September 27, 08 — Two large Tiger sharks caught West of Bimini

On September 27th, BBFS staff along with Dr. Demian Chapman set a vertical long-line in almost 700 feet of water and caught two large male Tiger sharks. Both of these "big boys" measured almost 12 feet in total length. All personell from the lab were on hand to watch the workups and snorkel with the Tigers. The day culminated when Lab manager Kat swam the second Tiger shark to a successful release. Everyone at the lab was thrilled to experience the size, power and beauty of these magnificent fish.

12 foot Tiger shark alongside Twin Vee

September 4, 08 — Hurricane Hanna & Ike

Those of you following this active Hurricane season and those concerned about the welfare of the Sharklab and its people, know that we are monitoring the storms daily. We escaped Hanna with little more than the occassional wind gusts. Ike is a different story.

Hurricane Ike's Predicted Route

Currently Ike is due to make its way to Bimini on Tuesday. The current track has the storm passing directly over Bimini. Ike has the makings of a devasting storm. Preparations are already underway for securing the lab and equipment. Evacuation plans for volunteers, staff and film crew are underway should they be needed. Staff in Flordia are prepare to deal with all the logistics of moving our people off the island. All we can do is hope and wait.

To keep updated on the hurricane's progress you can visit the National Hurricane Center

August 25, 08 — Film Production

Two months of filming have started on an upcoming mini series set to air in 2009. The show will be following the Sharklab crew on their many shark adventures in Bimini, Marquesas, Jupiter and Tiger Beach. It also follows the daily routine of life at a field research station, and the people that make it all happen. Stay tuned for more details on this major filming event.

August 17-24, 08 — University of Minnesota Course

Students from the University of Minnesota spent a week at the Sharklab learning and studying the variety of marine plants and animals that are found in the many different marine habitats around the island of Bimini. The course was hosted by Dr. Samuel Gruber, Dr. Dean Grubbs and Dr. Peter Sorensen. Field trips were done on rocky shore lines, intertidal pools, mangroves lagoons, sea grass beds, artificial reefs, coral patch reefs and others. The students finished their field trip with an identification exam followed by a shark dive with Caribbean Reef Sharks. The Sharklab would like to thank Dr. Peter Sorensen and all his students for an enjoyable, though windy week of field activities.

July 29, 08 — Sharklab undergoes renovation

Sharklab Construction Crew

In the heat of July staff and volunteers were busily tearing out the old deck and building a new one. It took the better part of a week to construct, and even longer to plan.

The Finished Deck

All the supplies were purchased in Florida, shipped to South Bimini, cleared through Bahamas Customs then delivered to the Sharklab with the help of our friends at Bimini Sands. The finished product looks great. It was a much needed renovation.

July 23-28, 08 — The American Elasmobranch Society Meeting

Many of the Sharklab staff were away in Montreal, Canada for a meeting of The American Elasmobranch Society. AES was founded by Dr. Gruber in 1983, and 2008 marked its 24th annual meeting.

Sharklab Alumni

The meeting offers a chance for our scientist to present some of their work to other shark and rays scientists. It also offers a chance to meet and talk to others about work going on in the field of elasmobranch research. Each year there is a Sharklab group dinner hosted by Doc & Marie. Past and current Sharklab alumni enjoy a chance to catch up with old friends and talk about past adventures. Next year’s meeting is scheduled for July 22-27 in Portland, OR.

July 6, 08 — Wilderness Classroom visits the Sharklab

On July 6, 2008 students aboard the R/V Coral Reef II stopped by to pay a visit to the Sharklab. The students are part of the High School Marine Biology Program at Shedd Aquarium and the Wilderness Classroom. The program is aimed at students who may want to explore marine science as a career path. More information on the Wildernss Classroom, the HSMB Program and a short video clip of their visit can be found on their website wildernessclassroom.com

Take a moment to check it out!

June 11, 08 — Tiger Beach Expedition Update Online!

On June 8-11, 2008 Doc, Steve Kessel, and Matt Potenski joined Capt. Pete Lindgren and the crew of the M/V Dollie for a trip to the Tiger Beach site, off the West End. During the three day stay, the team encountered adult lemon sharks and tiger sharks. Among the work completed was DNA sampling, placing hydrophone receiver units, tagging and palcing transmitters on two adult females, and assisting field tests of "sharkproof" mesh for Lindgren-Pitman, Inc. The trip was a great success. To see more pictures and read about the expedition CLICK HERE!

