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.

The data is analysed by the number of Shark/Ray/Turtle sightings recorded on every dive by every diver who takes part.

This is called number of sightings per observation. Because there are usually many divers on each dive, we have thousands of observations every month.

We have separated dives where feeding was carried out from those where no feeding was done.

Highlights

There have been some unexpected and exciting sightings recorded over the past three years.

Guitarfish, previously very rarely recorded in Fiji, have been regularly seen on sites along the Coral Coast.
A Leatherback Turtle was seen during a dive (a very rare occurrence) in the Yasawas in November 2014
Schooling Hammerheads have been regularly recorded on a dive site on the South Coast of Vanua Levu
Mobula Rays have been recorded in the Pacific Harbour/ Beqa region and also in Namena, south of Vanua Levu
Tahitian Rays (Himantura fai) were recorded in the Yasawas
Hammerheads and Guitarfish have only been recorded on non-feeding dives
Rays and Turtles are more common on non-feed dives than on baited feeding dives
The most common sharks seen on baited feeding dives are Bull, White Tip Reef, Grey, and Black Tip Reef Sharks
Some sharks species, including Bull, Grey Reef and possibly White-tip Reef Sharks, exhibit seasonal patterns of higher and lower numbers, which are probably related to breeding behaviour.
So far no significant decrease in coastal shark populations has been seen, good news for those of us fearing that shark-fin fishing was continuing to damage shark stocks, but we can only confirm this one way or the other by continuing these surveys over the long term

Participation

From a very enthusiastic start in April 2012, we have formed a reliable core team, representing operators on Viti Levu, Beqa, Taveuni, Vanua Levu, the Mamanuca and Yasawa islands, and the Lomai Viti / Vatu-i-Ra area.

We’d like to thank those operators who have stuck by this project and worked hard to get the data to us in a useful format!

The number of dives and of observations (every diver who takes part makes one observation per dive) has been in the thousands every time, with the highest total of 4,278 observations in November 2013.

Continuity of data is vital if we are to make our case for Shark Conservation, and we’d like to recognise and thank our contributors, especially those who have been with us from the start, and continued every six months.

Others have joined us recently, and are welcomed to the ranks.

Here is our honour list:

Six Counts

Beqa Adventure Divers
Nai’a Cruises
Dive Tropex Tokoriki

Five Counts

Waidroka Bay Surf and Dive Resort
Lalati Resort
Taveuni Ocean Sports (Nakia Resort)
Dive Tropex Tokoriki
Wananavu Dive

Four Counts

Taveuni Dive
Dolphin Bay Divers
Koro Sun Dive
Reef Safaris – Barefoot Island

Three Counts

Matava Eco Resort – Mad Fish Dive Centre
Wakaya Club and Spa
Viti Watersports
GVI – Global Vision International

Two Counts

L’Aventure Cousteau Dive Centre

One Count

Pacific Harbour Fishing Group
Paradise Taveuni
Volivoli Beach
Reef Safari – Shangri La Fijian Resort
Castaway
Adrenalin Watersports
Captain Cook Cruises
Storck Cruises
Reef Safari – Crystal Blue

Results

The results can be found here:

Results on Non-Feeding Dives ~ 3 years ~ 2012-2013-2014

Results on Feeding Dives ~ 3 years ~ 2012-2013-2014

Full Report Results of Three Years of the Great Fiji Shark Count, April 2015

Download pdf Full Report Results of Three Years of the Great Fiji Shark Count, April 2015

Throughout the months of April and November every year, you have the opportunity to help celebrate and record Fiji’s amazing coral reef biodiversity, show you care about our world’s delicate coral reef systems, and have fun, by taking part in the FIJI-WIDE SHARK COUNT!

Easy to do, this is suitable for visitors and locals alike, whether you like to fish, snorkel, or SCUBA dive. We hope that tourists, school children, scientists and all people with an interest in the marine environment will take to the reefs with us to search for the Sharks of Fiji!

The Great Fiji Shark Count will be held across Fiji every April and November every year.

You can do a single count, or take part as many times as you like during that month, so that you cover different reefs. All data will be gratefully accepted!

So, see your resort, watersports operator or travel agent, get your Shark identification materials and dive into the beautiful blue waters of Fiji, to be a part of history!