Original subtitles

[melancholic violin music]

Aloha, I'm Keoni Bowthorpe, and for the last several years,

I've had the honor of directing this film, Saving Jaws.

[Keoni] I met Juan and Ocean in the summer of 2014.

I was immediately impressed by their knowledge base about sharks, of course,

but even more by their passion for going out into the world to share their message.

It wasn't long before we began shooting and sketching out

a framework for what would becomeSaving Jaws.

But I couldn't have known how important their instruction would be,

until the morning of October 9th, not a year later.

Pretty much out of nowhere, you know, I felt like a truck ran into me

and took me a second to realize, you know, that a massive shark was on my leg,

and I saw Keoni, yelled at him. He's the... He's, he's really the hero.

He paddled over there with the shark on me, and...

You know, he was able to get me, you know to the beach, really to safety.

Seeing that the shark was headed toward them,

Keoni used his knowledge about sharks

to thrust one end of his paddle against its nose, to push it away.

[Keoni] It's my belief that what they taught me was instrumental in saving the life

of the fellow surfer that day, right here at Leftovers Beach Park.

[emotional music]

Over the years, I've developed a deep respect

for Juan and Ocean, and an urgency for their cause.

And I think that you will, too. Thank you for watching Saving Jaws.

[ocean waves breaking]

[intense percussive music]

[Ocean] Sometimes people ask me if I'm afraid.

If I'm afraid of the way this might end.

I always tell them the same thing.

Yes, I am afraid.

Then I tell them exactly what I'm about to tell you.

The way this ends is up to you.

[electronic music]

-[TV static] -A young woman being called

The Shark Whisperer, a fearless daredevil

who swims with great whites.

We continue with the news today. Now the story of a woman

who loves close encounters with great white sharks.

She's a Hawaiian diver, a model, and a shark conservationist,

and now she is a YouTube sensation.

So who do I call if I go to Hawaii?

Her name's Ocean Ramsey.

-So shout out to her. -Ocean? Her name's Ocean?

-Her name is Ocean... -Alright, that sounds like...

-she's legit, she's legit. -Yeah, okay.

[TV] That's Ocean, swimming alongside a great white.

Recently, she's become known

as a Shark Whisperer.

Is Ocean Ramsey the Shark Whisperer?

-Welcome, Ocean Ramsey. -[audience cheering]

[brooding piano music]

[Ocean] I am not a Shark Whisperer.

There's a science to everything beautiful in nature,

and that's kind of that natural, perfect balance.

I'm Juan Oliphant. I've worked with Ocean for well over a decade.

Yes, she likes to say everything is science, but does science explain

everything I've seen her do over the years?

I mean, you tell me there isn't something special happening here.

[Ocean] I never really liked the term Shark Whisperer because they're wild animals,

I love them for that, we need them for that.

It's not the shark that you're whispering to, it's actually people.

Whispering to people about sharks.

I know that if people could see sharks the way that I do,

we wouldn't be talking about extinction right now.

[Keoni] It's a perception of sharks that we're fighting to change on a daily basis.

So we hit the streets to get some opinions.

[Maddie] Excuse me? Would it be all right if we asked you guys some questions?

-Yeah. -Yeah, sure.

[interviewer] So what's the first word

that comes to your mind when I say, "sharks"?

-Jaws. -Teeth. Jaws, yeah.

[Keoni] Your first reaction

when I say the word sharks.

I'm scared, I don't wanna swim.

I think of, like, some crazy teeth.

A big megalodon that's gonna eat someone.

[nervous laughter] Fear.

I have an extreme fear of sharks.

-Fear. -Fear.

And, um, that I don't like them.

-Anxiety. -Predator.

-Fear. -Danger.

They could just like come up on you and attack you.

Just being terrified of 'em.

About 100 million sharks

are taken out of the ocean every year.

Why do you think that

that's sort of allowed to happen?

That we take like 100 million--

Shark meat is good!

-[buzzer sound] -Shark meat?

It's a meat like a meat-meat.

Like uh... and it's good for you.

I wouldn't care if there were sharks in the ocean or not.

I mean, I don't think it would really change my lifestyle.

It wouldn't affect me.

[Keoni] Why you think people are afraid of sharks?

-Because of Jaws! -It's when the Jawsmovie came out.

-Certainly Jaws. -Of course, there's Jaws.

-Movies like Jaws. -'Cause of the media.

Well any sort of media surrounding sharks is just like,

-"They're monsters". They're terrible. -I don't know, the movies.

-[TV static] -[narrator] When the movie Jaws first opened,

it created a sensation.

[Jawstheme]

And shark sightings increased by the thousands.

Now...

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water,

the legend continues.

"Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water."

That's the tagline for Jaws 2,

and that's the tagline because Jawshad such a huge impact

on the American public and, really, the whole world

that people were afraid to go in the water

after seeing that movie.

It's a scary film.

Jawswas really one of the first blockbusters we ever had.

It was seen all across the world.

And it scared people out of the water for a very long time.

[Chief Brody] That's a shark.

Out of the water! Out of the water, now!

[Josh] From ridiculous big-budget actioners

like Deep Blue Sea and The Meg,

to little, indie, Sundance films

like Open Water,shark movies continue to be profitable.

Oh, crap.

[Josh] Kind of against all odds, because they're out of good ideas.

