06x03 - Searching for Zebra Sharks in the Indian Ocean + Goosefish off the Massachusetts Coast

[bunniefuu]

[bright music]

- [Narrator] Today on "Blue World,"

Jonathan travels to
Oman looking for a rare

and exotic shark, then a wild
goosefish chase in search

of a really weird fish.

[upbeat music]

Meet Jonathan Bird,

one of the world's top underwater
nature cinematographers.

- [Speaker] Woo-hoo!

- [Narrator] 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."

[upbeat music ends]

- I have filmed sharks all over the world.

Whale sharks in the Galapagos,

tiger sharks in the Caribbean,
white sharks in Mexico,

big sharks, little
sharks, tropical sharks,

cold water sharks, bottom-dwelling sharks.

I love sharks and shark behavior

and I'm always looking for
a new shark species to film.

So on our shark search cameraman Bill

and I are heading all the
way to the Middle East

to dive in the Sultanate of Oman.

I've come all the way to Oman

to film a unique animal
called the zebra shark.

Oman is a beautiful country with deserts

and mountains, meeting
the greenish blue water

of the Gulf of Oman, part
of the Western Indian Ocean.

The water here is tropical in temperature,

but filled with plankton
due to upwelling nutrients.

As a result, the water is not
as clear as you might expect

for such a tropical place,

but absolutely filled with fish.

Cameraman Bill and I arrive
at the very fashionable

Civil Aviation Club just outside
Oman's capital of Muscat.

We'll be staying here for
the week right on the ocean.

[waves breaking]

And it's really convenient

because the dive shop is
located right on the property.

As we discover at breakfast
the first morning.

We are the only ones here

because it's the middle of the summer.

Here we are in our morning breakfast

at the Civil Aviation Club.

[playful music]

- Toast.

We have the entire place to
ourselves, which is quite nice.

- We're the only guests.

- Yeah, because no one shows up in July.

- Nobody comes here in July.

- There's too much.
[Jonathan laughs]

- So is eight in the morning

in Oman

in July,

which is obviously the hot season

and it's over a hundred degrees out

and the humidity is stifling.

I head over to the dive shop

and grab my gear to load the boat

and it's really easy because
the boat is on dry land.

[bright music]

Pass me that.

I'm experimenting with
a new camera system.

Ultra lightweight and travel friendly.

Kind of looks like an octopus though.

[bright music continues]

Soon we're on our way.

It seems weird to be on
the boat while they put it

in the water, but they have no dock here.

So this is the best way.

[bright music continues]

[waves breaking]

I don't think the salt water
is good for the tractor though.

[tires screeching]

Once we're free of the boat trailer,

the captain fires up the engines

and we're on our way to the dive site.

This area can be extremely windy,

making the sea conditions unsafe.

So we're lucky that
today it's really calm.

We make good time for
the 20 kilometer run out

to the Daymaniyat Islands.

One of the best places to dive in Oman.

Daymaniyat is a small group

of desert islands
surrounded by healthy reefs

and protected by the Oman
government as a nature reserve.

I'm excited to get in the water

and check out what Oman has to offer.

[people chattering]

[people speaking in foreign language]

- Well, it's time to go
try to find a zebra shark.

[water splashes]

The water is hot near the surface,

but it quickly cools down
as I sink below 30 feet

and it's chock full of
fish like this big school

of black spot snapper.

[peaceful music]

Due to upwelling there is plenty

of cool nutrient rich
water here as I descend.

This deeper layer is green with plankton

and thick with fish.

At times the school's of
fusilier block out the sun,

but it's the reefs that
really catch my attention.

While the underwater landscape
is predominantly hard coral,

there are some magnificent,

colorful soft corals about.

They have that classic
tropical Indo-Pacific look.

And yet nearby there are
bright blue gorgonians

that look like they were
transplanted from temperate waters.

[peaceful music continues]

There's a species of
crown-of-thorns sea star

I've never seen before.

A big fat pin cushion star,

a pair of anemonefish frolicking
in a magnificent anemone

that has fluorescent tentacles.

Laced moray eels seem to be living

in every hole in the reef.

A nudibranch basically a poisonous snail

without a shell makes
its way along the reef.

A pair of tiny shrimp
inhabit a branched anemone.

[peaceful music continues]

A sea turtle is munching
away on a soft layer

of corallimorphs that
have encrusted the reef.

She doesn't seem to mind my camera one bit

as I move in for a closeup.

[peaceful music continues]

I might have stayed with this
wonderfully cooperative animal

for the whole dive,
except Bill calls me over

to see something else.

He has discovered a pair of cuttlefish.

Cuttlefish are intelligent and curious.

They often approach divers
without fear for a closer look.

But this pair seems more like
they're holding their ground

as we move in closer, it really
seems like they might be up

to something that we just interrupted.

With my camera barely
more than a foot away.

The cuttlefish stay right
in their spot over the reef.

After a few minutes,
they decide to trust me

and go back to what they were doing.

And now I get it. The
male is standing guard

while the female deposits her eggs

in a safe place under some coral.

