"Oh Me! Oh Vita!" scritto da Manuela Bacchilega

Sono passati 22 anni da quando acquistai il libro "Squali. Una storia fotografica" di Jeremy Stafford-Deitsch. Avevo 10 anni e il mio amore per gli squali ed il mare era già più che mai vivo, da quando all'età di 6 anni guardai il classico di Steven Spielberg e mi ritrovai inconsciamente, involontariamente, immediatamente ed irrimediabilmente dalla parte di questo bestione "spietato". 

Troppo facile incolpare l'orrida creatura per aver fatto uno spuntino a base di umani! Pensai. In fondo sono loro ad essere entrati a casa sua!! Senza neanche chiedere il permesso tra l'altro! Solo perché ha migliaia di denti acuminati ed è lungo fino a 6/7 metri. Fu subito amore, per queste creature evoluzionisticamente perfette. Così è questo che ti dà la possibilità di stare a contatto con gli squali, pensai.

Sono passati tanti anni da allora e quel libro campeggia ancora sulla libreria del mio salotto. Con una differenza pero'... All'interno, alla pagina riservata all'introduzione, ora c'è un piccolo bigliettino stropicciato con la dedica "to a real sharklady, from the sharkdoc" e a fianco il disegno di uno squalo dall'espressione amichevole.

Nulla di trascendentale insomma... Se non fosse che l'autore dell'autografo è anche l'autore dell'introduzione al libro, il leggendario Samuel H. Gruber, uno degli esperti di squali più famosi al mondo,  autore di centinaia di scritti in oltre 50 anni di carriera, pioniere della ricerca sugli squali e fondatore della Bimini Biological Field Station,  dove la ricerca volta alla salvaguardia di questi magnifici abitanti dei mari va avanti ancora oggi.

22 anni fa, leggevo le parole di Doc e sognavo di essere parte di quel mondo, di "contribuire con un verso" come Walt Whitman scriveva... 

22 anni dopo, la mia esperienza di volontaria si apre con l'adrenalinica attività di controllo del palangaro regolarmente calato in maniera standardizzata una volta al mese per monitorare le specie presenti.

E’ sicuramente una delle mie attività preferite qui allo sharklab, soprattutto in notturna, quando muniti di torce si effettua la conta delle boe visibili per verificare se uno squalo ha abboccato all'amo.

Nella concitazione di quei momenti non ho avuto il tempo di pensare a cosa aspettarmi, ne’ di formare un ricordo completo...

Il chiaro di luna riflesso sulla superficie del mare.

Il vento e la salsedine che sferzano il mio viso.

L’atona ma speranzosa conta ad alta voce delle boe.

Il silenzio alla boa mancante.

L’ombra che nuota sotto la superficie.

La familiare livrea a strisce dello squalo tigre.

I suoi occhi misteriosi ed enigmatici.

Il tocco ruvido della sua pelle.

La sensazione di completa, traboccante felicita’.

Improvvisamente (o se vogliamo non proprio così improvvisamente dopo decenni passati a sognare di fare questo!!) mi ritrovavo a fare ciò che avevo sempre immaginato per il mio futuro... e non ho intenzione di fermarmi.

Ho quasi la sensazione che questo non sia il mio ultimo verso dallo Sharklab...

Manuela Bacchilega
Sharklab Voluntaria, 14 Aprile - 11 Maggio, 15 Agosto - 19 Ottobre, 2014

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Oh Me! Oh Life!” by Manuela Bacchilega

It's been 22 years since I bought the book "Shark: A Photographer's Story" by Jeremy Stafford-Deitsch. I was ten years old and somehow already deeply passionate about sharks and the sea. Ever since I watched Steven Spielberg's classic at the age of 6, I unconsciously, involuntarily, immediately and irremediably sided for the ruthless beast. So easy to blame the horrid creature for snacking on humans!- I thought. They entered the beast's home at their own risk in the end, and without knocking! To be hunted and hated only because it has hundreds of pointy teeth and gets up to 6-7 meters long.