They're out of original ideas. We're doing things now like

Avalanche Sharks, Sharknado.But just watch,

they'll keep making these Sharknadomovies

because they continue to make money.

People wanna see them. Most of these movies

-aren't actually scary anymore. -[woman screaming]

And so I think we can really attribute the lasting interest,

the success of shark movies, and the fear of shark movies, to Jaws.

[crowd screaming]

[Josh] It's extremely effective in playing upon our most base,

human, primal fears.

The impact of Jaws is undeniable.

Whether you've seen the film or not, you know that poster.

Whether you've seen the film or not, you know that music.

[Jawstheme]

Sh-shark!

[Josh] And it's created generations

of people who are afraid of sharks.

And afraid to go in the water

because of sharks, because of Jaws.

[Juan] Fear of sharks is nothing new, Drawings and even

ancient artifacts have proven this.

However, in the last 50 years,

fishing methods have become so efficient,

and with the rise of the middle class in China,

demand for shark fin soup has skyrocketed.

The fear of sharks is what has allowed

the finning industry to go unchecked.

[Ocean] Shark finning is the process in which the shark has its fins cut off.

It is then dumped back in the ocean

to suffocate or bleed to death.

An absolutely cruel and wasteful practice.

All this for shark fin soup,

an expensive and lucrative status symbol.

I have to believe if people knew what was happening,

they wouldn't allow it to exist.

[calm Oriental music]

[Ocean] So we just touched down in China.

We're here for a purpose, and that's to kinda look at

how prevalent shark fin soup really is, and shark products.

Uh, so we're gonna kinda immerse ourselves in the culture, and talk to the people,

and find out attitudes and, um, beliefs and customs.

And see how many shark products there really are,

and what is the trend with the demand here,

at kinda ground zero.

So we're in Hong Kong, it's someplace I've always wanted to go,

just to experience the culture, and to really kind of investigate

how bad the shark fin soup consumption is here.

I've heard mixed reviews, but apparently we can find it

everywhere on the street. It's what we're told from the locals.

And, uh, what I've read in the papers and the studies they've been doing.

They've been showing a huge decline in the demand for it here,

because of education that's come here.

So we're gonna dig in here in the next couple days

and really kinda find out what's goin' on

and, uh, hopefully it's as good as the papers say

and not as good as the locals, uh, say,

as far as the consumption, so, um, we'll find out.

[soft Oriental music]

[Ocean] So we're gonna explore this area, um,

what I'm packing is, uh, several copies of a letter.

It's written in Chinese and explains the importance of sharks,

and kind of their demise,

and why this restaurant, store, or whatever

shouldn't serve any kind of shark product, here.

So I'm packing a couple of these.

Uh, we've got a couple of leads on places

that we're gonna start to check out.

But again, the idea is to kinda see how prevalent

shark fin, um, soup and shark products are in the area.

[calm Oriental music]

[Ocean] Shark fin soup with mixed vegetables.

Shark fin soup with shredded chicken.

And supreme braised shark fin.

And then clay pot shark fin soup.

And double-boiled superior shark fins with chicken.

So we're on one of the, the many streets in Hong Kong.

Every single shop, pretty much, has shark fins.

Um, this one, right over here, is literally just bags of it.

And they've got the posters that show the different species of sharks.

I'm pretty sure I've seen white sharks,

whale sharks, tiger sharks, basking sharks.

It's um...

There's a lot. I've-- I was shocked.

So, Hong Kong was a little bit of...

I guess, an eye-opener in a way? It's--

I knew that, you know, sharks are being killed

at a rate of 70 to 100 million sharks every single year,

but you don't really quite, you know, it just sounds like too big to believe.

Oh, you have more. These ones are sharks. Little sharks.

It's shocking, it's this contrast between how nice these people are,

and then the fact of like you walk down certain streets

and it's store after store after store after store.

Bag after bag after bag. Container after container after container.

And it's just so many shark fins, and it's disgusting,

and it, it makes me sick.

Like, to see that, because I see the fins,

and I realize that's a whale shark.

That's a basking shark.

I saw a white shark, great white shark fins.

And they're still gray in color.

Those people were not very nice,

and they knew that it was controversial.

And, uh, you know, a very sensitive topic.

Because when I would go into those stores,

uh, with a camera to film, they would immediately want to block,

and say, "don't". And it's, it was the second that I put myself in line

with the fins that that's when they kind of realized,

like, "Oh, okay, we know what's going on here."

-[seller] No, no, no, no, no! -[Ocean] Oh! What?

And they realized, like, because it's such a sensitive topic,

and I think it's good that it's a sensitive topic,

and it's amazing that the only kind of, like,

adversity that we've seen, um, has been

when we kind of approached to film the fins.

[Juan] Personally, from a lot of studies and everything that I was reading and hearing,

that, oh, there's 70% decrease in demand for shark fins there.

That, you know, there's a lot of people pushing to get it banned,

and, uh, you, you know, it was really easy to find.

We just hit a few streets, right off the bat,

and there was just bags and bags of shark fins.

Stores that, you know, still had shark fins up in the windows.

You know, huge, God, huge dorsal fins of whale sharks

and basking sharks, probably great whites,

and it's so sad to see that,

and it's definitely, um,

you know, in the moment, we're trying--

trying to act like it, you know, didn't affect us,

but it's, yeah, it--

I can't even imagine, like, how many lives of sharks,

just in the bags that we saw.