Tiger Beach - Home of Adult Lemon Sharks

June 07, 08 — BBFS PIT 2008 Lemon Shark Census Begins

It is that time of year again. In the last two months the mother lemon sharks have come into the lagoon and dropped their litters of pups. BBFS will go out and intensively fish the Bimini lagoon in an attempt to catch and census all the juvenile lemons residing there. This will mark the 14th straight year the lab has conducted a yearly census in what is the longest continuous and focused study on a shark species anywhere in the world. You can follow along with our PIT Project Census via the PIT 2008 web journal.

May 19, 08 — 320cm Tiger Shark caught by hand.

On a day off a few individuals from the Sharklab teamed up with Grant and Katie from Bimini Sands. They set out on the Bimini Sands Twin Vee to investigate some new spear fishing locations several miles north of the island. On the way there they passed a large Tiger shark swimming calmly along the surface.

320cm Tiger Shark

After a brief attempt to swim with the shark they decided to catch it from the boat. The only problem was none of their normal tagging equipment was on board. Sean and Grant knew they had caught a free swimming Tiger shark by hand before and set out to do it again. After a number of attempts the Tiger's tail was grabbed and a tail rope was attached. The shark was then placed along the side of the Twin Vee where a pec rope was also added. Once the shark was secured it was measured to be 320cm total length.

From the size of the shark, it was thought it could have been pregnant. After snapping a few photographs the shark was released. This shark is likely the same individual that has been spotted on multiple occasions by local dolphin tour boats in the same area.

May 17-25, 08 — Brandon Cole, marine photographer visits Bimini.

Marine photographer, Brandon Cole spent a week at the Sharklab to photograph mangroves around Bimini. He also spent time photographing Sharklab personnel working with juvenile lemon sharks.

Brandon's website brandoncole.com has some absolutely breathe taking images. Take a moment to check it out!

May 12-18, 08 — CCU shark biology course.

BBFS hosted a shark biology course from Coastal Carolina University. Professor Abel and his teaching assistant Katie along with 16 students spent a week in Bimini learning about sharks.

CCU & Sharklab

The course was a combination of lectures and field trips. Dr. Dean Grubbs from Florida State University was a guest lecturer as were several members of the Sharklab staff. BBFS would like to thank Dan, Katie, Dean, David, Colton, Chris, Aaron, Tami (who decided to stay behind), Mallorie, Stacy, Bailey, Stephanie, Samantha, Marianna, Marciena, Leah, Amanda, Genevieve, and Rory. We hope you enjoyed your stay at the Sharklab.

May 8-12, 08 — National Geographic tries to ultrasound a Lemon shark.

Pioneer Productions, in conjunction with National Geographic, traveled to Bimini in an attempt to catch and ultrasound a pregnant lemon shark for an upcoming show called "In the Womb".

Sharklab with Lemon

New born Lemon shark

During the months of April and May, pregnant lemon sharks are known to return to the inner lagoon in Bimini to give birth. Armed with this knowledge the Sharklab crew was successful in locating and tracking a pregnant lemon for the film team.

Once under control an ultrasound was carried out on the shark by Dr. Thomas Hildebrandt, assisted by veterinarian Andrena Garabedian. While filming the sharks' release a total of 14 lemons were born. DNA was collected from the neonate sharks which were then transported to the safety of the mangroves and released. The mother was released with a satellite pop up tag. Stay tuned for more information on her whereabouts. In the Womb airs October 6th, on Channel 4 (UK). The North American release to follow.

May 3rd, 08 — Spear fishing world record.

While enjoying a day of spearing with Grant & Katie from Bimini Sands a world spearing record was set. Well, almost. A 44 lb. Permit was taken by Grant, Katie, Sean and Eva.

44lb. Permit

Hawaiian sling is the only legal method of spearing in Bahamian waters, and while this fish captured by Hawaiian sling is actually bigger than the current world records set by spear gun, it was ineligible. The fish was taken by multiple persons and therefore deemed invalid from world record status. The record being 40.5 lbs. for a female spearfisher and 38 lbs. for a male spearfisher. Grant and Katie donated the entire fish to the Sharklab for our shark research needs. Thanks guys!

April 26-30, 08 — UNB shark biology course at BBFS.

Professor Steve Turnbull from the University of New Brunswick (Canada) returned with his class for another successful shark biology course. His students spent 5 days learning about sharks and shark biology.

UNB & Sharklab

The students experienced Lemon, Caribbean Reef, Blacknose, Tiger, Blacktip, Great Hammerhead and Nurse sharks in the wild. They also saw a variety of ray species including an up close and personal feeding of Southern Stingrays. Thanks to Dr. Turnbull and his class (Mark, Chester, Chris, Eliane, Julie, Kimberly, Jessica, Katherine, Brandy, Christine, Emily, Ashley, Anna, Natasha, Susan, and Ann) for another great course.

