The man in the Grey suit
- Thread starter adanac
- Start date
adanac
Well-Known Member
There is some photos lurking around about a string of sea lions / harbour porpoises washing up with confirmed bite marks ( inspected by biologists) about 10 years ago off long beach back when there was a proper shark reporting website set up .
They are not common by any stretch but I think there are more than a couple lurking around every year . Most strandings / sightings over the years have always been Haida gwaii / Dixon entrance / Hecate strait , far less travelled areas .
I also think that we would have more if it weren’t for the large presence of orca whales in our province. There are areas in South Africa that used to have huge populations of whites , and a small pod of orca whales moved in and basically dispersed all of the whites .
Ryan A
Well-Known Member
Good point I forgot about the KW and their somewhat newly discovered interest, I still would think over all these years someone would have snapped one pic of a white on the surface, be it a commie or a sporty.
Derby
Crew Member
I would say those fellows that have said they seen them are pretty qualified Skips and would be able to tell the difference
IronNoggin
Well-Known Member
I would say those fellows that have said they seen them are pretty qualified Skips and would be able to tell the difference
I am more than reasonably certain that the two biologists from Bamfield which saw the one on Blood Bay knew what they were looking at...
adanac
Well-Known Member
when was this? and where abouts is blood bay
IronNoggin
Well-Known Member
Around 8 - 10 years ago.
Buddy of mine swore he saw a Great White in the vicinity of Blood Bay (just off Pill Point in Barkley Sound).
I told him he was nuts.
Very next day two biologists from the Bamfield Research Station set out to dive in the same area.
They positively identified the shark to be a Great White.
And they did not dive as a consequence...
I knew one of them fairly well - he is very much a professional who would not BS about this.
Cheers
Ryan A
Well-Known Member
I would hope so Derby, but I have seen many people get Basking and GW’s mixed up when they see them from a ways away on the surface. Lucky for those if they did indeed see one, very cool and I’m very envious. Also wild story Nog about Blood Bay, glad your friends didn’t jump in and potentially made it bloodier.I would say those fellows that have said they seen them are pretty qualified Skips and would be able to tell the difference
adanac
Well-Known Member
i would think basking sharks are just as or more rare off our coast these days. where are you seeing many people mis identifying them?
Eden Island
Well-Known Member
I've only seen 1 basking shark in my lifetime -- 35 years ago near Hotsprings Cove. I was in a 16' open boat, and was just leaving a lunchtime anchorage when I spotted a large dorsal fin about 15' behind the boat -- and then spotted what looked like a 2nd one another 15' back. It took me a moment to realize that their movements were synchronized, and that the 2nd one was actually a tail -- which meant that the head was directly behind my propguard! We moved away very slowly, not wanting to excite the unknown critter. When we got to Ahousat later that day, the kid at the gas dock laughed and said "Oh yeah, that basking shark hangs around there all the time!"
searun
Well-Known Member
Quite a lot of differences between a Basking Shark and GW. The creature we saw right beside (within 6 feet) the boat and a few feet (2-3) below the surface was in my estimation around 13 - 15 feet long and quite a bit wider than other sharks we commonly encounter. Not to mention the colour pattern - grey with white belly. I've had Salmon Sharks beside the boat before, which are quite a bit smaller.
Dave H
Well-Known Member
Close to that time period, but circa 1980 or so, I and a buddy took two young women to Hotsprings Cove and hiked into the springs. Aften a pleasant time there we hiked out and headed back to Tofino.
Ted, my buddy, mentioned that a Basking shark had been seen frequently up Shelter Inlet and said we were heading up that way to check it out. We were in a 17' Boston Whaler with a 70 HP outboard so we could scoot along at a good speed when opened up.
As we moved along, I spotted a large dorsal fin about a quarter mile ahead and alerted Ted.
Now, he was one of those "speedy" type guys who always moved quickly regardless of the situation.
As we got closer, I suggested we slow down and approach in a quiet manner but was over-ruled as Ted shouted at the women to get their cameras ready then handed me his fancy camera that I had no clue about as he kept speeding toward the shark. We arrived next to it and skidded to a stop, whereupon the shark flipped its tail in the air and sounded.
I berated him a bit as he tried to explain why he had done what he did, when the shark surfaced less than 100' away.
I took over the controls while Ted took his camera back, then I snicked the engine into gear and slowly approached from behind and at an angle.
The shark moved along at a very slow pace, so I took the boat out of gear, and we closed up on the shark, stopping mere feet away. Ted and the women took several shots as the shark slowly moved away so I snuck up on it again and we spent a few minutes admiring the shark before it moved away again.
The Sun was low by now, so we headed out and back to Tofino and carried on.
I never saw those women again so don't know how their photos turned out, but none of Ted's were any good as the low Sun in the west reflected off the water and taking photos from the east side of the shark led to many reflections from that and the photos were lousy as a result.
Beautiful animal to be that close to for sure.
Take care.
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