Ep. 14 - 'Shark Girl' Madison Stewart on the global challenge to protect sharks
What were you doing at 14 years old? Unlike many girls her age Madison Stewart was diving with sharks on the Great Barrier Reef and sharpening her skills in filmmaking to commence what would become her life's work: protecting these vulnerable and misunderstood marine creatures.
When Spielberg took Jaws to the big screen all those decades ago a death sentence was cast upon an untold number of sharks. Fear, misinformation, mismanagement, by-catch, shark fin soup, shark mitigation and the shark meat trade have left the global shark population teetering on the edge whilst science concludes with conviction that these apex predators are essential to a healthy ocean. So, what on earth does one do about this perilous and tragic situation?
In this episode Tim speaks with Madison whilst she's in covid-19 lockdown at her home near Byron Bay, Australia. Tim explores the depths of what makes the 2017 Australian Geographic Young Conservationist of the Year tick. What makes this remarkable young woman befriend a notorious Floridian shark hunter, take on giant supermarket chains for selling toxic shark meat or establish a sustainable tourism project in one of the world's largest shark fishing communities? Tune in for all the stories and answers.
For more information and to support Madison's work please visit: www.projecthiu.com and @sharkgirlmadison\
Click below to listen to this episode on:
