That's disappointing.
NARRATOR: The
Great White.
Over 10 million years old.
And still a mystery.
To understand it,
you've got to catch it.
BRETT: That's
a hooked shark.
DOMEIER: Wow,
look at that.
NARRATOR: Expert anglers
Chris Fischer and Brett
McBride Team up with
renowned scientist Doctor
Michael Domeier.
Their mission - to tag
and track a rare and
vulnerable predator.
CHRIS: Oh, that's
a bigger one.
DOMEIER: We're gonna
go big or go home.
NARRATOR: They'll need an
unmatched mix of skills...
CHRIS: Drop the cradle.
NARRATOR:
Tools...and guts.
CHRIS: Up, up.
Expedition Great White 1x01
Feeding Frenzy
DOMEIER: Here it is.
Here it comes.
Coming aggressive.
Wants it.
Wants it.
GROUP: OOHHHH.....
CHRIS: That was the right
angle and everything.
DOMEIER: Yeah
she wanted it.
She quickened a
little bit there.
She's gonna eat it.
PAUL: Yeah, I
don't see her.
DOMEIER: She's looking
for the bait up by the
float because that's
normally where it is.
CHRIS: Coming our way,
coming our way, yep.
JODY: High.
Very high.
DOMEIER: OOHH
there it is, wow.
Come on baby.
Take it.
CREW: Getting a nibble?
There he is.
DOMEIER: I'm bit,
guys, bit, bit, bit.
PAUL: Fish on!
Fish on!
GROUP: Fish on.
DOMEIER: It came off
PAUL: ARRGGG DOMEIER: No
he's still there.
He's still there.
CREW: Good, good, good.
There he goes.
DOMEIER: Shark.
It's a big one.
Two balls down.
PAUL: Yeah, buddy.
There she goes.
DOMEIER: She's got
two floats down.
WHITEY: Ha, ha,
ha, yeah baby.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
NARRATOR: With the great
white hooked on the line -
Doctor Michael Domeier
stays aboard the mother
ship.....
Shark Patrol.
While Chris and Brett lead
the chase
to wrangle the giant,
and bring it back.
CHRIS: So it's holding
down a 50-pound ball right
now.
NARRATOR: It was just a
few hours earlier that the
team tagged and released
their sixth great white.
CHRIS: Look at its eye.
Holy cow.
NARRATOR: 15 feet long,
this male named Seamus has
the latest long-term
tracking device secured to
his dorsal fin.
CHRIS: All the tags
are on Doctor Domeier?
Domeier: That tag's
on really good.
NARRATOR: They record
every detail of the shark
and secure new long-term
satellite tags to track
its movements for
up to 6 years.
CHRIS: Adios amigo.
That's what I'm
talking about.
Nice job, Doc.
NARRATOR: For Doctor
Michael Domeier,
the boat's hydraulic lift
sets their scientific
efforts apart
from the rest.
DOMEIER: This ship can
pull the biggest adult
white shark we can
possibly catch right out
of the water.
Once that shark's
out of the water,
we can do things that have
never been done before.
NARRATOR: On Seamus,
Doctor Domeier collects
his first blood sample
from an adult great white
male.
He can't draw it with a
needle so heollects it
from the hook wound.
DOMEIER: Almost
got enough.
NARRATOR: He then
analyzes the blood as an
important step to support
his suspicion that sharks
gather at this
island to breed.
DOMEIER: The
concentration of the
reproductive hormones
are going to allow me to
determine if the white
sharks are mating at
Guadalupe Island or not.
NARRATOR: If true, it
will be the first mating
site ever identified
for the species
DOMEIER: The white blood
cells down there,
up here is just
the plasma part,
the part the
hormones will be in.
NARRATOR: But Domeier
needs blood from mature
females to help prove his
theory - and so far -
no luck.
Could this newly hooked
great white be the one?
CREW: You see that
son of a rippin?
Whoooff!
CHRIS: She's
turned away now.
NARRATOR: Co-Captain Jody
Whitworth and adventurer
actor Paul Walker join
Chris and Brett in the
chase boat.
BRETT: I hope
it's that monster.
CHRIS: Let it go.
Don't take any pressure.
Just let the line go
because we don't want to
straighten out that hook.
He's got three balls
under right now. Right?
He's got two and a third one
bouncing up and down.
NARRATOR: At this stage
in the battle they deploy
a system of buoys to do
two critical things:
create drag on the
animal to help break its
will...and lift the shark
to the surface -where it
can be safely towed back
to the mother ship for
tagging.
But this powerful great
white isn't going with the
program.
CHRIS: Geez Louise.
Look at that
thing bouncing.
PAUL: Oh we're going
slack here real quick.
CHRIS: He's
turned around.
The thing's coming at us.
PAUL: Yeah, we're going
slack here real quick.
BRETT: She wants to
come up and say hi.
CHRIS: Oh there's the
other one popping up,
up there, she's
taking it under again.
PAUL: Aw, she's pissed.
CHRIS: Neutral.
Cutting toward it.
Oh, there's the other one.
Holy cow.
CREW: Oh, there's
the third one.
Whoa.
CHRIS: Did she come off?
BRETT: Yeah, she's off.
JODY: Line's, line's
going straight out it.
She's off.
CHRIS: It's off?
JODY: Yeah the line's
going straight out.
There's the cable
right there.
CHRIS: Look at
that, Brett.
BRETT: Booyah.
CHRIS: Broke
the hook man.
