Expedition leaders: Dr. Tristan Guttridge and Vital Heim

Crew: Brittany, Carissa, Christy, Dakota, Gabby, Sami and local Bahamian Sorantaa - Resident marine science students Magan and Khrys, from Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI), also joined the crew on a few days to assist the team.

Introduction

A week full of adventure, shark tagging, delicious meals, funny stories and new friendships. We saw seven different shark species, completed a beach cleanup, and had fun in some blue holes! It was a spectacular trip, read all about it below

Day 1

We started the day meeting at the small semi-private airport in Fort Lauderdale at 8 am to prepare for our 9 am flight. There were friendly hellos from returnees and quick introductions with first timers; everyone was buzzing to get going! At last, it was time to board the plane and we took to the skies over the turquoise waters of the Atlantic.

As we approached our home for the next six nights, the whole team was looking out of the windows at the scenery (which included a beautiful rainbow in the clouds) and searching for any signs of marine life. The plane dipped lower preparing for landing and as we passed over one of the creeks of the island a few of us spotted a SAWFISH resting! Of course there were yells of excitement by the crew, what a welcome to the Bahamas!

After landing it was a quick stop through customs and then we loaded into our taxis and headed to the Andros Island Bonefish Club. Upon arrival, everyone quickly unpacked and gathered in the common area for a couple talks from leads Tristan and Vital. Tristan discussed safety as well as what to expect for the week. Vital covered all the equipment we would be using on the boat for shark captures and workups (the processing of the shark once secured).  

It was soon time to get on the water for our first outing! We loaded up and our first order of business was to collect a deep-water acoustic receiver that was deployed last year in 500 meters! The release code was sent, and we excitedly waited for it to make its way to the surface. After several anxious minutes in down pouring rain the buoy popped to the surface, and everyone cheered! You know you’re in good company when people are this excited about data.

We decided to try our luck with the silky sharks at once of our research locations, so we headed over to our famous silky spot and using the polyball technique (a float attached to a line with a hook and bait attached) we attempted to catch some silky sharks. We were treated to yet another rainbow while we waited but no sharks were present.  Some of us hopped in for a quick snorkel in the flat, bottomless blue waters for a cool off and then worked on collecting two more of our receivers. 

We were running out of daylight, so we headed back to the lodge to get cleaned up. Everyone took a quick shower and met back in the common area for a delicious dinner and quick discussion on the next day’s plan before bed.

Day 2

We were up early for a light breakfast and then it was back on the boat and out to our silky shark spot. The sharks were playing hard to get as they were not present on our arrival, so, after an hour of persevering we decided to call it, packed up our equipment and left.

On our way back to the lodge we stopped to redeploy our acoustic receiver which had given us a wealth of detections from many of our previously tagged sharks, as well as other sharks traveling through! It was then time to head back home for a quick lunch break. Once the whole team was recharged, we headed back out to deploy another receiver and then set some drumlines with the aim of catching some sharks.

Drumlines are our most common used method of capture. Similar to the polyball technique there is a float attached to a line, but the line is then attached to a weight that will anchor it in place in the water. There is then a monofilament line with a hook and bait attached. We set six lines and as we waited, we were greeted by a large school of bonefish! We all excitedly watched them swim around and a few people stuck Go-Pros in the water to capture some footage.

The team watches the buoys vigilantly for any signs that a shark is on but regardless we make sure to check them every 45 minutes. We soon saw one moving irregularly so we headed over and found we had a shark on! It was a beautiful Caribbean reef shark. We worked up the shark, including measurements and then sent him on his way. The whole crew was ecstatic at getting to see their first shark and we sat excitedly waiting for more.

By the end of the day, we had three more sharks! All were nurse sharks, one escaped before it could be tagged, and another was a recapture from a previous trip! We were able to determine this was a recaptured shark by scanning her with our PIT tag reader which let us know her tag number, similar to a microchip in a domestic pet such as a cat or dog.

After the captures we headed back to the lodge and as we docked the boat the team decided to go for a quick snorkel in the mangrove channels nearby. We immediately saw a school of pilchards (one of a sawfish’s favorite meal!) and as we headed further into the mangroves everyone was delighted to see a school of bonefish zooming around. The channels with the falling tide created a lazy river affect which a few people floated down and then had the joy of swimming against the current to get back!