It was love at first sight for these evolutionarily perfect, yet vulnerable creatures. I remember thinking, ‘Well, then that's what you will have to do if you want to work with sharks!’ Many years have gone by since those hopeful dreams, and this book still sits on the main shelf in my living room. With a minor difference though...the introduction page now contains a creased piece of paper bearing a dedication that reads: "to a real sharklady, from the sharkdoc," accompanied by a signature and drawing of a friendly shark. 

Nothing special at the end of the day...if the note weren’t written by Dr. Samuel H. Gruber himself, the most famous shark expert, author of hundreds of papers spanning 50 years of scientific research, a true pioneer in advancing our elasmobranch knowledge, and founder of my homestay for three months this year, Bimini Biological Field Station, where research aimed at cognition and ultimately conservation still goes on.

Twenty-two years ago, while reading Doc’s words, I dreamt of being a part of that.  Of "contributing my own verse" as Walt Whitman wrote... 

Twenty-two years later, my experience as a volunteer begins with one of the most adrenaline-filled activities the Sharklab offers: checking the standardized longlines, a fishing technique we practice monthly to assess the species around Bimini. 

It is for sure one of my favourite activities, particularly at night time, when each crew ventures out with the aid of flashlights and headlamps to count the floats on each line and check if a shark has been hooked. In those hectic moments I had no time to make expectations, nor to form adjoining memories...

The bright moonlight reflecting on the sea surface.

The salty wind on my face.

The monotonous -yet hopeful- loud counting of the floats.

The silence at the missing float.

The shadow swimming in circles below the surface.

The familiar striped pattern of a tiger shark.

Her eerie, enigmatic eyes.

The rough touch of her skin.

The feeling of complete, overwhelming happiness.

Suddenly (or maybe not that suddenly after 2 decades spent dreaming about this!) I found myself doing what I had envisioned for my future...and I am not going to stop. So I have a feeling this will not be my last verse from the Sharklab...

Manuela Bacchilega

Sharklab Volunteer, April 14th - May 11th, August 15th - October 19th, 2014

"Because Once Wasn't Enough" by Molly Austin

I fell in love with the Shark Lab on my first longline check. I stayed at the lab in May 2013 as a course student with CCU, and that night I remember only wanting go to bed after a twelve-hour day of snorkeling and tending sunburns through lectures. Thankfully, I prodded myself awake.  There isn't a sedative in the world that could take me off the high that shortly followed. We were able to work up and tag a variety of different sharks, including blacktips, nurses, and my personal favorite, a 12 foot pregnant tiger shark. Pulling up to the line and finding this enormous creature swimming on one of our hooks gave me a feeling of excitement and respect I never could have anticipated. I remember thinking, "this shark is over two of my body lengths!' as I secured it while a staff member measured the length.

Driving back to the lab that night, I let the wind and stars take me into a euphoric state. Behind us, bioluminescent dinoflagellates glowed in our wake. It was in that moment, as I gazed in fascination at both sky and water--still elevated from what I just experienced--that I decided I had to come back to volunteer. 

Photo of me helping tag a tiger shark this past month, taken by Joshua Williams

It's been over a year since my course, and I am finally here now after graduating from Florida State University. Every day holds new challenges, whether they are intellectual, physical, or emotional. I have never been in a community where the work life and personal life are so intertwined. At the lab, you work with, live with, and spend a majority of your free time with the people around you. Even though we are in tight quarters and work long days, we still manage to have fun and the people here become a second family. They make the difficult work we do worth it.

Last week the power went out after dinner (this happens quite regularly on the islands), and the group embraced the situation to play hide and seek in the dark.  I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun...even after the power switched on, we continued to play until way past most people’s bedtimes. Everyone comes from a different walk of life here at the lab, and we are united by a passion for sharks and a desire to learn about the seas.

While I do a lot more grunt work now than I did as a former course student, I’m realizing that working in marine science and sharing space in a field station requires all of it. Some times you will feel helpless tracking nonexistent sharks in what feels like 1000 degree heat, or spending the majority of the day cleaning a house that will never truly be clean given the sandy surrounding, but you live for the days where everything seems to fall into place.

