Scuba Pioneer "Shark Whisperer" shares his scuba diving experience

Dubbed "The Shark Whisperer" for its many encounters with sharks while scuba diving and his pioneer filming of these fascinating species, Stan Waterman last Wednesday shared his daredevil experiences with a group of 64 visitors attending the lecture at the Environmental Learning Centre in the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research headquarters in Florida.

Mr Waterman gave his speech as part of Rookery Bay's seasonal programme 'Summer of Sharks' which is currently taking place in the National Estuarine Research with a range of exhibitions and lectures planned from 13th May and due to end on 2nd September 2011.

Considered a living legend by many, due to his many close encounters with sharks in life-threatening situations, this charming and mysterious 88-year old with his piratical black eye patch has never considered the phrase "swimming with the sharks" just a metaphor. For him, the adventure and the thrill were part of his drive and the "living" part of being a living legend was a big part of the legend, as staying alive in such a risky environment with a task that no one had dared to do before, was a challenge in itself.

Having spent most of his life filming, documenting and learning about sharks while scuba diving among them, Waterman opened a scuba dive centre in the Bahamas back in 1954 and there he worked as an underwater cameraman and co-producer for “Blue Water, White Death,” the 1971 film that was the first glimpse for many people into the world of sharks. He also worked with his friend Peter Benchley on “The Deep,” along with 10 years of productions for ABC-TV and the “Expedition Earth” series on ESPN. Throughout his diving and filming career Waterman has won five Emmy awards for his work, and was the subject of a Discovery Channel biographical special, “The Man Who Loves Sharks.”

But, as a matter of fact, Waterman actually told his audience during the lecture that he doesn’t love sharks, but he certainly respects them, and is grateful to them. “Sharks put my kids through college,” he said.

During his lecture he played an eight-minute clip from “Blue Water, White Death,” shot the first day that divers ever ventured outside of their shark cages and mingled with the sharks unprotected except for safety divers prodding those that got too close with “shark billies.”

“They bumped us, brushed us – each of us was targeted,” Waterman recalled, reliving the experience as he re-told it. “But they weren’t attacking, they were feeling us out. If they approach at an easy pace with their mouth closed, they’re curious. If they come in fast with their mouth open, shove your camera into their mouth and get out of there.”

That day on the “Blue Water, White Death” shoot, the sharks got back to business, eating the whale. “In the middle of the blood and blubber debris, the sharks paid us no attention,” and Waterman and his crew came back with underwater footage like nothing seen before.

Much of Waterman’s talk was in question and answer format, as his anecdotes or his film clips would prompt questions and comments and he was ready to answer them all and give attendees an insight into the world of human interaction with sharks.

But nowadays one needn't look at swimming with sharks as such a life-threatening experience as now an experienced team of divers is able to take scuba diving experts and novices alike to underwater excursions in which they will feed the sea's fiercest predators while divers take photos among these fascinating sea creatures. Scuba diving with sharks can now be easily done in many tropical scuba destinations around the world and many take scuba diving holidays abroad for the sole purpose of doing just that: swimming with the sharks.