Expedition leaders: Dr. Phil Matich, Emily Spurgeon, and Sorantaa Bain

Crew: Dani, Gabby, Juliet, Laura, Melissa, Sami, and Tiff

Introduction

The last Saving the Blue trip of the year was one for the books! Seven species of shark seen with two large tigers being our highlight. The trip was full of fun, laughs, big sharks, and even a visit from Santa! Read all about it below.

Day 1

Our team met at the airport bright and early for an 8 am departure to Andros. We had several familiar faces and some new ones for this trip, so it was nice to chat and make introductions while we waited to board. Before we knew it, it was time to load up and begin our short journey to The Bahamas!

The flight over is always beautiful! Seeing the turquoise waters of The Bahamas and looking for wildlife as we descend on the island. Andros is the blue hole capital of the world so it’s a lot of fun to spot them from the air.

Upon arrival we made a quick stop through customs, hopped into our taxis, and headed to our home for the next 6 nights. Once there, it was time for a quick lunch and briefing before we loaded up the boat and headed out on the water.

Our first afternoon out consisted of getting our team acquainted with the gear and research equipment. People are taught how to set everything up and are walked through what a shark workup will look like when we catch one. 

Once on the water we set five lines and although we had bites from two nurses sharks, they got away before we could measure and tag them! After a beautiful afternoon out on the water it was time to head back in to clean up and have dinner before resting up for the next day!

Day 2

We woke up bright and early to eat breakfast and pack our lunches before getting out on the water. With the team already getting some practice the day before, it didn’t take us long to get all set up and have our gear in the water.

As soon as we set, we had some action! Our first shark of the day was an adorable little baby Caribbean reef shark! We quickly measured and tagged her before sending her on her way. This was an exciting way to start the day with this being some people’s very first shark up close.

We reset and checked the rest of our lines and then it was back to waiting. The team chatted and snacked to pass the time on the lovely waters of The Bahamas. Shortly after that we saw we had a shark on! We had another small shark to work up, but this was a new species; our first Blacknose of the trip. Another quick workup and off it went back into the blue…

The rest of the afternoon was quiet, with no more shark action and as we were running out of daylight we decided to haul our lines and head home. On our way back to the lodge we stopped for a quick snorkel at one of our favorite blue holes around the island. Everyone hopped in to admire the stunning corals and countless fishes swimming around the blue hole.

On arrival home, we cleaned up our gear, ate dinner, and started to prepare for an exciting school visit later in the week. The team worked hard wrapping and organizing gifts which they’ll give to the children from Santa! After a very busy and fun day it was finally time to call it a night and head to bed.

Day 3

Day three started with a quick and delicious breakfast at the lodge. Then we were off to search for sharks again! We departed the dock, headed out to our fishing spot for the day, and had our lines in the water just shortly after sunrise.

We didn’t need to wait too long before we had our first shark! It was a Nurse shark who so happened to also be a recapture from a previous trip! We remeasured the shark before quickly releasing her.

With one shark already on the board after less than an hour on the water, the team was very hopeful for a productive day. Shortly after, we had yet another Nurse shark and then an adorable little blacknose!

As we spent time chatting and snacking on the boat, we saw our lines show signs of sharks once again! We ended the day with a Caribbean reef shark and another little blacknose. After a very busy day out on the water it was time to head back in and get cleaned up for dinner.

Upon arrival home we had lemon sharks waiting for us at the dock. While we unwound and waited for dinner to be ready, we were able to enjoy watching them swim around in just a few inches of water. Always a pleasure ending the day with them!

Day 4

Another amazing start to the day eating breakfast while watching the sunrise. When everyone was finished eating and packed up, we loaded onto the boat to make our way to the Tongue of the Ocean (TOTO). Our goal today was to find some silky sharks to tag. Over the last few years these sharks have proven difficult to find and so we hoped today would be our lucky day!

