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When it comes to sharks, Ocean Ramsey is one of the world’s most knowledgeable people. She’s a lot of things — author, scientist, entrepreneur, model, designer, freediver, scuba instructor, nonprofit founder, speaker, safety officer, surfer, world traveler — but more than anything else, she’s a marine conservationist.
Ramsey touched the heart of the population by diving with sharks. Huge sharks, small sharks, sharks of all sizes. She does it in an effort to change public perception, and we’d wager that it’s working. Ramsey, however, is a champion freediver and extremely in tune with shark behavior, so the things that she does aren’t things that just any old person could do. “They are not puppies or dolphins,” she said, “so I don’t advise doing this without training but they are also not monsters and Kalihi took hours to build up to this approach.”
She operates One Ocean Diving in Hawaii, facilitating dives with sharks and doing research. On a recent dive, she saw something all-too-common. “It’s the warmer summer months and as we approach fall each year we are lucky enough to see tiger sharks more often,” she explained. “Unfortunately, most we saw had thick lines but fortunately given our knowledge, skill, and daily work we are able to help most sharks by removing fishing line so it doesn’t wrap and cut their pectoral fins or gills.”
Sharks, as you’ve likely heard, are extraordinarily important to a healthy ocean, and that in turn should mean they are extraordinarily important to us.
Editor’s Note: Learn how to minimize chances of an adverse shark encounter as well as critical information about shark behavior, shark personalities, shark language, what to do in the unlikely event of a shark bite, and more in 20-plus video lessons in Ocean Ramsey’s Guide to Sharks and Safety. Early access pricing expires soon, so enroll now.
