Bimini's Great Hammerheads

Albert Kok · Issue 83, Mar/Apr 2015 · pp. 61–64

Products mentioned: Nikon D7100, Ikelite housing, Ikelite D125 strobes, Tokina 10-17, Precision 5" dome, Olympus EPL5, Panasonic 8mm lens, Magic Filter, Precision 4" dome

Bimini is the westernmost of the islands of the Bahamas, located just at the edge of the great Gulfstream at 53 miles east of Miami. It actually sits on the western edge of the Great Bahama Bank. It has two large islands: South and North island. A large mangrove swamp covers the Northern island. Bimini’s reputation is not only based on its popularity for big-game fishing but also because it is the home base of the famous Shark Lab, founded in 1990 by Samuel (‘Doc’) Gruber. The Shark Lab has an unique research program including experiments on baby lemon sharks held in captivity, shark ‘personality’, biotelemetry and ‘tagging’ of great hammerheads for their identification. At present around 20 great hammerheads have been tagged, which has provided a wealth of information such as their locations in the waters surrounding Bimini, and on their longer migratory routes to the East Coast of the …