Still too much
pressure on the shark.
You know with the drag
like that - how much power
that is?
JODY: It was just
the buoys though.
CHRIS: That's
major power.
Yeah, Mother Ship Ocean,
fish is off okay.
Fish is gone.
DOMEIER: So
apparently he got off.
That's a bummer.
Usually when they hook
solid they don't come off
unless they bend the hook.
PAUL: Good chance it
was that, that monster,
that big female we
saw off the back.
CHRIS: To break
that kind of tackle.
That was a monster fish.
That was bigger than
anything we got so far.
That was an amazing
demonstration of power.
BRETT: Pulled hard
that's for sure.
JODY: The one
that got away.
CHAD When the gear fails
us, that's the hard part.
You work so hard for every
little step and then a
gear failure is the
ultimate slap in the face.
CHRIS: That sucks, man.
NARRATOR: Losing a shark
isn't the day's only
frustration.
Some unexpected
guests arrive.
Mexican authorities.
Armed and ready
to board the ship.
With fresh bait
in the water,
Chris and Domeier are
caught off guard.
CHRIS: You want me to put
it away while they're over
there so we don't catch a
shark while we're here.
What if we hang one?
DOMEIER: They'll come
aboard and they're going
to see the hook.
We hang one, we hang one,
I mean that's what we're
here to do.
CHRIS: OK cool.
OK go get your
permit and get ready.
They're going to
give us an ear full.
NARRATOR: When the
expedition team set sail
from the Mexican
mainland for Guadalupe,
they had their
permits in hand.
But 160 miles out at sea
rules are less certain.
CHRIS: So, you're always
worried even though you
have all your paperwork
and even though everything
is in order that the next
guy who's gonna come check
on you is gonna tell you
your stuff's not in order.
NARRATOR: Unease spreads
as the soldiers fan out.
CHRIS: You know it can be
quite intimidating when
there's big guns around
and masked people,
you know.
What in the world's
going to happen here?
And the one guy rolls in
with his gun and he's got
his mask on.
One of the most, like
intimidating guys on the
boat and one of our mates
Brandon walks over and
he's like "any of you
guys want a cigarette.
And the guy who was the
scariest guy of all is
like "yeah" and he just
pulls down his mask and
starts smoking
a cigarette.
I was like, 'Classic.
We're good.
Anytime they come you just
kind of, I don't know,
you clean up.
And I said to the
guys, like, hey,
man if you want it and we
have it you can have it
you know.
You need some food.
You need some fuel.
Whatever we carry so many
supplies on the ship.
necessita mas bebidas?
gasolina?
Agua?
Comeda?
Tequila?
SOLDIER: Muchachas?
CHRIS: No muchachas.
No tenemos este.
And so the guys they left
us and they cruise off
heading back to
their Navy station.
Alright, that
went very well.
Very well.
I'm excited about how that
went because it never goes
that easy.
Ever!
And then they turned
around and came back like,
oh here they're
coming back, like no,
I knew it went too well
and the guys cruise up
here and they're like "Do
you guys got any limes?"
I'm like. Yes you can have
evey lime you want.
And we gave them
a bag of limes
And they took off
and went away.
NARRATOR: Time to get
back to the business at
hand...Their bold mission
to understand and protect
one of the world's most
mysterious creatures,
the great white.
DOMEIER: I think it's
really important that the
public knows that sharks
occupy a very important
niche in our
marine ecosystem.
They are predators, they
are the garbage men,
they do a lot of things
that no other fish do.
If we lose sharks, our
marine ecosystem's going
to change and it's going
to change for the worse.
NARRATOR: Though Domeier
and Fischer share the
mission, they sometimes
differ on how to hook a
Great White.
CHRIS: I would
I'd throw it on.
Whatever.
I'd put that piece on.
DOMEIER: I don't want to
bury the business end of
the hook.
CHRIS: Yo, feed her this.
We need more
meat on the hook.
DOMEIER: There it is
right on the bait.
Right on the bait and
that's not a small,
small one.
It's still a big,
big, big fish.
CHRIS: Oh my,
oh my, oh my,
have we had our
chances today.
PAUL: Not over yet.
CHRIS: No, no there's
the shark right there.
That's a monster
shark right there.
Deep.
That's a, oh, she's
turning hard on it.
She looked hard at it.
PAUL: Yeah she did.
NARRATOR: The shark
passes and Chris grows
impatient.
CHRIS: I would
suggest more meat.
But.... If we don't get
bit, we don't got nothing.
PAUL: So stake it on.
CHRIS: He's not, I'm
going to wait and let him
continue to struggle for
awhile until he loses his
patience and then I'm
going to pile them on the
hook and chuck
it when he quits.
He'll give up in
a little while.
You got to give it
something that it really
wants.
Something that's like
worth the effort.
NARRATOR: After almost an
hour and a half -Chris
steps in to do it his way.
CHRIS: I'm just going to
do a little simple pinning
of bait right now.
My theory is to make it
look so good that it has
to eat it.
It's worth the little bit
of risk that doesn't look
.
Sometimes when they don't
want to bite you got to
give them something
they can't resist.
I'm already bit.
WHITEY: Yeah he got it.
CHRIS: That's
why I did it,
right the (bleep) there.
WHITEY: Ah there you go.
CHRIS: Tell me when the,
tell me when buoys ...
WHITEY: Yeah, right there.
Came off.
Well I'm not sure he, I'm
not sure he came off.
