Marchlands

This project came upon me unexpectedly. Sasha Mihalova (https://www.youtube.com/@SashaWeddings) and I had studied photography together many years ago, and ran into each other again by chance at a wedding that I was conducting and she was photographing. Sasha had done a lot of research on shark behaviour and how to interact with them as safely as possible. I knew nothing at all about sharks, save for the usual hyperbolic headlines. While I was concerned about its dangers, for Sasha and for the sharks, her dedication to the Tiger shark project was infectious and before I knew it I was hot on her heels to Grand Bahama.

Since then I have dived deep below the misconceptions surrounding these ancient creatures, learning about the vital role sharks play in our ecosystem and the desperate need to bring them back from the brink of extinction. Humans kill around 100 million sharks every year, which is about: 274,000 sharks per day, 11,000 sharks per hour, and 3 sharks per second (read that again!). Many are fished for the brutal shark fin soup market, others are suffocated as bycatch or harmed and killed through illegal fishing practices.

Without sharks as vital apex predators, the entire ocean ecosystem could fall out of balance. Sharks not only maintain the species below them in the food chain, but also, indirectly, seagrass and coral reef habitats. Seagrasses purify ocean water, provide fish nurseries, and support rich biodiversity. Its sediment is one of the planet’s most efficient stores of carbon, according to the Out of the Blue: The Value of Seagrasses to the Environment and to People report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Coral reefs not only provide an important ecosystem for life underwater, they protect coastal areas by reducing the power of waves hitting the coast.

Sharks have been swimming in our oceans for more than 400 million years; that’s over 100 million years before the dinosaurs. They are older than trees. Sharks are not like other fish, they are slow to grow, late to mature, live longer and reproduce fewer pups. These majestic animals are not inherently dangerous beasts that habitually attack humans; they are vulnerable wild animals who need our action now more than ever.

Sasha has truly inspired me and I am now preparing to dive with Tiger sharks in Hawaii. Sharks are apex predators and while I swam with Reef, Leopard and Nurse sharks in Grand Bahama, like Sasha, I have booked a Freediving course in Cornwall, and will be swimming with Tiger sharks alongside One Ocean Diving, who have the knowledge and expertise to back up their mission of creating positive interactions between humans and sharks. https://oneoceandiving.com/one-ocean-conservation

Watch this space for lots of shark footage and varied coverage of ocean conservation initiatives.