 July 2010 - Being in Funchal for the 3.500+ fish/inverts order from the Istanbul Aquarium was the perfect opportunity to grab some critters for the good folks from the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center.
|  July 2010 - But this was such an awesome job we had to get some extra help, so thank God for Filipe Henriques, a young undergrad Biology student from the Universidade da Madeira (Filipe is not really visible in this photo because he was in the water priming our pump for blow-down...
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 September 2010 - After a full week of collections it was time to fly two fully loaded tanks (decoration and all) back to the mainland. It was Air Portugal's first time dealing with these big tanks but they did a good job, although having us deliver the cargo some 12 hours before the flight took off was kind of unnecessary, guys!... ;-)
|  September 2010 - ...But we, at Flying Sharks, like to make lemonade, whenever life gives us lemons, (in fact, we add a little tequilla and make margaritas!), so we took the extra time at the Funchal airport to act silly and grab some pictures. Check out the cool version of previously-underwater Filipe Henriques (left) and our "usual suspect" Nuno Rodrigues (right).
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 September 2010 - After landing in Lisbon it was time to drive up to the Escola Superior de Turismo e Tecnologia do Mar and move all the Madeira caught fish into their new temporary holding tanks. Check out Joćo Chambel, a graduate Marine Biology alumni who did a superb job taking care of all these critters!
|  September 2010 - But, in order to have all fish transferred to their new home, first they needed to be pulled out from the transport tanks, so we got Nuno's expert hands to do just that in a jiffy. And check out our old friend Joćo Amaral, in the back, who also came to give a helping hand.
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 October 2010 - It was still dark (midnight, more like it) when the time came to start packing all fish for Virginia...
|  October 2010 - But, once the lights were on, it was time to get busy, because the 44 boxes with 100+ fish weren't going to pack themselves.
|
 October 2010 - Every good packing procedure starts with a nice breefing where everybody learns what their job is.
|  October 2010 - But absolutely no packing may take place before Nuno and Joćo slap on their temporary tattoos (right after eating the chips they came in...), which is something the team discovered brings them good fortune and health. :-)
|
 October 2010 - Catching and bagging proceeded non-stop through the night because the van needed to be on its way to the airport no later than 6 AM.
|  October 2010 - Check out Vera Severiano, another graduate Marine Biology alumni who helped Joćo Chambel during the 2 months these critters were held at the school.
|
 October 2010 - At precisely 6 AM the team was done and got a photo of themselves, with all 44 boxes behind them and lots of taurine in their systems! Many thanks to Diogo and Pedro (middle and right), who also came to give us a hand.
|  October 2010 - Once at the airport we met with Nuno Alexandre, from Nippon Express, for final administrative issues, and the boxes were on their way.
|
July 2010 - Being in Funchal for the 3.500+ fish/inverts order from the Istanbul Aquarium was the perfect opportunity to grab some critters for the good folks from the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center.
July 2010 - But this was such an awesome job we had to get some extra help, so thank God for Filipe Henriques, a young undergrad Biology student from the Universidade da Madeira (Filipe is not really visible in this photo because he was in the water priming our pump for blow-down...
September 2010 - After a full week of collections it was time to fly two fully loaded tanks (decoration and all) back to the mainland. It was Air Portugal's first time dealing with these big tanks but they did a good job, although having us deliver the cargo some 12 hours before the flight took off was kind of unnecessary, guys!... ;-)
September 2010 - ...But we, at Flying Sharks, like to make lemonade, whenever life gives us lemons, (in fact, we add a little tequilla and make margaritas!), so we took the extra time at the Funchal airport to act silly and grab some pictures. Check out the cool version of previously-underwater Filipe Henriques (left) and our "usual suspect" Nuno Rodrigues (right).
September 2010 - After landing in Lisbon it was time to drive up to the Escola Superior de Turismo e Tecnologia do Mar and move all the Madeira caught fish into their new temporary holding tanks. Check out Joćo Chambel, a graduate Marine Biology alumni who did a superb job taking care of all these critters!
September 2010 - But, in order to have all fish transferred to their new home, first they needed to be pulled out from the transport tanks, so we got Nuno's expert hands to do just that in a jiffy. And check out our old friend Joćo Amaral, in the back, who also came to give a helping hand.
October 2010 - It was still dark (midnight, more like it) when the time came to start packing all fish for Virginia...
October 2010 - But, once the lights were on, it was time to get busy, because the 44 boxes with 100+ fish weren't going to pack themselves.
October 2010 - Every good packing procedure starts with a nice breefing where everybody learns what their job is.
October 2010 - But absolutely no packing may take place before Nuno and Joćo slap on their temporary tattoos (right after eating the chips they came in...), which is something the team discovered brings them good fortune and health. :-)
October 2010 - Catching and bagging proceeded non-stop through the night because the van needed to be on its way to the airport no later than 6 AM.
October 2010 - Check out Vera Severiano, another graduate Marine Biology alumni who helped Joćo Chambel during the 2 months these critters were held at the school.
October 2010 - At precisely 6 AM the team was done and got a photo of themselves, with all 44 boxes behind them and lots of taurine in their systems! Many thanks to Diogo and Pedro (middle and right), who also came to give us a hand.
October 2010 - Once at the airport we met with Nuno Alexandre, from Nippon Express, for final administrative issues, and the boxes were on their way.