No way.
DOMEIER: Still got bait.
DOMEIER: She's
right behind it.
She wants it.
DOMEIER: Can't
see her now.
WHITEY: She's gonna
take that again Chris.
She's takin' it
again, look at that!
DOMEIER: There,
she's got it.
JODY: She's
runnin' forward.
WHITEY: Heads
up, heads up!
Heads up!
DOMEIER: Woah!
Look at that!
WHITEY: The, buoy!
Now we got the other rope!
DOMEIER: WOW!
Look at that.
Wooooo!
WHITEY: Buoy!
PAUL: It's a
big one, dude!
CHRIS: That's the
bitter end, Brett.
JODY: Oh no.
CHRIS: Oh, no she's still
holding down buoys.
JODY: No, no he's got it
he's going, there he goes.
We might not want to...
WHITEY: Buoy!
Buoy!
Buoy!
DOMEIER: Still on?
WOW!
Wooo!
CHRIS: Let's go,
let's go, let's go.
Stay clear.
DOMEIER: Yeah Baby!
NARRATOR: The game
is on - again.
JODY: That's
what they think.
CHRIS: Okay, what we
wanna do is make sure we
get those buoys behind her
and make sure we don't let
'em, we keep 'em
clear of the ship.
BRETT: She's
coming around.
The fish, the shark's
going that way.
CHRIS: Oh, she's
turned away now.
BRETT: Yep, no, now she's
turned directly away from
the boat.
Good.
NARRATOR: The battle's
just started and this
Great White is already
giving the guys a run for
their money.
CHRIS: Holy cow!
Look at the buoys getting
pulled through the water!
OH MY GOD!
I hope the hook holds.
I just hope
the hook holds.
JODY: Yeah.
CHRIS: Look at
the pressure!
I don't know what's going
to break next but we're
either going to find out
or we're going to get this
one.
DOMEIER: Two buoys down.
NARRATOR: From the upper
deck the doctorhand
deckhand Whitey Evans
witness the strength of
this animal.
Three buoys down. Oh,
came back up.
Strong fish.
NARRATOR: They hope it's
the monster-sized female
they've been waiting for.
CHRIS: This is the kind
of shark that can kill ya.
NARRATOR: Early in the
expedition a bad engine
forces the team to use the
inflatable as the chase
boat.
And again, they find
themselves within biting
distance of a great white
in a motorized balloon.
But Chris is more focused
on how they hooked this
great white.
CHRIS: Nice, man.
See we fattened
up that hook, bro.
Did you see everybody
turned their back and we
stuck that giant tuna on
the hook and we hung this
thing.
That's what I'm
talking about.
PAUL: You called it
there didn't you?
CHRIS: Oh I don't know.
Could have been
just lucky.
Probably
experience though.
(laughs) NARRATOR: Shark
expert Doctor Domeier
knows great whites
more than most.
He's compiled a database
of almost 100 sharks at
Guadalupe.
He ids them based
on their gill slits,
pectoral fins and tails
as well as their color
patterns.
Could the shark on their
line be someone he knows?
PAUL: She's coming at us.
JODY: Yeah, she's
stretched out good.
Here comes the other
buoy to the surface.
CHRIS: OK fish
is coming up.
Another buoy's up.
NARRATOR: They start
replacing fixed buoys with
sliders - allowing the
buoys to glide down the
line closer to the shark.
CHRIS: Okay, sliders in
front, sliders in front.
Feed 'em another one.
Right behind you there.
BRETT: Once we got the
shark tired out a little
bit, you add a
little more weight,
or a little closer,
buoy to his face.
You can bring him up higher
in the water
And then at a certain
point you make a decision.
Okay, now that looks like
the shark's already,
he's really
tired right now.
Let's go ahead and slide
some buoys to him and
really break his will.
NARRATOR: A docile shark
is the ideal for the
scientific operation.
For the first six years
of his shark research,
Dr. Domeier partnered with
well-known angler and
philanthropist
Tom Pfleger.
Together they tagged
73 white sharks with
satellite pop-up tags.
These tags are programmed
to eventually disconnect,
float to the surface
and transmit data to a
satellite...
sometimes they are
actually physically
recovered, providing
information on swimming
depths and water
temperatures.
Information gathered from
these tags opened the door
for the use of the new
precision-location spot
tags.
DOMEIER: Ultimately, my
research program what I
really want to achieve is
to understand the entire
life cycle of
white sharks.
We've only gotten bits
and pieces from the tag
technology we've
used in the past.
NARRATOR: Domeier's new
satellite devices will
track the shark's
migration in near real
time for up to six years!
He believes these tags
will help solve the great
mystery of where
they go and why.
DOMEIER: Once
we learn that,
we could help put together
a comprehensive management
plan to protect white
sharks year round.
NARRATOR: But the task at
hand is getting this great
white to the mother ship.
CHRIS: Coming,
coming, coming.
BRETT: You got that
blue one there?
NARRATOR: They worry that
large great whites can
overheat from exertion.
BRETT: Woah!
NARRATOR: It's a delicate
balance to tire a shark
without harming it.
BRETT: I take it
very seriously;
making sure that I do my
job properly and let all
the sharks go healthy.
CHRIS: Where's the shark?
JODY: She's going under
the boat, under the boat.
CHRIS: Back
away, back away.
JODY: Oh, she's
right there.
CHRIS: Yeah, okay.
Do you feel like the fish
is still super green?
