• Hadrien: Hi James! I am a student aged 14 yrs. I love diving. I am still yet at my early steps as I dove in Greece, Port- Cros in South of France and in Brittany where I have some family roots. I love to swim under water, and observe the marine life, its fishes, and algae, seaweeds more than shipwrecks, I would say…

I also love photography. I don’t know what I want to do in the future, but I am very happy to have this opportunity to talk with you about marine conservation issues and photography.

• James, could you please tell us about your first experiences with ocean?

Do you have any anecdote to share with us?

Hi Hadrien, great to meet you and thank you for having me to answer your questions. I think my earliest memories of the ocean are going rock pooling on the south coast of England with my family. It was amazing seeing these tiny pocket ecosystems of marine life trapped on the shore, and wondering what could lie beyond in the open ocean. Years later I was ultimately driven to take up scuba diving, and clearly remember the first time I ever saw a shark – much to my surprise it swam away very quickly, much more scared of me than me of it! I feel a bit like I have been chasing them ever since!

• Could you say it was the natural path to study in marine biology?

I had long felt a strong pull to the ocean, but it wasn’t always clear that I wanted to do marine biology. I enjoyed science at school which led to me studying biology at university, but it was the growing fascination with sharks that made me want to work with them in some way, and marine biology was the path to that.

• I read that you are fascinated with sharks. How could you define them?

Do you think there is a myth regarding sharks (Jaws movies might have cause prejudices to sharks?).

Sharks are these ancient, enigmatic creatures that command your attention. Nothing quite compares to experiencing them in their natural habitat – their grace and beauty are so absorbing you can’t help but be fully present. I think sharks have long been engrained in our culture, long before Jaws had an impact. In fact, I think Jaws (apart from being a great film!) was so influential because of the existing mythos around sharks – they have been feared and revered by different cultures for thousands of years.

• What do you think about climate changes and its impacts on marine life? Could you mention some of them?

Climate change is a very complex issue, but we are starting to see some very concerning impacts on marine life. Acidification of the oceans is severely impacting the growth of things like coral reefs and any animal with a shell. Warming oceans don’t mix as well, which is leaving large pockets of water without enough oxygen to support animals like sharks. Many marine species, including most sharks, also can’t regulate their body temperature, so changing temperatures affect the metabolic rate and can have major impacts on their physiology and development. It can also cause shifts in distribution, and affect the length and duration of migrations.

• Regarding plastic wastes, do you notice an improvement within the last ten years? Do you think people start to act in a better way? Is it challenging to drive changes?

In many areas yes, especially where people are fortunate enough to be in a position to have access to alternatives to single use plastic and effective recycling facilities. In general people are very conscious and responsible. But there is still a long way to go, with a lot of historical issues to deal with, and a lot of areas where it’s very difficult to manage the use of plastic as the facilities and alternatives to do so just aren’t available.