Tens and thousands of animals killed,

and it's just all stuffed into a tiny bag,

only 3% of the animal in those bags.

It's like, it's horrific, you know, and that's just probably

a small, small percentage of what's out there, you know, and...

And that's just the stuff that we can kinda uncover just right at the surface.

And, you know, and you think about like...

What's really going on out there, it's scary.

It was clean, it's, it's, it is a pretty city,

and the fact of, if you appreciate, like, technology

and buildings and everything, it's like

what humans can accomplish, you know, and, and build,

but, uh, it's going outside our means.

And I feel like it is kinda like destructive against nature.

I grew up with shark fin soup. It's a practice, it is not a tradition.

I'm pretty confident that it's not an attack on culture,

if we try to ban shark fin, because the same legislative grass root movements

are taking place in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China.

The largest populations of the world that consume shark fin.

Legislation is the best way of protecting sharks.

We know that sharks are extremely valuable, ecologically,

and culturally, in a lot of places around the world.

We need to have sharks around, if we want healthy oceans.

Healthy oceans means healthy shark populations.

You can't have one without the other.

Sharks actually reproduce far slower

than most other marine animals,

and so that is one of the problems with killing sharks, right?

Is that that resource is not gonna regenerate as quickly.

Whereas if you were using sharks, for example, in a shark-watching scenario,

providing ecotourism, educational ecotourism opportunities, you know, that,

sharks can essentially be used, you know, over and over and over and over again.

[Juan] We started One Ocean Diving as a way to educate people

about the plight of sharks.

We're able to change people's perceptions of sharks,

and at the same time, gather a huge

amount of data for research.

[Ocean] So every single day we're heading out on the water,

and we're collecting over 62 data variables.

We're looking at everything from how the sharks' behavior changes

with environmental conditions, to how does their behavior change in proximity to humans.

Collect this data, analyze it,

and then make a practical application within the community.

We need to protect sharks because we need apex predators, both in land, and in the water.

Without apex predators, we have what we call trophic cascade,

meaning that everything beneath them will crumble.

Apex predators keep healthy populations by eating the sick,

weak, dying, and they're the natural balance within that ecosystem.

We remove them, we lose all of that, what's underneath them.

[Juan] It's not just about getting in the water and swimming with sharks all day.

A lot of conservation is getting out in the world and practicing what you preach.

[Ocean] We utilize different research methods and different technology

to determine what we can do to change the tide.

It's through education, inspiring others and getting the community involved

that we've seen the most change.

[electronic music]

[Ocean] The number one question I get is:

"How do I minimize my risk of being attacked by a shark?"

First of all, stick together.

Don't swim or surf by yourself.

Sharks understand schooling species and strength in numbers.

You are far less likely to be approached

when you're in proximity of multiple other individuals.

[Juan] Avoiding low-visibility water is key.

You're not the shark's natural prey item,

but mistakes can happen in poor visibility.

If in doubt, don't stay out.

[Ocean] And in the rare event that you do happen to find yourself

face to face with a shark, don't panic.

Splashing, especially mimics injured prey items.

Keep your movements smooth and controlled.

[Juan] Look around. For sharks, eye contact is everything.

Eye contact communicates that you are an equal predator.

Act like a predator and you get treated like a predator.

You might see us spinning a lot under water.

We're always scanning, in case new sharks,

multiple sharks, come in at one time.

Don't get locked in on just one.

[Ocean] In the very rare occasion that a shark displays following behavior,

a little eye contact is often all it takes to make them lose interest.

[Juan] Finally, keep your hands to yourself.

Sharks' natural prey items include crab, octopus, and squid.

Again, while humans are not their natural prey,

your hands might look like one.

Make sure your fingers are close to you at all times.

[Ocean] Following these steps will greatly reduce your chances of an adverse shark interaction.

Hey, I'm Clark Little. We're about to go on a dive with One Ocean Diving.

The first time I went out with the sharks, I was scared.

All I'd watched was Jawsmovie, and it made me scared.

I'm thinkin', "My gosh, they're just here to kill us",

I mean that's, that's the uneducated.

Once I learned, and I went out with them,

and experienced it, now I can't wait to go.

So today was another once-in-a-lifetime experience.

I've had a few, this was on the top of the list, um.

We were looking for some tiger sharks,

and fortunately, we-- when we pulled up,

we, we saw this 14-footer swimming around,

and we were just like, "Oh my gosh, this is really happening?"

'Cause it's rare, it's rare to see tiger sharks in the wild,

and for us to be able to swim with them today,

and interact and just, you know, be able to hang out,

personality-wise, um, get comfortable.

She was obviously comfortable, Nikki was her name.

Um, it was just a once-in-a-lifetime thing

that, that we got to live, and I can't wait to go and look at the footage,

because it was almost a blur, it was just so special,

we're in the moment, you know what I mean, the tiger's comin' up to us,

I mean, she was, she was so big and thick and beautiful

and, sounds cheesy, but I tell you, you know,

any time you can swim one-on-one with a tiger shark...

It's life-changing. And if it wasn't for Juan and Ocean,

and their caring for sharks,

and teaching me everything I know about sharks,

um, I wouldn't have this opportunity.