Or do you have any sort of
feeling for that at all?
PAUL AND BRETT:
Naw, She's tired.
CHRIS: She's tired.
BRETT: I think
as soon as they get the lift
and if it's coming
over the side now
I think we'll try to flip it
and swing her in and
we'll need to focus right
now on making a plan to
get this off our stern.
BRETT: Yeah.
NARRATOR: Under
Domeier's watchful eye,
they lower the cradle
into the water.
Once in position they'll
guide the shark onto the
platform and
into their hands.
Throughout the day, the
ship's team has seen
plenty of action in the
clear waters below.
DAVID There's multiple
big sharks down there.
DOMEIER: And we're going
to catch them all.
WHITEY: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
CHRIS: Trying to just jam
those buoys right into its
face.
Lift the shark,
break its will.
And then it will just come
up and it will be over.
That's what it would
happen on the small ones.
PAUL: Yeah she's ready,
let's deliver it.
CHRIS: Alright
here we go,
okay we're going to try to
make a giant circle right
into the lift.
Just like the
previous ones.
She's in good shape here.
DOMEIER: Yeah, we're
ready for you.
NARRATOR: Domeier guides
the cradle deeper into the
water.
DOMEIER: Okay, let's
go down Johnny.
WHITEY We're ready.
NARRATOR: As they
near the mother ship,
the shark grows agitated.
BRETT: I like coming in
at that angle a little
more too, cuz...
CHRIS: Steeper?
BRETT: Yeah,
so, forty-five.
CHRIS: Look she
wants to go in.
Hold her tight,
hold her tight.
JODY: Can we
take her there?
BRETT: I don't know
if she's high enough.
CHRIS: She's
not high enough.
She's not done.
If the shark's not high enough
it could slide under the cradle.
and sever the line.
The animal could be lost.
The mother ship's team
has the best angle to see
what's going on.
BRETT: How deep
does she look?
PAUL: How deep?
How deep does she look?
DOMEIER: About
three feet.
CHRIS: Three feet deep?
DOMEIER: About
three feet.
JODY: They're both
saying three feet.
CHRIS: Still
head down though?
Right?
Right side up?
DOMEIER: Right side up.
CHRIS: Not, not fatigued
enough to be laying on her
side.
NARRATOR: They pull back
from the mother ship to
re-gain control.
JODY: Brett, you want me
to come back there and
take a wrap so you can
lean down and work?"
BRETT: Yeah, I
will in a second.
I just want to, I just
want to ante her up
without pissing
her off at all.
She's so close."
NARRATOR: Brett reworks
the buoys to get them
closer to the
shark's head.
CHRIS: You don't need
them all down there,
Brett.
Just one.
BRETT: Pulling on the fin
side of the carabineer.
Take a wrap, I'll see if I can
get my second hand on it.
JODY: Slack.
CHRIS: Don't get your
hands caught in there.
BRETT: Loosen a foot.
CHRIS: Nice job, fellas.
NARRATOR: It does the
trick - the bouys pin the
shark near the surface.
CHRIS: I like it a lot
better now, Bretett, uh?
BRETT: So much
better, yeah.
PAUL: Rollin' on
the side a little.
CHRIS: Best to take your
time and make sure you
fatigue a monster
like this.
The Great White
gave it's best shot.
but now seems resigned
but the team itself is shocked.
It's not a
giant after all.
DOMEIER: Looks
like a little one.
CHRIS: I don't think it's
the big one they thought
it was.
It was like a
normal size here.
NARRATOR: Normal size for
a great white is still
easily 14 feet and they
think this one's a male.
For Dr. Domeier every
great white provides
important clues for
unraveling the species's
life cycle.
CHRIS: Look, she
wants to go in.
NARRATOR: And this
shark's story is about to
unfold.
DOMEIER: Let her go, let her
slide back if you need to.
CHRIS: Get that
th: Slow it down.
Give it slack.
Give it slack, Brett.
DOMEIER: Slack, slack,
slack, slack, slack,
slack!
JODY: That is,
that is perfect.
CHRIS: Up, up, up, up,
up, up, up, up, up!
DOMEIER: Keep coming.
Perfect!
JODY: I got
it right here.
DOMEIER: Perfect landing.
CREW Let's go.
Okay out of gear, Chris.
DOMEIER: C'mon guys.
That's good,
Johnny, right there.
DOMEIER: We need the tape
measure off the chair.
We're gonna get a
measurement right away and
then we're gonna
tail rope it better.
NARRATOR: They know what to
do and how fast to do it.
The first thing is to
irrigate the mouth and
gills to keep it alive.
CHRIS: Watch the
nose of the shark.
Somebody get that
water in, Brett.
PAUL: More hose.
There we go.
NARRATOR: They'll still
need to get the shark back
into the water within
twenty minutes to ensure
its safety.
BRETT: Nice.
CHRIS: Nice job getting
the hook out there,
fellas.
NARRATOR: But the shark
isn't watching the clock.
DOMEIER: She wants to
start moving around
PAUL: Whoa!
CREW Whoa, whoa, whoa!
Ooooh.
WHITEY Get out of there!
CHRIS: Keep your face,
keep your hands off the
snout if you can.
Make sure that she is
getting irrigated.
CREW MEMBER It's
a boy by the way.
CHRIS: Yeah, it's a male.
DOMEIER: It's a
boy by the way.
PAUL: Yeah she looks
good on both sides.
