World of Sharks

Many of us enter the water hoping to encounter sharks and rays, and maybe even get some prize images of our own – but how can we do it with as little impact on the animal as possible? In this episode, we discuss how to share the water with sharks safely, ethically and responsibly with wildlife photographer and filmmaker Luke Saddler, who has spent countless hours observing sharks in their environment and capturing their natural behaviours. We talk about how to: read body language, choose a responsible tourism operator, start out in wildlife film-making and become a ‘fly-on-the-wall’ – all while hearing some of Luke’s own incredible adventures in the field.

Find out more about Luke: @lukesaddler, www.lukesaddler.com

Shownotes: www.saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/podcast

Find us on social media: @saveourseasfoundation across all platforms!

Key timestamps

07:11 — A very special dive in a "galaxy of hammerheads"

13:09 — Luke’s journey from marine biology to wildlife filmmaking

16:23 — How understanding animal behaviour improves your footage

18:01 — Luke’s first shark encounters in Australia

22:42 — How to interact with sharks responsibly

24:10 — Cage diving, baiting, and choosing responsible operators

28:43 — What to look for in a shark tour operator

30:50 — How to behave around sharks underwater

31:17 — Reading shark body language (and when to back off)

35:19 — How drones are changing shark research and filming

40:44 — Planning a wildlife shoot

44:58 — Telling shark stories without fearmongering

47:30 — Getting started in underwater photography and filmmaking

54:18 — What to keep in mind before a first shark encounter

Ghofrane Labyedh came to Cameroon in search of whales and instead discovered an overlooked conservation story: threatened sharks and rays were being landed in large numbers, yet little was known about the fisheries catching them.

Since 2019, Ghofrane has worked alongside Cameroon’s coastal communities to understand these fisheries and the cultural, social and economic importance of sharks and rays. In this episode she shares stories of her work, which weaves together research, community-led conservation, policy and storytelling; culminating in an initiative where the fishers themselves play a central role in protecting the endangered species on their doorstep.

She also discusses how she has taken this multi-layered approach in her new role as Lead Coordinator of the West and Central Africa Elasmobranch Coalition with the Manta Trust. Her work here will focus on bringing together researchers, organisations and practitioners from across 14 countries in the region to address the decline of sharks and rays, strengthening in-country capacity for research and monitoring, and enhancing policy and legal frameworks for endangered species.

Links

Shownotes: www.saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/podcast

Ghofrane on Instagram: Motherfish08

The West and Central Africa Elasmobranch Coalition: https://www.wcasharksandrays.org/

 

 

The international trade in shark fins is a behemoth; vast, complex and difficult to disentangle. But for molecular and forensics expert Dr Diego Cardeñosa, one of the most powerful tools we have to tackle the fin trade is the tiniest part of a shark: their DNA. In this episode, we take a deep dive into Diego's research, which has been instrumental in understanding the nuances of the fin trade and securing better regulations for this billion-dollar industry. This includes the development of a portable, easy-to-use and inexpensive DNA ID kit (the "lab-in-a-backpack") that can help local officials identify endangered and protected species from just fragments of shark fin - all for under $2. We also talk about the problems with implementing international policy at a local level, the scale and complexities of the trade, and whether Diego is seeing any shifts in how the trade operates - for better or for worse. 

Links 

Shownotes: www.saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/podcast

Diego on Instagram: @diegocardenosa

https://saveourseas.com/project-leader/diego-cardenosa/

https://case.fiu.edu/about/directory/profiles/cardenosa-diego.html

If you want to dive deeper, you can find links to Diego’s research here.

 

 

 

Few sharks capture the imagination quite like the thresher shark. They are well-known for their cartoonish appearance, “anxious-looking” faces and seriously cool hunting technique. But in scientific terms, we know very little about them – despite their endangered status.
Rafid Shidqi is on a mission to change that. For the last eight years, he has led groundbreaking research on the elusive pelagic thresher sharks of Alor, Indonesia, whose preference for deep, pelagic habitats make them extremely difficult to study. In 2018, Rafid started the non-profit Thresher Shark Indonesia, working within remote, shark-dependent fishing communities to better understand and protect the species. Through acoustic and satellite telemetry and socio-economic studies, Rafid has made vital discoveries about not only the movements and behaviour of pelagic threshers, but also the communities who rely on them to make a living.
Rafid’s story isn’t just about conserving a cool species – it’s also about empowering communities, opening pathways for local youth through conservation leadership, and finding sustainable solutions for shark-dependent fisheries.

Find out more: https://threshershark.id/en/ (@threshershark.id on instagram) and @rafid.shidqi

Shownotes: www.saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/podcast

Follow us on socials! @saveourseasfoundation

 

This episode is an extra special one – it’s our 100^th! To celebrate this milestone, our host Dr Isla Hodgson looks back across half a decade and 100+ hours of conversations about sharks with the people who know them best. And, we hear messages and bonus shark stories from some friends of the pod. 

