Cohabiting with sharks

When we arrived in Cape Verde on the island of Sao Vicente, our goal was to meet... sharks! Since the beginning of our adventure, we have seen a gigantic whale shark that passed directly under the hull of the boat. In the North Atlantic, we caught and released a beautiful baby Mako shark. In the Canary Islands, Yoann spotted an angel shark while swimming not far from Bleuet, at anchor. Apart from that, nothing! When compared to all the dolphins and whales we saw, it is quite meager.

The Biosfera team

When we arrived in Cape Verde, we were determined to increase the number of encounters with these underwater predators. We contact Biosfera, an organization in Sao Vicente that is very active for the preservation of the oceans. They present us their current project with sharks, which aims at gathering information on the state of the shark populations in the area as well as on their habits, in order to understand the impact of human activities on their behavior. Over time, it will be possible to determine more precisely the actions needed to ensure their protection.

We meet the Biosfera team on a beach at sunset. We are excited about the evening's plan, which consists of angling for a shark, recording information such as the type, size, weight and sex of the animal, placing a small tag at the base of its fin, taking a tiny sample for laboratory analysis, then releasing it. All this as quickly and gently as possible, handling the animal as little as possible, to avoid injuring it or stressing it unnecessarily.

That night, equipped with impressive fishing rods and accompanied by an expert in this type of fishing, we caught a superb guitar shark. Half ray, half shark, this species is currently classified as endangered because it represents a target of choice for humans, who covet its flesh and its fin. No luck, this will be our only catch, while some nights the team manages to catch and study dozens of sharks.

Promoting the protection of sharks

To console us for our unsuccessful fishing, Biosfera invites us the next day to go scuba diving. If the sharks don't come to us, we will go to them! In Calhau, a small fishing village, we meet the person in charge of the New Blue center, Pedro, who will be our diving guide for the day. This center has an ambitious project, which is to promote the observation of sharks, with the help of fishermen reconverted into... diving instructors!

To convince the population to protect the "sharks", they use a simple logic; the flesh of a 6-meter shark is sold on the market for less than a hundred dollars. While this animal, in its natural element, allows to attract divers and thus generate a much more interesting, and sustainable, profit for the community. Surely, a live shark is always better than a dead one!

That day we are right in the period of full moon, and the ocean current is very powerful. Under water, it becomes difficult to control our direction. We let ourselves be carried quietly, but if we want to stop, we must quickly cling to a rock and hold on with all our strength to resist the current. It is a unique experience, but not ideal to succeed in meeting the lemon sharks which roam in the surroundings! Rewarded by our efforts, we managed to see some nurse sharks.

These mysterious sharks

Sharks are animals full of mystery. The fear they inspire in us only increases our attraction to them. In reality, most sharks are not dangerous or aggressive. Out of more than 500 existing species, only 5 are most often involved in accidents with humans. Sharks cause fewer deaths than bees, mosquitoes, jellyfish... or even hippopotamuses! But if they suffer from an image of large predators, they are mostly threatened. And as they are at the top of the food chain, the presence of these ecosystem regulators is in fact crucial for the balance of the oceans.

Since this experience, we respect this animal even more, regardless of the bad reputation it has inherited. We are still hopeful to encounter other types of sharks. Maybe we will have more luck during our next Atlantic crossing, which is coming soon. We keep our fingers crossed!