April 26th, 08 — Twin Vee arrives that the Sharklab.

After much anticipation the Sharklab's newest vessel finally arrives. Twin Vee has graciously provided the Sharklab with a 22' center console. The vessel will replace the aging Aquasport.

Sharklab's 22' Twin Vee

Davey Marine and Mercury Marine were instrumental in outfitting the Twin Vee Catamaran with twin Mercury 115HP EFI outboards. We are very excited with our new research vessel and look forward to a great working relationship with Twin Vee. Special thanks to David East, Tim De Vries, and Dan McCarthy from Twin Vee, Mario Aiello of Davey Marine and Robert Grantham of Mercury Marine.

April 23-26, 08 — Satellite tag pops off at Tiger Beach, Bahamas.

An important piece of information was recently discovered when a satellite tag placed on a Lemon shark in Jupiter, Florida recently popped off near Tiger Beach, Bahamas. Populations observed in Florida do intermix with those in the Bahamas. Tiger Beach is a well known shark diving destination where dive operators offer encounters with large Tiger and Lemon sharks.

Adult Lemon Sharks

Armed with this new information, Sharklab scientists Steve Kessel and Tristan Gutridge travel to Tiger Beach along with Ushiaua and obtain DNA samples from 10 adult Lemon sharks. BBFS hopes to set out bottom monitors at Tiger Beach in June with the hopes that some of our sharks having acoustic transmitters from Bimini and/or Jupiter will be found there.

April 21-22, 08 — Ushiaua French Film team looks for Lemons.

Just days after successful chasing down a 281 pregnant lemon and attaching a satellite tag, the Sharklab crew again set out to search the inner lagoon between North and South Bimini for Lemon sharks. This time it was for a French film program called Ushiaua.

Satellite Tag

The film team was simply looking for footage of sub-adult or adult lemon sharks swimming in the inner lagoon of Bimini. Little did they know they would become involved in another successful capture of a pregnant Lemon shark. The shark, while being filmed started to delivery her pups. A mad scramble ensued whereby the neonates were all sampled for DNA and released along the edge of the mangrove forests lining the lagoon. Before the female was release the second of 2 satellite tags provided by Demian Chapman and the PEW Institute was attached along with a 4 year acoustic tag. The female was release and tracked for about an hour to ensure she was doing fine. The neonates release will no doubt be recaptured during the Sharklab's annual PIT census in June.

April 19th, 08 — 281 pregnant lemon tagged in Bimini.

A crew returning from East Bimini, led by staff members Kat and Tristan, came across a large adult female Lemon shark. They were successful in capturing the shark, despite being on a small single skiff.

281cm Pregnant Lemon Shark

The shark was worked up and measured in at a total length of 281cm and was pregnant. Earlier that same day, Dr. Demian Chapman with the PEW Institute of Marine Science arrived at the lab with two satellite tags. Dr. Chapman hoped to be able to attach them to female Lemon sharks over the next couple of months. Little did he think just a few hours after stepping off the plane he would be called out into the field to attach one of these 6-month pop off satellite tags. A 4-year acoustic transmitter was also attached to this shark which will no doubt reveal some interesting and important information on the patterns of adult lemon sharks, especially the pregnant females.

March 29, 08 — Bimini Wedding

Bimini Wedding

On a warm sunny Bahamian afternoon Bryan Franks and Joy Young were married on the beach of South Bimini. The newly wed couple first met at the Sharklab. Bryan was a Principal Investigator and Joy was a Volunteer and Assistant Lab Manager.

It was a special time for everyone at the Sharklab. While it wasn't the first marriage between two former "Sharklabers" it does mark the first Sharklab marriage held in Bimini.

It was a remarkable gathering of past and present Sharklab staff. Besides Bryan and Joy, the wedding was attended by ten of the current staff, namely: Doc, Marie, Steve (Best man), Tristan, Joey, Sean, Kat, Emily, Jim, and Duncan. Also in attendance were former staff Grant, Katie, Jackie, Kiwi, Matthias as well as current project student Mark and former project student Jo.

The Bride

The weather, which had been dreadful prior to the wedding, could not have been better. A clear blue sky and flat calm water.

Fifty friends and family were in attendance for the ceremony, many experiencing Bimini for the first time. We wish Bryan and Joy all the best in their future together and are excited to have Bryan back working with the Sharklab again.

