ACTIVITY: Unknown CASE: GSAF DATE: Friday February 1, 2013 LOCATION: Pedro Cays, Kingston Parish, Jamaica.

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1 ACTIVITY: Unknown CASE: GSAF DATE: Friday February 1, 2013 LOCATION: Pedro Cays, Kingston Parish, Jamaica. 17º00'N, 77º50'W NAME: Unknown DESCRIPTION: He is an 18-year-old male from Spanish Town in St. Catherine. BACKGROUND MOON PHASE: ENVIRONMENT: The Pedro Cays consist of four small, flat low-lying (two- to five-metres above sea level), and mostly uninhabited cays. They lie about midway along the southern edge of the eastern half of Pedro Bank. The cays are regionally important seabird nesting and roosting areas (masked boobies, roseate terns and others) and also provide several endangered turtle species such as hawksbills and loggerheads with nesting grounds. The islets represent the primary harvesting area for the largest export of Queen Conch from the Caribbean region. TIME: Shortly after 15h00 NARRATIVE: No details INJURY: He was bitten on the knee. TREATMENT: He was hospitalized in serious but stable condition.

2 Shark attacks teen at Pedro Cays A teenage boy was bitten by a shark on the Pedro Cays yesterday. It is reported that the 18-year-old, who is from Spanish Town, in St Catherine, was bitten on the knee and has been hospitalised in serious but stable condition. Details of the shark-attack were not available up to news time, but the Constabulary Communications Network (CCN) says it happened shortly after 3 o clock while the teenager was in a boat. The CCN says the Black River Police is investigating the incident and will provide a full report shortly. SOURCE: The Gleaner, Saturday February 2, 2013,

3 Satellite image of Pedro Banks showing the four principal cays. Source: Google Earth. Map and bathymetry of Pedro Banks. Source:

4 Shark attacks unlikely here EXPERTS say a shark attack along Jamaica's beaches is highly unlikely, despite several reports of attacks in at least one neighbouring Caribbean island and along the coasts of America. But fishermen, the group most likely to come into contact with sharks daily, show little or no concern. To them, tales of entanglements with the big fish in the depths of the ocean are real but just a hazard of the trade. "I know a diver who was bitten in the face by a hammerhead shark last year," David Flake, who has been a fisherman for eight years, said with a sly smile on his face. Still, the environmental experts are firm about the "unlikely threat". "We don't have anything to worry about, the shark population is fairly small. They are mainly in the Pedro Banks (St. Elizabeth) area with a few in the south coast," said Peter Gayle, Principal Scientific Officer at the Discovery Bay Marine Lab. The north coast, which has the most visited beaches on the island, is especially safe, though for an environmentally unsafe reason. "Because of severe over fishing along the North Coast, there isn't enough fish to support a shark population...if the sharks are there they are down very deep," Mr. Gayle said. "Since the start of the year about three or four men have had their fish taken away by sharks...when you see them approach, you just have to stay still and watch them. If them come too close I try to run them with my spear gun but firing it at them would be the worst thing because the blood would draw down more sharks and if you don't have another spear you have nothing to defend yourself," said William Collymore who has been diving for 30 years. Mr. Collymore said he has seen sharks come close to shore trailing the boats that collect the fish pots in the evening. Fish pots, he said are deposited at least feet (nine metres) underwater about seven miles or more off shore. Knut Borstad, manager of operations at Dive Tech, an underwater engineering and rescue firm said, there is also shark activity around Kingston's shores. "I have picked up bodies eaten by sharks, but those are drowned victims not shark attacks. Sometime ago a six-foot Nurse shark got stuck in the intake pipe out by the Jamaican Private Power Company (in Rockfort). We sent two divers in who caught it, put a loop around the tail and took it out. We released it into the sea," Mr. Borstad said. He also stated that, "there are sharks all the way around and inside the Kingston Harbour which gather there feeding on all that is flushed into the water, like dead dogs and the occasional dead persons. They're actually helpful, as scavengers they help to keep the Harbour clean." The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) does not log reports of shark attacks, which it says happens very rarely. Mr. Gayle said that a wide variety of sharks are in Jamaican waters such as the Tiger, Bull, Mako, White Tip, Nurse and the occasional Hammerhead. "A lot of the sharks here are accustomed to people and human activity. I wouldn't say don't be afraid or respectful of them, one has to be careful. But they don't bother you unless you bother them. I have been under water working and sharks have swum right up to investigate what's happening and we stay still and ignore them -- they just go away," Mr. Borstad said. SOURCE: The Gleaner, September 16, 2001,