It was time consuming heading back as we all enjoyed the incredible views, but we eventually had to go back to the lodge to get ready for dinner. With local fishers cleaning their catch and our discards cast off, it wasn’t long before we spotted some lemon sharks swimming around the lodge dock. We watched the sharks for a while and then after dinner we called it an early night in preparation for another early morning.

Day 3

We woke up and had breakfast under another beautiful sunrise before loading up and heading to a new spot for the day. On this day we had a student from BAMSI joining us on the boat and everyone made friendly introductions before getting started. The area we decided to fish in was near a blue hole, so we had to make sure to strategically place our drumlines around the hole.

With the drumlines set, we patiently waited in the choppy water for any signs of action. It took a little while but suddenly we saw a buoy thrashing around. The movement indicating this was likely a large shark. We started heading over when the sharks large blunt head broke the surface, and the excited yells of TIGER SHARK went around the boat. The crew all prepared for their tasks and the 10ft female was quickly tagged and released. As this was a bucket list shark for one of our team members, Dakota, he was able to hop in and safety field technician Gabby as she took photos and a video clip of the shark on release.

Everyone was over the moon with the large shark tagged and shortly after we had a large nurse, but it escaped before we could bring it close to the boat. With the weather picking up, we headed back to the lodge for a deserved break. During our lunch Tristan gave a talk on The Sharks of The Bahamas and everyone was able to learn and ask any questions they had. 

Soon enough we headed back out for an afternoon of fishing. With drumlines set and as we waited, Vital scooped up a soon sargassum into a bucket to look for any marine life. We enjoyed seeing little shrimp and crabs in the seaweed before putting it back into the ocean.

The day ended with three more nurse sharks! Two of which escaped again before being able to be tagged. As we hauled our gear and headed home for the evening a dolphin was spotted by some of our team! Everyone arrived back at the lodge happy and ready for dinner! Volunteers Christy and Carissa went for a walk looking for any terrestrial life and were delighted to see the famous land crab holes. Another amazing meal was consumed, more lemon sharks were spotted and enjoyed from the dock, and then everyone was off to bed.

Day 4

Today headed out on a windy morning to a local cay that’s one of our favorite spots for research. We set our drumline and then anchored in the shelter of the cay to avoid the wind. We vigilantly watched the buoys for any activity and chatted while we waited. It wasn’t until our third check that we had what would be our only shark of the day. It was an energetic Caribbean reef shark! We took a quick measurement before sending him on his way and reset our gear.

In between our checks the group got into the water for a snorkel around the boat. There were plenty of fish to entertain us playing in the small patches of coral and even a large spider crab hiding in a crevice that we all took turns getting a look at.

After a few more checks with no luck, we headed back to the lodge and hopped in Captain Coles truck for an adventure to an inland blue hole. The water in this murky blue hole is very green in color which has it nick named the green hole. A short walk from the road to the green hole and everyone was excited to jump in and explore.

We all enjoyed seeing the small mosquito fish that hang out close to the surface and come in close if you’re still. Everyone took turns attempting to dive towards to the bottom or practicing our breaching to see who could get highest out of the water by launching in the air! Field technician Rantaa enjoyed using the murky water to his advantage and sneaking up on everyone!

We reluctantly headed back to the lodge and again placed our discards near the dock hoping for some shark action. After a shower, everyone grabbed a beverage of their choice and sat down for Vital to give a lecture on his research. Once again everyone was able to take notes and ask whatever questions they had. Vital now holds the record for the longest lecture in Andros but everyone was extremely engaged as he spoke!

After another amazing dinner we all were delighted to see multiple lemons swimming at the sea wall. We watched them for a long while before a rather large lemon came through and spooked all the smaller ones off. It was then time for bed in preparation for another exciting day.

Day 5

We woke up to some storms which forced us to have a later start than we usually would, but we eventually got going and set up drumlines. It was a while before we finally got our first shark, but it was definitely worth the wait! A beautiful Blacktip! A new species for the trip and everyone was able to get a look as we quickly measured and tagged her.

Not ten minutes later we had another shark and another new species! A little Blacknose shark! We took measurements and quickly sent her on her way.

At this point the sky was getting dark and rain started coming down. With us unable to see our floats this made it unsafe for the sharks as well as us, to continue so we decided to haul our gear and call it a day. As we hauled, we noticed some float movement and were rewarded with another blacknose!

