Gather 'round for our next featured sharkfluencer, Emma Williams (she/her) - @emma_underthewaves! Emma is an avid traveler, marine biologist and researcher with All For Blue. Emma has worked as research assistant with Lamave Research Institute in the Philippines studying whale sharks, the Marine Conservation society Seychelles and for Sharklife Conservation Group, South Africa, with a focus on elasmobranchs assessments. In 2017, Emma won the Plymouth University Dr. Manning Award for Women in STEM!
Growing up in the English countryside the most I saw of the ocean was during holidays to the seaside where we would play in the rock pools.
However, my view of the oceans was drastically changed during a family holiday to Florida when I was 14, and was lucky to be able to try scuba diving. From then on the ocean was my focus. My love of sharks didn’t come until many years later when I was 22. In fact, even two years into studying marine biology I wasn’t sure where I wanted to focus, and knew very little about sharks. Whilst undertaking a work placement year studying whale sharks with Lamave in the Philippines, I was made aware of the worldwide decimation of sharks. Since then I have learnt more about the importance of sharks, the threats they face and the need to change public perceptions.
I always loved animals, originally wanting to be a vet, that all changed after going scuba diving when I realised I could combine by love for animals, the environment and travel into one neat package.
I worked with Sharklife Conservation Group, in South African, as a researcher. During my time there I helped with data collection for the spotted ragged-tooth shark (Carcharias taurus) project, were we used photo-identification to better understand the movement patterns and population size of the pregnant females in the area. I also helped developed a future project assessing the elasmobranch diversity, abundance and habitat use in the park.
I am very excited to have recently joined the AllForBlue and Seas4Life teams. AllForBlue is an international NGO based in Greece and founded by the incredible Katerina Topouzoglou in 2017. They have an active and practical approach to protecting the oceans through educational seminars and talks (particularly with school children), and lots of community beach and underwater clean ups, having already removed a massive 204 tonnes of trash from the marine environment. Seas4Life is an international organisation based in Kenya, and founded by another strong woman of the ocean, Julie Church, in 2019. This organization also recognizes the important link between the health of our waterways and the oceans, and aims to rebuild and protect these often neglected and polluted ecosystems.
Q:) What is your favorite shark diving memory and why? What's been your favourite species to see or dive with?
There are a few stand-out shark encounters but the most exciting encounters are often the unexpected ones, like snorkelling with a juvenile great hammerhead shark (Sphyrna mokarran) in the Seychelles. Other highlights include scuba diving with pelagic thresher sharks (Alopias Pelagicus) off Malapascua Island in the Philippines, and freediving with blacktip sharks (Carcharhinus limbatus) during surveys in South Africa. Blacktip are super inquisitive sharks and are quickly becoming a favourite species of mine.
Some of my absolute favourite shark diving memories involve witnessing someone else’s first time seeing sharks in the wild. Although not always practical one of the best ways to help people fall in love with and better understand sharks is for them to experience sharks themselves. Then they will understand the true nature of these remarkable animals.
When you look into the eye of a shark, you will see them looking back at you. They are not mindless by any means, in fact they can be very curious or very shy (and everything in between), and are constantly processing information about the world around them.
Q:) How do you use your passions and personal skills to save sharks?
I think that the best ways to protect sharks, and other animals, is through a multidisciplinary approach that involves the community. I see it like this: research, outreach and legislation are all essential. Research is needed to determine what is going on and what can be done; you need outreach campaigns to communicate information and improve public awareness around an issue; and legislation changes are needed to improve management and protection of vulnerable species and ecosystems. Successful legislation changes are often driven by a combination of scientific findings and public support. I cannot emphasise enough the importance of community involvement in successful conservation projects.
A community that feels valued and involved with a project, particularly if it creates jobs, will take pride in it and do what they can to protect it.
I take any opportunity I can to talk about the ocean with different groups of people, from friends and family to colleagues and school children. It is fantastic not just to feel that you have shared your passion with someone and taught them something about the amazing world below the waves, but it’s a great way to get a better understanding of public awareness around ocean issues.
In the past I have held fundraiser events, run ocean awareness workshops with children from across the world and given presentations regarding shark conservation. One of my aims is to utilise social media more to continue to spread information, and am really excited to delve into community awareness projects more with the AllForBlue foundation.
Q:) In your opinion, what makes a successful shark scientist/marine biologist?
What is needed to be a successful shark scientist/marine biologist depends on what you are trying to achieve, but I believe that working with communities is essential. The rapid decline of sharks is a result of the lucrative shark fin trade and public fear. If the public are scared of sharks they won’t have compassion towards them or a desire to protect them.
You can do all the research in the world and even get legislations for protecting sharks but if people don’t care about them they will still be killed. I therefore think that it is important to have good networking and communication skills. Working with people from different disciplines, cultures and ages is vital for the long term success of conservation projects. In addition to more practical skills such as diving, boating and maintenance qualifications, I believe that commitment, resilience and use of initiative are indispensable qualities. They are important in all walks of life, but given that marine projects are frequently underfunded, conditions can be challenging and it can be dangerous and disheartening at times these are important traits to have.
Q:) Do you have any advice for someone still going through, or about to go into, college/university to study marine biology?
Get as much experience as you can. Help postgraduates and lecturers on their projects, get involved in surveys and beach clean ups your area, if there aren’t any why not start one. The skills you learn whilst studying are transferable so even if there is an opportunity to assist on a project that isn’t your immediate interest it will still help you develop your skills and gain experience.
Remember networking and working with others is really important, and the field of marine biology is very small so talking to people is crucial, you never know where it might lead. Lastly, try to find your specific area of interest; whether its phytoplankton, invertebrates or sharks, once you find your passion you will love what you do.
Q:) Do you have a shark hero, who do you admire for their actions in conservation, or someone you'd want to work with in the future and why?
There are countless people who deserve recognition for their hard work in conservation. Two incredible women that I admire and would love to work alongside are Sharkgirl Madison (Madison Stewart) and Cristina Zenato.
Sharkgirl Madison is doing incredible work with her project in Indonesia (project hiu), working alongside shark fishermen and their families, using education and creating shark tourism opportunities in order to reduce shark fishing in the area.
I have always been in awe of Cristina Zenato for the way she interacts with sharks, spreading awareness of their true nature, and the removal of hooks from their mouths. Both of these incredible shark advocates put the sharks first which is the most important thing.
No matter where you are or what you do, YOU CAN HELP SAVE SHARKS!
Here are some easy things you can do:
DON’T eat shark fin soup, & avoid eating at places that serve it (Chinese for shark fin =鱼翅 Yúchì)
DON’T eat seafood with high shark bycatch e.g. tuna and swordfish, unless it states it was pole and line caught
Know what you’re eating. Shark is often RENAMED e.g. ‘rock salmon’ ‘flake’ & ‘huss’ (for a complete list and names in other languages visit the sharkwater website)
DON’T buy make up products that contains shark squalene or squalane
DON’T support big game & sports fishing that kill sharks
DON’T buy shark products e.g. unethical shark teeth (*white teeth), jaws, shark oil or cartilage tablets
Share/like only POSITIVE shark stories on social media
SUPPORT shark ECO-tourism
LEARN more about sharks (for FREE online courses visit www.sharklife.co.za)
TALK about sharks with friends, family and colleagues to spread awareness
Download a SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD app to help you make responsible choices, or reduce or give up eating fish altogether.
* shark teeth fall out naturally, therefore ethical fossil shark teeth (yellow and black) can be sourced without harming any animals, whereas, white teeth are often sourced from sharks that have been killed. So please do not buy white teeth as you cannot be certain if they have contributed to the killing of sharks.
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