I feel comfortable and, and confident that they're doing

a really, really good thing, you know, for this world.

[soaring orchestral music]

[Juan] While our hearts are always in Hawaii,

protecting sharks is a global issue,

and it's our privilege to go out into the world

to conduct research, help spread the message,

and inspire change.

[Ocean] There's never been a more critical time than now

to make that change.

[lively drum music]

[Juan] Tahiti is well-known for its amazing surf breaks.

But our focus is on the health of those reefs.

[Ocean] In Tahiti, we collaborate with other scientists.

Deploying acoustic tags can be very helpful

in looking at what the sharks' behavior is when we are not there.

However, it is limited to movement.

There's not much else we can see

unless we actually get in the water

with them and observe them.

And that's kind of my preferential

way of studying them, in their own habitat,

in their own space, without modification.

The beautiful beaches of western Australia are home to a diverse array of animals.

[Juan] Our main focus in Australia has been researching

non-lethal methods of avoiding adverse shark interactions.

[Ocean] The practical application of science and technology

to hopefully help people, especially surfers, and sharks, better coexist.

[Juan] It was our privilege this trip

to help develop new technology

that uses electric currents to deter sharks.

Our findings give us great confidence

that technology could be effectively used

to deter even a great white shark.

[electrical whirring]

[upbeat pop music]

[Juan] One of my favorite places in the world has got to be

Tiger Beach in the Bahamas.

We're most interested in seeing how the legislation to protect

sharks has affected the tiger shark population in this area.

The protection of sharks in the Bahamas

is exactly what I'd like to see happen in Hawaii.

[Ocean] Tiger Beach is home to a great variety of sharks,

uh, we've got reef sharks off the back, lemon sharks,

but our main purpose here is to find tiger sharks.

[Juan] Coming to Tiger Beach, I really thought I'd jump in the water

and immediately be approached by tons of tigers.

It's kind of concerning that this is not the case right now.

It's really sad when you think about it.

Worldwide, tiger sharks, there's less than 30,000 on the planet.

They're a near-threatened species.

And they're so slow to reproduce,

and even a place where they're able to be protected,

that we don't have them.

Kind of the fate of all sharks right now, it seems like,

they're either threatened, or endangered, or faced with extinction,

and it's just the human impact that's on these animals right now

is really, is really horrible.

[Ocean] Watching these lemon sharks drift gracefully

along the white sand bottom is almost hypnotizing.

But in the back of my mind, I'm always concerned

when we don't see tigers right away.

[Juan] This location is about 60 miles away

from any land or people, and yet we're still finding

no shortage of plastic or other man-made pollutions.

[Ocean] As we wait, we use the time to clean up plastics around the site.

It feels like good karma, because as soon as we finish cleaning the garbage,

all of a sudden, just like magic, the tigers start coming in.

We turn around, and boom, just on your peripheral,

in comes this beautiful tiger.

Just the shadow across the sand,

and, uh, just these beautiful, peaceful interactions.

[soft music]

[Juan] When you first see a tiger shark coming in

after days of trying, I mean,

I kinda have to think that it's just like,

it's like a weight lifted.

It's massive, it's huge. It could take you out as a food source in a heartbeat,

and that's the last thing it wants to do.

It's, it's an animal that just changes perceptions, instantly.

[Ocean] While it's true that these sharks are protected here,

they are still vulnerable to illegal poaching,

and poaching remains a serious threat.

[calm synthesizer music]

[Juan] So sometimes people ask me why I want to get so close.

There's a lot of different reasons, whether it's trying to get fishing line or hooks off

of 'em, getting a better quality of life from the impact of humans.

[Ocean] So we have this absolutely gorgeous,

it's like you're floating through air,

and it's so beautiful, the clarity,

I feel like you could see for infinity,

and, you know, that, that blue infinity is broken by nothing

but the figures and shapes and silhouettes of,

I think, some of the most beautiful,

beautiful animals on the planet.

I mean, nothing moves like a shark,

and they have this really special and unique presence.

So it's kinda like shark heaven [giggles].

'Cause you're just floating in the middle of the water column,

and you can just put your hand up

and gently let a tiger shark kinda swim up,

and just have this little moment of contact,

where that animal's okay with a contact and connection,

and it's really neat to have that level of comfort and trust.

[Juan] Some of 'em, I actually almost think that they prefer touch.

And you could see that with Ocean, she's just standing away from the whole scene,

or the other guy's feeding, and she's just there, peacefully existing,

and the tiger shark just comes up to her, it's kinda like saying hello, almost, you know.

And you just gently,

just, "oh, I don't have anything for you"

and you kinda move off to the other side.

[Ocean] It's a really special and beautiful place,

and I know that we could have that

in more places around the world,

if people weren't afraid,

if they realized how important sharks were.

Taking a final look in this healthy and thriving shark population,

gives me so much hope for the future,

especially if we can work to create

more protected areas like this one.

[Juan] On our way out, I find myself checking my camera,

almost checking to see if some of those interactions were actually real.

[Ocean] Leaving a place like this is always difficult,

but we were so excited to head back home

to meet up with some of our favorite shark ambassadors.

[acoustic guitar music]

I'm Mike Coots, shark attack survivor,

surfer, photographer, and shark advocate.

