This morning while in the gym I caught a preview for a new National Geographic show called “Expedition Great White” where they document a crew of men that tag live great white sharks for research. They start by hooking one with a lure, pull it up to the boat and into a special deck which is then slowly pulled out of the water. Then they essentially wrestle it with ropes and their own hands while they attach a tracking device to its dorsal fin. They’ve either got brass balls or they’re slightly crazy. Possibly both, but it’s pretty awesome.
The show starts on the 6th. More info on nationalgeographic.com.
From the behind the scenes journal of Rich Christensen:
December 5, 2007
Today was our first great white. It broke the hook. What kind of power do these sharks have? Looking over the back side of the ship, it made it almost impossible to shoot because these animals are so huge. I just want to stop and stare.December 6, 2007
I had the camera on my shoulder almost all day and night. All day because they wanted to take the rubber mats off and modify the sling. Catching another shark, then at night heading to the tackle bar and rethinking their methods of catching these sharks. I’m sure they were just as tired as I am. Reefing on sharks is mind blowing.December 8, 2007
We got our first female shark today. She was much larger than the males we have caught. It may be just like the marlin I have seen over the years. The male marlin are 200 to 300 pounds and the females are all much larger, 500 to 800 pounds. Mother nature at her best.
Insane.
