World of Sharks

Filling the Gaps to Protect Sharks in Angola with Ana Lúcia Furtado Soares

This week on the World of Sharks podcast we are meeting Ana Lúcia Furtado Soares, founder of the Angola Elasmo Project - a grassroots initiative focussed on the research and conservation of sharks and rays along the Angolan coast – to discuss the joys and challenges of building a project from scratch, working with data-poor fisheries and the importance of empowering local voices.

Shownotes: www.saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/podcast 

You can follow the Angola Elasmo Project on Instagram (angola.elasmoproject) and find out more about the project here: 
https://saveourseas.com/project/documenting-shark-diversity-and-fisheries-
in-angola/
https://saveourseas.com/project/the-angola-elasmo-project/
https://saveourseas.com/project-leader/ana-lucia-furtado-soares/

You can find out more about the Save Our Seas Foundation on instagram (@saveourseasfoundation), Facebook (Save Our Seas Foundation), Bluesky (@saveourseas.bsky.social) or by heading to www.saveourseas.com.

Forensic Fisheries: Using DNA to Investigate the Trade in Shark Liver Oil with Dr Madeline Green

The trade in shark liver oil is an invisible threat to sharks. Not only is there limited research on the topic, but liver oil is notoriously difficult to track and trace. Enter Dr Madeline Green, molecular fisheries ecologist and Principle Investigator of the Forensic Fisheries Lab at the University of Tasmania. Madi is working to apply protocols from the tracing of olive oil to extract DNA from shark liver oil samples, in order to identify species and help monitor this complex trade. In this episode, we learn all about Madi's research, and how the trade in liver oil is presenting a significant threat to deep-water sharks. 

You can follow Madi on Instagram: @madigreenmarine and find more information about her research here:

https://discover.utas.edu.au/Madeline.Green
https://saveourseas.com/project-leader/madeline-green/
https://saveourseas.com/project/using-dna-to-identify-the-sharks-in-squalene-products/
https://saveourseas.com/project/shark-share-global/

Shownotes: www.saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/podcast

Find out more about the Save Our Seas Foundation (SOSF) by following @saveourseasfoundation (Instagram and TikTok), @SaveOurSeas (X/Twitter) and @saveourseas.bsky.social (BlueSky)

 

Hungry Sharks? How a Shark's Digestive System Works

Spiral intestines! Curly poop! A shark that eats plants! And…turning your stomach inside out because you ate something dodgy?! In this episode we explore the ins and outs of a shark’s digestive system with animal physiologist Dr Samantha Leigh (@sea_science_sam), an expert in all things shark gut. We learn how a shark’s digestive system is designed for maximum efficiency, the different ways in which they ingest their hugely diverse diets, and how some sharks are able to survive weeks – sometimes months – without a meal. We also take a deep dive into Dr Leigh’s research on the bonnethead – a shark known to chow down on seagrass – and her recent SOSF-funded project, which is using the shark spiral intestine as a model to address one of our greatest environmental conundrums: the removal of microplastics.

You can follow along with Dr Leigh’s work and lab here: https://samanthacleigh.weebly.com/

Shownotes: www.saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/podcast

Find out more about the Save Our Seas Foundation by following: @saveourseasfoundation (Instagram and TikTok), @SaveOurSeas (X/Twitter) and @saveourseas.bsky.social (BlueSky).

Epaulette Sharks: The Sharks That Can Walk On Land with Faqih Akbar Algozali

Why swim when you can just walk from a to b?! This week, we are taking a closer look at the "walking" or epaulette sharks, a group of nine species who have evolved a slightly unusual way of getting around. We're joined by Faqih Akbar Alghozali, co-founder of Elasmobranch Project Indonesia (EPI) and SOSF project leader, who has lots of stories to share from his time in the field with the Kalabia, or Raja Ampat epaulette shark. Faqih and his team are trying to understand more about this poorly studied species, who are endemic to this remote paradise. 

Shownotes: www.saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/podcast

You can find out more about the EPI here: https://elasmobranch.id or follow them on Instagram (@elasmobranchid).

You can learn more about Faqih’s work here: https://saveourseas.com/project-leader/faqih-
akbar-alghozali/ or follow him on Instagram (@faqihbig)

Find out more about the Save Our Seas Foundation: @saveourseasfoundation (instagram), @saveourseas.bsky.social (Bluesky), @SaveOurSeas (X/twitter)

 

The Fascinating and Weird World of Shark Eggs with Cat Gordon

Join us for a slightly different easter egg hunt, as we go in search of shark eggcases! From tiny catshark eggcases no bigger than your index finger, to a skate that lays eggs larger than your head and even an egg that looks (and functions) like a corkscrew - we explore them all with Cat Gordon, Senior Conservation Officer for The Shark Trust. And, we learn about one of the longest running citizen science projects for sharks, rays and skates: The Great Eggcase Hunt. 

You can find out more about The Great Eggcase Hunt and how you can get involved here: https://www.sharktrust.org/greateggcasehunt

And follow The Shark Trust on social media: The Shark Trust (facebook) @thesharktrust (instagram) @SharkTrustUK (x/Twitter)

Shownotes: www.saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/podcast. 

