Michael Patrick O'Neill Photography, Inc.

Show Navigation
  • About
  • Archive
    • All Galleries
    • Search
    • Cart
    • Lightbox
    • Client Area
  • Books & Presentations
  • Contact
  • Drones of Palm Beach
  • Instagram
  • Portfolio
All Galleries
Add to Cart Download

Fiji

42 images Created 13 Oct 2012

Shark dives, where the predators are fed for the benefit of people, is a very touchy subject. One camp says that attracting them is wrong, while the opposite side claims the practice is perfectly ok.

I believe both positions have valid arguments. In most situations, I'm against it (because standard safety protocols are often ignored), but in the case of Beqa Adventure Divers (BAD), a dive operator located in Pacific Harbor, Fiji, I'm for it.

This is why: BAD follows a systematic approach to the shark dives, and it doesn't deviate from it. There is no showmanship, and customers are kept far from the feeding area and surrounded by an army of safety divers. The sharks (and people) know exactly what's going to happen, and the dives are executed in the same manner, day in and day out. There is no feeding frenzy, and tourists get to see some very impressive animals (bulls, tigers and five other species) in a controlled situation.

Plus, the inhabitants of the local village, owners of the reef (and marine life), have realized that there is a lot more money to be made with the sharks alive and thrilling tourists than dead, finned and sold for a one-time financial gain. Revenue from this renewable resource has been used to build a school and health clinic. The operator also hires locals to work in the dive shop and trains them to become boat captains and dive masters. In short, sharks help drive the local economy. They are thriving, and it's one of the few places I've been to (been there three times), where their numbers keep increasing instead of declining.

Lastly, the dives take place on Shark Reef, a Marine Protected Area (MPA) home to 400 species of fish. This no-take zone is bursting at the seams with large reef fish, now colonizing nearby reefs and benefitting locals with a valuable source of protein.
View: 100 | All
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
x

Loading ()...

