Squid Force

This was sent in by Rick Tyner who created the video.

In the Pacific Ocean, there exists the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, a quiet place in the ocean where a clockwise circular current continues to trap massive amounts of plastics. Scientists estimate the area is between 700,000 and 1,500,000 square Kilometers. The plastics slowly break down, contaminate and have toxic effects on sea life and water-foul. Eventually, the toxins make it into small fish, then larger fish, then into you and me.

Squidforce! urges you to eliminate single use plastic vessels (like water bottles, disposable shopping bags, etc) and purchase a refillable stainless steel or aluminum water bottle and use it everyday.

VBS did an excellent piece on this phenomena and you can view it here.

Bookmark It

One of George W. Bush’s final gifts to our nation was a lift on the 25 year old ban on new offshore drilling for oil and natural gas. This was no doubt the fulfillment of a promise he made to oilman cronies who contributed to his campaigns and subsequent reign of terror.

Please take action and oppose this proposal by attending one of the four public hearings to be held around the country. The first is this Monday at the Atlantic City Convention Center.

IF YOU CAN DO NOTHING ELSE TO SUPPORT THIS CAUSE PLEASE TAKE ACTION BY SIGNING THE ONLINE PETITION HERE. It’ll only take a minute and the potential benefits to Mother Ocean are enormous.

From the Surfrider Blog, Here’s a brief outline and listing of the various venues here the public hearings will be held: (more…)

Bookmark It

All over the YouTubeo- facebooko- and  blogo-spheres, people are taking about a shark, killed by a diver. The net majority opinion is that it was not a righteous kill. Check out the video and see for yourself.

The facebook page on the side of the shark has 2860 members at the time of this writing. Someone’s got some splanin’. to do.

This Squidforce writer will always hate the sin but love the sinner. However, after reading the aforementioned splanin’, this unbiased writer cannot conclude that the sinner is in fact a sinner.

Another Squidforce writer, Mike Carr, refers to Ryan McInnis a friend of the squid. Mike is solid and does not suffer kooks gladly. He would not throw around the word “friend” like indigenous Italian males throw around the words “I love you” to female undergraduates during a semester abroad in Florence. This is another reason for my respectful dissent from the majority.

One thing that I do know, everyone is sad a shark died. It is inspiring to see the outpouring of energy in the pro-shark community. Instead of channeling the energy towards blame, let the healing begin. Squidforce encourages you to discuss in the comments below how we can further educate people so that something like this doesn’t happen again. God knows we need the pageviews.

Bookmark It

A bite on the controversial shower scene from “Psycho”…

And from the classic car wash in “Cool hand Luke” (more…)

Bookmark It

This one came from John Weber, East Coast Regional Manager of the Surfrider Foundation.

Plastics are fouling our seas and the planet and vessels designed for single use are at the heart of the problem.

Make this your mantra: Reduce, reinvent, reuse, repair, recycle, refill, re-purpose, repeat.

A good way to greatly reduce your consumption of plastics is to buy a re-fillable water bottle and reuse it every day instead of the disposable variety. You can buy a stainless steel water bottle and help support the Surfrider Foundation here. (at the end of the bottles life, you can recycle it:)

For more information on Dr. Marcus’ amazing voyage please go to www.junkraft.com.

And congratulations to Martha Stewart for making this monumental debut on Squidforce. Rumor has it she is determined to become the Chris Wojcik of homemakers. Scary stuff.

Bookmark It

I’m sure there are more than a few of you out there who know more about sharks than I do, but were you hip to this recent nugget?

International and local records tumbled as a team of shark conservationists hooked the largest Zambezi shark known to science - a massive pregnant female four metres in length and weighing almost half a ton. But wait for it. This awesome creature was found 5.5 kms up the Breede River, a large river that comes out near the southernmost tip of Africa, Cape Agulhas. It is the furthest south a bull shark has been found in Africa.

5.5 km up a river? In the Western Cape? WTF?!?

Read more on this bit of insanity HERE

Bookmark It

Indubitably, each time I discuss sharks with someone new, a short dialogue ensues:

Newby: “You dive in a cage, right?”

Me: “Only when I have to”.

Newby: “No cage? What the hell, do you have a death wish?”

Me: “My fantasy death aside, do you really think I would choose vacations where I spend my time trying to outsmart killing machines? Swimming with sharks is a thrill, but there’s nothing death defying about it.”

Newby: “Well no offense, but I think you’re crazy. No way would I jump in the water with sharks, cage or no cage.”

Make no mistake; I’m not recruiting for the shark diving army. I am not trying to convince anyone to “jump in the water with sharks.” Disregarding the unrequested opinion on my sanity all I really want to convey is that sharks are misunderstood and misrepresented and that diving with them can be a harmless and even peaceful experience.

