06x02 - Great White Shark Diving Near Guadalupe Island, Mexico

[bunniefuu]

- [Announcer] Today on Blue World,

Jonathan makes an epic trip to Mexico

were he helps rescue a whale

and goes eye to eye
with great white sharks.

[bright music]

Meet Jonathan Berg,

one of the world's top underwater
nature cinematographers.

Traveling the world on assignment

for all the major networks,

he is an Emmy Award-winning authority

on the underwater world.

In freshwater or salt,

reefs, wrecks or caves,

Jonathan documents the
world beneath the waves.

Welcome to the Blue World.

- [Jonathan] Humpback whales are among

the largest animals on earth.

They roam all the oceans
making massive migrations

between warm tropical water,

where they give birth to their young

and colder waters, where they
feed on more abundant food

like small fish and krill.

But while the humpback
is a mighty creature,

it is not invincible.

Humpbacks are regularly injured and k*lled

due to human causes such as pollution,

ship strikes, and the most deadly,

fishing gear entanglement.

[slow dramatic music]

It's September, 2017.

The Blue World team is boarding
the Liverboard dive boat

Sea Escape in Ensenada, Mexico

for an adventure filming
great white sharks

at Guadalupe Island.

Guadalupe is a tiny island

of the Baja Peninsula in Mexico.

It's not easy to reach.

My trip begins with a van ride
from San Diego, California

down to Ensenada, Mexico,

passing some ruggedly beautiful coastline.

Once the crew and all the
passengers have arrived,

we leave the dock and start
our 18 hour run to the island.

[gentle music]

Within a few hours divers Kitty Edwards

and Jamie Matheson have
spotted something unusual.

- So we were up on the top deck
talking about marine debris

and ocean conservation and
looking for whales and...

- All of a sudden I look out
and I see an orange buoy.

I saw a splash around it and some gray.

It looked like it could have been a whale.

Um, told the rest of the
group and we looked out at it

for a minute, and lo and
behold it was actually a whale

that was entangled in some marine debris.

- [Jonathan] To get a closer look,

I run to the top deck with my camera.

Zooming in I can clearly
see a whale pulling a buoy.

Looks like he's dragging a long line

or something with a buoy,

and then there's a bunch of kelp on it.

- [Woman] Does he come up to breathe?

- [Narrator] Yeah.

[indistinct chatter]

To get a better view of the situation,

we launch our drone.

Don't lose it, don't lose it.

From a high vantage point,
we can see that the whale

is dragging a lot of rope, two buoys

and a bunch of kelp that
has been snared on the buoy.

There's no way this whale
will be able to feed

dragging this much stuff.

It will surely die a
slow death of starvation.

[slow music]

Our dive master, Benjamin
Fernandez Olivari

has a daring plan.

He calls another nearby dive boat,

the Somar Five, for assistance,

and they send over some of their crew

in a small fast boat called a panga.

[dramatic music]

They pick up Benjamin and
two other crew members

and set out for the whale.

[dramatic music]

[dramatic music]

[dramatic music]

When they get close,
Benjamin jumps into the water

with a knife to cut the rope.

The whale doesn't understand
what's happening and speeds up.

Things are quickly getting dangerous.

- It was just a little bit
scary, man, to be honest with you

because at first I started
climbing on the line

and she got scared.

She started pulling on me.

- [Narrator] Like a Nantucket sleigh ride

from the whaling days,

Benjamin is hanging on while the whale

pulls him through the water.

[dramatic music]

- [Olivari] I was holding
on to the line of the buoy,

and as the whale pulls forward,

what happens is that you get
taken underneath the surface.

So I really couldn't breathe many times.

So I was like, okay, right now
I have to pull down the line

and go all the way down to cut it.

Because if I just hold onto
this, what's gonna happen

is that I'm not gonna be able to breathe.

So if I can't breathe,
I'm gonna have to let go.

So I, I rode it for a while like that

until I noticed that there
was nothing I could do

because her tail was right underneath me.

So I didn't want it to
be in the way of the tail

if she got scared

because it's dangerous.

She dragged me for a while until I noticed

that she was not gonna stop,

and I was not gonna
reach the place I had to.

So I let it go.

We just decided to follow
the whale side by side

with the panga for a while so we could

see if she was gonna let us do it,

if she was not gonna let us do it.

