Blackspotted Catshark Photography Expedition
March 2025
Prior to running a Japanese Shark Diving Safari for Big Fish Expeditions, In March 2025, I travelled to the remote port town of Ushibuka on Kyushu Island to look for a rarely photographed endemic species called a Blackspotted Catshark (Halaelurus buergeri).
I’m not aware of any other location where this shark can be seen, except in Ushibuka where the dive shop assured me that they see this species relatively frequently.
On my first day of diving I did not see any sharks, except for a solitary Red Stingray (Hemitrygon akajei)
The dive site where blackspotted catsharks sometimes show up, is quite deep (30-40m) so I only had a few minutes to look for one each day. I’m happy to report that on my second day, I managed to find a solitary animal, half buried in the sand, next to a small reef.
It was of great interest to me that the shark was buried in sand because I have seen halaelurid sharks in South Africa using the same strategy to conceal themselves. This appears to be a unique behavior in this genus that no other Carcharhiniforme sharks exhibit. I discuss this in greater detail in an video about this unusual group on Sharks and Rays YouTube Channel: The Secret Life of Halaelurid Sharks
The shark allowed me to take a couple of shots before it took off over the sand. Fortunately, it soon settled again – catsharks are not strong swimmers – and I was able to record some video and compose a nice selection of ID shots.
After that successful shoot, I flew over to Honshu to lead another great Japanese Shark Diving Safari. Unfortunately, on the final day of that trip, while diving with Japanese Wobbegongs at Mikomoto Island, I got a severe bend that has since restricted my diving to shallow water. It turns out I had an undiagnosed PFO; a hole in my heart that is quite common and usually goes unnoticed.
Among divers, PFOs can lead to unexpected cases of decompression sickness, which is usually cause to discontinue diving permanently, but it is possible to get the hole repaired and of course I am in the process of setting up that procedure because there are simply too many more sharks and rays to chase 🙂
Here is a little video I took after photographing the blackspotted catshark.
