Please help us make a difference at Socorro Island and stop illegal fishing.

Este sábado 7 de septiembre la petición sobrepasó las 2,000 firmas. ¡ Solamente durante el viernes, más de 200 de ustedes la firmaron ! Es por esto que se esperará algunos días más para entregarla impresa con todas las firmas y comentarios. / Last Saturday September the 7th the petition surpassed 2,000 signatures. Only during Friday […]

Read More

Watchout if you were one of the sport fishing guys taking fish illegally inside the biosphere reserve at Socorro on the vessel "Pancho" registered in Manhattan Beach, California.

We are steaming north towards Cabo San Lucas and my mind is still unbelieving at what we have seen this trip. It has been like pitching a no-hitter or as close as you can get with Mother Nature. For three days at Roca Partida we were entertained and enthralled by a mom and her calf(humpback […]

Read More

The Washington Post – Indonesia struggles to combat shark poaching in protected areas. Baja California, Mexico, 2012.

Indonesia struggles to combat shark poaching in protected areas By Juliet Eilperin, Monday, May 7, 9:50 AM Local and regional authorities in Indonesia caught 33 poachers last week who had taken sharks, manta rays and sea cucumbers from a marine protected area that scientists have identified as one of the sea’s most important sites. But after confiscating their illegal catch and […]

Read More

Imagine being on watch, having a target appear on radar seemingly out of nowhere and then start to close at a very fast rate of speed. Socorro, Mexico. March 13th 2012.

March 12-13 As the Captain of the Nautilus Explorer it is common that we make many night passages from one island to the next, so that we may arrive in the early morning light, for a full day of diving at a new and exciting location. This particular story occured during our transit from Isla […]

Read More

Giant Mantas Starring in Ashes and Snow

Our first priority was to remove the fishing net that was caught on the Boiler and had been found on our last trip. The crew of the Solmar V had done a good job of removing a large part of the net which made our job a lot easier. As we were finishing up a pod of dolphin and two mantas showed up. We like to think that they were thanking us for our work. The first day of the photo shoot was auspicious. Two giant mantas chose to interact with us, one kept coming back to the camera and the divers, turning and swimming loops around us as the film team and freedivers got used to the conditions and the interaction.

Read More

Medical Evacuation with Great Thanks to the Mexican Navy

On a different note, our great thanks to the Mexican Navy for their help today. One of our guests started feeling ill last night and was diagnosed this morning with acute pancreatitis – which is extremely serious and potentially life threatening. A number of evacuation options were considered including a chopper medivac flight right to the boat, which is possible because the Nautilus Explorer has a rated helicopter deck. No options are easy or simple on a small ship anchored in the lee of a volcano, 250 miles out into the open Pacific ocean.

Read More

Shark Fin Soup??

Since the discovery of an illegal fishing net draped across a reef at southwest Benedicto wall, there has been some heated and emotional discussions onboard the Nautilus Explorer regarding the abhorrent practice of shark finning, shark fin soup and the whole issue of illegal fishing – especially in a protected biosphere reserve such as Socorro/Revillagigedos. These are huge issues and there are no easy answers.

Read More