See what's what, you know.

When you're in the water
with an animal that size

in a panga with a bunch of people,

you need to be careful.

You know, you don't want to hurt anybody.

- [Jonathan] The fact of the matter

is that people have been k*lled

attempting to rescue
whales from entanglement.

These animals are huge and powerful

and do not always understand
what is happening.

Off the Baja Peninsula,
our team is attempting

to free a whale of
fishing gear entanglement.

In spite of the danger, the
team is making a second attempt.

[dramatic piano music]

[dramatic music]

[dramatic music]

[dramatic music]

And soon they succeed in cutting the rope,

freeing the whale from the
buoys and kelps slowing it down.

[gentle music]

[indistinct chattering]

- [Man] Wow, good work!

[group applauding]

Nice!

Yeah!

[cheerful music]

Good job, brother!

Good job, brother!

- I've seen this online a million times.

I never thought I was gonna
get this off of that whale.

I always think, what would
I do if I get caught in

in a situation like that?

And you never know, man,

because everybody always says,

oh, I would have done that.

I wouldn't have done this.

And you never know what you're gonna do

until the situ...

You get put in a situation like that

and in a limited situation.

So gladly, everything went well, man.

We reacted the way we were supposed to.

- [Jonathan] With the whale safe and free

the crew of the Somar Five
returned to their boat as heroes,

and this marine debris will
never endanger another whale.

We're a few hours late
arriving at Guadalupe

to dive with the sharks,

but everyone on our
boat agrees that it was

for a great cause, saving
the life of a humpback whale.

[gentle music]

- [Announcer] Don't go away.

Jonathan will be getting in the water with

great white sharks.

- One of the greatest places in the world

to see great white sharks is
Guadalupe Island in Mexico.

I haven't been there in 10 years,

and so now I'm heading back.

With all the pressure on
sharks around the world

and overfishing of the oceans,

will Guadalupe still be as good
as it was back 10 years ago?

Within three hours of leaving the dock,

we come across a whale
entangled in fishing gear.

The crew mounts a daring rescue,

which saves the whale and
only costs us a couple hours

on our crossing.

[dramatic music]

We are joined by a pod of
Pacific white sided dolphins

on the bow as we continue our way west.

[gentle music]

The next morning we awake
while approaching Guadalupe.

The island is spectacular.

There is little in the way of vegetation

growing on this harsh volcanic rock.

About 200 fishermen live
on the island in camps

here and there,

but most of the inhabitants
are birds and pinnipeds,

seals, and sea lions.

Because the fish life here is so abundant,

the seals and sea lions
have plenty of food.

There are thousands of them
frolicking in the surf.

[gentle music]

All those big seals and sea lions

attract great white sharks.

In fact, between the clear water

and the massive numbers of sharks,

Guadalupe Island is now
considered the number one place

in the world to see great white sharks.

Our crew anchors the boat

and begins the process of
getting the cages in the water.

[motor humming]

We barely have cages in the water

before the first shark shows up,

wondering what delicious
snacks we may have brought.

the sharks has taught them

that divers mean no harm

and usually come bearing gifts.

Big yummy, fishy gifts.

- [Man] What you need?

- [Woman] Oh my God!

- [Johnathan] The bait
wranglers have a tough job.

This may seem strange,

but they're not trying to feed the sharks.

In fact, they're trying to keep
the sharks interested enough

to stick around without feeding them.

If you actually feed the sharks,

they fill up on bait and then they leave.

So the trick is to keep
pulling the bait away

at the last minute.

It gives the sharks a challenge
that they keep pursuing.

[bright music]

Every once in a while
though a shark gets one

by doing a stealthy approach.

- [Man] Two!

- [Johnathan] So they
manage to grab enough baits

to feel encouraged,

and the divers love it
almost as much as the sharks.

- [Man] Yeah.

- [Johnathan] Once the shark action is on,

the crew starts putting
divers in the cages.

I suit up and get ready for action.

Oh yeah, that's pretty good.

And of course, when you dive with sharks,

you always wear gloves so your
hands don't look like bait.

You cover all that skin.

Ha ha!

I head down to the swim
step with excitement.

The sharks are out there.

Nothing is quite as exciting

as the first step into the cage.