There's that one tale, that you can learn everything in life,

uh, just from looking at the ocean,

and it, it gives you these life lessons,

and I, I really think that holds true.

You learn patience, you learn how to read things,

you learn ebbs and flows and that,

you take care of something, it'll take care of you.

Just got down here to the aggregation site,

it really is the nicest day I've seen in months, um.

There're sharks everywhere. We're about to suit up and go jump in. Very excited.

[Mike] In 1997, I lost my leg in a shark attack, in my home break on Kauai.

I've told my shark attack story so many times,

but it, it really feels like it was just yesterday.

People ask me if I think about it all the time,

and the truth is, that just hasn't been the case for me.

The conservation work just happened

as I started getting more information about it,

and felt compelled to help.

I started realizing that sharks are much-needed

in our marine ecosystems, and they play an invaluable role

in the health of our oceans, and if I can use that irony of being a shark bite,

you know, a shark attack survivor, and help save a species,

help keep our oceans healthier, then, why not?

If I can turn something that was bad into something good.

If I can have my children one day look at sharks

and not see them in a, in a museum or in a textbook at school,

but actually be able to go out on the ocean

and do a shark dive, that's a good thing,

and I think that's a good thing not just for my children

or the children of Hawaii, but for the rest of the world.

[Juan] At this site, we found plenty of Galapagos sharks,

but our real goal was to find a tiger shark,

so we packed up and headed to another site in deeper water.

My name's Craig Parry, I'm from Byron Bay, Australia. Professional photographer.

I'm here today on Oahu with Juan and Ocean,

and we've just swam with some Galapagos.

I've really enjoyed doing it, and I think, uh,

by getting people to actually get in the water and experience this,

it actually changes the perception of the animal,

and it's, uh, it's great to see them doing it, and doing a great job.

[Ocean] So with no tigers in sight, what we've actually

started to use in our research is drones.

And so we can send these up and we can actually observe

the sharks' behavior from the surface.

[drone whirring]

[Keoni] After a few minutes of using the drone we're able to see the tiger sharks coming in.

And there wasn't just one of them.

-Man, we got three tiger sharks. -[Juan] Oh yeah!

-I've never seen anything like this, this is so cool. -[Juan] Yeah!

Watching the dynamic between them and the Galapagos and a lot of blocking going on.

[Juan] Look at those three, and they're working together.

-So cool, so cool. -[Juan] Coming in at the same time.

[Mike] We had one, and we were as stoked as can be,

and we saw another, and now we have three.

[Ocean] They're extremely cautious when we first got in the water,

but after realizing that we weren't going to be a threat,

they slowly started to approach closer and closer,

and we were able to have some incredible interactions

and get some amazing photos for our photo identification.

[Mike] Diving with a tiger shark is like looking eye to eye with a living dinosaur.

It really is one of the most exhilarating, amazing,

out of world experiences you can have here on Earth.

If I could go back to the days after the shark attack,

the months after the shark attack, and tell my younger self what life would be like,

or what to worry or what not to worry, I would just say, "Don't worry about anything."

An important lesson, it would be to just trust the process.

There's really nothing I can't do, and it, and it, it's incredible,

it does give you this, I guess, internal value that, you know,

I can pretty much do anything that I wanna do.

Everybody has a gift, and to just really exploit that gift,

run after it, take it and grab it and just don't look back.

Run as fast as you can with that gift, and share it with the world.

[lively music]

[Ocean] Socorro is like how you want the entire ocean to be,

because it's a marine protected area, and it's very isolated.

It's about 36 hours off shore,

and so it's somewhat safe from illegal fishing.

Our ultimate goal in Socorro was actually tagging,

uh, hammerheads and Galapagos sharks and silky sharks.

We're looking at movements, uh, between the different islands.

[Juan] The thing that stood out to me the most is the biodiversity of animals,

and the amount of fish that's still there.

I mean, it kinda gives a glimpse of what maybe the ocean was.

[Ocean] You just wish that the ocean was like this,

and it would be if it was protected.

You would have mantas swimming over you for minutes,

and dolphins coming right up to your face,

and you'd have hundreds of sharks

in a crazy-fun bait ball,

and you could just swim around them.

[Juan] A hundred silkies plus are eating

little tiny scad mackerel,

I never thought I'd get to see that, the amount of life that we saw there,

and the bait balls, and the tuna and the sharks,

that wouldn't have happened unless it was a marine protected area.

[sinister music]

[whale squeaking and whistling]

[Ocean] Humpback whales are a perfect example

of how conservation really does work.

When you get enough people together that actually

really care enough to speak up,

to the point that they can actually change legislation and policies.

We owe the previous generation a debt of gratitude

for what they did for the whales.

[whale singing]

[Juan] The baby's playing, like, puff, coming up to us and spinning.

Er, it wants that interaction.

You know, considering that there's songs that they sing,

and how, you know, like how deep is that social connection.

And getting to see that, that care and love

that mother and escort put into that calf,

it just goes to show you there's a lot, there's a lot of things

that we don't really know about the ocean.

[Ocean] And there's nothing like swimming next to a 40-ton whale

as it brings its baby up to the surface for its first couple breaths.

[Juan] It just shows that there's, there's a lot more

humanity in the ocean than people think.

