Expedition leaders: Dr. Phil Matich and Sorantaa Bain

Crew: Cassidy, Elizabeth, Gabby, Jake, Joshua, Meghan, and Morgan

Introduction

A week of research and exploration. We had four tiger sharks seen, a great hammerhead SPOT tagged, and two beaches cleaned just to name a few highlights. We snorkeled beautiful reefs, had lemon sharks swimming around our feet, and of course tagged a lot sharks. Read a day by day breakdown below.

Day 1

We started our first day meeting at the airport around sunrise for our 8 am departure. The group made introductions and excitedly talked about what the week would bring. Before we knew it, it was time to board the plane and make our way over to Andros.

Our flight was quick and smooth with everyone looking out the windows and taking in the gorgeous scenery of the Bahamas blue waters. After landing it was a quick stop in customs before loading up the taxis and heading to the lodge.

The group was given time to unpack and settle in then everyone met for lunch and a safety briefing. It was finally time to gather our gear and hop on the boat for our first afternoon out on the water. We headed to an area nearby and set our lines and within the first couple of hours we hooked onto a large male nurse shark. He got away before we could secure and tag him but still an exciting start to the trip.

In between checks we had a pod of bottlenose dolphins hunting and playing in the area. There were about eight of them with a small baby in the mix. They were a fun distraction, but we knew if they were staying around comfortably, it was likely we didn’t have any large sharks in the area. Shortly after we saw a large loggerhead as well!

Before long we had another shark on the line. Turned out to be a recaptured nurse shark. This shark was originally captured in 2022 so it was really exciting to see she was still in the area doing well.

It was getting late, so we hauled our gear and headed back to get cleaned up for dinner. To end our night, Phil gave a lecture on the sharks of the Bahamas so the team would be familiar with the species we may encounter over the week.

Day 2

We woke up early and enjoyed watching the sunrise while we had our breakfast and packed our lunches for the day. It was pretty windy so we decided to set a bit closer to shore to avoid big waves.

It did not take long at all for us to get our first shark. It’s a nice feeling when you start out the day with an epic shark and this was a large male tiger shark! The crew was thrilled to have such a large and exciting shark to start the day. He was tagged with an acoustic tag and sent on his way. This wouldn’t be our only big shark of the day though.

The morning with very busy with our next shark being a recaptured reef shark that was also tagged with an acoustic tag. Immediately after the reefie we had another large shark on the line. We quickly headed over to check and it was another tiger shark! During another check we had a little blacknose on the line and we decided to give her a quick ultrasound as well.

We had several more checks and a lot of our bait was being stolen. Potentially just being picked off by all the reef fish in the area but no sharks for quite some time. It was getting close to the time we would need to head back and as we started to move the boat we had another strike!

We headed over and were surprised to find a great hammerhead on the line! We made sure to quickly tag her so we could send her on her way. She was tagged with a SPOT tag before swimming off into the blue. - We have a track of this shark and she is alive and well!

With a long and very productive day behind us we gathered our gear. Before heading back to the lodge we decided to make a quick stop for a snorkel over some patch reef. The group enjoyed looking for different species of fish hiding in the soft corals.

It was then time to head back in with just enough time to clean our gear and ourselves before dinner was served.

Day 3

Another early morning but with better weather we decided to make our way out to the Tongue Of The Ocean to see if we could find some silky sharks.

Upon arrival we were greeted by several mahi mahi swimming around the boat. They stayed with us for the entire time we were out there but unfortunately no sharks made an appearance. After a couple hours of trying, we decided to call it and head closer to shore to try our luck there.

Our lines were set and before long we had our first shark of the day. It was a little nurse shark who we quickly tagged and released. Then after that it was rapid fire sharks! We had many reef sharks back to back, one was a recapture as well! The recapture was also given an ultrasound.

The afternoon brought us even more sharks. We had a large nurse shark and some blacknose make an appearance. In between checks the group chatted and enjoyed the calm weather.

The calm didn’t last too long though as soon a storm rolled in a few hours later and the shark action slowed down. We spent about an hour watching our buoys in the rain and enjoying the lightening show in the distance.

The storm passed and a rainbow appeared for us to enjoy while we tagged our last shark of the day which was a small reef shark. We did our final check and then hauled our lines before making our way back to the lodge. We made back in time  to clean up our gear and dry off before going to dinner.

Day 4

We wanted to try our luck back at the buoy so we quickly ate our breakfast and headed out to the tongue of the ocean.

Once again we had a small school of mahi swimming around the boat. We set up a few rigs to drift but after another hour and half of no sharks, we had to move on. Before heading back though, the group hopped in the water to swim with the the mahi. They made several passes around us, taking turns checking us out, it was such a special and thrilling moment!

Everyone hopped back on the boat and it was back to work. We headed close to shore and set up near a cay. The water was very calm and crystal clear so we could see the coral and sea fans from the surface.

Today would be the day of small sharks and there were several of them! Started off with a blacknose and then they kept coming! We also had a nurse shark and baby reef shark.

During one of our checks, we had a shark at the surface investigating the buoy. When we drove up to it, it swam under the surface, and we lost sight of it. Within just a few minutes it was on one of our lines and we were able to confirm that it was a small tiger shark! She was quickly tagged and released back into the beautiful reef.