The exhilaration of 'dip-netting' your first shark in the pens and then reaching in to grab this thrashing mouth full of teeth never really fades. Coming to the Shark Lab has probably become one of the best decisions I have made in my life. There is not another place quite like this where every day you get the opportunity to contribute to shark research and conservation. Not only has this experience helped me grow professionally, but it has also helped me grow personally too. I am excited to see what the next two months hold in store for me. Plus, it's cool to tell everyone at home you work with sharks. :)  

Molly Austin
Sharklab Volunteer, July 15th to October 15th, 2014

"Who Would've Known?" by Luke Johnson

From the drive-way, the Bimini Biological Field Station looks just like a regular house with two SUVs parked in front and a view of the mangroves...but then you notice the plastic hammerhead mounted beside the front door.  If you were even to just take a peak on the inside, it’d be hard to miss that the lab has been preserving over 20 years of data on sharks here in the Bahama Islands.

It is required to go miles offshore and observe these animals in their natural habitat. And while on the lookout for sharks, you begin to observe the other beautiful fauna that are inhabiting our Bahamian waters. Last week, I went nurse shark wrangling. Being able to free-dive to find juvenile and neonate nurse sharks is an interesting experience, but that’s not the only thing to be observed near ledges.

Mantis shrimp, scorpion fish, and even flounders (which are pretty abnormal yet fascinating for having both eyes on one side of its body) can be seen from just one ledge. Angelfish, grunts, and snappers all can be seen just a mile or two off the south shore of South Bimini. I’ve been able to observe Southern stingrays, spiny lobsters, coral, moray eels, hawksbill turtles, barracuda, and luminescent fish during night tracking!

I’m pretty sure most Bahamians would agree with me if I said that picking up a shark is a foolish thing! However, only on my second day at the lab, I held a juvenile lemon shark and a neonate (newborn) nurse shark in my hands! With substantiating evidence I can say that these creatures, when untampered with, are among the most calm in the Caribbean Sea. I felt increasingly comfortable in their presence, from sitting in the middle of six juveniles circling me in the back pens, to snorkeling besides bigger adults that paid me no thought nor mind.

I see sharks all the time here at the lab, but if there’s one shark I’ll never get tired of looking at, it is the Caribbean Reef Shark (Carcharhinus perezi). These frightening, yet curious creatures are always present during shark dives not too far away from larger rocks off the coast of Bimini. Who would’ve known that these massive creatures with piercing eyes can be scared away by just a kick from a rubber snorkeling-set fin? 

The Spotted Eagle Ray is another beautiful fish that I consider a must-see for anyone planning to visit Bimini. These shallow-water elasmobranchs have soaring wings that are uniquely marked by white spots, and they are a rarity to find during the hot summers here in Bimini. While I was fishing off the coast of South Bimini at the Shark Lab, I spotted one up-close and just gazed at its graceful swim. Then, there’s the Southern Stingray. I know that a lot of people are afraid of rays because of their barbed tail, but honestly, they’re really friendly creatures! I don’t think I’ll ever forget feeding one straight out of my hand as a one of my tasks during this month long stay.

There are so many jellyfish in the waters here in Bimini. I did some research on them and found out that they’re called upside down jellies. Apparently, they lay on the sand floor on their bells in order to photosynthesize. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought about researching their stored energy production rate when daydreaming out on the field!

My name is Luke Johnson, and I am from Freeport, Bahamas. As a citizen from the islands, I feel blessed to have been able to participate as a volunteer here in South Bimini. I could only stay at the field station for a month before my college courses begin, but what I would definitely point out is that this is a great experience if you are looking for practical experience in marine maintenance. Here I learned how to drive a boat, navigate through using a GPS, and I gained exposure to all kinds of field research while becoming more ecologically minded. 

