AD 2017 Q4

SALMON SHARKS
Salmon sharks are a species of mackerel shark that can grow
to 6-9 feet long on average and weigh more than 500 pounds,
feeding on salmon, squid and herring. They are one of the
few fish that can regulate their temperatures with vascular
countercurrent heat exchangers, which can elevate the sharks’
body temperatures to 10°F-15°F warmer than the surrounding
water. Female sharks don’t reach sexual maturity until 8-10
years of age, and the male-to-female sex ratio is more than
2:1, so these sharks face natural challenges to sustainability.
Our guide, Boone Hodgin, said that over the past decade
salmon shark populations have significantly declined due to
external pressures including charter fishing and commercial
bycatch, so they have become increasingly difficult to find.
“When I first arrived here more than 10 years ago,” Hodgin said,
“you could see hundreds of fins in Port Fidalgo during peak times
in the summer — you could even see them from the deck while
From top: This scenic mountain lake lies along the Old Denali
Highway outside of Valdez. The lemon peel nudibranch (Doris
montereyensis) is one of the many colorful nudibranchs in
these waters.
Opposite: A diver explores an enormous moon jellyfish bloom.
surrounded by towering green mountains and shrouded
by a soft layer of clouds, is a breathtaking sight.
Weather permitting, we spent most mornings
searching for salmon sharks. Finding these elusive
sharks requires little or no wind and calm water so the
dorsal fins are visible on the surface. Salmon sharks are
extremely skittish, and before we could dive with them
our guide had to identify a cooperative shark — “a
player” — that was willing to follow a herring tied to
the end of a fishing line (no hooks) and entice it close
to the boat and the waiting snorkelers. This proved
to be quite challenging, and at the end of my first trip
to Fidalgo, I, like many other photographers, left with
no underwater images of salmon sharks. Patience and
persistence eventually paid off, and we captured some
great images of the sharks during our second trip.
While searching for salmon sharks you will often
come across expansive white blooms of thousands
of moon jellyfish, providing a truly surreal diving
experience. The jellyfish can be so dense they block out
the sun. Among these delicate jellies you will also find
one of their predators: the bright orange and yellow
lion’s mane jellyfish. If you are truly lucky, in the bloom
you will find the female moon jellyfish, which can be
identified by its pink or purple color.
We spent our afternoons visiting a series of
interesting dive sites: kelp beds, sloping underwater
rock formations covered with towering white plumose
anemones, and sand bottoms covered with patches
of eel grass. A few of my favorite sites in Port Fidalgo
you sipped your morning coffee. But today, unfortunately, we
sometimes struggle on the boat to locate more than a handful.”
Hodgin and his wife, Gina, have dedicated a lot of time
and effort to trying to address this population decrease, but
they have faced stiff opposition from locals and the fishing
industry. Recent grassroot efforts, which focused on saving
these amazing fish from extinction and creating a conservation
fund, have stalled. Meanwhile, Alaska fishing regulations still
allow sportfisherman to harvest up to two sharks per year. On
the commercial side, salmon sharks are considered a nuisance
that can damage fishing gear, and deliberate killing and
injuring of salmon sharks has been reported.
While conservation efforts have focused on changing
public opinion at the local level to support an end to killing
these sharks for sport and through commercial harvest and
bycatch, the new push is to create a shark-diving tourism
industry that makes the sharks more valuable alive than
dead. It is hoped these efforts — along with increased
research, local advocacy, education and conservation
campaigns — will prevent the extinction of these sharks.
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