This is a spectacular behavior
I've never before witnessed.

[peaceful music continues]

The male keeps a close eye on me,

but I guess they've decided
that Bill and I aren't a threat.

The egg depositing continues in earnest

and I feel truly honored that this pair

of cuttlefish will allow us

to get a glimpse into their lives.

[peaceful music continues]

We leave the cuttlefish to their efforts

and move on as we swim out
into a deeper rubbery area.

We find our quarry a zebra
shark resting on the bottom.

[peaceful music]

But as we sneak in closer,
the shark gets spooked.

[peaceful music continues]

We had an amazing dive and
we found a zebra shark.

So we know they're around.

Now we just need to
find a cooperative one.

The next morning we're up bright and early

before it gets too hot.

Back at the Daymaniyat
Islands we jump in the water

and head over to the area
we saw the shark yesterday.

[water splashes]

Along the way I find some things to film.

[water flowing]

But then I see a zebra shark resting

on the bottom and approach slowly.

As I get closer, I can
see the distinct spots

that look like a leopard pattern.

In fact, in many places this
is known as a leopard shark.

If the zebra shark
looks a little familiar,

it's probably because of the
five ridges running the length

of its body, which make it
look like a small whale shark.

Indeed, they are related to each other,

but instead of swimming in open
water looking for plankton,

the zebra shark rests on
the bottom during the day

and hunts for mollusks
and crustaceans at night.

[peaceful music continues]

One thing I immediately
notice about this shark is

that it appears to have
only four gill slits.

Given that all sharks have between five

and seven gill slits with the
vast majority having five,

something doesn't seem right.

So I sneak around to the other side

and I can see the explanation.

On zebra sharks the last
two gills slits are actually

so close together that you can barely tell

they aren't a single gill slit.

[upbeat music]

When a zebra shark swims, you can see

that it has a really long flexible tail.

Most sharks don't have a tail like this.

My guess is that the long
tail allows the shark

to swim backwards and wiggle out of holes

and crevices in the reef where it hunts.

[peaceful music]

Having finally found a zebra shark,

it's time to head back to the boat.

Mission accomplished.

[water flowing]

That zebra shark was amazing!

What I couldn't believe is
just how much it was willing

to tolerate me.

I mean, I got right up
close with my video lights

and I just settled down and I was filming

and it didn't even mind.

It was just sitting there.
It was like totally chill.

That was the most cooperative shark ever!

After an exciting day
filming zebra sharks,

we head back to the Civil Aviation Club

and enjoy a beautiful Omani
sunset over the Indian Ocean.

And once again, I realize
how lucky I am to be able

to explore the far reaches
of the "Blue World."

[peaceful music]

- [Narrator] Don't go away.

Jonathan is going deep in search

of a really weird bottom-dwelling fish.

- If there's one thing
I love, it's weird fish.

I've traveled all over
the world to see frogfish,

seahorses and batfish.

But today I've come to the New
England Aquarium to meet one

of the weirdest and
coolest fish in the world.

- There you go.
- I'm meeting up

with Cameraman Bill, part-time
"Blue World" cameraman

and full-time professional aquarist.

[bright music]

Hey Bill, thanks for having
me back to the aquarium

to check out this amazing fish.

- Absolutely. It's always
glad to have you back.

- I just love goosefish.

I think this is one of the
coolest fish in the world.

- They are one of my favorites

'cause they are like a amazing
animal with amazing abilities

and they're such an odd looking fish.

- So the basic morphology,
flattened and camouflaged,

and they lay in the sand
and they're ambush predators

and they've got a lure.
- Right.

- And so they're just
trying to lure the prey in.

And what kind of prey would they lure in?

- Generally speaking,
they kind of go for fish,

but they could also go for a squid

or anything else like that.

But the larger ones, you
can see this as a kind

of a small one that can get much bigger.

And the larger ones have been known

to take down ducks and geese.

- So in really shallow water.
- Right.

- Interesting.
- A lot of ducks

and geese dive down to find fish or chase

after and pick off things.

So when they dive down,
these guys in the shallows

and they just take 'em down hole.

- And their mouth is just
full of needle-like teeth.

It's like you're not
getting out of that mouth.

- [Bill] The cool thing about their teeth

also is all their teeth
are angled inwards.

So that way when something does get in,

there's no backing out of it.

It's just one way to
go. And that's down in.

- It's going down the hatch. [laughs]

So this one's only about a foot long,

but how big do they get?

- They can get up close to five feet long.

The head can be about two feet wide.

They can be very big
fish, very big mouths.

- So you can eat a really big bite.

- Yeah.
[Jonathan laughs]

- Very neat.

And how do you feed these guys?

- [Bill] Because they're down here

in the tank I have a little,
take a little fish on a stick

and it'll dangling in the
water kind of above them.

And once they start luring for the fish,

then I kind of drag it over top of them

and kind of wig it
around like my live fish

and boom, they open
their mouths real quick.

Take it whole.

- Wow.
- And there we go.

