Have you ever heard of the Mariana Trench or Sirena Deep? If your into geography then you’ve probably heard of the famous Mariana Trench, which is the deepest part of the ocean in the world and located to the east and south of the tropical island of Guam. On the other hand, the Sirena Deep, which was temporarily named the HMRG Deep when it was first discovered, is a new spot found in 2001 along the Mariana Trench which is around the same depth as the Challenger Deep – currently known to be the deepest part of the Mariana Trench.

The Sirena Deep is located about 90 miles south of the island of Guam and was discovered by the Hawai’i Mapping Research Group while they conducted a sonar survey of the seafloor around the island of Guam. A contest was held in 2009 on the island of Guam called “Name the Second Deepest Spot on Earth” which would allow high school students on the island a chance to give an official name to HMRG Deep by submitting an explanation in writing how the name they chose was important. The new name would have to reference or be associated with the history, culture or language of either Guam or the Mariana Islands.

After a winner was declared for the contest it was learned from the naming authorities in Hawaii that the names in the Mariana Trench must follow certain rules; specifically that names must be one word followed by the word “Deep”. The first name chosen as the winner of the contest was “Nichon Sirena” (Chamorro) or “Serena’s Niche” in English. Because it didn’t follow the naming convention, Nichon Sirena would be called Sirena Deep on maps. Interestingly, the name Sirena Deep was entered into the contest by another high school student from Guam. Both students who took part in choosing the official name shared the honor in giving HMRG Deep an official name. Jermaine Sanders, age 16 of Asmuyao Community School and from the village of Talofofo, and John Meno, age 14 of Notre Dame High School and from the village of Inarajan, were both the co-winners in the contest.

An explanation submitted by high school student Jermaine Sanders as to why she chose the name Nichon Sirena is below:

“The name I chose for the second deepest point is Nichon Sirena (Serena’s Niche). The reason why I chose this name is because every Guamanian knows the legend of Sirena transforming into a mermaid because she loved the ocean. Based on the legend Sirena is only encountered in the deepest parts of the ocean. And niche because the second deepest point can be her home away from home. This relates to Guam’s history/legends because of Sirena’s connection to the Islanders. Some Guamanian’s have named their daughter’s after Sirena because of their love for the ocean. I think thats why Sirena is significant.”

The image above shows Jermaine Sanders (left) and her sister carrying their banner in the Liberation Day Parade in Guam.

Thanks to Dr. Patricia Fryer who was involved in the discovery of Sirena Deep and for providing some information in this story, and to Linda Tatreau, the high school teacher in Guam who ran the contest.

Topics: Challenger Deep, deepest part of ocean, Hawaii Mapping Research Group, HMRG Deep, Jermaine Sanders, John Meno, Linda Tatreau, Mariana Islands, Mariana Trench, Name the Second Deepest Spot on Earth, Nichon Sirena, Patricia Fryer, Serena's Niche, Sirena Deep, tropical island destination

Two days ago we made a post about the first shark attack on Guam since 2006 and wanted to do an update on the post.  Apparently, the incident wasn’t a legitimate shark attack like we all invision.  According to the person who got bit by the shark, he and a group of friends were spear fishing in the ocean off the coast of Gun Beach when they spotted the shark at which time he decided to spear the shark.  When he was carrying it to shore he accidentally tripped on the coral reef , fell, and was bit by the shark.  After the shark bit the victim it swam away;  the vicitim didn’t know what type of shark it was that bit him.

Topics: guam shark, guam shark attack, guam shark bite

It’s rare you hear of shark attacks in the waters of Guam because most of the island is surrounded by a protective reef about a mile out from it’s shores, and sharks rarely come inside the reef whether it’s because the reef blocks them from swimming in or just because the waters are to shallow within the reef.

Yesterday was the exception, a man swimming inside the reef at Ritidian Point which is on the north side of Guam was bit by  a shark.  The man said he didn’t know what type of shark it was, but did need to go to Guam Memorial Hospital to receive surgery.

The last known shark bite case happened in 2006 when a Japanese tourist was bitten by a tiger shark while scuba diving at Gun Beach.  According to the report the shark was chasing a turtle which swam through the group of scuba diver and it’s teeth scraped one of the Japanese tourists leg.

In most shark attack cases, like in the case above, sharks usually mistake the person they bite as either a seal, turtle, or other type of sea life they often feed upon.  Once the shark realizes the person isn’t “lunch” so to speak they usually stop biting and swim off.

Guam does have a variety of sharks which live in the surrounding waters including black-tip sharks, white-tip sharks, nurse sharks, tiger sharks, and hammerhead sharks just to name a few.  Most of these sharks usually live and swim outside of Guam’s protective coral reef.

It’s safe to say most tourists and visitors to Guam shouldn’t be concerned about shark attacks while swimming inside the reef.  The amount of shark attacks on Guam is extremely minimal when compared to other places around the world and shouldn’t be a deterrent for swimming in the beautiful ocean waters of Guam.

Topics: guam shark, guam shark attack, guam shark bite, ritidian point