Transcript and shownotes: www.saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/podcast.

This episode features the voices of (in order of appearance): 

Dr David Shiffman [5.10] 

Dr Helen Scales [5.51]

Dr Luz Saldana Ruiz (en Español) [13.46]

Jillian Morris-Brake [16.51]

Steve Backshall [21.59]

Dr Jaime Penadés Suay (en Español) [26.53]

Craig Foster [32.07]

Dr Hollie Booth [38.50]

Dr Brit Finucci [39.20]

Dr Jack Cooper [41.50]

Parasites have a bad rep. We often see them as harmful, exploitative, and just plain icky. But in the shark world, parasites are much more than just irritating hitchhikers. They are ecosystem engineers and important indicators of the health of not just sharks, but the entire ocean. And studies are starting to show some may actually benefit our sharky friends.

Isla met with shark parasitologists Dr Bjoern Schaeffner and Dr Jaime Penadés Suay at Sharks International, Sri Lanka, where they were hosting a workshop on shark parasites. Together, they discuss what parasites we might find in and on sharks, their critical ecological and biological roles, and why on earth we should care about them, before heading to an outdoor dissection in the seaside city of Negombo to explore, hands-on, the world inside of sharks. 

Shownotes: www.saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/podcast

We're diving back into our mailbag to answer more of your burning sharky questions! In this episode we address all sorts of fascinating queries such as how bioluminescence evolved in sharks, which species are capable of breathing while they’re not swimming, and whether sharks are really older than trees. Plus, we take deep dives into several awesome species – great white sharks, grey reef sharks, pocket sharks and of course, James’ favourite, the velvet belly lantern shark. 

Specific question timestamps:

Q1: Are there any shark species that are showing signs of adapting well to climate change? [3.36 – 10.21]

Q2: Has there ever been more observations of any of the two species of Mollisquama (pocket sharks)? [10.31 – 13.20]

Q3: How did bioluminescence in species like the pocket shark evolve? Was it independent, or did their last common ancestor have bioluminescent fluid? [13.40-15.11]

Q4: We rarely hear about white sharks in the vicinity of South America, either ocean, with the exception of seasonal migrations of NA white sharks into the US South Atlantic coast and Caribbean. My question is: why not? [15.22 – 21.49]

Q5: Which shark species can stay still and breathe through buccal pumping? [21.59-28.44]

Q6: Which species of shark and ray are most closely related? [28.54 – 37.50]

Q7: What is the most surprising thing you’ve learnt in your career (when you first started, vs. most recently)? [37.58 – 44.58]

Q8: Shark [bite incidents] often go unreported for various reasons despite the best efforts of educational institutes to accurately record them. What do you think the real number of global [incidents] might be? [45.06-52.14]

Do you have any questions you'd like researched and answered on the pod? Get in touch! You can email isla@saveourseas.com or message us on socials: @saveourseasfoundation.

 

 

Art has the power to change perspectives, spark dialogue, and raise awareness of the complex issues facing our ocean. This is exactly why PangeaSeed was established. Since its inception in 2010, PangeaSeed has brought together local artists and their communities to collaborate on large-scale, vibrant public artworks on the walls of their towns and cities, depicting the ocean, her inhabitants, and the challenges she faces, in line with PangeaSeed's mission to bridge art and science. Over the last decade,  over 500 murals have been created in locations across the world. Ahead of their travels to Seychelles, Isla sat down with executive director and director of operations for PangeaSeed, Tre and Akira, to discuss the intersection of art and ocean conservation, the importance of community and connection, and how sharks started an entire movement. 

You can find out more about PangeaSeed here www.pangeaseed.org, or on social media (@pangeaseed and @seawalls_). 

Shownotes: www.saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/podcast

Follow us on socials! We are @saveourseasfoundation across all platforms. 

In August 2025, a paper published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science suggested that ocean acidification could negatively impact a shark's most useful tool: their teeth. We speak with the papers lead author, Max Baum, about this research, and what the findings could mean for the sharks of tomorrow. Plus we take a deep dive into the wonders of shark teeth, and meet a decidedly unbothered tiger shark named Farida.

You can read the paper we discuss in this episode here: Simulated Ocean Acidification Affects Shark Tooth Morphology 

You can also follow Max on Instagram (@maxbaum_insights) and discover more about his work here: www.ocean-insights.org.

Full shownotes: www.saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/podcast.

Find out more about us by following @saveourseasfoundation across all platforms!

Sharks have been around a long, long time (over 450 million years!). But how did they evolve into the extraordinarily diverse and successful group of animals that we have today? On today's episode, we meet palaeontologist and author of The Secret History of Sharks, Professor John Long, to discuss a thrilling story of evolutionary experimentation, fossilised clues, and above all, survival.

The Secret History of Sharks is available now: https://www.quercusbooks.co.uk/titles/john-long-2/the-secret-history-of-sharks/9781529427356/

Shownotes: www.saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/podcast