What species are the sharks at Chumphon Pinnacle, Koh Tao?

[ayeshacantrell]

Happily the sharks have returned to Chumphon Pinnacle once again.

Ofcourse the old debate has started as to which species they are.

Some think they are bulls and others think they are large grey reefs.

I've put together some of my photographs and observations and I would be interested to know what you all think ! ( Beacuse I know you all have an opinion :d )

Master Divers |Koh Tao| Sharks of Chumphon Pinnacle (http://www.master-divers.com/sharks.htm)

Im sure many of you have dived there so it would be great to see some other photos too.

[DevonDiver]

I am pretty sure there are both species present. Both are members of the Requiem (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Requiem_shark) family and share a number of simularities, which can make distinguishing them difficult.

I've seen lots of Grey Reef sharks there. I've also seen, on only 3 occasions, much bigger sharks that had slightly different markings and colouration. Comparing them to confirmed Bull Sharks I have seen here in the Philippines, I would be pretty sure that they were the same. (More simular to the Bull Sharks than the Grey Reefs).

I think that the main debate stems from the fact that some people assume there is only one species of shark at Chumporn. They see a Grey Reef and conclude that everyone who has seen a Bull Shark must be in confusion.

GREY REEF SHARK
(Note the black markings on the rear of the fins.)
http://62.0.5.135/ian.umces.edu/imagelibrary/albums/userpics/10040/normal_iil_ian_jt_0494.jpg

BULL SHARK
(Absence of black markings, pale/white belly and distinct slope from the dorsal fin to the nose).
http://www.elasmodiver.com/Sharkive%20images/BullShark046.jpg

Any more Tiger sharks seen since the adolescent one that was accidentally caught a couple of years ago?

[lord khram]

I have been told a Tiger Shark has been sighted recently at Samaesan near the Harddeep wreck??? :confused6:
I am not sure if the diver concerned had been smoking something strange earlier in the day, his buddy didn't see it.

[ayeshacantrell]

Nope - no more tigers spotted - but that doesnt mean they are not there....

Adds a whole new dimension to deco........:buggy:

[drbill]

Funny, I don't remember seeing sharks when I dove that site. May have to check my trip diary. We only had a whale shark and I was on a deep dive and missed it. I've heard a number of references to bull sharks being there since I dove it back in 2001.

[DevonDiver]

The sharks come and go during the year. When they are present, they usually stay pretty close to the pinnacle and circle around out on the sand (32-40m).

On my best shark dive on Chumporn P. there were 8 big Grey Reefs all circling around at the top of pinnacle...very close to the divers... who were all snuggled down amongst the rocks snapping pics of the sharks as they swam past their noses.

[mase]

Not being an expert but diving with the sharks at Chumphon on several occasions, it appears to me that there are two different species, Grey reef and Bull

[Bowmouth]

My two cents:

Grey reef sharks (in Thai waters) have a dull white tip on their dorsal fins.
Bull sharks don't.

Grey reef sharks grow to about 2.5 meters in length.
Bull sharks grow to 3 to 4 meters in length.

Grey reef sharks (even adult animals) are fairly slender.
Bull sharks are MASSIVE.

Bull sharks also have very small eyes and a LARGE triangular pointed dorsal fin.

It's NOT very difficult to see the difference between the two species, especially if you are CLOSE.

Unfortunately the average scuba diver is not very good at getting close to sharks and clumsy divers tend to scare the sharks away easily.
It's no mistake that at least some of the sharks that have been seen at Chumpon Pinnacle are indeed bull sharks. There are some good, close up pictures of them available on the web.

If I were working in a dive shop in Koh Tao, I would organize a special trip with some other experienced dive instructor friends (at least one good camera guy) and do a couple of early morning "shark-attraction" dives with fresh bait and get to meet the animals up close and personal. Such dives are exciting and a lot of fun (I think) and often the only way to get a really CLOSE look at the animals and take decent pictures.

[elainebrett]

86908
This is a shot I took of a shark at Chumphon Pinnacle in September 2007. It looks like the Bull Shark in DevonDiver's picture except the bottom/back of the dorsal fin looks slightly different (that could just be the angle)

[DevonDiver]

Hi Elaine, nice to see you on the forum :D (This is Andy D.)

[h90]

Good to hear that there are still some sharks around...
By the way anyone read that a drunk Serbien killed a shark which attacked Germans by jumping on its head. That news were in Austrian newspapers.

[drbill]

Good to hear that there are still some sharks around...
By the way anyone read that a drunk Serbien killed a shark which attacked Germans by jumping on its head. That news were in Austrian newspapers.

There is a thread about it here on SB but I'm too lazy to search for it.

[Bowmouth]

86908
It looks like the Bull Shark...

It doesn't just look like a bull shark.
It IS a bull shark!
Nice and close!!!

[Bowmouth]

By the way anyone read that a drunk Serbien killed a shark which attacked Germans by jumping on its head. That news were in Austrian newspapers.

I try to picture that happening under water but am unable to.

"Drunken diver jumping frantically on top of a shark which is chewing away at a couple of German divers at Chumpon Pinnacle..."

If you find a link to this story please post it.

[lord khram]

If you find a link to this story please post it.

Yes, sounds like this one could be quite amusing. :D

[stiggy]

From Bowmouth..
B]do a couple of early morning "shark-attraction" dives with fresh bait and get to meet the animals up close and personal. Such dives are exciting and a lot of fun (I think) and often the only way to get a really CLOSE look at the animals and take decent pictures.[/B]

Best way to get close to these creatures is to just chill or learn to use a CCR..
Baiting them in great idea ! till some muppet gets scratched or panics and everyone screams attack !