  • Tawny Nurse Shark (Nebrius ferrugineus) photographed at Shark Reef, Pacific Harbor, Fiji Islands, as it swims past a bin filled with fish remains.
    0092.jpg
  • Bull Sharks, Carcharhinus leucas, gather during a shark dive at Shark Reef Marine Reserve offshore Pacific Harbor, Viti Levu, Fiji.
    0233.jpg
  • Giant Trevally (Caranx ignobilis) photographed in Shark Reef, Pacific Harbor, Fiji Islands.
    0249.jpg
  • Giant Trevally (Caranx ignobilis) photographed in Shark Reef, Pacific Harbor, Fiji Islands.
    0251.jpg
  • Divemaster gives dive briefing for shark dive in Beqa Lagoon, Pacific Harbor, Viti Levu, Fiji Islands
    5844.jpg
  • Soft coral, Dendronephthya sp., with Anthias sp. fish
    5849 Basslet and soft coral.jpg
  • Shark feeder prepares bait for the shark dive in Beqa Lagoon, Pacific Harbor, Viti Levu, Fiji Islands
    5863.jpg
  • Yanuca Island in Beqa Lagoon, Pacific Harbor, Viti Levu, Fiji Islands
    5867 yanuca island.jpg
  • Crinoid (Oxycomanthus bennetti) in Beqa Lagoon, Fiji Islands.
    5951.jpg
  • Fijian Women from Pacific Harbor, Viti Levu, Fiji Islands
    5958.jpg
  • Bull Shark, Carcharhinus leucas, gather during a shark dive at Shark Reef Marine Reserve offshore Pacific Harbor, Viti Levu, Fiji.
    BullShark0115BW1BW.jpg
  • Bull Sharks, Carcharhinus leucas, gather during a shark dive at Shark Reef Marine Reserve offshore Pacific Harbor, Viti Levu, Fiji.
    MPOFIJI007452.jpg
  • Bull Sharks, Carcharhinus leucas, gather during a shark dive at Shark Reef Marine Reserve offshore Pacific Harbor, Viti Levu, Fiji.
    MPOFIJI007456.jpg
  • A Clarke's Anemonefish, Amphiprion clarkii, hovers over the coral reef in Beqa Lagoon, Fiji Image available as a premium quality aluminum print ready to hang.
    MPOFIJI007550.jpg
  • A Leaffish, Taenianotus triacanthus, rests on corals on the bottom of Beqa Lagoon, Fiji
    MPOFIJI007627.jpg
  • Scuba diver feeds a Bull Shark (Carcharhinus leucas) during a shark dive at the Shark Reef Marine Reserve offshore Pacific Harbor, Viti Levu, Fiji Islands.
    MPOFIJI007730.jpg
  • Bull Sharks, Carcharhinus leucas, gather during a shark dive at Shark Reef Marine Reserve offshore Pacific Harbor, Viti Levu, Fiji. Image available as a premium quality aluminum print ready to hang.
    MPOFIJI007889.jpg
  • Bull Sharks, Carcharhinus leucas, gather during a shark dive at Shark Reef Marine Reserve offshore Pacific Harbor, Viti Levu, Fiji.
    MPOFIJI007892.jpg
  • Scuba diver feeds a Bull Shark, Carcharhinus leucas, during a shark dive at the Shark Reef Marine Reserve offshore Pacific Harbor, Viti Levu, Fiji Islands.
    MPOFIJI007984.jpg
  • Scuba diver feeds a Bull Shark, Carcharhinus leucas, during a shark dive at the Shark Reef Marine Reserve offshore Pacific Harbor, Viti Levu, Fiji Islands.
    MPOFIJI007985.jpg
  • White-tip Reef Sharks, Triaenodon obesus, and Black tip Reef Sharks, Carcharhinus melanopterus, prowl the shallows of coral reef in Beqa Lagoon, Fiji.
    MPOFIJI008114.jpg
  • White-tip Reef Sharks, Triaenodon obesus, and Black tip Reef Sharks, Carcharhinus melanopterus, prowl the shallows of coral reef in Beqa Lagoon, Fiji.
    MPOFIJI008122.jpg
  • Scuba diver feeds a Bull Shark, Carcharhinus leucas, during a shark dive at the Shark Reef Marine Reserve offshore Pacific Harbor, Viti Levu, Fiji Islands.
    MPOFIJI008164.jpg
  • A Clown Triggerfish, Balistoides conspicillum, swims over a coral reef in Beqa Lagoon, Pacific Harbor, Viti Levu, Fiji.
    MPOFIJI008256.jpg
  • Clarke's Anemonefish, Amphiprion clarkii, Pacific Harbor, Viti Levu, Fiji. Image available as a premium quality aluminum print ready to hang.
    MPOFIJI008305.jpg
  • A Tiger Shark, Galeocerdo cuvier, swims at Shark Reef Marine Reserve, a shark sanctuary, offshore Pacific Harbor, Viti Levu, Fiji
    MPOFIJI008690.jpg
  • Coral reef in Beqa Lagoon, Pacific Harbor, Viti Levu, Fiji adorned with soft corals from the Dendronephthya family. Image available as a premium quality aluminum print ready to hang.
    MPOFIJI008733.jpg
  • Coral reef in Beqa Lagoon, Pacific Harbor, Viti Levu, Fiji adorned with soft corals from the Dendronephthya family.
    MPOFIJI008743.jpg
  • Coral reef in Beqa Lagoon, Pacific Harbor, Viti Levu, Fiji adorned with soft corals from the Dendronephthya family. Image available as a premium quality aluminum print ready to hang.
    MPOFIJI008752.jpg
  • Coral reef in Beqa Lagoon, Pacific Harbor, Viti Levu, Fiji adorned with soft corals from the Dendronephthya family. Image available as a premium quality aluminum print ready to hang.
    MPOFIJI008784.jpg
  • White-tip Reef Sharks, Triaenodon obesus, prowl the shallows of coral reef in Beqa Lagoon, Fiji.
    MPOFIJI008836.jpg
  • A Grey Reef, Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos, Black tip Reef, Carcharhinus melanopterus, and White tip Reef Shark, Triaenodon obesus,  swim in the shallows of Shark Reef, a marine protected zone in Beqa Lagoon, Pacific Harbor, Viti Levu, Fiji.
    MPOFIJI008891.jpg
  • A Grey Reef, Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos, Black tip Reef, Carcharhinus melanopterus, and White tip Reef Shark, Triaenodon obesus,  swim in the shallows of Shark Reef, a marine protected zone in Beqa Lagoon, Pacific Harbor, Viti Levu, Fiji.
    MPOFIJI008892.jpg
  • White-tip Reef Sharks, Triaenodon obesus, prowl the shallows of coral reef in Beqa Lagoon, Fiji.
    MPOFIJI008937.jpg
  • Scuba diver feeds a Bull Shark, Carcharhinus leucas, during a shark dive at the Shark Reef Marine Reserve offshore Pacific Harbor, Viti Levu, Fiji Islands.
    MPOFIJI008998.jpg
  • A Blue Ribbon Eel, Rhinomuraena quaesita, peers out of its lair in Beqa Lagoon, Pacific Harbor, Fiji.
    MPOFIJI009035.jpg
  • A Fire Goby, Nemateleotris magnifica, hovers over the coral rubble in Beqa Lagoon, Fiji.
    MPOFIJI009074.jpg
  • A Black tip Reef Shark, Carcharhinus melanopterus, swims in the shallows of Shark Reef Marine Reserve, a shark sanctuary, offshore Pacific Harbor, Viti Levu, Fiji
    MPOFIJI009113.jpg
  • White-tip Reef Sharks, Triaenodon obesus, prowl the shallows of coral reef in Beqa Lagoon, Fiji.
    MPOFIJI009114.jpg
  • White-tip Reef Sharks, Triaenodon obesus, prowl the shallows of coral reef in Beqa Lagoon, Fiji.
    MPOFIJI009115.jpg
  • Scuba diver feeds a Bull Shark, Carcharhinus leucas, during a shark dive at the Shark Reef Marine Reserve offshore Pacific Harbor, Viti Levu, Fiji Islands.
    MPOFIJI009189.jpg
  • Bull Sharks, Carcharhinus leucas, gather during a shark dive at Shark Reef Marine Reserve offshore Pacific Harbor, Viti Levu, Fiji.
    MPOFIJI009237.jpg
View: 100 | All