Jamie Philips - There are sharks in these waters - October 2015

I love the ocean, the smell of the salty air and spray of the waves as the boat rocks through the water.  Despite growing up 800km from the nearest coastline it is when I am by the water, on the water or diving under the water that I am home. For my time at the Bimini Sharklab this  becomes more fact than fantasy. Even on the rare days when I’m not out on a boat tracking, setting gillnets, longlines or snorkelling, the ocean is at my doorstep and is my backyard.  It’s in this backyard and out on the water that the Sharklab lives up to its name.  There is rarely a day that goes by that I don't see a shark.  Currently my shark count is composed of lemon, nurse, blacktip, and tiger sharks  but I have been warned of the bull sharks that frequent the Alice Town Channel and that December brings with it schools of hammerheads.  Most sharks we catch require a work up, taking measurements, DNA and isotopepe samples and inserting one or more tags.  The first shark I tagged was  a blacktip shark.  We had brought him up along the starboard side of the boat facing into the current.  My colleague Marissa held the shark steady by his dorsal fin as Matt, the PhD candidate, talked me through the steps.  The steps were simple really, line up the tag at 45˚ where the dorsal fin meets the body in the small dark incision Matt had made then give the casey tag loader a strong whack to insert the tag.  My hand shakes as we sway in the waves and what should be a relatively quick and easy task seems daunting and endless.  It’s funny how something as simple as Marissa regripping the shark and saying, “Don't worry, you got this” that allows me to still my hand and slide the tag into the proper position.  With a deep breath and one more rock of the waves I slam my hand down and give the tag a pop.  As Matt leans over to check that the tag is securely in place a huge grin appears on my face.  Marissa and I exchange excited looks as I half whisper half squeal that I just tagged a shark!  Excitement pulses through me while we finish the workup and release the shark and it fills me now just thinking about it.  There is still a little over two months left in my time here and despite any fowl weather, 4am wake ups or the constant looming threat of mosquitos, I look forward to ever chance go get out in the boats and the prospect of seeing and tagging another shark.