Amazing Shark Cleaning Footage

Our friends at Misool Eco Resort have set up a Manta Cam using a Go Pro on our favorite manta site. In addition to loads of mantas, they captured this incredible grey reef shark cleaning footage. I haven't seen anything like this before!

What's with the amazingly crappy codec? :-)

Calvin is uploading these videos from a satellite connection in in Misool or a connection in Sorong hotels that makes 56k feel fast. I appreciate the insight into their amazing world, no matter the codec.

Calvin is uploading these videos from a satellite connection in in Misool or a connection in Sorong hotels that makes 56k feel fast. I appreciate the insight into their amazing world, no matter the codec.

I see. It's just that it's becoming rare to see such low bandwidth anymore these days... I don't understand the setup though: they have a fixed gopro underwater? What's the max shooting duration without battery/memory change? Can they choose the resolution they shoot at (codec specs too maybe)?

Regardless of the video quality...really, really cool footage!!!

I donated a system to their research program at the end of a stay in October. GoPro HD Hero, Aquapixs Flat Port, gorilla pod, 2 pound dive weight, gets around 2.5 hours on a battery run recording 1080 30p. The system is left running at a cleaning station at the end of a dive, and picked up next time they visit the site.

I've also been leaving a Go Pro underwater as a remote camera and retrieving it at a later date, but nothing this interesting so far. I have seen Grey Reefs being cleaned up close a couple of times in the Maldives and there is one site in particular where it is almost guaranteed, so I don't necessarily think that this footage is unique, but it still very cool.

Cheers, Simon

Used to see large numbers of silvertips being cleaned at Silverado at the Cocos Islands. Sadly, they have all been finned or long lined out now.

Steve

I saw grey reef sharks being cleaned at Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea in August 2008. Interestingly, it was my 6th trip to Osprey Reef and I had not seen the behaviour before. Richard Fitzpatrick was on board, had only described the behaviour to us the day before and then I got to see it in person. I then got to see a school of 20-30 hammerheads up close.

Here is a footage of grey reef shark cleaning I took at Noonu atoll during my last trip to Maldives (although sharks are not very close on this one)

A shame it was taken from so far away. The nice thing about the footage Shawn showed was that it was so close and the vertical lines of the shark being cleaned are unique; just too bad that the footage was so badly pixellated probably due to the way it was compressed and encoded.

Steve