But first I need a weight belt,


That keeps me planted on the floor

of the cage for stability.

I'm gonna sink like a brick.

I also get a regulator
hose attached to my back.

The divers breathe from a
huge tank of air on the boat.

It's easier and more
compact than scuba tanks,

and we have an unlimited dive time.

Dive master Benjamin Olivari
hands me my big gates camera

and down I go.

[bubbles gurgling]

I get my camera turned on and
focused as soon as possible

so I'm ready for sharks.

Soon cameraman Tim joins me in the cage.

Now we wait.

The cage is thrown around in the waves.

It's not an easy place
to sh**t steady video.

[dramatic music]

But the sharks are around,

and they have a habit of appearing
seemingly out of nowhere.

It's surprising how easy
it is to miss the approach

of such a large shark.

The solution is to keep an
eye on the floating baits.

That's what they're after.

Take your eye off the bait for one second

and you might miss it.

Not all the divers can be in
the cages at the same time.

So we take turns.

The people on the boat
are getting a great show,

but the view from
underwater is hard to beat.

[dramatic music]

My big gates camera is a
handful inside the cage,

but the action is amazing.

It's a wild ride,

but everywhere I look
the sharks are awesome.

[bright music]

[bright music]

[bright music]

Sometimes a shark gets very
persistent about getting a bait.

This big male is in a battle of strategy

against the bait wrangler,

and all the action is playing
out right in front of me.

[bright music]

[bright music]

[bright music]

In the end, the shark wins.

[slow music]

And I have it all in the camera.

Every once in a while a
shark takes a little interest

in the cage.

[dramatic music]

But for the most part, they
only care about the bait.

They have no interest in us.

Now you might be wondering
why I don't go out of the cage

and swim with the sharks.

The main reason is because
the Mexican government

does not allow it.

The fact of the matter

is that white sharks are
incredibly large animals.

Even though they probably
have no interest whatsoever

in biting a diver,

it is always a possibility.

And even a small bite
from an animal this big

could spell death.

The Mexican government doesn't
want anyone getting bitten

or k*lled by sharks at Guadalupe.

It's bad for tourism
and it's bad for sharks.

So we have to stay in the cages.

Unfortunately, the wind has
kicked up some big ocean swell

and it's throwing
cameraman Tim and I around

in the cage like rag dolls.

All we can do is hold on,

which is making the sh**ting really tough.

[cage creaking]

It's time to call it a day.

As the sun sets, we plan
for tomorrow's diving.

[gentle music]

It's our second day shark
diving at Guadalupe Island

in Mexico,

and the conditions have calmed down a bit.

Gonna go in the deep cage.

It's gonna be awesome.

So the crew decides to
deploy the deep cage.

While the best shark action is

up at the surface where the bait is,

you can get a unique view of
the action from down below.

Okay, thank you.

And since we can't scuba dive
down there without a cage,

one of the cages is on a steel
cable that can be lowered.

Oh, Ben, can you hand me my camera?

It's up on the table.

The gate.

See you on the flip side.

As they slowly lower the cage down,

we all clear our ears.

If anyone can't clear their ears,

there's a rope we can
pull to tell them to stop.

Soon I'm in the deep cage,


and looking up at the other cage.

There definitely isn't much
shark action down here.

Occasionally one of
the sharks gets curious

and makes a wide pass,

but they know we don't
have any snacks for them.

We mostly just look up
at the sharks above.

[gentle music]

Over three days of diving

with the white sharks at Guadalupe,

I see more than 20 different sharks.

Some of them stay with
us for hours on end,

engaging in the game of
trying to steal our baits.

Most of the time the bait wranglers

are one step ahead of the sharks,

but not always.

Looking down the island

I can see as many as six other boats here

full of divers that
have come to experience

the world's greatest predator

in its natural environment.

Guadalupe Island is an
enigma in the ocean world.

One of the few places where
the marine environment

seems to be improving.

With careful administration
by the Mexican government

the amount of marine
life, including sharks,

seems to be getting larger.

In an ocean where things

seem to be constantly on the decline,

this is a breathtaking piece of good news.

So I set out to discover
if Guadalupe was as good

as it was 10 years ago,

and the answer is no,

it's better.

[gentle music]

[bright music]

[bright music]