Boy that was, that will
get your heart rate going.
CREW Alright, let's
get going on the...
WHITEY What do we
got on this one here?
DOMEIER: We'll
remove that,
that's from me from a
couple of years ago - from
a pop-up tag.
CHRIS: Oh, one of your,
you've tagged this fish
before?
DOMEIER: Yeah I've
tagged it before.
CHRIS: Very interesting
to see which one this will
be.
NARRATOR: Unlike the
temporary pop-up tag,
they'll bolt this new
long-term satellite device
- onto the shark's
dorsal fin.
DOMEIER: Are these tight?
Can I cut 'em?
BRANDON Yup.
NARRATOR: This is the
highest point on the
shark.
When the shark breaks the
surface and a satellite is
overhead, the shark's
position can be
identified.
They also collect tissue
from the drill bit.
Its DNA will help
determine how sharks are
CREW Yeah.
DOMEIER: Here comes the
tape up there, uh, Paul?
PAUL: Yeah.
NARRATOR: It's likely
humans have never touched
this guy and he
doesn't like it.
JODY: Okay, see, she
wants...as soon as I touch
her tail, she wants to
start getting going.
CHRIS: Rich,
Rich, Rich, Rich.
This is exactly, you know,
this isn't shocking,
and that this
thing is pissed.
This thing
fought like that.
NARRATOR: Jody
tries again.
He needs to measure from
the tip of the nose to the
fork in the tail and from
the nose to the tip of the
tail.
JODY: As soon as I
touch her tail...
CHRIS: He's
trying to kick.
He's trying to kick.
CHRIS: Okay...oh,
just don't touch it!
Just measure it.
JODY: He wants it, he
wants the measurement!
CHRIS: Guesstimate it!
Guesstimate it.
DOMEIER: No, measure it!
Just measure it!
CREW Go, go,
go, go, go, go.
CHRIS: Don't do what's
making it kick,
just measure it
the best you can.
JODY: 174 DOMEIER: Okay,
okay, now tie a rope,
tail rope it.
CHRIS: Yep, 174
there, Jody?
JODY: Yeah.
160 and then 174.
NARRATOR: At 14
and a half feet,
he turns out to be good
sized after all and
Domeier's anxious to see
if he's here to mate.
DOMEIER: This is
a mature male.
Running ripe!
CHRIS: Mature male what?
DOMEIER: It's
a mature male,
the claspers are calcified
and there is sperm in the
groove.
So this one is
here for a reason.
That's right there.
NARRATOR: Claspers are
the male's reproductive
organs and great whites
have two of them.
CHRIS: Sperm
in the groove.
That is awesome!
That is the right clasper,
is it also in the left?
DOMEIER: Uh, I don't
see it in the left one.
CHRIS: And they
are calcified?
DOMEIER: Yep, calcified.
CHRIS: Sperm only in
the right clasper.
NARRATOR: The sperm
further supports Domeier's
theory that Guadalupe
could be a breeding ground
for great whites.
DOMEIER: And let's check
for any blood coming off
this fish anywhere where
I can get a sample?
CHRIS: I don't recommend
the business end there.
BRETT: No.
CHRIS: Wanna try
the tail again?
This is the one
that's nasty,
but we do have
it tail roped.
You could get on this side
over here and the tail
could not come at ya.
DOMEIER: Irrigation
looks great.
Tag's almost on.
How 'bout a time
check there, Jody, how
long has the fish been out
of the water?
JODY: Six minutes.
CHRIS: Six minutes.
Good shape.
Hook location, Brett?
BRETT: Corner
of the mouth,
corner of the mouth.
CHRIS: Which side?
BRETT: Right side.
CHRIS: Right...right
corner.
NARRATOR: Dr. Domeier
attempts to reach the
shark's primary blood
supply to the tail - the
caudal vein.
No easy task.
Unlike humans, a great
white's veins are buried
deep by several
inches of skin,
muscle and tendons but
Domeier's needle hits the
target.
DOMEIER: Oh, I'm
getting blood!
CHRIS: Nice Doc!
Oh Doc, you're getting
good blood there,
that's the best
we've done!
DOMEIER: Ever!
NARRATOR: This is a first
for the Doctor - drawing a
blood sample directly from
a great white's vein.
CHRIS: Nice job, Doc!
Oh that's great!
PAUL: Great spot
right there!
DOMEIER: Got it!
CHRIS: That would be
great if we could do that
same thing on the female.
Look, right in
the crevice.
Right in the
crack of the tail.
PAUL: He knows right were
to draw the blood now.
CHRIS: We have plenty
of time, fellas,
we're only at about eight
minutes and we're down to
what you all are up to.
NARRATOR: As they finish
securing the satellite
tag, Domeier grabs his
camera to document the
shark's physical details.
In addition to
the gill slits,
pelvic fin and tail,
additional details will be
added to Domeier's
ever-growing database of
individual sharks.
DOMEIER: Look at the
scar right there.
Massive scar from battling
with his compadres.
NARRATOR: Domeier thinks
males may be fighting each
other here to establish
mating territories or
possibly battling over
individual females.
CHRIS: How are we looking
on the irrigation there,
Brett?
BRETT: Good.
CHRIS: Time, Jody?
JODY: She's been out of
the water 12 minutes
CHRIS: Nice job, Dave.
JODY: Are we done
with the data board?
DOMEIER: Look at the
difference in height
though we're getting this
tag compared to last year.
CHRIS: Much higher.