Upon arrival we found a couple of very young silky sharks hanging around an oceanic FAD (Fish Aggregating Device) We were able to catch them and quickly tag them. The sharks were so young they still had their umbilical scars (similar to a human belly button) which is amazing to see in person.

With the two little silkies tagged and no other sharks showing in the area, we headed back closer to shore. It didn’t take very long for us to start catching other species of shark and the first one of the day was a Caribbean reef shark!

The weather was beautiful, and everyone was having a great time on the boat listening to music whilst watching the buoys for movement. Throughout the rest of the afternoon we tagged four reef sharks and many nurse sharks! After a long day, and with several sharks seen and tagged it was time to head back to the lodge. Upon arrival we were greeted by the local lemon sharks once again to keep us company as we chatted before dinner.

Day 5

Another morning out on the water bright and early! We made our way back out to the Tongue of the Ocean to try our luck with the silky sharks again. We set our lines out and waited for quite some time, but with no sharks around, we were forced to make a plan to change sites.

Before departing we decided to hop in for a quick pelagic snorkel before heading back towards shallower water. Snorkeling out in the deep ocean is a unique experience and the team had a lot of fun swimming around in the deep blue.

Everyone loaded back on the boat, and we headed back closer to shore to reset our lines. Once again it didn’t take long for us to start catching sharks. We were able to catch and acoustically tag multiple Caribbean reef sharks.

After a couple of reef sharks we saw one of our lines showing signs of another shark on. However, this shark seemed to be much bigger! We pulled up to our buoy and realized we had a large TIGER SHARK on the line! The team was buzzing with excitement and for many this was their first time seeing a tiger shark. The shark was quickly secured and tagged with an acoustic tag before being released back into the blue.

We reset and tagged a few more reef sharks before we made the decision to haul our gear for the day. Before heading back in we made a stop over some healthy reefs to have a quick snorkel as the sun was setting.

It was starting to get late and as the sun started to set, it was time to call it a day. We made it back in time to watch the lemons swimming around under a beautiful glowing sunset. These moments are always special - there’s nothing quite like being surrounded by fellow shark lovers, and sharks!

Day 6

Today was going to be our last day on the water so we were determined to make the most of it! We headed out further towards a blue hole in an area we have seen many sharks over the years.

As we pulled the boat into the channel we immediately spotted sharks swimming along the beach as well as eagle and southern stingrays gliding through the water! After setting our gear in the water we had a few bites. We had several reef sharks as well as a new species for the trip! In the middle of all our reef sharks we caught and tagged our first blacktip of the trip as well as another nurse shark! Busy busy!

After a couple of very busy hours, we suddenly had a small lull in action. The lull did not last long as we noticed one of our buoys moving frantically indicating a large shark was on the line. We quickly made our way over and found that we had another large tiger shark! The team was excited to see another large shark and we quickly secured her ready for tagging. We took three measurements, placed our tags and quickly sent her on her way.

After the tiger shark we waited a little longer, but no other sharks seemed to be in the area, so we decided it was time to make our way back to the lodge. What an unbelievable final sharky day!

Day 7

Before heading back to the states, we split into two teams to distribute gifts Saving the Blue had purchased earlier in the month to students at two different schools. Half of our team headed north to Red Bay primary and the other half visited local school, Behring Point primary. The team traveling to Red Bay stopped on route to clean a local beach where they focused on plastics and ghost nets/lines.

On arrival to the schools the team could feel the children’s energy and excitement! Each child from each grade in the schools were given a gift from Santa or Santa’s elf! The children loved having the opportunity to meet Santa and his elf and all the fun gifts they were given. We love being able to give back to these communities that have welcomed us to their island.

Reluctantly it was time to get to the airport to head back home. We loaded up the taxis and started our journey back. After a great week, we saw one last glimpse of Andros from the air before landing back in Florida and saying our ‘see you laters’ to the new friends we made.

Thank you

Thank you to our research trip leaders Dr. Phil Matich, Emily Spurgeon, 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.