Congratulations!

March 19, 08 — Fabian Cousteau's video about Bimini hits YouTube

Fabian Cousteau, grandson to Jacques Cousteau, releases his short film on the environmental problems that face Bimini. Watch this compelling video on YouTube

Also take a moment to visit Ocean Futures Society or Save Bimini.org to learn more about the situation on Bimini and how you can help ensure a sustainable future for this amazing island and the people that live here.

March 19, 08 — Sharklab cleans Shell beach

Staff and volunteers spent a bad weather afternoon doing a beach cleanup in South Bimini. The group removed over 700 pounds of garbage from one of the nicest beaches in Bimini. The target area was Shell beach, near the Bimini Sands Resort & Marina, an area prone to garbage washing ashore.

March 16, 08 — The Sharklab undergoes some renovations

Newly constructed dock

Home improvements have been taking place at the Sharklab. A new dock was built in December, and renovations to Bathroom #1, #2 and the kitchen are almost completed.

The Sharklab staff have been busily working away to make these much needed improvements. Those that have been here in the past will be amazed with these changes.

March 13, 08 — Jupiter work comes to a successful finish

Another season of work with adult Lemon shark aggregations in Jupiter Florida has come and gone. The last of the Sharklab staff has returned to Bimini after a very successful season in Jupiter. 20 Lemon sharks were transmittered and 4 satellite tags deployed. The project wrapped up with a celebration on March 13th. Dr. Samuel Gruber, Dr. Bryan Franks and project leader Steve Kessel would like to thank those that have given their time and resources to this continuing project, namely Walt Sterns, Bill Parks, Cheryl Carroll, Mike Newman, Joanne & John Fraser, Phil Besler, Tony Grogan, Demian Chapman, Todd Gedamke, Dave Kerstetter, Joe Deppen, Chris Berry, Joy Young, Kristene Parsons, Kat Gledhill, Mark Bond, Duncan Brake, and Tristan Guttridge.

March 4-5, 08 — Myth Busters films at the Sharklab

Myth Busters and Shark Defense returned to the Sharklab on March 4th and 5th. Their show will be part of Discovery Channel's Shark Week.

Myth Buster visits the Sharklab

Jamie and Adam were working with Eric, Pat and Craig from Shark Defense. They are demonstrating the effects of magnets as effective shark repellents. Jamie sets out to make a remote control Tiger Shark, using magnets.

Tune in to Shark Week this July to see the results.

February 29, 08 — Sharkwater filmmaker, Rob Stewart visits the Sharklab

Rob Stewart, producer and filmmaker of the award winning documentary SHARKWATER visited the Sharklab along with Tyler MacLeod of Sharkwater Productions Inc. and French TV TF1. Rob and crew were only with us for a single day to shoot some promotional footage for the French release of Sharkwater.

Sharkwater's Rob Stewart

While it was a short visit, it was also action packed. Sharklab and Sharkwater teamed up for a shark dive with Caribbean Reef sharks, some hands on work with our juvenile Lemon sharks and wrapped it all up early the next day by tagging one of five Tiger sharks that were caught on our long lines.

The Sharklab wishes Rob continued success with his film. Look for the North American DVD release in April, 2008. For more information on Sharkwater, Click Here.

January 24, 08 — The Ocean Futures Society speaks out to save Bimini

The Ocean Futures Society, headed by the world famous Cousteau family, has joined hundreds of other voices in the effort to save Bimini's valuable ecology. Fabien Cousteau, grandson of famed explorer Jacques Cousteau, has visited Bimini twice in the last 2 months and has posted his thoughts on Bimini's plight. The issue of unsustainable development on Bimini has reached a massive international audience and with the Cousteau's now joining the effort hopefully the government of the Bahamas, as well as those involved with the contentious developments here on Bimini, will listen and act to protect what is left of this unique island chain.

Please take a moment to visit Ocean Futures Society Click Here to learn more about the situation on Bimini and how you can help ensure a sustainable future for the this amazing island, and the people that live here.

January 24, 08 — New volunteers arrive at the Sharklab. Staff leave for Jupiter, FL

The Sharklab welcomes some new members to their research team. Eight new volunteers will be lending a hand over the next month or more. A few members of our staff members are off to Florida for work with the adults lemon shark aggregations that appear this time of year.

For more information on our new volunteers Eva, Christine, Lindsay, Hayley, Jennifer, Michael, Dan, and William see our volunteer section of the website Click Here.

