by Rosie Johnson
Meet Matt, a Diver Master with a passion for sharks.
Matt describes himself as the kind of kid who used to run around the back yard being fascinated by creepy-crawlies.
Matt’s interest in sharks started when he saw the film ‘Jaws’ in the late 1980’s.
He began to seriously doubt that sharks could do what ‘Jaws’ was doing on the big screen.
This was the beginning of his research into sharks and what would later become his passion in life.
Matt’s interest in sharks lead him to work on shark documentaries and conducting swims with tour groups and sharks.
Matt describes sharks as animals that ‘draw you in’.
When working on shark dive tours off the coast of South Africa he experienced many different people passing through.
‘People on the boat are usually sponsored by other friends to dive with the sharks, and they begin the tour as pasty white, terror stricken humans,' he explains.
During the tour something changes in the relationship between the person and shark.
By the end of most tours the person has faced their fear and are now calm, content human beings.
This is what Matt loves most about his job, the fact that someone can experience a shark as a beautiful animal, and not a human killing machine.
The thing that annoys him the most is the way sharks are portrayed in the media.
He acknowledges that sharks do attack, but he likes to look at shark attacks from a different view.
According to Matt, realistically there should be more shark attacks each year.
Why?
Because every day there are more people exploring, and using, the ocean.
More people in the ocean should result in more attacks.
Thankfully this is not the case.
Matt describes humans as ‘not enjoyable food’ for a shark’s palate.
‘We are too skinny, our blood isn’t oily enough and we have too many bones,’ Matt says.
Matt is committed to two things: changing society’s view about sharks, and encouraging as much Eco-tourism as possible.
Spending a huge amount of his time in the ocean Matt experiences some saddening sights.
In many dive spots around the world there has been damage from dynamite fishing.
Through his commitment to the environment Matt has assisted with a rehabilitation program for a popular dive spot off the coast of Fiji.
The team believe that through simple techniques and practices within a tourism company it can sustain and completely change the way an environment thrives.
The coast of Fiji and the dive spot is now recognised as an Eco-tourism sustainable environment.
Results like this encourage Matt to continue swimming and working with sharks, and never give up.
No comments:
Post a Comment