For this week’s SharkCast we talk to James Moskito. The California native and the founder of Ocean Safaris has led over 800 hundred expeditions both in the US and abroad and logged over 6000+ hours underwater, much of that time with some of the largest sharks on the planet.

Over the course of our conversation, James tells us how the Guadalupe white shark tourism came to be and the consequences of the closing of the island to tourism. Considering his many years working in the area and dealing with shifting government personnel to renew his permits, James has a unique perspective on the matter.

“I figure they lost close to ten million dollars annually in the Ensenada area by shutting down cage diving,” James told us.

When asked about the downside for the sharks in the area without tour operators being there, James said there is less monitoring of fishermen encroaching on the waters.

“We’ve already seen them. We pull in and the fishing boats are there fishing in the biosphere until we chase them off, so if they are already there now…”

While there are efforts to police the preserve, “The fishing boats that go out there are much faster than the Mexican Navy,” James added.

The wildlife-rich waters in the area mean that spotting white sharks is a regular occurrence.

“Our first trip to Guadalupe we had a shark at the boat before we even dropped anchor, that’s how good it was,” said James.

Stick around to the end of the interview when James gives out an exclusive discount code to use for his upcoming Fiji trip. He also reveals some exciting new cage diving opportunities in California. You can join James on the coast of California right now to view whales by going to oceansafaris.com