March 24, 2012
To Beston, Mike and everyone else that concern about the discovery of Blue whale along Sri Lanka cost and the Japanese hunting…your concern is very important however it is misplaced.
Everyone that is the business of fishing already knew about the whales off Sri Lanka since the late 70′ and early 80′ – it was not a secret and they were not hunted than.
It become great news for the research world and eco tourism only because peace has arrived to Sri Lanka and cost become again open for recreation…I have been here last time in 1982…and filmed the Blues and the Sperm Whales too. The war lasted till 2009 and during all that time no one could enter Sri Lanka water and surely not recreation or research.
Sri Lanka have very strong naval operation and presence in particular close by the Whales ground. The sighting and our encounters happened close to shore in Sri Lanka territorial water. No Japanese whale hunting will come close to these shores. If you noticed they operate only in international water away from watching eyes.
Sri Lanka is very aware and it is part of my contribution here – supporting and building sense of urgency and awareness for eco tourism and conservation…working with local fishermen, government and private corporation to enjoy the presence of the whales along the costs of this peaceful island.
I hope this put your concern to rest and I am glad to answer any further questions on next subjects…from Sri Lanka right now till April 9.
Amos
December 16, 2011
Merry Christmas in 71 World Languages
Afrikaans: Geseënde Kersfees
Apache: Gozhqq Keshmish
Albanian: Gezur Krislinjden
Arabic: Milad Majid
Argentine: Feliz Navidad
Armenian: Shenoraavor Nor Dari yev Pari Gaghand
Bohemian: Vesele Vanoce
Bosnian: (BOSANSKI) Cestit Bozic i Sretna Nova godina
Brazilian: Feliz Natal
Bulgarian: Tchestita Koleda; Tchestito Rojdestvo Hristovo
Chile: Feliz Navidad
Chinese: (Cantonese) Gun Tso Sun Tan’Gung Haw Sun
Chinese: (Mandarin) Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan
Choctaw: Yukpa, Nitak Hollo Chito
Columbia: Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo
Cree: Mitho Makosi Kesikansi
Croatian: Sretan Bozic
Czech: Prejeme Vam Vesele Vanoce a stastny Novy Rok
Danish: Glædelig Jul
Duri: Christmas-e- Shoma Mobarak
Dutch: Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar! or Zalig Kerstfeast
English: Merry Christmas
Eskimo: (inupik) Jutdlime pivdluarit ukiortame pivdluaritlo!
Ethiopian: (Amharic) Melkin Yelidet Beaal
Farsi: Cristmas-e-shoma mobarak bashad
Finnish: Hyvaa joulua
Flemish: Zalig Kerstfeest en Gelukkig nieuw jaar
French: Joyeux Noel
Gaelic: Nollaig chridheil agus Bliadhna mhath ùr!
German: Fröhliche Weihnachten
Greek: Kala Christouyenna!
Haiti: (Creole) Jwaye Nowel or to Jesus Edo Bri’cho o Rish D’Shato Brichto
Hawaiian: Mele Kalikimaka
Hebrew: Mo’adim Lesimkha. Chena tova
Hindi: Shub Naya Baras (good New Year not Merry Christmas)
Hungarian: Kellemes Karacsonyi unnepeket
Icelandic: Gledileg Jol
Indonesian: Selamat Hari Natal
Iraqi: Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah
Irish: Nollaig Shona Dhuit, or Nodlaig mhaith chugnat
Iroquois: Ojenyunyat Sungwiyadeson honungradon nagwutut. Ojenyunyat osrasay.
Italian: Buone Feste Natalizie
Japanese: Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto
Jiberish: Mithag Crithagsigathmithags
Korean: Sung Tan Chuk Ha
Lao: souksan van Christmas
Latin: Natale hilare et Annum Faustum!
Lithuanian: Linksmu Kaledu
Maori: Meri Kirihimete
Navajo: Merry Keshmish
Norwegian: God Jul, or Gledelig Jul
Papua New Guinea: Bikpela hamamas blong dispela Krismas na Nupela yia i go long yu
Pennsylvania German: En frehlicher Grischtdaag un en hallich Nei Yaahr!
Peru: Feliz Navidad y un Venturoso Año Nuevo
Philippines: Maligayang Pasko!
Polish: Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia or Boze Narodzenie
Portuguese: Feliz Natal
Rumanian: Sarbatori vesele or Craciun fericit
Russian: Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva is Novim Godom
Samoan: La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou
Scots Gaelic: Nollaig chridheil huibh
Serbian: Hristos se rodi.