5 Pedro's Perils and Pearls: Dangerous waters - Sharks and more at Pedro Banks SHARKS ARE dangerous creatures and are so feared that many persons would not touch them, even with a long stick. But for many fishermen, the shark, despite its vicious nature, is not going to stand between them and their livelihood. The Pedro Banks, for example, is one of Jamaica's most fruitful fishing spots. With the huge cost involved in net and pot fishing, many persons on the cays have chosen to go the cost efficient, more lucrative, yet dangerous route, of spearfishing. Spearfishers are able to target larger, reproductively valuable fish, including rarer species such as grouper, snapper, hog and angelfish. But this is the bright side of diving for a catch. Face to face with sharks Spearfishers, in particular, come face to face with sharks very often. Several have been attacked and have lived to tell the tale. A wide variety of sharks such as the tiger, bull, mako, white tip, nurse and the occasional hammerhead are found in Jamaican waters. Dr Karl Aiken, fisheries specialist and lecturer in zoology at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, says, "Spearfishing is very productive, but you do so at very clear risk to your safety." Twenty-two-year-old Kenroy Blackwood is a fisherman who recently escaped the jaws of sharks. He tells The Sunday Gleaner that he was attacked by nine sharks recently and were it not for Michael Hamilton, his diving partner, he probably would not have made it out alive. "Nine sharks attack mi when mi down deh, and mi start fi juk one wid mi spear. But when wi a come up, mi si a big hammermouth ova me. Mi seh to mi self, 'Yes, a it dis'," Blackwood tells The Sunday Gleaner. The more experienced diver, Hamilton says he was unaware of what was taking place beneath the surface. Hamilton had already returned to the boat having completed his shooting stint below. All this time, his younger colleague was in real trouble.however, a sixth sense kicked in and Hamilton re-entered the water, only to find Blackwood surrounded by sharks. "Mi did have fi help fight dem off, and is so dem go weh," he says. The Pedro Banks, according to Aiken, is home to many sharks because of the abundance of food in the area. He says, however, that in the last two to five years, fishermen have been catching sharks for their fins, which, it is believed, they use to make soup, and this has contributed to a decrease in the shark population there. Developed sense of smell Because of its highly developed sense of smell, a shark is able to detect a single red blood cell in a million gallons of water. As a result, spearfishers actually make themselves bait to sharks by shooting fishes in infested waters like those at the cays. Anthony Rose nearly fell victim to this. He tells The Sunday Gleaner that he was also saved by Hamilton once, after he shot a fish and the sharks sensed the blood and attacked him. "Wi used to dive together and is him save mi when some shark attack mi," Rose tells The Sunday Gleaner. The attack he describes is similar to Blackwood's experience. The difference, however, is that the sharks chased him right to the boat, despite attempts to fight them off. "Just as mi jump inna di boat, one a dem bite off di fish basket weh mi did have a mi side," Rose says of his lucky escape. The attack, he says, happened months ago and he has not got over it to date. "Mi dive same way because a spearfishing mi do, but mi stay far from dah spot deh. Everytime mi reach deh, mi feel frighten," says Rose, who has over two decades' experience as a fisherman. Blackwood, meanwhile, has an unquenchable youthful energy. He tells The Sunday Gleaner that

6 nothing is going to stop him from diving, not even the biggest shark. "Mi nuh response fi nuttin when mi inna di water. Is work mi a work and is it mi love doing," the young fisherman says. SOURCE: Daraine Luton, The Gleaner, Sunday March 23, 2008, The 'Shark Papers' (above) are at the Jamaica Institute, in Kingston, and the head of the shark that swallowed the papers is in the British Museum in England. Honesty Is The Best Policy - The Case Of The Shark Papers OVER 200 years ago the Jamaica Court of Vice- Admiralty heard what is surely one of the strangest cases ever to come before a judge. In a classic example of the old adage truth is stranger than fiction, on September 9, 1799 a suit for salvage involving a shark, papers and a prize captured in the Caribbean sea by a British warship was brought before the court at the south west corner of Harbour and Hanover streets. Filed by the Advocate-General George Crawford Ricketts, on behalf of Hugh Whylie, Commander of the Sparrow, and his crew, against a vessel called the Nancy and her crew. The story sounds simple and straightforward but as with many such stories, it was anything but. At the time Britain was at war with France, the Netherlands and Spain and the Caribbean was teeming with conflict. This story began in July of 1799 when the Nancy set sail from Baltimore, Maryland, for the Dutch West Indian island of Curacao. Part of a firm that traded regularly between Baltimore, Curacao and Haiti, it was not the first time the Nancy had made this trip. She carried her usual cargo of German goods and was scheduled to stop in at Haiti on the homeward leg to pick up coffee. THE VOYAGE Captained by Thomas Briggs, an American, the voyage went well until changes in wind and current caused him to put in at Aruba, 50 miles from Curacao. Many ships often used bad weather as an excuse to veer off course and in neutral ports such as Aruba, ships could clear cargo intended for prohibited ports and find anything from arms to false papers. Briggs went on to Curacao and met up with his vessel accompanied by an agent of the firm who is said to have inspected the Nancy and found everything in order. En route for Port-au-Prince, Briggs was again the victim of bad weather and was forced to put in at Ile-a-Vache, a small island south of Haiti, to refit his damaged main topmast. The Nancy was never to reach Haiti, as soon after, she was sighted by Commander Whylie of the British cutter the Sparrow, who, suspicious that the ship was carrying contraband, immediately called a warning and gave chase. Knowing the Nancy was no match for the speed of the Sparrow, Briggs went below deck and surfaced with a sense of the inevitable. His ship was sealed, his papers collected and all were remanded to Port Royal. It was August 28. In September, the British Commander, Whylie, brought suit against Briggs and Briggs replied in kind, filing a claim for dismissal with costs. Briggs seemed to have the upper hand and was clearly

