fiji Shark Count T-Shirts now available
The shirts are Gildan and the color we’ve chosen is navy blue on sport grey.
For GFSC participants only!More info here…
Participants Packs are Out!
Logbook, posters, guide books and boards all here.
Sending out tomorrow, all participants should have their packs early next week.More info here…