Right at the very tippytop.
Okay, everybody who can
start easing off.
We can start easing off.
Alright let's do it.
We might have a
little movement here,
with ya just a
second with Jody.
Everybody off that doesn't
need to be on here.
Alright, it's out, it's
clear, everybody out,
get the towel, get the
towel off him, Brett.
Everybody clear.
JODY: Wait, Brett.
CHRIS: We ready
to go down?
DOMEIER: Down, Down.
CHRIS: Down.
JODY: Was out of the
water 17 minutes.
CHRIS: It's a ripe
running male.
DOMEIER: Ripe
running male.
CHRIS: Just like you
though we might find.
DOMEIER: He's ready
to go already.
GROUP Alright.
CHRIS: He's
moving right out.
PAUL: Didn't exactly take
the easiest route, did he?
CHRIS: Beautiful.
Nice job, fellas!
Another one,
nobody's hurt.
Nice work.
DOMEIER: Way to go.
NARRATOR: Combing through
Doctor Domeier's database
they identify this
shark as Skid.
Not only did Domeier put a
pop-off tag on Skid five
years ago, he's been
spotted at Guadalupe every
year since 2002.
With his new statellite
tag Skid promises to open
up many more chapters
in Great White history.
Now what Domeier really
wants is blood from a
female.
CHRIS: Reefed on
that one, bro.
DOMEIER: Hey,et's get
a bait in the water man,
There's one under
the boat right now.
There it is right there.
DOMEIER: That's a
pretty big fish!
CHRIS: Well, a lot of
times when you see
information about
sharks today,
you get this
sensationalistic stuff
about "white sharks eat
people" or "sharks are
dangerous" you know, but
what we're doing rght
here is real.
This is real science;
trying to solve the puzzle
of the white shark; figure
out these multi- or
complicated
migratory routes;
figure out where they
breed, where they feed,
where they pup.
We're coming in, we're
bringing more bait.
BRETT: Bringing
in the whole dodo?
CHRIS: We're bringing
in the whole dodo.
NARRATOR: Anxious to
land a true giant -the
scientist and the
fishermen resume their
debate over bait DOMEIER:
Well I wouldn't,
I would not, I'd put, if
you want to put another
bait with dorado okay, but
I wouldn't swap that out.
Someone told me they came
out here with dorado,
they wouldn't eat 'em.
NARRATOR: They've been
using a "bonita "- a type
of tuna -but Chris wants
to drop in a full dorado
fish to see what happens.
CHRIS: Look we're not
going to scare this thing
off by putting it in,
right, just for a minute?
See if it just
wants to inhale it?
DOMEIER: You're going
to put on a different,
a different hook?
CHRIS: No, I'm going to
just put a big chunk,
a big pile of
meat like in...
DOMEIER: Well that's got
a bonita on it, right?
CHRIS: Two bonitas.
DOMEIER: Oh,
so you're okay.
NARRATOR: Suddenly
something below makes the
decision for them.
BRETT: Well stand by,
something's pulling it
under.
PAUL: That's a
nicer one, huh?
CHRIS: Oh, yeah,
he's got it.
We've got it.
We gotta get, I'm going
to over and get the boat,
I'm going to go
get the boat.
CREW Woohoo.
CHRIS: I need someone
else in the skiff with me.
This is the big,
big, big one.
NARRATOR: Having already
faced the Mexican navy and
battled two great
whites....they are more
than ready to wrangle the
biggest shark yet in this
very long day.
CHRIS: We've got to get
to the last buoy and we've
got to swing it
clear of this vessel.
NARRATOR: David Olson saw
it face to f ace DAVID That
is huge.
It's mammoth.
BRETT: Yeah, that was a
monster one right there.
I gotta go get
in the boat.
That's the big one.
(laughing)
Going for the big one.
It a party fish, man.
That's right.
We're good.
NARRATOR: In
the excitement,
Captain Brett reminds
the team to stay cool.
BRETT: Alright, nice, and
take it easy on this one.
This is the one we want.
It makes the trip.
CHRIS: They saw it eat.
This is the one.
JODY: Yeah, Johnny
called it a whale.
Johnny goes; I think
that's a whale that just
ate that thing.
NARRATOR: And this
massive great white wastes
no time flexing
its muscle.
CHRIS: Oh, the buoy out
there just went kerplunk.
Oh, oh, there it goes.
BRETT: Let him just tow
us, we can do this.
CHRIS: Yeah, let her
work herself out.
Let her tug on those
buoys a little while.
Oh, it's starting
to come up.
Whoa, yeah, let
him have it.
Let him have it.
Let him go, let him go.
Last buoy coming out.
BRETT: Some doozie.
CHRIS: Yeah, that's a
whole 'nother level right
there.
PAUL: That is too
cool right there.
That was sick.
JODY: That's Jaws.
BRETT: Yeah.
NARRATOR: The shark
changes tact.
It moves toward the
surface causing the buoys
to pop back up allowing
the great white to burst
ahead.
CHRIS: That
was full Jaws,
all buoys waking away,
still waking away.
NARRATOR: It's all part
of the team's buoy system
designed to wear down the
biggest great whites.
PAUL: Alright, it's
coming our way.
NARRATOR: But this one's
testing their limits.
CHRIS: Let her go.
Let her go.
Just keep a little
tension on it.
JODY: This is definitely
the hardest pull we've
had.
CHRIS: See if you can
pull 'em in, Paul.
