Truth be told that I have no idea who John Scarlett or Stan Waterman is before this nor the fact that they are legends among the diving community. I saw them appearing on Channel News Asia's Primetime Morning that very morning and was captivated by the passion of these two men have for sharks.. although I am no hardcore ocean conservationist, I do try to do what I can.
I stayed for the talk because I wanted to see photos of sharks, because I wanted to hear first hand from people who "hang around" sharks, because I have never attended such ocean conservation talks before, but simply put I was just curious..
After a quick opening by Diego Garcia, the editor of Australasia Scuba Diver, John Scarlett took over the microphone and begun his talk..
First he shared with us how he started diving and underwater photography, and how he got "acquainted" with sharks.. then he moved on to the reason why he was fascinated with these top predators of the sea....which was similar to this YouTube video that I managed to locate over the Net..
Other than Stan Waterman, looking kinda cool with his eye-patch, who took the podium sharing with the audiences his sharks adventures, another one of the world authorities on the great white shark was also present, Rodney Fox.. He gave us a brief, non-gory account of how he survived one of the world's worst non-fatal shark attacks..
Then a Q&A session followed.. Many questions were posed, from how he felt being in such close proximity with sharks, what was his thoughts on the yearly shark attacks, how he took certain photographs of the sharks, where is his favorite diving place to capture these magnificent creatures, what to do when one comes face to face with a shark and his thoughts on the challenges of saving the sharks.
There were around 30 of us in the audiences but many were friends, associates and acquaintances of the speakers.. each of us were given a free copy of Australasia Scuba Diver and a free entry ticket to the Asia Dive Expo 2010.. too bad I was leaving the same night, else I would have made a trip to check the expo out.. also enclosed was a seafood guide that was edited by WWF Singapore.. a really useful guide to help consumers identify and purchase from sustainable sources..
Some food for thought..
Humans have been exterminating sharks at a rate of about 20 to 100 million per year, while shark attacks against humans occur at a rate of about 10 per year.
For more information on sharks, visit these sites...
Shark Information
Shark Savers
Shark Trust
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