Shark Week features great whites in feeding frenzy off Hilton Head. Here’s when to watch
Hilton Head charter boat captain Chip Michalove will be part of the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week this week.
Footage shot by a film crew off Hilton Head Island with the locally known “great white shark whisperer” will be part of two episodes, a spokesperson for the cable TV network confirmed.
“I don’t remember Shark Week ever being in South Carolina,” Michalove said. “It seems like every Shark Week episode is South Africa, Australia, Cape Cod.”
The network’s Shark Week programming, which is in its 33rd year, will cover 45 hours from Sunday, July 11, through Sunday, July 18. A news release from the network promises to “take viewers to new locations to study and record new shark behaviors that have never been seen on camera before.”
The film crew shot footage with Michalove, of Outcast Sport Fishing, and shark researchers earlier this year.
“I was a nervous wreck. It was like running my first charter all over again,” the veteran captain said. Fishermen know it’s impossible to predict whether fish will be biting on any particular day.
“These guys spent a lot of money and invested a lot of time to film us tagging a great white shark. ... The first day we went out, we didn’t get one,” he said. “It was a good punch in the gut.”
Then, reports of a dead whale floating along the South Carolina coast surfaced right before the film crew was scheduled to make their second trip out on the water.
“It’s not very often that something works out the way it did,” Michalove said. “They came in town, and I just said, ‘You guys are gonna have one helluva day tomorrow.’”
And a helluva day it was.
The whale
A rare North Atlantic right whale, an 11-year-old male named Cottontail by scientists studying it, had become trapped in fishing gear in October, and unsuccessful attempts had been made to free it.
It died off the coast of Myrtle Beach in February, and the carcass began floating south as sharks feasted on it.
While the Discovery crew filmed in the vicinity of the whale for one day, Michalove made several trips, ultimately catching, tagging and releasing eight great whites from among the dozens that had been attracted to the “60-foot chum dispenser” along with tiger sharks and other ocean carnivores.
“We watched a lot. We learned a lot,” Michalove said. “Every time we thought we saw something amazing, 20 minutes later it would happen again.”
The sharks circled Michalove’s boat, nudging it to see whether it was a second whale.
The price to pay for the rare interaction was enduring the nauseating smell of the whale carcass. Michalove said multiple washes still haven’t removed the scent from his jacket, which he keeps in the garage nearly five months later.
“This was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I really wanted to watch them devour it more than catch them,” he told an Island Packet reporter at the time.
Michalove regularly works with biologist Greg Skomal and Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries to tag the sharks he catches. The tags give researchers insight about where sharks spend their time and answers a multitude of questions about how they live. Until Michalove started catching great whites in 2014, there wasn’t even proof they came close to Hilton Head.
Meanwhile, with the Discovery film crew’s drone “that looked like something from NASA” flying overhead, there was yet another worry in the back of Michalove’s mind.
“Not only did we need to catch one, but we needed to catch one without harming the fish,” he said. “You never know where the hook is going to go. Crazy things happen on the water. Even though these sharks are circling the boat, the No. 1 concern is this fish swims away healthy.”
Michalove said he’s not sure what footage will end up being used in the shows. He will be watching at the same time the rest of the world gets a look at a different side of Hilton Head, one removed from pristine golf courses and beachside time shares.
“I think it’s positive,” he said. “I think it’s great.”
On TV
Tune in to the following on the Discovery Channel or stream the next day on Discovery+ online.
Tuesday, July 13, 10 p.m. or the next day on Discovery+ online: “The Spawn of El Diablo”
In 2012, Michelle Jewell documented one of the largest great white mating scars ever recorded. Recently similar marks have appeared, leading her to believe this is a possible mating ground and that mega-shark El Diablo has returned to South Africa.
Thursday, July 15, 9 p.m. or the same day on Discovery+ online: “Sharkadelic Summer 2”
Sharkadelic is back to find out if this summer will be the sharkiest on record. Snoop Dogg breaks down the craziest encounters, the wildest and most unpredictable reactions to discover if America is once again ground zero for the shark superstorm.
This story was originally published July 13, 2021 at 10:00 AM.