[whales singing]

[upbeat music]

[Ocean] We've just arrived in Guadalupe,

and I feel like I'm home [giggles].

I'm so excited to get to spend, you know, X amount of time

with these animals every single year.

And I'm so grateful that they're protected in this area

of the world, and that's something that I fight for

every single day, to try and increase that protection.

It's an absolute honor to get to go down to Isla Guadalupe

and work with the lead scientist there, Dr. Mauricio Hoyos.

He's dedicated his life to studying and protecting white sharks.

Such an incredible human being.

He is the leading expert on great white sharks, in Mexico, hands down.

My name is Mauricio Hoyos, and I am the director of Pelagios Kakunja,

which is a non-profit organization based in La Paz.

We are working with, I think, 11 species of sharks.

[Ocean] Isla Guadalupe is a natural white shark aggregation site.

Aggregation site meaning that they're naturally coming together,

in higher numbers in a small concentrated areas,

due to the presence of prey items,

and that's the California sea lion,

the Guadalupe fur seal, and the northern elephant seal.

So those three prey items arrive for their pupping

during this specific season,

and so the white sharks, their arrival

kind of coincides with that.

[Juan] When I'm getting in the water in Guadalupe Island,

the first thing that automatically just hits me

every time is the clarity, is unbelievable.

Blue, blue, blue water like you would have in Hawaii,

and yet you have an island that is surrounded by great white sharks.

It's the only place in the world, it's extremely unique.

[Ocean] So we're specifically here to study great white shark behavior,

and so by understanding how they utilize body language,

we hope that we can educate others and better understand

how to avoid adverse interactions.

So as the season progresses, and the water temperature drops,

and you get larger seals like the northern elephant seal, as those guys start to arrive,

and the larger females start to arrive,

and so it's theoretical that they could potentially be pupping,

or they may be kind of building up stock

and nutrition in anticipation of pupping.

[calm piano music]

[Ocean] As the sharks swim by, we can see scars and marks on different individuals,

they could be from mating or could be from competitive behavior.

[water sloshing]

[Ocean] Fin cameras are small devices we can affix,

and they deploy after a few hours or a few days.

They allow us to see what the shark is seeing,

how it's interacting with its environment,

maybe other sharks, when we're not present.

So we get to see more natural behavior.

[Mauricio] Now we're working together with scientists from all over the world,

because we would like to gather

as much information as possible.

We have tagged the white sharks with acoustic telemetry,

in order to know more about their local movements

and also their migration patterns.

[Ocean] Baiting the shark allows us to collect data,

that attach tags, monitor specific individuals,

and collects photo identification,

take biopsies or skin tissue samples,

and look at genetics and stable isotopes,

and we try and be very minimal about that,

and limit the amount that's put out,

and record the specific individuals.

[Mauricio] So this is very important because they are spending

half of the, of the year in Mexican waters.

So it's good that they are protected and we have seen that the population is increasing.

So I think that, for this particular species, we are doing good.

[Ocean] So right now, we are currently running a research conservation

education-based expedition,

so people are looking at photo identification,

and how to identify these individuals.

It's really easy for white sharks.

Their countershading, they're dark on the top, light on the bottom,

and that distinctive line of countershading

across their gills, their pelvic area,

and even the spots down on their caudal fin or their tail,

are allowing us to be able to identify individuals without the need for tags.

People are willing to pay to see them alive.

So the ecotourism from the boats coming down here

to view these incredible animals are affording protection for them.

And also keeping eyes on the water,

so in case poachers or anybody wants to come by,

all these vessels know that they can alert the Navy.

They're just absolutely incredible to get to see in person.

I wish more people had the opportunity to come up here

and get to see them, eye to eye, face to face,

and have that connection.

[heartbeats]

[Juan] When we have the cages, sometimes it's amazing to be able to get

extremely, extremely close to the animal,

where I can just focus on super-tiny details.

And I remember this one pass, where she was literally rubbing the cage,

and I was able just to focus in on her eye.

The eye is like looking straight past the camera,

and looking at me as an individual.

You could just see that there's some sort of recognition.

There's something more to the animal

than just instinctual drive.

There's definitely something behind that eye

that's processing, and that, there's definitely a connection there

that I, I feel when I'm with these animals.

[Ocean] Well they have these beautiful blue eyes,

and as they swim past you, you really get to stare

kinda into their soul, and there's so many layers to them,

and there's such a level of awareness and consciousness,

that becomes extremely apparent, when they actually swim by,

and they really look you up and down.

And that was absolutely life-changing for me.

I remember one of the first,

um, especially adult white sharks that swam by,

and he slowed down,

and just kinda grazed his pectoral

right along the cage to come by,

and he almost stops, and he looks at me,

and I just like, I kinda felt like in that moment,

it's like, "Oh, this is why I'm here."

[intense instrumental music]

[Ocean] All of a sudden, it seems like everything goes in line,

and you're like, "I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be."

You know, I've dedicated my life to working for them and speaking up for them,

and it's without a doubt,

it's like those moments and those interactions

and they just solidify that.

And you have that, through your soul,

through your heart, knowing like this is what I was made for,

or this is my entire point and purpose for being here.

[Juan] The focus of this film has been

to change human perception on sharks worldwide.

[Ocean] There's never been a more critical time than now,

to make that change, to inspire people to join.

