As anticipated, the extraordinarily anticipated Blue Planet II assortment has been nothing in want of very good. This week we’re extraordinarily lucky to have a customer put up by shark researcher; Samantha Andrzejaczek who helped film the upcoming Blue Planet episode. Sammy is a PhD candidate on the Australian Institute of Marine Science and Faculty of Western Australia investigating the vertical movement of sharks. She moreover runs a implausible weblog – www.sammyshark.wordpress.com, which we undoubtedly advocate testing. Study on to go behind the scenes of Blue Planet II. You’ll watch the episode this Saturday night time time (17th) on Channel 9 in Australia.
In March of ultimate yr I obtained an email correspondence that may end in definitely one in all my most enjoyable adventures so far. For the ultimate 4 years, BBC’s Blue Planet II had been in manufacturing and as part of the ‘Inexperienced Seas’ episode they’ve been to be heading out to film the large seagrass meadows in Shark Bay. Firstly, from an aerial perspective and secondly, they’ve been captivated with seeing the meadows from the perspective of their largest predator – the tiger shark, and it was for that trigger that I was contacted. As Shark Bay in Western Australia has just a few of the best seagrass meadows on the earth and a healthful inhabitants of tiger sharks, it was the appropriate place to purpose to get these photos.
Driving into the Shark Bay World Heritage Area
Customised Animal Monitoring Choices (CATS), the company that makes my tags, made the Blue Planet II workforce acutely aware of the work I was doing for my PhD evaluation, particularly, trying to larger understand the conduct and observe the actions of these giant predators. After quite a lot of fast nonetheless intense cellphone calls to debate info and film recording tags, we agreed that I would head out as an unbiased advertising advisor to work in collaboration with the workforce. The aim was to tag a tiger shark in an effort to file footage and knowledge as a result of it hunted inside the seagrass meadows. It was a win-win state of affairs! The one catch was that the journey was leaving in two weeks time, and I was as a lot as my ears in preparation for an extra PhD tiger shark tagging journey creating in a months time. Nevertheless this was an opportunity I couldn’t miss. David Attenborough has always been my idol, and to maneuver up the prospect to help out in one in all many documentaries he was narrating might be passing up the prospect to dwell just a few of my earliest career needs.
The aim was to utilize a pole to attach digicam tags to tiger sharks with out catching or retraining them, and we solely had seven days to do it. In my head it was an just about unattainable course of. We should indirectly have the shark swimming transfer the boat at merely one of the best angle, and gradual adequate for me to appropriately goal and put the tag on. It was extraordinarily daunting, and I truly didn’t want to let the workforce down. Thankfully, the two weeks sooner than the journey have been such a whirlwind of logistics, planning and permits, that sooner than I had the prospect to get nervous I was choosing up the BBC producer, Kathryn Jeffs, from the airport and driving as a lot as Shark Bay.
Kathryn was among the unimaginable people I’ve ever met, and I felt so lucky to be working alongside her. She completed a wildlife filmmaking diploma about 20 years previously and has been with the BBC just about ever since. On our eight hour drive to Shark Bay I heard so many very good tales from when she labored on the Frozen Planet and Planet Earth documentaries, which made me far more excited for the week to return. She was very hardworking, and knew exactly learn how to go about getting the job accomplished.
Kathryn and I
As soon as we arrived in Shark Bay we met the rest of the workforce: Leon – Shark Bay native and the chief of the Shark Ark Enterprise (http://www.sharkarkproject.com/), Shayne – one in all many cameramen, Nick – our indigenous skipper, and Dan – the drone cameraman. It was a unbelievable crew, and we had each week to get the shark’s shot, along with filming some aerial drone photos of the immense seagrass beds of Shark Bay. The fellows have been all working for BBC for the first time), and we’ve been all super excited and barely awed to be working for Blue Planet II. This was the dream.