7 on the way to being acquitted as no evidence existed to convict him for smuggling, when suddenly, just before the final decision was taken, a ship known as the Ferret arrived in Kingston with important information pertaining to the case. THE SHARK Fitton and British Commander Whylie had met on the high seas, near Tacmel, Haiti, that same August while both were seeking to earn their share of prizes using warships to capture goods from enemy vessels. On August 30, (2 days after Whylie had captured Briggs and the Nancy), while waiting for Whylie to join him aboard his brig the Ferret for breakfast, a strange object still being eaten by sharks was seen floating by. It turned out to be a dead bullock and Fitton, hoping to catch an unusually large shark seen swimming near it, ordered the bullock to be taken in tow alongside his ship. Fitton managed to outwit the shark and it was soon hoisted on deck. While cleaning the giant fish, the crew came across a bundle of papers tied with string. Fitton glanced through them a bit astonished. His astonishment grew as he recognized a paper with a recent date from Curacao. The papers were from a ship called the Nancy - to Fitton that meant it was perhaps a recent prize captured in the same Caribbean waters. Fitton ordered the papers separated and left to dry while he returned to his breakfast with Commander Whylie, looking forward to sharing his good fishing fortune. During their conversation he learned of Whylie's good fortune in capturing the Nancy a few days earlier. Stunned, Fitton exclaimed, "But I think I have her papers!" Whylie, in shock himself, retorted, "That's impossible, I have them. I sealed the ship myself." Fitton simply stood up and gestured for Whylie to follow him to the shark. Fitton was correct and the papers Briggs had given Whylie were false. These "shark" papers, again tied with string and taken to Kingston were lodged by Fitton with the Surrogates of the Court, contained information that proved to be the deciding factor in the case. The Nancy and her cargo were deemed a fair and lawful prize on the high seas. Interestingly, soon before the real papers appeared, Briggs, captain of the Nancy is on record committing perjury, stating that no papers of any kind were burnt or thrown overboard, destroyed, cancelled or concealed and furthermore that no such attempts were made. Briggs, more shocked than anyone at the strange turn of events, it is said, took a long time to recover from what he described as this most "active and unnatural piece of cruelty" in which he was "damned and condemned" by what he termed a "bloody sharkfish!" NOTE: During the earthquake of 1907, the shark papers disappeared for a short time. They were found in the hands of a looter who could not account for how they came into his possession and who soon returned them to the Institute of Jamaica. SOURCES: Black, C. V. (1966). Tales of Old Jamaica. Longman Caribbean. This article appeared in the Gleaner,

8 10 things you didn't know about Richard Pandohie Richard Pandohie is considered one of the country's bright, young managerial stars of the Mr Fix-it generation. The presumption here is that he belongs to a team of managers and entrepreneurs who it is presumed can lead Jamaica to the economic promise land! Indeed, his appointment to head the internationally recognised Carreras brand in Jamaica was seen as an endorsement of the transformational leadership that is not only needed in the private sector, but also in government, especially in industry and commerce. Pandohie, a Jamaican national, is often mistakenly Richard Pandohie identified as a foreign national by reason of his name. Today, Outlook shares 10 things we didn't know about Richard Pandohie, managing director of Carreras. 1. Enjoys cooking, especially seafood and various versions of fried rice. He learned to cook to survive the winters during his school days in Montreal. He lists soup, especially mannish water, as one of his favourite dishes. 2. A Calabar old boy and former Commonwealth scholar. 3. Married for 17 wonderful years to his soulmate, Nicole. 4. Favourite music genre is dancehall; huge fan of Lady Saw. 5. Favourite local destination is Maiden Cay. 6. Is a chemical engineer by profession. 7. Was an officer-in-training at the JDF Reserve. 8. Enjoys outdoor activities and adventure and climbed an active volcano in Guatemala. 9. Believes in giving back to the community and so is an active Rotarian, former president of the New Kingston Chapter. 10. Was once attacked and bitten by a shark while diving in Belize. SOURCE: The Gleaner, Sunday December 2, 2012,