- Well, in 29 years of diving,

I've only seen one goosefish
and it was about 25 years ago,

but I heard a rumor that
they saw three of them

in the sand around a shipwreck out

in Stellwagen Bank last week.

So I think it's our opportunity.

- Absolutely. I would love to
see these things in the wild.

So I am absolutely game
to go check this out.

- Well, let's go diving.
- All right.

[animal squawking]
[bright music]

- [Announcer] Three weeks later.

[bright music]

- Well, it's the moment of truth.

I am super excited but
also really nervous.

I hope we can find this fish.

[upbeat music]

Hey, Matt.
- Hey how you-

- [Jonathan] In Gloucester, Massachusetts,

I meet up with Captain Matt Markcoux

who runs the Daybreaker dive boat.

I'm joining a dive trip
to Stellwagen Bank.

- [Speaker] Where you going?

- [Jonathan] We're heading
to the wreck of the Patriot,

a fishing boat, which
capsized and sank in 2009,

about 15 miles southeast of Gloucester.

We leave Gloucester Harbor on
a beautiful summer morning.

[bright music]

We have a 90 minute ride to the wreck.

So cameraman Bill and I use the time

to get our gear set up and ready.

[bright music continues]

When we reach the wreck,
mate Michael MacDonald

and his dive buddy are the
first ones in the water.

They have to set the anchor

before the rest of the divers go in.

Once everything's all set,

they send up a marker with good news.

[person grunts]

- [Speaker] Ah!

[Jonathan laughs]

- They found some!

Bill and I are wearing
dry suits for this dive.

[playful music]

This is my favorite part of putting

on a dry suit right here.

[playful music continues]

Oh! Yeah, the seal's starting

to get a little worn out so
it's not that painful. [laughs]

- [Bill] Hopefully it won't leak.

- [Jonathan] Even though
the surface water is

up to 60 degrees Fahrenheit
the wreck is deep.

On the bottom we will be
working in 45 degree water.

That's definitely cold!

[playful music continues]

The sea is flat calm as we hit the ocean.

[water splashes]

With our cameras in hand.

Bill and I make the long descent

down the anchor line to the wreck.

[peaceful music]

We pass through a thermocline,

the boundary layer between
different temperatures.

The water is swirly and
makes our vision blurry.

We emerge below it into icy cold water,

but at least the visibility is better.

Like most wrecks,

the Patriot has become an
impressive artificial reef.

This boat, which used to
be used for capturing fish,

is now a haven for fish.

It's overgrown with hydroids,
sponges and anemones.

And harbors thousands of
pollock, cunner, and cod.

Where there is a reef
attracting marine life

nearby there are always predators
hoping to take advantage

of the situation.
[tense dramatic music]

Out on the sand, sculpin hoping

for some small fish to come by.

[tense dramatic music continues]

The sculpin, however, are
both hunter and hunted.

They're not the only predators
lurking around the wreck.

[tense dramatic music continues]

Even with the bright light
supplied by my camera system,

the goosefish is exceptionally well hidden

in the shallow depression it
dug in the sandy sea floor.

[tense dramatic music continues]

It waits patiently for prey to come close.

Fleshy tassels all around
the edges of its body help

to disguise its shape.

[tense dramatic music continues]

Even the mouth has
camouflage between the teeth.

[tense dramatic music continues]

It lays perfectly still
breathing only once

or twice a minute exhaling
through concealed gill openings.

[tense dramatic music continues]

All it takes is for one fish

to come within striking distance.

[tense dramatic music continues]

As they get closer, the goosefish
begins flicking its lure.

This is a fish going fishing.

[tense dramatic music continues]

A hake comes close wandering

around the sea floor while
using chemo-sensitive whiskers

called marbles to hunt for
food and sense predators.

The goosefish doesn't move a muscle.

[tense dramatic music continues]

On the sea floor a hake is
venturing dangerously close

to the mouth of a goosefish.

[tense dramatic music continues]

That was a close one.

As I continue to film
other potential meals,

approach the goosefish.

[tense dramatic music continues]

It finally makes a move.

But that hake is just too
big for this small goosefish.

[tense dramatic music continues]

Knowing its position has been revealed,

or perhaps in response to an
annoying guy with a camera,

the goosefish decides to relocate.

[peaceful music]

It's not exactly a graceful swimmer.

[peaceful music continues]

I could spend hours down
here filming goosefish,

but at this depth over 100
feet, we have very limited time

before decompression
obligations start to add up.

So it's time for Bill and I to
head back up the anchor line.

[peaceful music]

At 15 feet, we spend a
few minutes doing a safety

decompression stop in
the warm surface water

and celebrate having
finally filmed a goosefish

in its natural habitat.

I do love weird fish.

The goosefish is flat

and camouflaged like a
tasselled wobbegong shark,

but it has a lure like a frogfish.

It has concealed gill
openings like a batfish,

but uses sand for
camouflage like a flounder.

The goosefish truly may be the weirdest

and coolest fish in the "Blue World."

[upbeat music]

[wood thumps]