Sharks and ray populations across the world are in freefall. Reversing these declines requires a coordinated, global effort - but how can this be achieved? At the International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC5) in Vancouver, Canada, host Isla sat down with Rima Jabado, fisheries scientist and head of the IUCN Shark Specialist Group, and elasmobranch scientists Emiliano García Rodríguez and Ciaran Hyde to talk about Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRAs). Lead by a growing international team of scientists, policy-makers and practitioners, the ISRAs project aims to put sharks on the map - collating information on areas around the world that serve a vital function for sharks and rays, and making this information freely available to help decision-makers and managers build better, informed protective measures for sharks and rays around the world.

You can find out more about ISRAs here: https://sharkrayareas.org/ and by following @SharkRayAreas. 

You can find out more about us over at www.saveourseas.com, or by following @SaveOurSeas (twitter) and @saveourseasfoundation (instagram). 

We are kicking off season 4 of the World of Sharks podcast (formerly the Whole Tooth podcast) with a bang! This episode, we are talking to legendary conservation photographer, National Geographic explorer and our very own Director of Storytelling, Thomas Peschak. Thomas has photographed marine life all over the world, including a huge diversity of sharks and rays, and has dedicated his life to creating images that have real world impact for conservation. We asked Thomas about going on assignment for Nat Geo, his process – from finding the perfect story to crafting an affecting photograph – and what makes an image stand out from the crowd. And, of course, we spent quite a bit of time discussing our favourite group of animals, and what it’s like to work with them in the field.

You can find out more about his work here, https://www.thomaspeschak.com/ or follow Tom on social media via @thomaspeschak.

Shark nerds unite! WE'RE BACK!

The World of Sharks podcast (formerly The Whole Tooth) will be back on Thursday 23rd March with a brand new season. As always, we will be breaking down topics in shark science and conservation with some very special guests. A friendly reminder to look out for our shiny new logo - we think you'll like it!

See you there!

As season 3 and 2022 draws to a close, host Isla sits down with Dr James Lea, CEO of the Save Our Seas Foundation (SOSF), and Jade Schultz, content manager for SOSF, to look back on the year and all the important events that have happened for sharks and shark conservation. Plus, they have a very exciting announcement about this very podcast!

You can follow our work on social media (@SaveOurSeas on twitter, @saveourseasfoundation on instagram) and by heading to www.saveourseas.com. 

You can find the shownotes for this episode, and all previous episodes, here: www.saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/thewholetooth

We know that overfishing is the primary cause of global shark and ray declines. But, shark fisheries provide income and subsistence for many coastal communities. Inevitably, any regulation or conservation measure involving these fisheries must be culturally, socially and politically appropriate in order to be accepted, and to achieve this we need to work with and understand the people they will affect. Equally, there are many gaps in our knowledge relating to sharks and rays, including in their distribution, status and how they are traded. SOSF project leaders and marine scientists Alifa Haque and Nadia Rubio specialise in integrating local and traditional knowledge with ecological data to gain a bigger picture on what is happening to endangered species of shark and ray, and have gained a solid understanding of what limits the capacity and willingness of fishers to engage in conservation initiatives and policies. Host Isla sat down with them to discuss their work with fishers in the field, and how they are slowly building shark conservation programmes that work for the community.

Follow Alifa: @haque.alifa (instagram), @alifa_haque (twitter)

Follow Nadia: @nadsocean (instagram), @MarSustenable (twitter)

Find the shownotes for this episode, and all previous episodes, here: www.saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/thewholetooth

Frozen Planet II and Blue Planet II are landmark natural history series and masterclasses in climate change storytelling. Via captivating sequences, charming characters and compelling stories, the viewer is deliberately drawn into a world that they can’t help but care about, before being told about the very serious threats facing it. Such powerful storytelling can have a big impact; Blue Planet II, for example, persuaded people across the world to give up single-use plastics. But how are these films made? Who crafts the stories? And how do you engage people in the climate emergency without freaking them out? At Wildscreen film festival in Bristol, host Isla sat down with film-makers Rachel Butler Scott and Yoland Bosiger, producers who have worked on both Frozen Planet II and Blue Planet II among many other series, to chat about filming in the most remote and hostile environments on earth, diving under sea ice, and connecting people to life under the waves.

