I only had a few weeks in the states but I was determined to make my way to West Palm Beach in Florida. I was hoping for  a chance of meeting conservationist and film maker Jim Abernethy to learn about the latest shark science and just what goes on during his famous research expeditions in The Bahamas on board The MV Shear Water.

I was fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time and on the evening prior to the departure of a massive research expedition lead by shark scientist Dr. Neil Hammerschlag I was invited onto the boat to meet the team. Neil has recently published many influential papers on sharks which are currently being used by policy makers around the world to decide the fate of shark diving. His recent papers have convincingly suggested that a live shark is worth considerably more alive to local economies than dead and through satellite tracking he has demonstrated that baited shark diving did not affect the long-term, large-scale movements of sharks in the Bahamas.

I sat through (and filmed) several hours of fascinating conversation as Neil explained to his crew the research methodologies and goals for the expedition. Each scientist on board brought unique specialties to the team united to use a broad range of methodologies to test numerous specific questions designed to help understand the sharks’ vulnerability and protect the future of these animals which are so crucial to the health of our oceans. In my next video in just 3 minutes I try and give you a bit of an idea just how much research is going on over these expeditions, the ambitious targets Neil and Jim set for the team and an insight into the amount of planning, effort and commitment that goes into a research trips like this.