Slovak: Vesele Vianoce. A stastlivy Novy Rok
Slovene: Vesele Bozicne Praznike Srecno Novo Leto
Spanish: Feliz Navidad
Swedish: God Jul and (Och) Ett Gott Nytt År
Thai: Sawadee Pee Mai or souksan wan Christmas
Turkish: Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun
Ukrainian: Srozhdestvom Kristovym
Vietnamese: Chuc Mung Giang Sinh
Welsh: Nadolig Llawen
December 22, 2010
Now is the season for thanks, and I’ve found a really cool way to thank our troops. If you go to this website Let’s Say Thanks you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it send it to a soldier who is currently serving in Iraq.
You can’t pick out who gets it, but it will go to a member of the armed services. How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!! It’s FREE and it only takes a second.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these? Whether you are for or against the war, our soldiers over there need to know we are behind them. This takes just 10 seconds and it’s a wonderful way to say thank you. Please take the time and please take the time to pass it on for others to do. We can never say enough thank you’s.
Thanks for taking to time to support our military!
I did it and now it is your turn… Here’s the link: http://www.letssaythanks.com
You can follow the program on Twitter, also.
September 3, 2010
For the second time ever in the annals of diving, BigAnimals is offering the rare opportunity to dive and photograph the fastest and most beautiful fish in the ocean, the Striped Marlin.
Striped Marlin by Amos Nachoum
Not only will the Striped Marlin will be feeding on mackeral, we’ll also witness the competition between the Brutus Whale (or Bryde’s Whale) and the California Sea Lions.
The trip is designed for only four dedicated snorkelers/free divers and scuba divers in order to get the maximum out of this adventure, and its timing at the beginning of December is designed to capture the event during the peak feeding performance of the whales, seals and the marlin.
Only two spaces are still open, shall I keep one for you?
August 30, 2010
Mexico - Great White shark by Amos Nachoum
We’re very excited to let you know that our first trip to see the Great White Shark in October 2010 is sold out, and with such great demand, I have opened up a second trip to Isla Guadalupe for the third week of October, starting October 16, 2010 – as of today, only four spaces are still available.
I’m also happy to share with you that Scuba Diving Magazine recently published a story about Cageless Shark Diving (for Qualified Divers) by Amos Nachoum.
July 8, 2010
As published in the Explorers club Journal – June 2010 – By Angela Schuster and Amos Nachoum
I bring my breathing down to a mere 15 pounds an hour, as my pulse settles in at a steady 50 beats per minute. Nothing outside of the present moment lingers in my mind as I focus on the totality my surroundings. I am ten meters down on the seafloor, relaxing in the relative comfort of a large steel cage. I am in Shark Alley off the coast of South Africa in the company of two fellow divers. We have come to observe the Great White on its own terms. The time has come for us to abandon our protective cocoon.
As I slowly open the gate and exit the cage, I spy a Great White, just to my right, his body scarred by seasons of spirited mating and encounters with other marine life. He glides through the water in front of me, barely noticing my presence or that of my fellow diver, who like myself is heavily laden with camera gear.
My motion is fluid, my view is crystal clear, and my heart light as I focus on the shark and its graceful movements as I work to read its complex body language. For the Great White to trust me, I know I must first trust myself. Any self-doubt or apprehension is sure to compromise the mission ahead. After a passing glance, the shark comes in for a closer look. His curiosity sated, he moves on to more interesting targets.
Experience a face to face encounter with a Great White on a Big Animals dive trip...
Among the most feared predators on Earth, the Great White (Carcharodon carcharias) occupies an alpha spot — along with the Orca — at the top of the maritime food chain. The sharks, which can grow to a length of 6 meters and can weigh in at as much as 2,200 kilograms, live in the waters off South Africa, California and the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and in the Mediterranean.
Yet our view of sharks as hunters of human flesh has been skewed by films such as Jaws. To acquire such footage, it has been common practice to “chum the waters” with fetid fish remains to first attract and then agitate the sharks into a feeding frenzy. It is indeed exciting to watch but is a misrepresentation of normal shark behavior. Contrary to popular perception, humans are not on the menu; our bodies are too bony and devoid of the energy-rich fats these ocean predators need. Most shark attacks, of which there are about a hundred a year on average, are the result of mistaken identity or of test bites, that is a shark’s taking of a small sample to identify an object. And contrary to public perception, most shark attacks are not fatal.
Extraordinary in its physical design, the Great White is gifted with a special “sixth sense”, a network of jelly-filled canals known as the ampullae of Lorenzini, which are linked to pores concentrated around the shark’s eyes, snout, and mouth that enable it to detect electric fields generated by muscle contractions in other living creatures and sense direction through electric fields ignited by ocean currents moving through Earth’s magnetic field.