PAUL: I'm trying.
I'm pulling.
CHRIS: Well you can start
pulling anytime, man.
...It's okay to put a
little bit of pressure on
the shark now.
PAUL: Okay, wheel man.
Go ahead and keep your
hands dry and keep your
feet dry, you know.
CHRIS: Be ready for
any sort of explosion.
PAUL: Hey, Mom,
look at me.
NARRATOR: As the skies
grow darker it's time to
get the sliders
on the buoys.
JODY: Two on.
NARRATOR: The sooner they
get them tight around the
shark's face the sooner
they can bring her in.
CHRIS: More slider
coming behind you, Paul.
PAUL: Yep.
CHRIS: The bitter end,
you want to switch out
with this one?
Three on.
We need to carry one more buoy
JODY: Four on.
CHRIS: I'm going to
apply a little power and
reverse.
NARRATOR: Chris backs up
the boat to help force the
buoys down the line.
And Brett gets inches away
from the great white to
move them even closer.
CHRIS: They're
all in the tank.
JODY: Wow, move back.
It doesn't get any
closer than that.
CHRIS: Right in her
face, I like that a lot.
I think the best thing
to do is for me to apply
power, you allow her to
slip away from us and I,
we spin the boat.
BRETT: Yeah, that's
what I'm saying.
I'm just slowly letting
her go - give you a chance
to spin since it
doesn't spin real fast.
NARRATOR: The shark seems
to have calmed down or has
she?
BRETT: There's
her tail again.
NARRATOR: The hooked
shark gets more
aggressive...and Chris
spots a problem.
CHRIS: I hate to
do this to you,
she looks like she wants
to come in backward.
She just keeps fighting
us back over that way.
Can you just have the
divers remove the gate?
Switch the gate.
DOMEIER: Bring it up!
We've got to pull
off the ladder.
WHITEY What's that?
You want to flip
that line over there?
DOMEIER: The fish is
setting up
on the wrong side of the boat.
Was like before we had to
remove our end gate and
switch it over to the other side.
CREW There's
the chain now.
NARRATOR: No matter which
direction a shark enters
the platform, the gate has
to be at the opposite end
to keep it from escaping.
PAUL: This is a strong
shark for sure.
DOMEIER: How long
are we on this one?
JODY: 44:50.
BRETT: Ooh.
PAUL: The funny thing is,
is that once we pretend
like we know what the
shark wants to do;
she does something
entirely different every
time.
CHRIS: We're 50
yards from the slip.
Tell me if you, any time
you want me to bail out;
you're going to have to
call it pretty soon.
DOMEIER: Looks good
this time, Chris.
CHRIS: Okay, here we go,
I'm gonna just try to
swing it in.
JODY: She's got both fins
high out of the water.
CHRIS: Do not
let it sound.
PAUL: Okay.
DOMEIER: Fins are, both
fins are out of the water.
Both fins are
out of the water.
We've got to pull
her into the cradle.
She's too far over,
she's too far over."
GROUP Up, up, up, up!
Cradle up.
Cradle up CHRIS:
Up, up, up.
Slack, slack,
slack, slack.
Up, up, up.
DOMEIER: Perfect,
perfect, perfect, perfect.
Way to go!
Way to go!
PAUL: That was butter.
That was better
than the last one.
CHAD That was way better.
DOMEIER: Okay, keep
going, Johnny.
DOMEIER: Look at the
bites on her side.
CHRIS: Whoa, look
at that thing.
It's got scars
all over it.
PAUL: You timed
that perfect.
That was so money.
NARRATOR: The team
gets down to business.
DOMEIER: Get that
water in its mouth.
BRETT: We in?
CHRIS: Yeah.
BRETT: How's it coming
out that gill over there?
Good?
CREW Yeah, you've
got good water flow.
DOMEIER: We're going
to start with the DNA
samples.
We're going to just take
them right off the dorsal
fin this time.
Save some time.
WHITEY Who has the drill?
DOMEIER: Don't worry
about the drill.
We're going to
do this first.
Hold that.
Open one.
There's one.
It's in.
Give it a shake.
Here's another one.
JODY: We got fifteen
more minutes.
DOMEIER: Okay, perfect.
CHRIS: Okay, Jody, what
was our fight, fight time?
JODY: One hour and five
minutes was our fight.
189. 190.
CREW 190 overall.
NARRATOR: The great
white's monster-sized at
almost 16 feet.
CHRIS: Is it
the female, Doc?
DOMEIER: Big
female, yeah.
WHITEY She's got a crook.
DOMEIER: Oh,
she's curled over.
NARRATOR: Domeier's seen
this distinctive droopy
fin before.
It's Keiko.
It was photographed by
Tom Pfler in 2002.
He's concerned about the
effectiveness of his
tracking device.
Will her damaged fin
even break the surface?
DOMEIER: I'm wondering
about this tag.
You know this
fin is bent over.
So the, how well it fins
is going to definitely be
a little affected
by that bend.
NARRATOR: But tagging
mature females is critical
to Doctor Domeier's
work -he'll go for it.
JODY: She's six minutes
out of the water.
DOMEIER: What we've
learned in our studies at
Guadalupe Island is that
the males come back every
year, but the
females don't.
They only come
every other year.
What we don't know is in
that odd year when the
females are not there
where the heck do they go?
We have no idea.
NARRATOR: Domeier hopes
these new tracking devices
will ultimately reveal
where these females go
when they leave
Guadalupe Island.