The A Workers. From left: Dan, me, Kathryn, Shayne, Leon and Nick. {Photograph}: Dan Paris and FINNFilmsAustralia
Our days have been extraordinarily busy trying to complete the obligation. We’ve got been getting up and leaving at 4:30 am and getting once more to base spherical 8 pm. Our first days have been spent testing the gear and looking out for sharks and the simplest seagrass beds to film. Nearly repeatedly we’ve been moreover being filmed for the ‘making of’ sequences. BBC was emphasizing this behind the scenes a part of Blue Planet II this time spherical to personify the photographs of the ocean movement, and likewise to emphasize the importance of the scientists. I had barely improved at being in entrance of a digicam since my first look on the Shark Week documentary, nonetheless I nonetheless found it very laborious to remain pure when there was a digicam pointed at me.
Shayne, full with safety gear, launching the drone
The first 5 days passed by with out us seeing a single tiger shark, and we’d arrive once more at base feeling exhausted and discouraged. I began to lose hope early on that we would even see a tiger shark, to not point out tag one. No matter this we’ve been nonetheless seeing various totally different cool marine life: quite a few dolphins, dugongs, turtles, rays and totally different shark species. On one memorable day we seen a fever of seven cowtail rays cruising in a line alongside the shore.
Our early mornings we acquired to benefit from some gorgeous sunrises
Kathryn nailing the act pure in entrance of the digicam
On the sixth day we’ve been on the dock at Monkey Mia at 5 am. The photo voltaic was rising and Nick knowledgeable us he had a wonderful feeling regarding the day. I brushed him off, not being considerably superstitious. He then recognized a cloud shaped like a tiger shark and I acquired a weird feeling inside the pit of my stomach as we set off on our hour prolonged commute to an area recognized for tiger sharks. On the easiest way we dropped Kathryn and Dan onshore to take seagrass aerials. I did not envy them. The flies have been horrendous, and it was shortly warming up.
Dan and Kathryn hiding from the photo voltaic and flies whereas trying to get seagrass aerials.
We headed a bit extra offshore and waited. I settled in for an prolonged wait, with none extreme expectations. About half-hour later Nick shouted “Thaarka, Thaarka” (‘tiger shark’ in Malgana, the usual language of the people of Shark Bay). I launched myself up, regardless that I believed he was joking, nonetheless sure adequate, there was an outstanding, iridescent, roughly 4 m female tiger shark cruising alongside our starboard side. She was easy and smooth, with very outlined stripes for such a giant shark. We shortly launched into movement.
Leon helped me with the two particular person operation of mounting the tag on to a particularly designed mechanical deployment arm. This will likely give me the attain to make sure I would place the tag properly on the once more of the shark. Shayne began filming and Nick positioned the boat alongside the shark. First time spherical I fired… and missed. Thankfully the tag is designed to float so we’d retrieve it and check out as soon as extra. Second time spherical Leon knocked my arm as we positioned ourselves and I by probability fired the tag as soon as extra. Third time lucky – the shark swam by as soon as extra, I acquired the tag in place… and launched the swap… it sat snuggly on her dorsal fin and he or she swam away unphased. There was a unbelievable cheer and I truly jumped for pleasure. There have been extreme 5s all spherical. Shortly it was all a bit embarrassing to look once more at my recorded response, nonetheless I’m sure anyone else watching would’ve felt the elation we’ve been all experiencing. I on no account thought it was remotely potential that we would get a tag on.
The exact second we acquired the tag on the shark.
She ended up being the one tiger shark we seen of the whole journey, nonetheless it didn’t truly matter, we had achieved our goal. The shore workforce was upset to have missed it, nonetheless have been moreover excited for us.
The complete journey had been just a little little bit of a whirlwind, and it took me awhile to think about it had actually occurred. I felt extraordinarily lucky to be a part of it, and I acquired to meet some very good people inside the course of. It was so cool to see the footage and hearken to my idol’s voice telling me regarding the significance of tiger sharks. I moreover gained various confidence all through this journey about my very personal abilities in directing people, which could can be found very useful for my very personal tagging journey at Ningaloo a month later. Grabbing this opportunity by the horns turned out to be a name which led to me ticking off some predominant bins from my career pointers, along with fulfilling just a few of my lifelong needs.