The easiest and safest way to shark dive is in a cage, but certainly not all sharks warrant the use of steel protection. Some operators bring along a cage just in case anyone wants to stay in it. This is common here on the East coast as well as in Hawaii and Bahamas for diving with blue sharks, makos and in some cases reef sharks. As I said, the cage is optional and a lot of divers feel completely comfortable unconfined. It doesn’t mean you’re a badass if you don’t use a cage, it just means you’re alert and at ease when surrounded by sharks. Ok, who am I crappin? Shark divers are badasses! I kid. Sorta.

Cage diving is used almost 100% with great white sharks. Some lucky people have been able to dive uncaged with the fearsome sea warrior, but I’m not among them (yet, give me time). South Africa and Australia are probably the most well-known white shark destinations, but I think the real great white Mecca is Guadalupe Island, a couple hundred miles off Mexico. At Guadalupe, or Lupe as some call it, the water is remarkably clear and temperate. There is a healthy population of white sharks likely due to the numerous sea lions. The white sharks there aren’t the biggest in the world, but they put on a good show! Sometimes they breach, sometimes they prey on or play with the sea lions (depending on their mood), sometimes they bump the cage (exciting!), but always they glide around showing off their gnarly triangular chompers (they have a natural smile, check it out below). I dive Guadalupe every chance I get and each time one of the regulars is there to greet us, like Rockstar, Patches, Cal Ripfin, or Big Mama, I get goosebumps. It’s always a sigh of relief to see an old favorite – who knows how long they’ll be on the blue planet?

If you’re interested in learning more about cage diving opportunities, drop me a line at heidi@squidforce.com .

Stay sharky!

Bookmark It

‘Veggie Love’: PETA’s Banned Super Bowl Ad

Banned Super Bowl Peta add.
Vegetarians are soooo sexy.
Is beer a vegetable?

Bookmark It

I hear this all the time. Certainly I understand from where this perception of sharks has come: JAWS, that little Hollywood horror flick. Unfortunately for sharks, their image as the big, scary bad guy registered with viewers and made many of them afraid to go near the water (the movie’s promo tagline). Heck, it made some people illogically afraid to go in swimming pools!

JAWS had the opposite effect on me in that it made me curious and awestruck. I was fascinated that something like that was out there and from that point on I set out to learn as much as I could about sharks. In the past 30+ years that I’ve been interested in sharks, a lot has been researched and published about them, but the truth is we still know very little. There are around 400 different shark species and while they share many commonalities, the differences are significant. Biologically many facts are known, but much mystery remains. Unlike the premise of JAWS, we at least know that sharks do not hunt or seek to consume humans. I also do not believe they attack people, as portrayed by the media. Sharks make investigatory bites, well, they have no hands, and regrettably sometimes that’s fatal. But there’s no evidence that sharks prefer or enjoy eating humans. If they did, they would devour the person after the initial bite. Shark bite victims usually die from their injuries, not from ending up in the shark’s belly.

So anyway, I’m about sharks. I’m not a scientist or marine biologist, although I occasionally rue my decision to choose a different path. I’m a regular person with a corporate job who is committed to following my passion. I try to spend as much time as possible in the water with sharks and talking about them on land. Along with sharks, I love writing. As shark correspondent, I hope to entertain and educate both shark and non-shark people about shark life, shark diving and the genuine threat of extinction sharks face.

I’m open to questions or topic suggestions, as well, so feel free to write me at heidi@squidforce.com or get me at facebook. I look forward hearing from you Squids.

In sharks,

heidi

Bookmark It

Most people think of sharks as eating machines, stealthy stealthing the depths of the ocean, looking for Christian babies to eat, as it is the only way to satisfy their unholy hunger. Kind of like sea vampires, only not quite as hot, and you probably couldn’t get Gary Oldman to play one in a movie. In summary, they are scary so we might as well cut off their fins and make a soup used for some kind of boner tonic for us gentlemen.

Sharks are stealthy, no doubt. But the last thing they crave is human blood. Somehow we need to get the word out. Hmmm. But how to do that, you say? Lets kick it Obama style, do some community organizing and march around and tell people! Can we kick it, yes we can! ¡Si, Se Puede!

On Saturday, January 17th, from 12pm until 3pm, there will be a Shark March Through China Town in Toronto, Ontario. Yonge Street & Dundas Street (Eatons Centre). It might be a long way from any actual sharks, but there is a certain vibrant community there that makes use of a ton of shark fins.

There is more info at the facebook group. Even if you’re not from Toronto, sign up for the group or stay tuned here at the Squid Force HQ for other events in San Francisco and New York.

Remember - if all you know about sharks is that they make for good movies and soup, you have no right to silently judge them. Lets leave the silent judging to the Williamsburg hipsters, shall we?

Bookmark It