DOMEIER: And when we get
that information back,
we have just advanced our
knowledge of this species
tremendously.
How's the irrigation
look, Brett?
BRETT: Good.
Water coming out
of that one good,
getting some
out of this one.
I'm switching
them in a second.
CHRIS: Hook
location, Brett.
BRETT: Corner
of the mouth.
Left side.
CHRIS: Hook removed.
BRETT: Yep.
CREW Hook out.
CHRIS: Take that.
Got the hook out,
fellas, good job.
NARRATOR: They securely
bolt the satellite tag to
Keiko's less-than-perfect
fin so it won't come loose
over the years.
Now Domeier is ready
to draw some blood.
DOMEIER: Alright, blood
from this would be a
really good thing.
NARRATOR: He goes for the
same area on Keiko that he
did earlier on Skid.
The caudel vein that runs
to the tail...
but Keiko's vein remains elusive.
Can't get blood.
Yeah. it's very disappointing.
Domeier has yet
to successfully draw blood
from a mature female
- a key element for
determining the
mating season.
With the clock ticking
-he needs to move on.
Domeier: Naw, blood
ain't going to happen.
Alright, let me get my
camera, take my pictures.
NARRATOR: Keiko is
ready to go now.
DOMEIER: Go guys, look
out, look out, look out.
Look out!
JODY: Holy moly!
How big...
PAUL: Hop over, hop
over, there you go.
DOMEIER: You got me trapped
a little bit here, Jody.
JODY: No, I got you.
I'll watch you.
I'll pull you out.
JODY: Eleven minutes
out of the water.
NARRATOR: Keiko is the
perfect candidate for
Domeier's research.
They'll need to catch many
more females like her to
find out where and
when they mate.
DOMEIER: She may kick a little
bit when I do this.
Dr. Domeier attaches a seconday
pop-up tag to Keiko.
The technology in these tags
has also advanced.
DOMEIER: Nice.
Perfect.
These tags are essentially
miniature computers and
they collect all kinds of
information about where
the shark is going and
what the shark is doing.
It's like a back up
for our spot tag.
NARRATOR: He's still
hopeful the long-term
satellite tag with perform
on Keiko and that he can
follow her path
for years to come.
CHRIS: Time, Jody?
JODY: Got 12 minutes
out of water.
CHRIS: Like to be done in
less than 5 minutes if we
can, fellas.
JODY: Good job,
Chad, good thinking.
NARRATOR: With time running
out - they pick up speed
to finish up.
JODY: She's at 18 minutes.
BRETT: Do you still need to
get blood or you get it?
DOMEIER: It's on
my stick holder.
Bleeding but just
not enough blood.
NARRATOR: They're
disappointed but to keep
Keiko alive - they need to
get her back in the water
- now.
CHRIS: Okay, everybody off,
so you're going to have to
help, we're going to
get to the nose here,
we're going to
get this hose out,
we'll get the hose out.
CREW: Are you ready to go?
CHRIS: She's starting
to move her tail.
Stand back.
JODY: She's out.
CHRIS: Hose is out.
Everybody off,
everybody out!
Everybody off.
Get off.
BRETT: Bring the hose up
whoever gets up there
first.
DOMEIER: Everybody off,
she's going to hurt
herself.
CHRIS: So are you taking
her down, Johnny?
Down, down, down!
CREW: She's
right behind ya.
CHRIS: Come on, let
Keiko go for a swim.
I don't like that gate
over there sitting the way
it is.
He's kick, she's kicking,
she's going to be fine.
Like she just burped.
Do you want them
to stop it there?
DOMEIER: That's good.
CHRIS: Stop.
NARRATOR: Keiko is taking
her time - the team grows
concerned.
JODY: Might need
to touch her.
Okay, she's starting
to move her tail now.
JODY: Maybe poke
her in the tail.
DOMEIER: She'll go
PAUL: Go in there and just give her
a little tap on her butt,
send her on her way.
DAVID: Hold this,
hold this camera.
NARRATOR: Camerman David
Olson puts his life on the
line to help her go free.
DOMEIER: I think if she
feels that there's no
weight under her
she'll start to swim.
thing.
DOMEIER: Dave can
you push her?
Can you push her anymore?
DAVE: You want me
to push her off?
DOMEIER: Yeah, just
get her head over it.
PAUL: Come on, Viking
power, there she goes.
CHRIS: Is that good.
That's good, Dave, that's good
DAVE: Okay.
CHRIS: Oh, yeah,
she's kicking now.
PAUL: She's
kicking her tail.
JODY: There she goes.
She's wagging her tail.
CHRIS: Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh
she's kicking away strong.
CREW MEMBER: Good deal.
CHRIS: Right on!
Okay Johnny up, up, up.
DOMEIER: She's gone now.
She swam.
CHRIS: Nice job Doc!
NARRATOR: Keiko's been
spotted at Guadalupe three
times over a
seven-year period.
They suspect her extensive
scarring resulted from
being stuck in a
shark cage in 2002.
Today two more sharks
are safely released.
The male Skid and
the female Keiko.
Her signal is picked up
after 4 days but only
transmits a few locations.
Her droopy fin probably
has trouble breaking the
surface.
Skid takes 3 days to check
in and sends a precise
location about
a week later.
He has been sending in
regular updates ever since
and has traveled hundreds
of miles into an area
called SOFA, later
returning to Guadalupe.
For the team, there's
much more to be done.