If you’re a Bahamian (or a minority, for that matter) and have considered coming here to gain experience, it’s a great way to see our waters and fish from a different point of view. You’d be contributing to building the diversity here at the Shark Lab as proof of international acceptance of staff and volunteers alike at the field station, helping create a cross-cultural exchange with those from the US, UK, Australia, France, Canada, and many other countries. The Bahamas has a lot more to offer than what most people think. I have been able to see this firsthand in this experience. We have to preserve and protect the wonderful oceans that we have in order to create a sustainable and beautiful future for future generations to come. That can start by coming to the Shark Lab, and getting an understanding of what makes everyone here so shark-obsessed and what sharks have to offer in harmonizing the food chain. Now I know!

Luke Johnson
Sharklab Volunteer, July 15th to August 15th, 2014

"My Journey to the Lab: From Landshark to Sharkland" by Kate Meyer

My name is Kate Meyer, and I’m absolutely and irreversibly in love with sharks. I’m convinced I was supposed to be a fish instead of a human, and I’m never happier than when I’m covered in salt water with sand in my hair. 

Even though I come from the landlocked state of Vermont in the US, I fell in love with the ocean as soon as I got my SCUBA certification on a family vacation when I was 12.  The creatures of the sea fascinated me, and I found myself obsessed with the top predators that keep our ocean ecosystems in balance. I was saddened by news of their declining numbers and set my mind to pursue a career in shark research and conservation to benefit our fragile oceans.

It was during my junior year at the University of California, Berkeley when I first heard about the Sharklab in a documentary on killer whale/shark interactions that my parents saved for me on our DVR (look up “The Whale that Ate Jaws,” you won't regret it!). I had just returned from three months of marine biology courses abroad in Australia and was convinced that an ocean-related future was something I wanted to pursue. Directly after seeing this, I started and submitted my Sharklab application to intern the following summer, and then waited a few long months only to receive a rejection letter at the end of March. This was deflating, but I told them if something opened up to keep me in mind. I’m very glad I did that. After resigning myself to plan a summer of non-sharky volunteer opportunities, soon after I received a follow-up email from the lab saying that a spot had in fact opened up! I was invited to come work for the July - August slot. 

I’ve never dealt well with abrupt changes, and having to decide on coming to the Sharklab with ten days’ notice was one of the hardest, but easiest decisions I've ever had to make. It only took a few hours to smack the sense into me. I cancelled my family vacations. I left my horse to get fat and lazy over the summer. I made calls to back out of several local volunteer commitments.  I bought my tickets to Bimini that same night, promising myself I would not to take a single minute at the lab for granted. 

…

Because of the nature of my acceptance, I feel a strong drive to prove myself as a volunteer who deserves the privilege to work here. Myself and two other volunteers arrived at a funky time because the lab was undertaking a “deep clean.” To be honest, our first day and a half consisted of cleaning out closets and kitchen cabinets, and bleaching pots and pans.  When we aren’t cleaning or helping with chores around the house, we’re out in the field for long days of research. We quickly realized that all this hard work was just part of living and working at a research station. Everyone does it. This sometimes means tracking for sharks all day without finding a single one, or setting nets and walk-checking them for hours with the same lacking result.  Patience and persistence is the name of the game here--your attitude about the work you’re doing can change everything.

And then the staff and volunteers went out on a surprise reef shark dive, where we snorkeled with caribbean reef sharks circling around us...  

I definitely didn't enjoy myself. Not one bit. Psyyyyyche! Being at the Sharklab for these two short weeks has totally reaffirmed my passion for this kind of work. Through long days on the field, saltwater showers, and the tropical storms this summer, I am more enthusiastic than ever to be a part of shark research in the future.  I feel motivated to keep learning, and the people I met here inspired me to love and care for the oceans like I’ve always wanted. Less than a week after coming to the lab, I had to remind myself I’m actually just a country girl from a land of forests and green pastures instead of a beachfaring islander, because I'd felt so at home. I couldn’t ask for more in life than to be surrounded by people as excited about sharks as I am, and people so willing to spend nine hours a day working in the hot sun while suffocating on mosquitos, all in the name of shark research. Plus now I’m really, really tan.

Thanks for reading!

Kate Meyer
Sharklab Volunteer, July 15th to August 15th, 2014