top of page
Search

100 Day Count Down.......

Writer: John J King IIJohn J King II
Feb 232 min read

Updated: Feb 26



At this time of year, the AWSC White Shark Science team is off the water busy with winter projects like planning for the next field season, communicating with collaborators, continued data analysis and writing up reports and papers for publication. The supporting non - science crew including the vessel skippers (like me and Capt Josh Higgins) and our longtime spotter pilot Wayne Davis mark time with repair and maintenance projects, R&R travel and quiet reminiscing of the exciting moments from our past season’s adventures by editing video clips and digital images of those memories. Thus, we are counting down the days of the fading winter and the especially slow thaw towards spring before the White sharks return from their winter grounds off the SE Unites States. I am happy to report that today we are less than 100 days away from Memorial Day weekend which is regarded as the date historically when WS first sightings occur here.


White shark on the hunt off Shark Cove, MNWR (JJ King II Photo)
White shark on the hunt off Shark Cove, MNWR (JJ King II Photo)

Nice news piece by our friend Lisa Hughes at WBZ _ CBS Boston after she spent the day with us on one of our last trips of the 2023 saeson.


Incoming - beautiful blue clear water of the area around Isla Guadeloupe in Mexico. For many years this was a premiere hotspot from which to see white sharks underwater with great visibility. Unfortunately the Mexican government has closed the area for cage diving until further notice. (JJ King II Photo)
Incoming - beautiful blue clear water of the area around Isla Guadeloupe in Mexico. For many years this was a premiere hotspot from which to see white sharks underwater with great visibility. Unfortunately the Mexican government has closed the area for cage diving until further notice. (JJ King II Photo)
Pam King photo
Pam King photo

Large white shark showing its threat display at the side of the Research vessel while feeding on a whale carcass nearby

Skomal getting video of a seal predation by a 4 meter + WS off Monomoy, Cape Cod (Wayne Davis photo)
Skomal getting video of a seal predation by a 4 meter + WS off Monomoy, Cape Cod (Wayne Davis photo)

White shark hunting rays, Neptune Islands (JJ King II Photo)


John J King II Photo
John J King II Photo

White sharks drawn in by chum slick in late afternoon light - Neptune Islands, South Australia


WS Aphrodite 17 ft in length, a true beast in Sharktober. On this day one of our ecotour partners located her and called us in. Sadly we had exhausted our supply of tags already but did spend some quality time following her. She had a recent wound severing the top of her caudil fin likely from a boat strike (Wayne Davis Photo)
WS Aphrodite 17 ft in length, a true beast in Sharktober. On this day one of our ecotour partners located her and called us in. Sadly we had exhausted our supply of tags already but did spend some quality time following her. She had a recent wound severing the top of her caudil fin likely from a boat strike (Wayne Davis Photo)

From one of the largest to one of the smallest white sharks


One of the smaller white sharks we have photographed and tagged from the Aleutian Dream estimate at 6 feet in length. I nicked named the small male WS Mighty Mouse. ( JJ King II Photo)
One of the smaller white sharks we have photographed and tagged from the Aleutian Dream estimate at 6 feet in length. I nicked named the small male WS Mighty Mouse. ( JJ King II Photo)

A very large whie shark scavenging on a Mink whale carcass off Race Point, Cape Cod ( Pam King Photo)
A very large whie shark scavenging on a Mink whale carcass off Race Point, Cape Cod ( Pam King Photo)

The usual suspects aboard the R/v Aleutian Dream on a beautiful September day in Chatham. From left to right Brian Hanson, Dr. Megan Winton, Dr. Greg Skomal, Captain John King and spotter pilot Wayne Davis

 
 
 

Comments

© 2017 The Common Flat Project.

Interested in purchasing or licensing photographs?

bottom of page