I first entered the world of the Great White in 1982, while serving as a logistics expert for a National Geographic shark documentation project undertaken by Rodney Fox together with Eugenie Clark, aka the “shark lady;” and photographer David Doubilet. Since then, I have ventured to South Australia annually to work with Fox, who in 1963 famously survived an attack from the Great White, which left much of his abdomen exposed and took 462 stitches to repair. Rather than resenting his attacker, Fox committed himself to learning all he could about the Great White, pioneering the use of a protective steel dive cage, which has afforded him hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of shark observation.
During this time, I also have had the opportunity to collaborate with legendary underwater filmmakers Al Giddings, Howard Hall, and Marty Snyderman—all of whom began working with the Great White “outside the cage.” In 1994, I began exploring the possibilities of diving with Great White Sharks in South Africa, working under the auspices of Shark Research Institute and in cooperation with South Africa’s leading sport fisherman at the time, Andre Hartman. In time, we began carrying out dives in Shark Alley, located between the islands of Dyer and Geyser, where so much important research has been carried out.
Our work with the Great White is governed by a few simple ground rules. We must have a minimum of 10 meters of visibility underwater; we operate in the company of a safety diver armed with a yardstick should a conflict arise; and we retreat from the area if more than two sharks come into view.
Over the years, I have come to realize that in dealing with sharks it is all about attitude, not aggression, power, or strength. Diving with the Great White requires an unusual pairing of heightened awareness of all things around you and a zen calm and control over your own mental and physical state. It is an ultimate expression of living in the moment. From diving and other experiences in my life — be it carrying out a mission as a military commando, racing motorcycles, or even falling in love — I have learned that a pounding heart is but an internal alarm that tells me it’s time to hold on, time to focus, and time to get into the moment. For only then can I commit. Within seconds, I can relax, sensing lightness and a certain calm as I take comfort in the decisions I have made.
June 28, 2010
June 28 – somewhere in the pacific ocean, off the coast of Baja California.
..the sea was flat calm, it was like oil was poured all over it, smooth and soft rolling waves, no wind, silent…the marine layers start lifting up, blue opening in the sky start to show up and the sun too.
We were on the water now over an hour seating in the Kayaks waiting for the moment of encounter. Three whales already pass by us but too fast to be followed with the kayak. Although we were resting on the surface waiting for the next whale to come by, we were drifting fast with the current and high tide…I was falling a sleep in front of the kayak, I was awaked as I heard the blow, hold and be hold just 100 yards to my left.
Daniel and Leslie (my clients) were closer than me to the whale, I motion to them to move in and to my paddler I motion to take a right a away from the whale path…Daniel went in, and 30 second later Leslie was in the water. Than I saw and felt the first small waves off the head of the whales was pushing hitting our kayak, as it was moving toward me…i decided to slip into the water…it was just under me 30 feet below…I was free diving toward it, taking few images…see attached.
The whale start rising up and I was already at the surface catching my breath. Looking over the water, the whale was turning to its left returning back looking at me – I dived again toward the Blue leveled at 25 feet looked into the deep blue, than the blue emerge looking straight at me…i fumble my fingers over the housing trying to improve my camera setting till i decided to stop and just take the picture…see the image of our exchanging eyes contact…I was elated after three days 12 hours a day on the water, getting in and out of the water, trying again and again…tomorrow is someone else turn to be soooooooooooooooo very, very lucky – but it is only going to happened if you leave your home or office:-)))
Best fishes – Amos Nachoum
June 23, 2010
Chris & Amos Before Flight 6/22
Blue Whale & 38' Fishing Boat
Chris&AmosBeforeflightTRoday6_22.jpg "somewhere off baja, california")
Chris and I just landed from the scouting trip over the pacific ocean searching for blue whales. It was an easy flight – light wind in the blue sky over 1,000 feet above sea level. We could see into the distance – calm sea, high sun and blue water all around us – in less than one hour we spotted five blue whales peacefully lolling on the surface and moving slowly. Their giant size made them easy to spot – once this 70 – 80 foot long animal breaks the surface it creates a large white and bright spot over the blue ocean which was easily spotted by my trained pilot who has worked for me for the past five years.
We also spotted humpback whales – many pods of dolphins playing around – and others that were creating a bait ball and starting to feed. Over 30 local fishing vessels, sport and commercial were racing to that location. We also saw floating kelp with a few blue sharks around them. Last but not least, we also saw about a dozen Mola Mola resting sideways on the surface as if they were sunbathing!
All of which is very encouraging for my four guests who arrive from across the world – Brazil, Hong Kong, North Carolina and my 13-year-old cousin from Dallas in pursuit of an encounter with the largest wildlife to ever live on our planet – the blue whale – and to capture some extraordinary images.
As a surprise, I ordered a ‘point & shoot’ waterproof camera from B&H for my cousin. Just imagine the stories he is going to share with his friends once he gets home and starts school again! Stay tuned for more from ‘underwater with the blues.’
best – Amos Nachoum
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