Trip Report: Citizen Science Shark Research Expedition to the Revillagigedo – January 2019

Special Ninja Guests – Shark Researchers

I’ve been to the Revillagigedo’s (my favourite tongue twister of a dive spot!) twice prior to this trip, and it has never ever disappointed, with awesome pelagic encounters and surprises each day.  This time however, the trip was extra special as we were joined by one of the worlds foremost experts in sharks, Dr Mauricio Hoyos Padilla, as well as PhD candidate Pete Rodrigues Arana of Pelagios Kankujá – who led the Ninja Citizen Science Shark Expedition.  Throughout the week, we got to help them with their hands on shark research in the water, as well as learning a lot about sharks and the ongoing research and issues in this area. It felt awesome to be diving and learning with a purpose!

First Stop San Benedicto

The next morning we were finally at San Benedicto!  Responding to the growing excitement on the boat, the crew got us in the water bright and early for our check out dive in Las Cuevitas – and it was the most awesome check out dive ever!  As soon as we dropped in, we spotted a beautiful tiger shark – the perfect way to kick off our shark expedition! Then a pod of bottlenose dolphins came over to say hello to us, followed by mantas!  With so much animal action, we never actually even got to the dive site!

With everyone on a high from the checkout dive, we then spent the rest of the day at the famous El Boiler – which lived up to its reputation!  We did 3 dives there, and spotted more sharks! Galapagos sharks, hammerheads and even a tiger shark! But the star of the show here has got to be the the super friendly giant mantas, with amazing eye to eye encounters, as they came flying round and round the groups to check each diver out.  The dolphins also came back to play, and were naughtily trying to lure us down deeper and deeper past our deco limit, grinning cheekily the whole time!

The next day, we motored over to El Canon, and had super friendly manta encounters from the get go, with 2 massive black mantas and 1 chevron manta following us around asking to play, like little kids.  We also spotted lots of circling silvertip sharks, as well as hammerheads, silkies and a large Galapagos shark. During the dives, the group also assisted the scientists in checking and maintaining the receivers, and learnt a lot about shark tagging and tracking, and how important this is for shark conservation.

Roca Partida – the rock in the middle of the ocean

Looking out at Roca Partida first thing in the morning  was an awesome sight – two sheer peaks rising up from the ocean with big swells all around.  Dr Mauricio in particular was really excited to dive Roca Partida, as it usually yields awesome shark encounters.  We did 3 dives there – however it was strangely quieter than normal, which just shows that mother nature and the ocean is unpredictable and should never be taken for granted!  Nevertheless a quiet day at Roca Partida still meant plenty of action – with big schools of jacks, huge yellowfin tuna darting around hunting, silkies, silvertip sharks, a huge Galagapos shark in the deep, and hammerhead sightings out in the blue.  And of course, lots of cuddling stacked white tips sharks in the ledges on the wall! They looked like bundles of kittens snuggled together for a comfy nap!

Back to El Canon!

For our final day of diving, we headed back to San Benedicto, and El Canon.  Here, we were massively entertained by 3 giant mantas that approached us at the same time, and played with us and each other – with manta trains, fly bys and fly overs, both with us divers, and each other!  They sure looked like they were having fun! We also saw schools of baby silvertips circling round, and a school of whitetip sharks who seem to be out hunting with some moray eels! Then it was off for an excursion in the blue to find those tricky hammerheads, and we found the school a couple of times!  Kicking out towards those shadows in a distance until they finally resolved themselves into those super cool looking sharks, and getting close enough to appreciate their unique body shape, and see their muscles ripple as they cut through the water, was a totally awesome way to end a magical expedition.

As I sit back now writing this trip report, I’m struck again by what a totally out of this world expedition this was.  We had the most amazing interactions with mantas, and dolphins that just kept trying to steal the show. With Mauricio and Pete, we saw pretty much all the shark species that were present at the Revillagigedos, and gained a new appreciation for the work involved in trying to further research and push conservation efforts to protect our sharkie friends.  We also had an the most fun and awesome ninja group of guests (diving diving!). And the crew of the Quino were truly awesome, and couldn’t do enough to make sure we had fun (even making pancakes on request!).