After that, we raced home in the down pour and Tristan’s hat flew off, which we were able to retrieve as everyone poked fun at him! I think the whole group was extremely happy to finally be in some dry clothes after a soggy but exciting day on the boat. We sat around as Tristan gave a talk on shark behavior before dinner and ended the evening with friendly chatter and a movie.

Day 6

Our morning started with a little sleep in and a relaxed breakfast in the common room. It was our day for covid tests but it would not be a day without adventure. We gathered our gear and hopped into Cole’s truck to start our journey north.

Our covid tests were quick and everyone tested negative! Afterward, we stopped at a local beach and inlet to try to get some interactions with baby lemon sharks. Tristan and Sami set up while others snorkeled the mangrove channel. After several minutes we had our first little lemon shark appear. They were very shy and would not come close to us, but everyone was still super happy just knowing they were there.

As our group started walking back to where our truck was parked, we started cleaning up trash. On each expedition we always make an effort to clean up trash and Earth Breeze kindly sponsored this trip’s beach cleanup. We spent over an hour combing the beach and filling our compostable trash bags full of plastic bottles, caps, plastic cutlery, glass, and ropes. Vital even found a full florescent bulb and Sami found a fully intact Gucci bag! You would be extremely surprised by what washes up on the beach!

With a very successful beach clean in the books, we headed to a local bar and grill for lunch. Sammy’s is a favorite of ours and everyone put in their orders before exploring the beach and tide pools directly in front of the restaurant. Khrys, our community outreach and education adviser, and local to the island, met us for lunch and then joined us for the rest of our activities.

We first went to a small channel to look for sawfish. Dakota flew his drone up while Carissa and Brittany searched the tide pools and found a Golden-spotted eel! No sawfish were seen so we hopped back into the vehicles and made our way to Captain Bills blue hole.

This large blue hole resides in a national park of the island and has a jumping platform for visitors to enjoy and boy did our group enjoy it! We spent a long time taking turns doing acrobatic jumps, reenacting movie scenes, and playfully pushing each other off. It’s always incredible to see complete strangers become like family within just a few days. 

After our fun we gathered for a very damp group photo! Make sure to look for Dean (DEAN!!) in the photo, Brittany’s alien that accompanies her on all her trips. Everyone loaded back into the truck and those of us in the bed of the truck passed the time by loudly singing songs and telling stories.

A quick dinner was enjoyed and an early night for our exhausted and happy team.

Day 7

The last day is always the hardest, but we make sure to squeeze in as much as we can, so we woke up super early and were on the boat by sunrise. 

It was our last attempt for silky sharks, and everyone had their fingers crossed. Luck was on our side as we pulled up, our first silky sharks made their way to the surface! Everyone prepared for workups, and we were able to successfully tag five sharks with a few people being able to get in the water as photos and videos were taken of their release.

Three of the five sharks were tagged with acoustic tags which are inserted in the body cavity. Our acoustic receivers will hopefully detect these sharks and over time we’ll gain some valuable data.

With everyone in high spirits, we made one final stop before heading back in. A favorite on our trips is the Coffin, a rectangular shaped oceanic blue hole with abundant coral reefs and life around it. As soon as we hopped in Christy spotted a nurse shark cruising around. Everyone took turns diving down into the hole and pointing out the different fish.

Sadly, it was time to get back to the lodge so we could prepare for our departure. Everyone showered, finished packing, and then cleared out of their rooms. Reluctant goodbyes were said to the wonderful people of the Bonefish club who always take such good care of us, and then we were piling back into the taxis and off to the airport.

Safely back in the States, we said our goodbyes and headed to our destinations, but we all knew that wouldn’t be the last time we saw each other. It was an incredible week with an enthusiastic and fun group! Thank you all for making it an amazing trip!

Thank you

Thank you to our research trip leaders Dr. Tristan Guttridge and Vital Heim 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 Cole from PFO Charters for his top class boating and captaining skills.

Gratitude must also go to Gabby Lozada on the trip for her generosity in allowing us to use her imagery in this blog.

Early results

Blacknose - 2

Blacktip - 1

Caribbean Reef shark - 2

Nurse shark - 7

Silky shark - 5

Tiger shark - 1

Total shark count for the week: 18