With the tide going slack and the shark action slowing down, it was time to pull our gear and head home. On our way back we stopped at one of our favorite ocean blue holes that we have named ‘The Coffin’.

This rectangular blue hole always has a lot of life in and around it. The group hopped in and enjoyed swimming around and in the blue hole while watching all the marine life that called this place home.

We reluctantly climbed back onto the boat and ended our day on the water. After a delicious dinner, the group gathered around the tv in the main room. Phil gave a lecture on the various projects we have going on and answered any questions people had on the research before we all headed to bed.

Day 5

The morning started off really windy, but it wasn’t bad enough to keep us landlocked. We hopped on the boat after breakfast and went into an area that would help us stay protected from the wind.

We had set our lines for a little over an hour when we received a call from one of the local fishing guides that they had just spotted a sawfish! We quickly gathered our things and headed over to the area it was seen to see if we could find it.

After finding the general area it was seen, we took our time slowly cruising along the shore and shallow areas with everyone keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of the sawfish. After about an hour and half we had seen a couple lemon sharks but unfortunately no sawfish.

We headed back to our fishing spot and continued working into the afternoon but sadly there were no sharks to be seen. It was decided we would call it a day and as we hauled our gear, we ended up having one nurse shark on! It was tagged quickly and then we headed off for our next activity.

With a good tide and plenty of daylight left, we made our way over to our favorite lemon shark spot. On the way over, a large shark was spotted swimming in super shallow water. We approached it and discovered it was a tiger shark! Upon closer inspection we also realized she had one of our tags! We were unable to get the tag number, but it was amazing to see another one of our sharks in the area.

Everyone hopped off the boat and waded over to the sand patch to try to see some lemon sharks. Within minutes we saw a dorsal fin of a small one and shortly after that we had several swimming around the group’s feet.

We spent a couple hours with the lemons. There were around seven sharks all from babies to subadults swimming up and down the channel and around the group. This spot is always a highlight for people and the sharks always deliver an incredible, unforgetable experience!

A very happy team said farewell to the lemons and loaded back onto the boat to head back to the lodge.

Day 6

We woke up to a super windy day and realized it would not be fun or safe for us to go out on the boat. With this being our last full day we started by cleaning and organizing our gear before going to our first activity of the day.

The group hopped into the truck and began our drive all the way north to Red Bay. This remote settlement at the northern tip of Andros has been visited by us several times in the past. Today we would be doing a beach clean focusing on plastics and ghost fishing gear.

We split into two groups and spent about an hour collecting bottles, fishing line, and even a large net. Along the way we also found what looked to be shark vertebra. Piling all the trash into the truck we headed far from the ocean to the local dump to drop everything off. Along the way we made a quick stop to see a local man in possession of a sawfish rostrum.

The gentleman relayed a story that the sawfish was found tangled in a net and sadly died. This was a good opportunity for the group to see what a rostrum looked like up close and gave us an opportunity to chat about the importance of sawfish and to ask if there were any new sightings in the area.

For a little midday break we headed to a favorite inland blue hole. Everyone took turns jumping off the platform, swimming around or walking the trail. We spent a little over an hour there having a quick snack and enjoying the weather. After leaving we made a stop at Androsia, a local silk and fabric store and some people grabbed souvenirs. Before heading to our final stop of the day, we grabbed some snacks and drinks at one of our favorite restaurants.

To end the day we went to a popular beach on our way back. We spent some time conducting another beach clean. Once again focusing on various plastics and any other debris that has washed on shore. A few people found a partially buried tarp that had been breaking apart and littering the beach with plastic fibers. With a lot of determination, we were able to unbury and remove the whole tarp.

Packing the truck with all the collected trash, we took some time to simply enjoy the beautiful beach, lagoon and creeks in the area. As we walked, we even spotted a few little lemon sharks swimming along the shore.

A quick stop at the dump again and then we made our way back to clean up for dinner. We had another delicious meal and then to end the evening Phil made a fun interactive quiz game on bull sharks.

Day 7

Our last day was another windy one, meaning we were once again landlocked. We took our time eating breakfast and getting our stuff partially packed.

For our last adventure Rantaa decided to take everyone on a walk down the creek that the lodge resides on. We made our way through some trail making stops along the way to look in the mangroves and check the creek for any animal life.

We then went across the road, and then made our way onto the limestone rocks that lined the creek. As we carefully made our way towards the water we chatted and enjoyed any wildlife we could spot.

When we arrived at a point where it was no longer easy or safe to keep going, we turned around and made our way back to lodge. It was a fun morning walk and with sharks and rays regularly seen down the creek everyone enjoyed the anticipation of ‘what if’s’… Finally, it was time for us to finish packing and eat a quick lunch while we soaked up the last of the beautiful scenery.

At last we said our goodbyes to the wonderful staff of the Bonefish lodge, climbed into our taxis, and made our way back to the airport to fly home.

Thank you

Thank you to our research trip leaders Dr. Phil Matich and Sorantaa Bain for guiding the team through an incredibly successful week. A huge thank you to our research assistants for their passion, determination and endless enthusiasm to work hard, learn and produce results. We would also like to thank the Andros Island Bonefish Club for their hospitality, and the hardworking and ever professional Stevano for his top class boating and captaining skills.

Gratitude must also go to Gabby Lozada for her generosity in allowing us to use her images in this blog.