JANUARY 28, 2011
I have returned home from our sailfish expedition off of Isla Mujeres, Mexico. It was a very successful trip. I was of course worried about it, because it is a natural encounter, but there were so many sailfish that it was impossible not to find baitballs. There were sailfish everywhere. I am going to post a full trip report about it, sometime in the next couple of weeks.

While we were in Mexico we also kicked off the filming of our next movie, in Playa del Carmen Mexico. The filming went amazingly well, and we filmed our core interviews that tell the story we were chasing. Some behind the scenes images will be coming soon. I really need to start cataloging clips from the movie, but don't have time for that just yet, as the road calls, and I am off to Tiger beach for a quick 8 day trip. I was invited to lead an expedition and will be taking a bunch of friends out there to show them the beautiful sharks that call TB home. Plus it will give me an opportunity to film the sharks one more time. I went out there with the Gopro on our trip back in December, and I shot some crazy exciting images that I was really happy with, but now I need to get back out there and film some more interaction shots that really help tell the story I want to share with you all. Tiger Beach really is a special place, and I am honored that I get to spend so much time out there. While I am there I am hoping to do some more writing, I need to get back into it and write up stories.

Its wild, when I am out on trips I normally like to go sharking all day, and then drink a few beers when the day is done and laugh with my friends. On this last trip to Mexico for sailfish and our Playa film trip, I did not drink one single beer. It was just go-go go, the whole trip. From getting pounded by the seas in search of bait balls, to waking up at 7 am and filming till past 10:30 pm each day. Is was exhausting as hell. But very rewarding. The SDM team got so much accomplished on this trip and I am excited when I finally get to sit down and review the footage from the trip. Each day on this adventure was just amazing.

JANUARY 7, 2011
My mind is about to explode, I have this story that needs to be told just going and going on in my mind, non-stop. Its wild, I have been planning and writing for months now, trying to find the heart and soul of our new film, and I have written it all down, but new ideas about the story just free flow. Parts and pieces of this film keep poping up in my head, and the story evolves yet again. My personal goal for this film is to make one of the most important shark conservation films ever told. I tapped into important story telling with our last film, and although that story is important, this story I feel is going to really push things forward, as it will be a film that can help educate people around the world about the importance of sharks and preserving this species for generations. Of course, the most important inner story I am working hard to really showcase, is loving sharks. That is the biggest obstacle in this film I will be facing.

Honestly, how do you convince the world that sharks are animals that people can love? How? As a story teller, with a magazine that is designed to do that very thing, I am always struggling to tell stories that shows sharks in a positive light. And in this film, it is an uphill battle I am faced with, but I am ready for the challenge.

Ok on to a magazine update; I know this latest mag has been slow to production, but a combination of a tight economy, travel schedule, and dwindling time has slowed it up a bit. I will be working on finishing it here for you all. Of course with more craziness in my schedule it makes it hard, but I am on the computer working on it really all day and night, to try and get you our latest addition. Issue 24 is going to be a great addition to the SDM family, of course my mind keeps drifitng to issue 25, which is the one I have been wanting to create for such a long time. That is the one that has been my dream for a long-long time. Of course I still have to finish up 24 and it has to live up to SDM standards, which it does, it really does. So far the images, articles and layouts, are just amazing. Of course I still need the finishing touches on it, and then I can send it off to the printers for you all.

Ok back to the grind...

JANUARY 4, 2011
Some quick notes to kick off the first blog of the new year!
The new year begins, which I am pretty excited about. So many new adventures and changes are in the wind. The first and biggest is me dealing with my dwindling time to get things done. Between creating mags, taking people shark diving, web work, and shooting and editing a new movie, plus the most important thing on my schedule - making time for my family. With all that, my time is down to nothing. So my goals this year is to figure out how to maximize my time.

Looking back I am thinking, damn where did the year go? But with everything we did this past year, from creating mags, to traveling, to promoting our last film on the film festival circuit - time just flew by. Now its reevaluating everything and trying to manage it all better, and become more productive. I feel like I can always get more done.

A major push in shark protection is happening this year. I have been invited to get involved with helping to create a marine reserve in Mexico and I will embrace that fully, doing everything I can to make that become a reality. Like I have said in the past, the future of sharks exists in the creation of more marine reserves and then protecting them with rangers. That is the key to conserving the species for the long run. I think protecting individual species is just a bandaid to a much bigger problem. We need to preserve large areas to keep the commercial ships out. But without rangers out there working its all pointless.

So this marine reserve in Mexico we are working on, once the push for protection is implemented, then a push to get a policing effort needs to move in. For example; in Malapascua, in the Phillippines, all the dive operators pay a fee which pays for rangers and a boat that patrols the waters around the cleaning station where the threshers regularly visit. They have been doing this for a few years now, and it is working. Their sharks are safe (or safer) from the poachers who would love to sell thresher fins to the Asian market. So the idea works. The boys up in Fiji have also done this, and their marine reserve is one of the richest (with life) in the world. It has gotten to the point where you can't really shoot the sharks anymore, because of all the other species of fish that are there. Its an amazing place.

So anyway, I got off track of what this year will be like. Its going to be busy and exciting and fun, and frustrating, and just filled with a beautiful light, and lots of love as we move forward.

Oh and I wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone who has been on this road with me. This video is a song by Kenny Chesney, and reflects his life, but hearing this song really reminds me of why I am able to do what I do everyday, and the only reason I am able to live this life is because of you all - so this is my way of expressing my thank you's to all of you...

Again Happy New year my friends. I'll see you out there...