Thornback ray (Raja clavata) Image credit: Andy Murch Key Features
Characterized by the many thorns often present on their dorsal side, thornback rays have “30-50 thorns along the midline” (Shark Trust, 2009) which continues along the tail. The number of thorns vary between individuals and can be present on both the dorsal and ventral sides (SSACN, 2015), with buckler thorns (Shark Trust, 2009) often being found on mature fish. This species varies in coloration from dark br
Our Junior Ambassador Patrik Rollefson sent over some recent thoughts on Shark Conservation.... Over the years, after having gone through school and into college doing countless projects on climate change, ocean acidification, or declining shark populations, I have learned that it is extremely easy to become depressed and feel like there is no hope and no point in continuing the fight for change. It has happened to me all too often where I have gotten bogged down in the numbe
We met ocean lover Nick at Shark Con and he literally DIVED into our education program. Nick loves diving and freediving and you will see him at events around the Tampa/St. Pete area. We are thrilled to welcome Nick to the team. 1. What is your favorite shark and why?
Tiger sharks are my absolute favorite. I like their markings and they eat just about anything like me. 2. What is one species of shark you would like to see/swim with and why?
I would love to swim with Thresh
Jessica is a traveling naturalist with the Chewonki Foundation in Wiscasset, Maine. She teaches students around the state about wildlife and why it is important. Jessica wanted to include sharks and ocean education in this program and we are thrilled to have her working with us. Our founder Jillian is from Maine and LOVES sharing shark education with students in her home state! 1. What is your favorite shark and why? Nurse Sharks fascinate me, its fun to find them taking naps
Tyler is an avid diver, underwater photographer and also works with disabled veterans, helping them explore the ocean through Scuba. We are thrilled to welcome Tyler to the team. He will be visiting schools in South Florida, so message us if you are interested in a JAWsome shark education session. 1. What is your favorite shark and why? My favorite shark is the Tiger Shark because they are naturally inquisitive and unafraid to come in close and interact with scuba divers. I
We met Angie while share was volunteering at the Bimini Biological Field Station and loved her enthusiasm. Angie has worked on ocean education programs around the world and was keen to take shark education back to the UK, where she is based. Angie will be visiting schools and community programs to teach students about sharks, shark science and conservation. We are thrilled to welcome her to the team. 1. What is your favorite shark and why? My favourite shark is the hammerhead
Dan Abbott is an amazing drummer, but he is also extremely passionate about sharks, shark diving and shark education. After a 2 month internship with White Shark Africa, he returned to the team to work as a conservation and media coordinator. Dan currently works as an environmental educator at the Colchester Zoo and will being school visits through the UK to educate students about sharks. He will also be creating educational videos for Sharks4Kids! We are thrilled to welcome
Gabe has been working with our team for a while, so we are really excited to share his shark story. Gabe is absolute waterman and loves sharing the oceans and the outdoors with people. When not working in the world of pharmaceuticals, he can usually be found on our in the water. 1. What’s your favorite shark and why? My favorite shark is the Greenland Shark (Somniosus microcephalus)! These awesome Sharks live in the very deep and cold waters of the North Atlantic and recent s
Enie Buhler has worked in a lot of the same places our team has, so we are excited to finally meet and work with her in Abaco in March 2016. We collaborated for a Save Our Seas funded shark education program to visit local schools. Enie is currently finishing her PhD at North Carolina State University in Dr. Craig Layman’s lab, investigating how structure complexity and the presence of top predators affect patch reef fish communities in Abaco, The Bahamas. Enie will be visiti
Jilly Wenderlich grew up crawling through tidepools and to this day is still an absolute water baby , working hard to protect sharks and the oceans. She’s an avid freediver and will not walk a beach without filling at least one bag with trash to take away. Jilly will be doing events and classroom visits in Hawaii, along with some of our social media work. We are thrilled to welcome her to our team. Thanks for sharing your shark story with us! 1. What is your favorite shark an
Marine biologist Mollie Getson has worked with numerous species of sharks during her time as an aquarist at the New England Aquarium, Florida Aquarium and the Georgia Aquarium. She currently works as a biologist for Bass Pro Shops and is an avid diver and ocean lover. We are thrilled to bring her experience and knowledge to our ambassador team. Mollie will be visiting schools in the Tampa area as well as attending events. 1. What is your favorite shark and why? My favorite sh
When she was 7, Charlotte watched a movie about sharks at the Astoria Maritime museum in Oregon. What was quite terrifying prior to the movie was not at it’s conclusion and it started an interest in sharks that has now lasted 2.5 years. The movie was about some of the different species of sharks and at the end of the movie there was a paragraph that scrolled through that spoke about not being afraid of sharks and about how they needed to be protected. After that, Charlotte we
Nick and Caroline are a husband and wife team of award winning underwater photographers and photo journalists. They will be visiting schools throughout the UK, teaching students about the incredible underwater world and why it needs protecting. We are so thrilled to have them on our team. To see more of their stunning imagery check out their WEBSITE. Caroline Robertson-Brown is a photo-journalist who specializes in the underwater world. She has a degree in Biology and a Maste
Amie Williams has already been busy with school visits and is joining our team as a representative in Scotland. She is currently doing her Master’s in ecosystem based management in marine systems at University of St. Andrews. We will be hearing a lot from Amie as she blogs about school visits and does are shark of the month blog. We are excited to welcome her to the team and to share her shark story with you. Stay tuned for more blogs from Amie and make sure to follow her on
We are excited to introduce to our newest team member, Andy Murch, a world renowned underwater photographer. His collection of shark images is unrivaled and can be seen at ELASMO DIVER. Andy uses his images to educate the world about sharks, both common and rare, and uses them as a tool in the fight to save sharks. Andy has contributed numerous images to our education and outreach projects and we look forward to all the future materials we will create together. Thank you for
My first classroom visit to talk about sharks, was in 2005. I immediately fell in love with the whole experience. Children have an untainted enthusiasm for the natural world and even when things seem impossible, they bring inspiration, creativity and hope for the future of our planet. Although my career as a scuba instructor, shark dive guide, photographer and professional videographer has taken me around the world, I continue to visit classrooms as much as possible. It wa