Throughout our various destinations, we've encountered

such extraordinary and diverse wildlife.

[Juan] And all that does is just reinforce

our need for sharks and a healthy ecosystem.

It's really very simple.

All these animals depend on sharks to exist.

[orcas whistling]

[Juan] We've also gotten a chance to make strides in legislation,

and inspire our younger generation to get involved

and take ownership of their own ocean environments.

To this day, we are still fighting for protection

for sharks and rays in Hawaii.

[Ocean] It has truly been an incredible journey,

and it concludes with our greatest challenge yet.

[Juan] Though our first trip to Asia was not exactly a positive experience,

we make our way back, this time to share our message at ADEX,

the Asian Dive Expo.

[Ocean] So, we're here, in the heart of Singapore,

we're both presenting at a conference.

It's the Asia Dive Expo. It's actually the largest Dive Expo in the entire world,

and they've dedicated it to the sharks, which I love, which is amazing.

And right now, we're kind of exploring Singapore.

And so they've built these beautiful gardens, and it's kind of a combination

of, you know, architecture of human design, covered in the natural world.

[Juan] It's really cool to see a city

kinda integrated with nature,

and showing that, like this could be our future.

[tranquil instrumental music]

So this is, this is really cool, it's like, uh,

reconnecting people with nature, so we're right in the heart of the city,

and I realize a lot of people can't

kind of escape and go find a natural waterfall.

So the fact that they can come here and be surrounded by flower gardens and cloud forests...

And even though this is man-made,

it's still really impressive and it's beautiful.

[Juan] It's actually really inspiring.

I mean, like, if every city could be like this,

the change that could happen, I mean, this needs to be infectious,

this needs to spread throughout the world.

Have you seen any, um, like any shark fins or like, uh,

places where you see dead sharks, like coming in off of fish ports?

You don't sell the shark fins, yeah.

-Alright, man. Should we... -OK, thank you.

-[Ocean] Thank you. It's nice talking to you. -Same to you.

[Ocean] So far, our view of Singapore has been

the exact opposite of Hong Kong.

But as soon as I step out of the cab,

I see the name of the first shop,

Tam Kah Shark Fin,

and I realize there is still much progress needed.

They want the large sharks, especially,

because it's such a big symbol.

This is gotta be a whale shark or a basking shark.

It's so sad to see this, it's just disturbing.

[Juan] Oh yeah, and these are animals that are so hard to find these days.

I mean, it's, it's like, talking about whale sharks that are on endangered species list,

basking sharks, endangered species list, it's like, those are massive fins,

those are the only things those fins could've come from,

is from these animals that are now critically endangered,

and it's just, it's sad to see that it's just used

for small portions, it's a wasted resource.

Keoni, up there?

[shutter clicking]

[Ocean] What a contrast it is to see the progressive steps

that you've seen all morning,

and then see this part of Singapore

where the practice is still embraced.

[Keoni] To be fair, next to Hong Kong, there's almost no comparison,

and for the most part, we found the restaurants were current with the times.

Do you serve shark fin soup?

Do you serve shark fin soup? This?

No? Good job. That's good [giggles]!

-Yeah. Yes. -Good.

Fish?

-Okay, we're just looking. Thank you very much. -Thank you.

[Ocean] We should check this restaurant here, too.

-It's on there. -It is?

Yeah, it is.

Seafood, shark fin soup.

What?

-Hi. -Hi, um, we see on the menu.

Yeah.

Eat, not to eat shark fin.

Yeah, so there's almost no sharks left.

Yeah.

Not.

Yeah, it's bad for the ocean, yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Oh yeah, yeah, 'cause there's not that many sharks left now, so.

Do you want to keep this?

-Okay. -No? Do you think

that the restaurant would ever stop serving the shark fin?

[Ocean] 70 to 100 million sharks being killed every year,

and it's really kind of setting in that number

when we see bags and bags and boxes and boxes and the fins everywhere.

It's, er, it's... There's a lot more fins than I ever would imagine that I would have seen.

Uh, and some other guys were even saying that there's like 10,000 fins,

you know, in one, you know, like store,

or even breaking it down to 1,000 sharks in one basket.

Because it's just the fins, and all the rest of the meat is just discarded.

So it's just-- it's crazy to think of how many lives were taken

just to fill a tiny little basket or a box of shark fins.

I mean, shark fins are obviously on the front as you enter in,

it's huge, it's whale shark fins or basking sharks or white sharks.

Yeah, and the age that shark must have been

to have fins that size, I mean, that's upwards

of probably 35 years for fins that large,

for basking or whale shark, I mean.

We're gonna go explore a little bit more of the Chinatown area.

I'm gonna give this letter out to, uh, every store

that I see that's carrying the fins, and every restaurant.

And that was, uh, was a really eye-opening experience.

[Keoni] In Singapore, we found the pinnacle of forward thinking,

right next door to thousands of years of tradition,

and the outdated, destructive ways of thinking about sharks.

Days like this can be a real wake up call, that the fight is not over.

But we do find hope that as we educate the next generation,

tomorrow can be a new day.

[calm chiming music]

[Ocean] It's a new morning, and we're headed to ADEX early.

Not sure what to expect, or what the turnout will be,

but we're excited to get inside and prepare for our presentations today.

Sparkles? Did you meet Sparkles.

Yeah, this is amazing, and the fact that it's dedicated to sharks,

is mind-blowing, and this is what this side of the world needs right now.

Yeah.

We're here at the Expo, and, uh, I'm about to give a talk

in a few minutes, here, about the importance of sharks

and the power of photos and, and being able to cross language barriers,

so I'm excited about that, and being able to just promote more shark conservation.

[announcer] Three, two, one!

This is the official opening of Asia Diving Expo 2018!

[crowd cheering]

-Woo hoo. -Yeah.

[vendors chatting]

[Keoni] It's really kind of why we're here at this exposition.

Er, it's what it's all about, which is exciting,

I mean, dedicated for sharks, which is really cool.

That, uh, you know, one of the biggest dive expos is focusing on shark conservation,

it shows that there's been a shift, and, uh, people are wanting to,

you know, conserve, uh, sharks. Protect the ocean.

[upbeat music]

[lecturer talking]

[announcer] Please welcome Heidi.

We have Ocean Ramsey, who is this year, er,

ADEX shark ambassador, ladies and gentlemen.

-Wow, what an honor. -[presenter] OK, so we're gonna invite you--

[speaker] In our oceans, as well as--

This is my first actual, like, proper presentation,

you know, I speak in schools, and, uh, you know,

never something with my peers involved, you know?

Yeah, it's definitely exciting, nerve wracking,

and I-- It'll be good, it'll be good.

Aloha, thank you guys for coming and--

[Keoni] We gave several presentations

over the course of a few days,

and we were met

with such enthusiasm for sharks,

from people all over the world.

And, I mean, we gotta be the voice for these animals, 'cause they don't have one,

and we do need these animals alive.

...Underwater360 for sending me out here.

[Ocean] We were far from the only conservationists speaking out for sharks at the event.

The support worldwide was incredible.

What's so fantastic about the shark world, is it is a global community.

There's not that many of us, but we all share one common passion,

and that is, of course, the sharks.

It's on par with every shark scientist,

with every marine ambassador around the world,

and that is to teach people more about what sharks are,

and why we really need them in our oceans.

My name is Randall Arauz, and I'm the policy director

of Fins Attached Marine Research and Conservation.

One of the achievements I'm most proud of,

was the closure of the private docks in Costa Rica.

And yes, we made the Costa Rican authorities

shut it down, 'cause it was illegal,

and we put a serious dent in the shark-finning industry

in Costa Rica after that.

Hello, my name is Guillaume Néry,

I'm a world-champion free diver.

The sharks are just the, the kings of the ocean,

and they are the base of the balance of the ocean.

And you, you really, you don't need to be a scientist

or a specialist to understand the major role

they have in this magic of, of nature,

and, uh, and of course, today is so important to...

for the people to change their perspective about sharks.

[background chatter]

[Juan] Overall, we leave Singapore with the hope

that through education, shift in perception

is possible anywhere in the world,

no matter the history, the culture, or even the fear.

[lively musical sting]

I think what, we are dealing with in today's

Asian or Chinese society,

is that the new generation has all of this information,

the new generation is rich in technology,

so they're willing to learn more,

and willing to change their lifestyle,

and change their habit, and change their choices.

Hi guys, I'm Selena Lee, and I'm an actress from Hong Kong.

A lot of times, people are scared of what's unknown to them.

They don't know about it, and they feel scared and threatened.

But once you learn about them, and once you learn about the ocean,

you'll realize that they're one of the most elegant

and intelligent creatures out there.

They're not the monsters that people portray them to be.

With more content, and more information

that we can give out to the world,

er, it will start changing the younger generations,

especially in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong.

It was a natural thing,

how we just wanted to start protecting sharks.

Younger people know that, you know, we don't really need shark fins in our lives.

You know, we should protect them instead of killing them.

I still think that, you know, the younger generations,

they are saying no to it now.

Shark fin soup is, It-- I don't think it's our culture.

I live in China 28 years, this is the first time

I heard it's our culture.

It's not a Chinese culture.

It's simply a luxury consumer item.

For those wanting to flaunt their wealth,

er, you know, show their social status...

But even though some may consume the soup,

that does not give a luxury item or a delicacy

protected status.

Culture is something that is constantly changing.

I think that this is certainly something like, uh,

like foot-binding, or indentured servitude, er.

They were popular at some point,

and we can move away from that,

we can grow, we can adapt, and we can, uh, we can move on.

[relaxed instrumental music]

[Ocean] Sometimes, it takes a shift in perspective

before we are able to see something clearly.

Before we're able to see it for what it is.

So when people ask me if I'm ever afraid,

I can honestly tell them that I am.

My fear, my biggest fear, is that one day

I might see an ocean without sharks.

And that is what keeps us fighting every day of our lives.

[Juan] Pretty much my life existence has been to save sharks.

In the end, we can't live without sharks.

[Ocean] If people knew how important they are,

how much they ultimately really do impact everyone,

and affect everyone, and if people could experience

how incredible they are,

they wouldn't allow them to be killed.

[Juan] My biggest goal in life is to get rid of the fear,

so that we can start saving sharks,

and essentially saving humanity.

[Ocean] We can coexist.

We can save sharks.

And with all this talk of change, one thing remains the same:

The way this ends, is up to you.

[soaring orchestral music]