Save Our Seas Foundation (SOSF): @saveourseasfoundation (instagram), @saveourseas.bsky.social (Bluesky), @SaveOurSeas (X/Twitter)

 

Electroreception: The Shark's Sixth Sense with Professor Stephen Kajiura

In this episode, we are exploring the ‘sixth sense’ of sharks – electroreception! We are joined by sensory biologist and shark elasmobranch expert Dr Stephen Kajiura, Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) to discuss how sharks are able to detect minute electrical signals and use this sense to pinpoint prey with mind-blowing accuracy. We also get deep into functional morphology, zooming in on the Ampullae of Lorenzini and the unique morphology of the hammerhead. And, we chat about how electroreception doubles up as a kind of internal shark sat nav, helping them to navigate entire oceans without any landmarks to speak of. 

You can follow Stephen's lab and research by heading to www.elasmolab.com or by following @sharkmigration on social media. 

Shownotes: www.saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/podcast.

Find out more about us by following @saveourseasfoundation (instagram and tiktok), @SaveOurSeas (X/Twitter) and @saveourseas.bsky.social (Bluesky)

The Lives of Sharks with Dr Dean Grubbs

How do sharks learn to be a shark? Do they really eat their siblings? Is there such a thing as a shark teenager? How do sharks find a mate? And what happens when they reach old age? In this episode, we answer all these questions and more as we embark on a true deep dive into the lives and life histories of sharks, with elasmobranch expert and SOSF Scientific Advisor Dr Dean Grubbs!

Dean is Associate Director of Research for the Florida State University Coastal and Marine Laboratory (https://marinelab.fsu.edu) - @FSUmarinelab. 

Shownotes for this episode: www.saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/podcast

You can find out more about the Save Our Seas Foundation on socials - 

Instagram and TikTok: @saveourseasfoundation

X/Twitter: @SaveOurSeas

Bluesky: @saveourseas.bsky.social

Uncovering The Shark Meat Trade With Dr Divya Karnad and Dr Trisha Gupta

The shark meat trade is a multi-billion dollar industry. But it receives relatively little attention, and remains understudied. This week, we sit down with conservation scientists Dr Divya Karnad and Dr Trisha Gupta, who have collaborated on research that aims to better understand the drivers and complexities of this trade. Using India as a case study, they are looking for ways to encourage more responsible and sustainable actions at all stages of the supply chain – from source to consumer.

The papers mentioned in this episode are:

Karnad, D., Narayani, S., Kottillil, S., Kottillil, S., Gupta, T., Barnes, A., Dias, A. and Krishna, Y.C., 2024. Regional hotspots and drivers of shark meat consumption in India. Conservation Science and Practice, 6(1), p.e13069.

Gupta, T., Karnad, D., Oyanedel, R., Booth, H., Abhiram, T., Gaonkar, H. and Milner-Gulland, E.J., 2025. Identifying leverage points for sustainability in India’s shark supply chains. Marine Policy, 173, p.106580.

You can find out more about InSeason Fish here: https://www.inseasonfish.com/ or on Instagram (@inseasonfish)

You can follow Trisha on Instagram (@trisha0405), twitter (@Trisha_0405), and Bluesky (@trisha04.bsky.social).

You can also find the shownotes for this episode, and much more sharky fun over at www.saveourseas.com/worldofsharks

 

 

 

Sharks You Might Never Have Heard Of...With Kristian Parton

You asked for more episodes on lesser known or slightly more obscure species - so we're kicking off a new season with a whole episode devoted to just that! Host Isla and special guest, scientist and science communicator Kristian Parton (host of the Shark Bytes Youtube channel) challenge themselves to discuss species and sharky facts that even the most enthusiastic of shark nerds might not have heard of. How about a shark that wags it's tail, or one with glow in the dark armpits? Ever heard of a shark with social anxiety? Or, did you know that venomous sharks exist??

Along the way, we find out how NASA is connected to the largest fish in the ocean and why nurse sharks are unexpectedly good entertainers...

You can catch up on Shark Bytes here: https://www.youtube.com/@SHARKBYTES or follow Kristian on Instagram (@KJparton) and twitter/X (@SharkBytes1994).

You can find out more about the Save Our Seas Foundation by heading to www.saveourseas.com, and find all previous episodes and shownotes for the podcast here: www.saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/podcast

You can also find us on social media:

Instagram and TikTok: @saveourseasfoundation

X/Twitter: @SaveOurSeas

Bluesky: @saveourseas.bsky.social

 

 

In the Field: The Great African Seaforest with Dr Jannes Landschoff

Dive into the wonders of South Africa's kelp forests on this special episode of World of Sharks.

Join us as we head beneath the waves with marine biologist and SOSF project leader Dr Jannes Landschoff, who has dedicated much of his working life to understanding the unique and vast habitat that is the Great African Seaforest. As the only forest of giant bamboo kelp in the world, the seaforest stretches from the rocky shores of Cape Town, South Africa, to the coastline of Namibia. It is home to an astonishing diversity of species – from minute invertebrates invisible to the naked eye, to sharks of all shapes and sizes. In this episode, we accompany Jannes on a dive into the kelp to see what we can find, and learn all about the 1001 Seaforest Species project, which Jannes co-leads with founder of the Sea Change Project Craig Foster. 

You can find out more about the 1001 Seaforest Species project here:  https://saveourseas.com/project/1001-seaforest-species/ and the Sea Change Project here: https://seachangeproject.com/. Instagram: @seachangeproject, @jannes_landschoff.

Shownotes: www.saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/podcast

You can also find out more about the Save Our Seas Foundation (SOSF) by following us on social media: @saveourseasfoundation