Follow Yoland: @yolandbosiger

Follow Rachel: @rachelbutlerscott

Watch Frozen Planet II: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p0cw0nb8/frozen-planet-ii

Shownotes: www.saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/thewholetooth

Recent studies have shown that over a third of shark and ray species are threatened with extinction. But which species are the most at risk? What are some of the rarest, but least well known, sharks in the world? And, when a species has seemingly fallen off the face of the earth, how on earth do you find it again?

This week, we’re joined on the pod by rare shark expert Dr Dave Ebert (@lostsharkguy)! Dave has travelled all over the world in search of sharks who are thought to have gone extinct, and has contributed to many an IUCN red list assessment for sharks and rays. At Sharks International in Valencia, host Isla sat down with Dave to talk  pondicherry sharks, lost sharks, sawfishes and guitarfishes; how to find sharks that haven’t been seen for 50 years and what it’s like to name a shark that’s brand new to science.

Shownotes: https://saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/thewholetooth

Get in touch: [email protected] (email), @saveourseasfoundation (instagram) and @SaveOurSeas (twitter)

What's it like to be booped by a leopard seal? Or dive with over 300 fin whales in Antarctica? And how do you keep your cool when filming underwater in one of the most challenging and remote places on earth, while tiger sharks patrol the shallows above you? At Wildscreen film festival, host Isla sat down with award winning film-maker and wildlife cameraman Bertie Gregory to chat about his new series, Epic Adventures, and go behind the scenes of episode 3, 'Shark Island', where Bertie searches for aggregations of scalloped hammerheads in the Cocos Islands. We talk about insane wildlife spectacles, how to interact with and portray large predators responsibly, and telling stories about some of the issues facing the natural world with hope and optimism. 

Epic Adventures is now streaming on Disney Plus. You can also follow Bertie's escapades on instagram (@bertiegregory). 

You can find the shownotes for this episodes, and more episodes of The Whole Tooth, over at www.saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/thewholetooth. 

What did the oceans look like 450 million years ago? Who were the weird and whacky ancestors of the sharks we know today? And could megalodon still exist? This week we're going back in time to answer all these questions and more at the Natural History Museum in London, with curator of fossil fish Emma Bernard! 

Find out more about Emma and the Natural History Museum here: https://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/departments-and-staff/staff-directory/emma-bernard.html. Read her fintastic article about Megalodon here: https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/megalodon--the-truth-about-the-largest-shark-that-ever-lived.html. 

You can follow the Save Our Seas Foundation by heading to @saveourseasfoundation (instagram), @SaveOurSeas (twitter) or by heading to www.saveourseas.com. And find the shownotes for this episode at www.saveourseas/worldofsharks/thewholetooth. 

What happens when two top ocean predators collide? This was a question that PhD candidate and white shark expert Alison Towner was faced with six years ago, when the subjects of her thesis started to wash up on shore with unusual, but fatal, injuries. Fast forward to 2022 and Alison has just led her second publication on the predation of white sharks by orca in South Africa, a behaviour that has never been documented until now. In this episode we chat to Alison about her findings, why we think orca are only now starting to show interest in white sharks, and the potential effects of predation by orca on not just white sharks as a species, but the entire ecosystem…

Follow Alisons work here: @alisontowner (instagram), @AlisonTowner1 (twitter)

You can find the shownotes for this episode here: www.saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/thewholetooth

Find out more about us by following @saveourseasfoundation on instagram, @SaveOurSeas on twitter, or by heading to www.saveourseas.com