Creating A New Generation Of Shark Enthusiasts

During a recent presentation at the New Directions For Youth Center in Los Angeles I was able to share my enthusiasm and excitement about sharks, as well as the underwater world with a wonderful group of kids. Their curiosity proved to be quite infectious and I was thrilled to see hand after hand quickly raise in the audience throughout the talk. I am happy to report we now have several new young shark lovers added to the fold, which makes me happy beyond words. Thank you also to Patti Jo Wolfson for welcoming me into the center so that I could share the underwater world with them.

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New Directions For Youth

Conservation Attenuation

Attenuation is a wonderful word, it applies to a number of different fields, and has a litany of uses.

Attenuation in electronics is the reduction of signal strength due to destructive interference. Think of it as the overhead on a wire; the longer the wire, the more the signal is lost on the way to its destination.

Similar to the loss of signal strength in electronics, I found attenuation to be a great term to reflect what I watch occurring in the shark conservation world. There is so much bickering and infighting, so much concern on what the others are doing, that the message is getting lost. Too much time and energy is being spent micromanaging each other, looking through a microscope to try and find what someone else is doing wrong, that we lose the signal on what good is being done.

Attenuation in biology is to make thinner, weaker, less virulent. While the reasons behind it are complicated and can be attributed to so many different aspects, the fact of the matter is that attenuation is occurring to the shark populations throughout the world. The harvesting of our world’s shark is not being done at a sustainable pace, and the clock isn’t stopping for us to bicker among each other.

No one is going to be completely 100% on the same page as another, and this is not a bad thing. Innovation doesn’t occur when everyone is doing the same thing, with the same motives. It takes the collective innovation of many minds for solutions and answers to form out of the spray.

You can waste your time fighting about the differences between each of us, and focus on discrediting others’ methods, but what exactly does that do for the greater good? If you look past the differences, sweep the parts you don’t necessarily agree with out of your mind and instead focus on the strengths that each bring to the table, we can feed off each other for the betterment of the world.

Attenuation in oceanography is the dwindling of light through the water column to its gradual extinction at depth. I’m not even going to bother running the parallels I see with that definition. It’s a self fulfilling prophecy. However this prophecy is something we have control over, we can turn around, or stop. But it takes our collective minds to find the answers, since there won’t just be one simple epiphany; change will be needed from so many different places. We will need to tap into each one of our unique backgrounds and personal motivations, rather than focusing on discrediting each other; this is the only way we will be able to band together and form a united front for the benefit of all.

-Jeff

An Amazing Twist of Fate

It's not everyday you get the chance to meet one of the pioneers of an industry, let alone one that you hold so near and dear to your heart; but this is exactly what happened when I came across one of the most powerful images I have ever seen and just had to know the story behind it.

In the summer of 1981 world renowned underwater photographer Alberto Romeo, his wife Lucia and fellow teammates from Gruppo Ricercatori ed Operatori Subacquei (G.R.O. Sub. - an underwater association that defends and photographs marine wildlife-of which Alberto is the founder) had a chance encounter that would forever change their lives, as well as the life of one incredibly beautiful sperm whale. Alberto and his team found the whale entangled in the remnants of a drift net, one of the cruelest contraptions on the planet. What took place over the next six hours was the purest form of compassion there is. The amazing story and images from the entire encounter can be seen HERE.

After viewing one of the images from the encounter online I felt compelled to contact Alberto directly. He was incredibly kind and patient with my questions and pestering (although I am sure he would say it wasn't pestering). Impressed doesn't being to express how I feel; Not only about his body of work and accomplishments as an underwater photographer, but also his work as a marine life advocate. Alberto is an astonishingly humble and gracious man with an unquestionable connection to the ocean. It is a huge honor and thrill to call him a friend.

Alberto Romeo's WEBSITE