Expedition leaders: Dr. Tristan Guttridge and Sorantaa Bain

Crew: Allyson, Dani, Elizabeth, Gabby, Lynn, and Tony

Introduction

Big sharks giving people some really big moments. A week of research, learning, and lots of laughs. Read below for the full scoop.

Day 1

Our group met bright and early at the airport to make introductions and say friendly hellos to returning guests. After a bit of waiting for storms to pass, it was finally time to board our plane and make the short journey over to beautiful Andros.

The team excitedly watched out of the plane windows as we approached the island and were able to spot sharks and rays from the air as we approached. Upon landing, it was a quick stop in customs and then we loaded up in the taxis and made our way to the lodge.

Luggage was dropped off at rooms, lunch was eaten, briefing was done, and it was finally time to hop on the boat and head out for the afternoon. We didn’t go too far as we only had a few hours on the water but we were still hopeful we would see some sharks.

We set our rigs and it didn’t take too long for us to catch our first shark of the trip! The afternoon started off with a large nurse shark. These sharks are a great first species for volunteers to process and get a feel for how a shark workup will go. After measurements and tagging, the shark was quickly released and it was back to fishing and waiting.

Shortly after we had a big tug on one of our lines. We quickly boated over to it and were ecstatic to see a large tiger shark!

This was the first tiger shark for a few volunteers so everyone on the boat was overjoyed to have this species on the first afternoon. The tiger was tagged with multiple different tags including a SPOT tag so we can track his movements. Learn more about our tags HERE.

After releasing the tiger back into the gorgeous waters of the Bahamas, we waited a bit longer before finally calling it a day and heading back to the lodge.

Gear was quickly cleaned up and everyone showered before sitting down for a delicious dinner and some much needed rest after such an exciting day.

Day 2

An early morning start with a quick breakfast and everyone loaded on the boat shortly after sunrise. We headed out and quickly put our lines in the water to make the most of our time out there.

Started off as a slow morning for shark action but we had a small pod of dolphins show up around the boat to entertain our crew for a bit. Later on, after a few checks we finally had our first shark of the day! It was a little blacknose shark that was quickly tagged before being released to swim off.

Then the afternoon belonged to the nurse sharks! We had one after the other showing up on our lines. One of them looked pregnant as well so we used our ultrasound to confirm she had babies in there!

With such a busy afternoon, the team hauled our gear and headed back to the lodge to get cleaned up for dinner. To end our night, Tristan gave a lecture for all to enjoy.

Day 3

Once again we were out on the water shortly after the sunrise. We headed to a new spot for the day. It was a bit choppy out but with the small cay near us, we were able to be sheltered from the wind and waves while we watched our lines.

We didn’t need to wait too long before we had our first shark of the day, we started with another little blacknose! Then the shark action picked up and we had not one but two recaptures. These recaptures were incredibly special to us too as one of then was our third shark ever tagged in Andros eight years prior and the other was a recapture from five years ago. It’s great to see that these sharks are still alive and well and still swimming around the same area.

After a few more checks we had another exciting capture! This time there was a little baby tiger on our line. It was great for the team to see a baby tiger shark after already catching a big tiger earlier in the week. The stripes on the babies are always very vibrant and beautiful to see in person.

We ended the day with one more nurse shark before we packed up our gear and headed back to the lodge. After showers and before dinner, we watched the lemons sharks swim around off the sea wall by the lodge.

Day 4

Another early morning where we made our way out to the tongue of the ocean (TOTO) to hopefully see some silky sharks.

Upon arrival we saw a handful of silky sharks and mahi mahi darting around! We set a line and were able to catch a couple silkies very quickly. One of the silkies had a relatively recent bite mark on their head. This just shows what these little sharks have to go through in order to grow up in the vast ocean.

After tagging the sharks, we hopped in for a quick snorkel and had the pleasure of a couple silkies and tons of other fish hanging out with us until it was time to go.

We made a quick stop back at the lodge for a midday break before we reboarded the boat and headed to a new spot for the day.

The hope was to tag a great hammerhead, so we headed to a spot where we have had luck in the past. Only using two rigs we set and watched the buoys for any movements. And to our surprise we didn’t have to wait long before the first shark showed up.

First shark of the location was exactly what we were looking for! A large female great hammerhead who we tagged with a SPOT tag so that we can track her movements in the future. - Learn more about our tags HERE.

She was swiftly released and we reset our gear. Barely an hour later, we had another large shark on our line. This time it was a large male great hammerhead! He was also quickly tagged, measured, and released.

The whole team was absolutely ecstatic with our luck of the day. After a few more sets, it was time to haul our gear and collect one of our receivers on the way in.

What an epic day completed with another delicious dinner before bed.

Day 5

Switching it up today, we made our way across the bite all the way to the west side of the island. The morning was a little rainy but the views on the way over were gorgeous.

After the long boat ride we finally made it to the other side. There were several storms off in the distance and we set our gear while monitoring the weather.

The goal was to catch or see a smalltooth sawfish, however we know these are extremely rare and elusive animals so any wildlife seen was going to be a win.

It didn’t take long for us to get our first shark though!  A blacktip shark was our first catch and a new species for the trip. Shortly after that we tagged a brightly colored lemon shark!

Another blacktip made an appearance and when we finished tagging them, we realized the storms in the distance weren’t so distant anymore. For our safety and the safety of any potential sharks we may catch, we decided it was best to haul our gear and start the journey back to the lodge.

It was a wet and rainy ride back but we made it safely and in good spirits. Everyone showered and warmed up before Tristan gave another lecture before dinner.

Day 6

With a lot of storms in the area we had a bit of a sleep in and slow morning while we waited to see if we would be able to head out on the water.

While we waited, we collected all of our gear that we had on Andros to do a quick inventory. Everyone organized the gear and counted everything that we had. This took a couple hours and gave all of us a productive and much needed task to pass the time.

Storms continued to move in and out of the area so we ordered a lunch from a couple local restaurants. After eating, some of the team loaded into the truck to head to a nearby inland blue hole for some exploration.

We spent the time there swimming around in the brackish water, exploring the small caves and rock formations, and practicing a bit of diving. It was a great way to spend a rainy afternoon!

Day 7

Our final morning had us out the door and excitedly on our way to one of our favorite spots! Upon arrival we spotted a lemon shark and then a rarely seen blacktip swimming around in the shallow water.

If you’ve been there before you probably guessed we were at Isla’s Spot! We spent the morning with several lemon sharks, a blacknose, and a blacktip! The whole team enjoyed watching the little sharks swim around for a couple hours until sadly it was time to get back on the boat and head to the lodge.

A quick lunch and we packed all of our stuff before finally loading into the taxis and heading back to the airport to make our way home.

Thank you

Thank you to our research trip leaders Dr. Tristan Guttridge 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 Marvin 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.