They would be fished out under the protecting tourists banner in a heartbeat, look at the madness in Eygpt lately.

If you really want to protect and enjoy sharks do nothing beyond being there,(which is distraction already) to disrupt there natural behavior.

Same goes for the muppets taking bottles etc down below to call them in .

Isn’t it thrill enough already to be down there sharing the water with these magnificent sharks ?

For the record I believe there is a mixture down there, grey reefs, bulls. Have also seen silvertips, blacktips ,oceanic whitetips and fished out Tigers in the gulf.

[Bowmouth]

From Bowmouth..
B]do a couple of early morning "shark-attraction" dives with fresh bait and get to meet the animals up close and personal. Such dives are exciting and a lot of fun (I think) and often the only way to get a really CLOSE look at the animals and take decent pictures.[/B]

Best way to get close to these creatures is to just chill or learn to use a CCR..


In my experience the only way to come real close to most sharks species while on scuba is either to solo-dive or bring down some bait and do a "controlled" shark attraction.
I'm well aware that both scenarios (solo-diving and bringing down some bait to "attract" sharks) are frowned upon by the majority of the main-stream scuba outfits.

Sure, re-breathers are another good choice for coming up and close to sharks and other marine-life but using them requires quite a bit of training, a fairly thick wallet and not too many dive operators are "re-breather friendly" either.

Personally I am a fairly fanatic solo-diver and I have done quite a few "controlled" shark attraction dives with a good friend for getting silvertip sharks up close and within an arm-length distance. We would only do these dives maybe 4 to 5 times a year and I don't think the sharks "changed" because of us. I also do not think there was at any time any real danger to us while conducting those dives.
Sadly the sharks have been fished out over the years and the last few times we tried to attract silvertips all that showed up was a great barracuda and a few snappers.

I never meant in my previous message for the diveshops on Koh Tao to start commercialize "shark-attraction dives" and to bring groups of divers day-after-day to Chumpon Pinnacle and to do "shark-attraction" dives.
I merely meant that if I would be working on Koh Tao, I would now and again take some experienced dive friends on a very early morning trip to Chumpon Pinnacle and try a well-planned "shark-attraction dive".

[DevonDiver]

Most dive boats on Tao visit Chumporn in the morning, but not early enough to catch the sharks active at dawn. The dive boats which visit in the afternoon get more activity because it is quieter.

The best shark encounters I've had at Chumporn have always been on afternoon dives...especially where it is a double-dive at that site... and you are still in the water as dusk approaches. The sharks get really active then... even coming up to the surface.

Master Divers always used to do PM Chumporn Trips. Still doing that Ayesha?

[stiggy]

By controlling your behaviour relaxing, picking the dive times around the crowds and diving just of the site over the sand. Trust me from experience if the sharks are there they will find you , if theres thermocline even better as they love to nip in and out of it.

There is some exellent close up (arms length) footage in circulation, none of it has involved baiting controlled or not or other means of attraction.

your right about CCR its expensive but opencircuit doing as above still works just fine.

Sharks have millions of years of evolution in effect ,let them do whats natural hang out be cool and investigate the odd SLOW moving creatures in neoprene.

Same applies for mantas , whalesharks, sunfish etc etc.

[ayeshacantrell]

Yes - we do still do afternoon dives at Chumpon or late morning to miss the rush.

We went on Xmas eve but we werent lucky to see them.

[limbo]

From Bowmouth..
B]do a couple of early morning "shark-attraction" dives with fresh bait and get to meet the animals up close and personal. Such dives are exciting and a lot of fun (I think) and often the only way to get a really CLOSE look at the animals and take decent pictures.[/B]

Best way to get close to these creatures is to just chill or learn to use a CCR..
Baiting them in great idea ! till some muppet gets scratched or panics and everyone screams attack !

They would be fished out under the protecting tourists banner in a heartbeat, look at the madness in Eygpt lately.

If you really want to protect and enjoy sharks do nothing beyond being there,(which is distraction already) to disrupt there natural behavior.

Same goes for the muppets taking bottles etc down below to call them in .

Isn’t it thrill enough already to be down there sharing the water with these magnificent sharks ?

For the record I believe there is a mixture down there, grey reefs, bulls. Have also seen silvertips, blacktips ,oceanic whitetips and fished out Tigers in the gulf.

Have pictures of baby hammerheads on Samui markets. Nicely finned.

[elainebrett]

Hi Elaine, nice to see you on the forum :D (This is Andy D.)

Thanks Andy - good to be on! :)

[jamiemac]

From Bowmouth..
B]

Same goes for the muppets taking bottles etc down below to call them in .

.

Don't tell me even the sharks are on the beer on Koh Tao! drunk Bull Sharks and hungover gap year DMTs , great combination well worth filming if we could ever find a reasonably sober vidiot .

[Divemastersintraining]

Just thought I'd put up one of our Chumphon shark photos... http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v271/237/11/787940382/n787940382_3254925_6241.jpg?dl=1

[DevonDiver]

That's a nice shot. I've cleared it up for you...

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/attachments/thailand/87200d1293622885-what-species-sharks-chumphon-pinnacle-koh-tao-n787940382_3254925_6241.jpg

[ayeshacantrell]

Just dusted off my old footage of the sharks at Chumpon and got it onto youtube......have a look....

Ayesha


YouTube - sharks (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFqziqlIrlM)