March 2015 I had a great opportunity to represent Stuart Cove's Dive Bahamas and discuss our role in Shark Conservation and how it contributes to the local economy. I gave a presentation to United Nations Ambassadors as part of their 'Save the Sharks and promote Blue Economies' Expedition. It was such an amazing opportunity to inspire Shark Conservation in their own nations and help them to understand the value and vast potential for the economies of small islands.

Having also worked in Fiji and Thailand I have seen first hand the huge benefits of keeping Sharks alive for Tourism than dead for a one off fee.  It was interesting responding to questions from the UN Ambassadors and helping to dispel misconceptions that certain countries had about Shark Diving.  Stuart Cove's Dive Bahamas is a perfect example of Shark Diving as a benefit to the local economy , with the whole of the Bahamas Shark Diving industry bringing around $80 million each year. 

I was actually against Shark Feed dives before working in the Bahamas, however having now worked and been trained as a Shark Feeder myself I now understand the enormous benefits of the educational role we play in informing people about sharks and giving them an 'up close, yet safe experience'.  Divers leave our shark dive with more knowledge about sharks and have a better understanding for the importance of protecting them.  

Thanks to the work of conservation groups and Stuart Cove's Dive Bahamas, Shark Fishing was banned in 2011 which was a great result and due to this the reefs continue to get healthy and many more fish are being seen thanks to our healthy population of Reef Sharks.  Shark dives also give us an opportunity to 'look after' our sharks and remove fishing hooks, disentangle fishing line and recently saved the life of a shark that had a thick rope wrapped around its gills and neck.  

In an ideal world Sharks would just be protected due to their importance in keeping reefs and our ocean alive and healthy,  however sadly money talks, so if pushing the value of Shark Diving as a Tourism money maker helps get sharks protected then I am all for it.