January 16-19, 08 — BBC and History Channel at the Sharklab

BBFS was host to the BBC and History Channel for a few days of filming. The BBC was carrying out a recce of the Sharklab and sharks of Bimini in order to plan additional filming for an upcoming program on sharks. The History Channel was filming a program on the Evolution of Sex and was looking at male and female sharks around Bimini.

January 15-24, 08 — Eckerd College class at the Sharklab for the first time

BBFS welcomed Eckerd College from St. Petersburg, FL for their first visit to the Sharklab to partake in a 7 day Shark Biology course. The students went in the field for shark dives with Caribbean Reef Sharks, feed Southern Stingrays, went shark fishing with the staff, gillnetting for sharks and shark workups as well as lectures in the classroom.

The staff of the Sharklab would like to thank professor Bill Szelistowski (aka Ski), his son and students Carly Cappelluzzo, Carrie Minnick, Alicia Roberts, Michelle Von Sternberg, Lauren Vonnahme, Mike Felder, Dylan Atchley, Kiki Vinita, Caitlin Aguero, Ryan Appold, Pat Gardner, Chris Lynch, Jasmine Steele, Rachel Wencek, and Kerrie Collins.

January 4-13, 08 — University of Miami MBF-514 class returns to the Sharklab

The Sharklab welcomed the University of Miami to their lab for a 9 day tropical marine biology course. This year marked the 10th consecutive year that Professor Dan DiResta returned to Bimini to help teach the students about the marine life found in Bimini's water. The course enjoyed some great weather while snorkeling at Bone Fish Hole, Shell Beach, Turtle Rocks, the Sapona, Triangle Rocks with the Caribbean Reef Sharks and around the sea grass beds and mangroves of Bimini.

December 17, 07 — Closed for the Holiday Season

The Sharklab would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Most of the crew has return home to visit family and friends during the Christmas Holiday, with a couple of volunteers staying behind to look after the lab. The lab officially closed shop on Dec 15th but will reopen again on Jan 2nd when the staff returns to Bimini to prepare for the upcoming university courses. The entire staff will be returning in 2008 along with Mark Bond, our project student. In addition we will be getting some experienced help for the university course from past volunteers.

The Sharklab wishes Sander Dijk all the best on the completion of his Masters project. Sander finished the field work portion of his project and has return to the Netherlands. We wish all the best to our volunteers from 2007, with special thanks going to Ellen Waldrop who was with us for the past 6 months.

BBFS looks forward to some old friends and new faces in 2008. Have a safe and enjoyable Christmas everyone. From the staff and management of the Bimini Biological Field Station - Sharklab.

December 3, 07 — Cousteau visits Bimini

Fabian Cousteau, grandson of famed underwater naturalist Jacques Cousteau, was recently in Bimini to get a first hand view the Bimini Bay site.

Cousteau visits Bimini

Mr. Cousteau took a close look at the impacts the development has had on the mangroves of the North Sound. He also spent some time at East Wells, nearby reefs of Bimini, and took in a shark dive with Caribbean Reef sharks.

He viewed the development by land, by boat and by helicopter. He also interviewed local Bahamians over the controversy of this project, and talked directly to the general manager of Bimini Bay. Mr. Cousteau was accompanied by some old friends of the Sharklab. We were more than happy to lend a helping hand where possible, and look forward to having him keep a close eye on Bimini Bay as it progresses through its various stages of development.

For more information on the Bimini Bay project, Click Here.

November 30, 07 — Bull and Hammerhead sightings in Alice Town

The Sharklab is getting excited with the recent shark sightings in Alice Town. On several occasions 5 large Bull sharks were observed off the marina at the Bimini Big Game Club. The sharks were attracted in by carcasses left out from visiting sport fishing vessels. There have also been three recent Great Hammerhead sightings. One 10 footer observed by Dolphin Expeditions near Turtle Rocks. Another sighted by the Sharklab crew while aboard the Twin Vee Catamaran near Hawksbill Reef at night. The third, an impressive 13' shark, was observed near the South Bimini ferry dock mid afternoon.

November 16-20, 07 — Sharklab and Twin Vee Catamarans

The Sharklab is pleased to announce that Twin Vee Catamarans of Ft. Pierce, Florida has generously agreed to supply the Sharklab with a 22' vessel for use in our shark research projects.

Twin Vee docked at the Beach Club

Tim De Vries and Dan McCarthy of Twin Vee visited the Sharklab during a few days in November. They brought along their impressive 29' catamaran to assist in a shark dive with a group from France. Stay tuned for updates when our new vessel is set to arrive in Bimini.

For more information on Twin Vee Catamarans, Click Here.

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