Mexico bans cage diving with great white sharks. An era ends for San Diego's 'Jurassic Park' pioneers
Hordes of tourists, scientists and professional film crews have for years flocked to Guadalupe Island off Baja California, eager to get within arm’s reach of a great white shark.
“As much as it pains me, we knew this day was coming,” the 40-year-old recently told the Union-Tribune. “It wasn’t a secret.” He remembers entertaining packed expeditions with nine crew members and up to 16 passengers — familiar families, bright-eyed amateur photographers, researchers eager to tag and study the 15- to 20-foot giants.
Cary Humphries, 60, who captained the Horizon for many years and eventually worked for Salmon, described the experience as “exhilarating.” Rather than damaging Pacific Fleet’s reputation, the footage attracted more customers, and the company quickly bought a second boat. cowering as the animal struggles to get free, blood pouring from around its head. Eventually, the shark sinks motionless into the depths of the ocean.The charter boat operator involved in the incident, Canadian-based Nautilus Dive Adventures, did not return a request for comment.that, until further notice, bans cage diving at the island. It also referenced “bad practices,” including divers outside of cages, improper use of bait and dumping of pollutants.
Asked if boats were dumping pollution, such as sludge- and oil-filled bilge tanks, he said, “You name it. They did it.” It’s now estimated there could be as many as 4,000 white sharks in the eastern Pacific swimming between Mexico and Alaska, Lowe said, with the caveat that many people put the number far lower.Lowe and other researchers joined the excursions eager to learn more about these mysterious creatures. The island provided an ideal laboratory, especially compared to the murky waters around San Francisco’s long-running research site at the Farallon Islands.
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