Evolution
of a Sharklabber
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| © Chris Bolte 2016 |
Trust is the word that comes to mind.
Almost everything about the situation is
normal. I have a scuba tank on my back, one hand pressed over my mask and
regulator while my other hand grips my weight belt. I have my eyes on our boat
captain, waiting for the captain to give me the signal to tip backwards off the
gunwale into the crystal blue water of Tiger Beach, a dive site 20 miles off
the coast of Grand Bahama. As air gently rasps through my regulator, I’m a
little bit surprised how calm I feel, given the circumstances. After all, there
are about 20 adult lemon sharks circling at the surface, not to mention the
sharks that are lurking below.
I first came to the Bimini Biological Field
Station Foundation, a facility specializing in elasmobranch research in October
of 2014 as a green volunteer. In the following months I was introduced to
various research techniques, ranging from tracking sharks using acoustic
receivers to capturing them with modified fishing techniques and collecting all
types of data from them. Following my time as a volunteer, I was offered a
position as an assistant manager, a position that I eagerly accepted.
All volunteers undergo training so that
they are comfortable using GPS, tying knots, piloting our small boats, along
with other Sharklab necessities. Among the most exciting of these classes is
shark handling, where you venture out to semi-captive pens with the other
volunteers to learn how to safely handle juvenile lemon sharks. For a new
volunteer, stepping into a pen with 6 sharks seems like less than stellar idea,
though volunteers quickly learn that the only interest that these sharks have
in people is actively avoiding them. The sharks are not aggressive and pose
almost no risk of delivering an unprovoked bite.
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| © Chris Bolte 2016 |
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| © Chris Bolte 2016 |
Perched on the side of the boat, I focus on
this very experience. Though the sharks that are circling me are same species
as the sharks in the pen, instead of being 60 centimeters, these sharks are
closer to 250 centimeters. Alarmingly, these sharks are on the small end of the
spectrum for what we are anticipating. Nonetheless, I remember how little the
baby lemon sharks were interested in me, and hope that sort of behavior
continues to be exhibited well into maturity.
The captain nods his head to me, and I tip
backwards off the boat. The sensation that I feel in those minutes of
anticipation followed by a quarter second of falling is more than just that,
more than an anticipatory period. It is a moment that represents a year of
immersion in a world of water, science, and sharks. A feeling of serenity, a
void that formerly would have been occupied by fear and agitation.
Unsurprising, the first thing that I notice
as I plunge into the water is exactly what you would expect. Sharks, so
numerous that they take up more of my field of vision than the water does. They
jostle and bump each other to get out of my way as I immediately begin to
descend.
As I sink towards the bottom, the water
begins to take a more sinister appearance. The lemon sharks milling about the
surface are replaced by dark blue water, and as my knees touch the sand, the
sharks that we have come all this way to see begin to arrive. They emerge from
the water, slowly, confidently. Unmistakable in their appearance, with black
vertical blotches punctuating their flanks, the tiger sharks approach us. They
look small at first, approaching us from the sea grass. As they get closer and
closer, the sheer magnitude of this predator becomes evident. The largest of the three is probably about 15
feet long, thicker around than an oak barrel. Black eyes gaze at you, seemingly
apathetic as these gigantic sharks make easy passes past us, circling. They are
nothing short of gorgeous, their species easily ranking among the most
impressive predators in the world.
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| © Chris Bolte 2016 |
It seems a culmination of my experiences at
the Sharklab, a test of whether or not I have gained some measure of composure
interacting with these creatures. Except for the size discrepancy, it’s an
experience remarkably similar to those first few days with the baby lemon
sharks. Trusting that the sharks are going to go about their business while I
sit in silent awe. Unsurprisingly the tigers continue to cruise around,
exhibiting nothing more than a passing interest in me and the other divers,
never threatening. Though I always remain cautious, I feel like the trust that
I had given to these predators is well placed.
I only wish that they could say the same of
us.
Words and images by Chris Bolte.
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