Lesley Rochat - Shark Warrior

Thoughts from the air

27 January 2011, 07:29

Recently I had an opportunity to join former famous solo rock climber, my ‘x’ partner of many years, and now good friend and helicopter pilot, Chris Lomax, on a flight around the Cape Peninsula. It was a stunning day. While hanging out of the helicopter as far as safety would allow, I marvelled at the magnificence below me and was reminded of how blessed I am to live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Cape Town, South Africa, a country considered a shark diving Mecca of the world. We followed the undulating curves of the coastline; the blue ocean caressed the white beaches, which in turn were carved over eons into bays, winding long beaches, or sheltered little coves that looked up to the tall mountains that stood proud.

Whether on my travels to many different destinations photographing some of the last underwater Eden’s left in the world, or back at home in the water with our beautiful sharks, it is in these wonderlands of rich biodiversity that I am reminded that we cannot look at the plight of sharks in isolation because everything in nature is connected. In the delicate web of life each animal depends on another for its survival. By removing one we adversely affect the entire ecosystem. During my hours spent underwater I have witnessed the interconnectedness and interdependence of marine species, like during the sardine run, one of Natures miracles in action. Unlike the animals of the oceans that are so in tune with their environment, our greatest mistake has been to disconnect ourselves from Nature and assume we are superior to all other life. But the time is now for us to remember that we are a part of Nature and in so doing recognise that when we harm other life we harm ourselves.

On our current path we are heading for environmental catastrophes and imminent self-destruction. But we can change our course, there is still time, not a lot, the next 10 years are critical in order to save many ecosystems, and species we are currently driving to extinction, and ultimately save ourselves. It’s not someone else’s problem to solve, all 6.8 billion of us are part of the problem and so we can, each and every one of us be part of the solution. We can begin today to rethink our place in nature, rethink what we buy, eat, and do, how our actions and choices affect the environment, rethink the predator, rethink the ocean and of course rethink the shark! (watch our Rethink the shark TV ad here)

The New Year is but young and a good time to make a commitment to give back to the environment we depend upon. I commend those that choose to help heal Earth, by living consciously, recycling for example, or volunteering some of their time or skills, or donating money, or by making some other creative contribution. But what about those, the majority, that fob it off, believe it’s up to someone else to find the remedies for our ill and aching planet while they, without a thought, continue to help Earth’s fever rise through their consumerism-de-riched lives while building their little ‘me, myself, and I’ empires. I challenge those.

What type of person are you, the giver or the taker?

"Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little." -- Edmund Burke

Watch my space!

Visit the AfriOceans website

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Shark Heroines in Ocean Geographic

20 January 2011, 16:35

While I am proud to be featured as a shark heroine in the latest Ocean Geographic Magazine for which I have written and will be doing much more of in the future, there are two questions I have to ask: 1. What is the definition of a hero/heroine, and 2. Does a shark heroine fit into this definition? According to Wikipedia, a hero refers to characters who, in the face of danger and adversity, or from a position of weakness, display courage and the will for self sacrifice — that is, heroism—for some greater good of all humanity. There is no doubt that being a shark conservationist of any worth will require that we fulfill this description entirely: adversity abounds in our fight to save our sharks, we are mostly fighting from a position of weakness against the powers that be, and I can personally vouch for the fact that I have sacrificed much including the millions I would have made in the corporate world I once belonged to, to personal relationships and personal sacrifices too many to mention, all while in pursuit of the cause. All of this takes courage. And finally yes, what we do is for the greater good of all humanity – a world without sharks will adversely affect us all.

Paging through the beautiful Ocean Geographic magazine, which focuses on sharks this edition, I see many more people who fit this description, ocean and shark heroes: Michael Aw, the magazine being his brainchild, Amanda Cotton the other shark heroine in the article, Dough Perrine, Alex Hofford, Stan Waterman, Joe Moreira, David Doubilet, and many other great people I salute for their achievements and efforts and in helping bring the fight to public attention through their incredible work. It is an honor to be included alongside them.

We need heroes, through them we are reminded of the giant within ourselves and what is possible if we believe in ourselves enough, and in our own power. They have changed the course of history many times over. Now the many environmental heroes strive to do the same, fighting the most pressing need of humanity, to save and restore Earth’s climate, and ecological systems in order to save ourselves.

Says Michael AW: “In this Shark edition, we celebrate the work of two female warriors who are associated with Ocean Geographic Society; they are known to ﬁght relentlessly to save sharks but not with swords, guns nor ram aimlessly into ﬁshing vessels. Their weapons are cameras and their ammunition are pictures and words to lobby for protection, preservation and education for our children. Sharks are the most feared animals of the ocean and yet grossly misunderstood and misinterpreted by the media. We need strong and passionate advocates to inspire the protection of these Apex Predators and Health Keepers of our ocean.”

Thank you Michael for helping our voice to be heard ever louder through your beautiful magazine!

For more info and to read the article go to www.lesleyrochat.com .

To find out more about Ocean Geographic go to www.ogsociety.org

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Reflections on the decade

5 January 2011, 11:58

As the new year lies before us and with it a new decade, reflecting on the past is a process that heals and helps us learn and grow. The future remains uncertain and this, along with imminent change, remains two of the only certainties. I received this well written piece from a good friend and fellow conservationist and underwater photographer, Mike Fraser. Mike was one of the co-founders of Shark Life and spends most of his spare time in the waters of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Mozambique and more. He is a water baby extraordinaire, and with his lovely life, Val, also a talented photographer, they spend hours documenting the beauty of underwater wonderlands they explore.

Above: Mike Fraser photographing blacktip sharks at Aliwal Shoal

Upon reflecting on the past decade, Mike wrote this:

"In the calm pre-dawn of this, my 20089th day on Planet Earth, I was thinking about the major events of the past ten years. My mind drifted to the first line of Yeats’ poem Vacillations - “Between extremities Man runs his course.” I’m sure one could relate these words to any decade in history, but they seem relevant to what we’ve been through since we celebrated the New Millennium with fanfare, fireworks and flowing champagne. In our collective, connected way we looked forward to a decade of sustained prosperity driven by technology. We raised a glass to world peace and thanked God that the gremlins the tech gurus foretold had not plunged us into darkness. Typically, the cosy, secure future we foresaw was not about to happen.

Instead a range of media allowed us to experience real-time extremes we’d never dreamed of. We watched in horror as icons of power and prosperity were brought down by cunning fanatics. We witnessed brutal acts of retribution and human folly, purportedly done with God’s blessings. Was it the decade of the smart phone or of the smart bomb?

We witnessed greed and fear on a grandiose scale. The past 96000 hours made more billionaires than any similar period in history. At the same time many saw their life savings evaporate as property prices and stock markets tanked. Was it perhaps the decade of deceit, default and deficit? Yet, as centuries-old financial institutions crashed, countries you’d never heard of flourished.

While we speculated about saving our planet, Mother Nature reminded us of her raw destructive power. So we also got to experience compassion in the aftermath of terrible disasters. We wept as miners were rescued or tsunami survivors were plucked from the waters.

I suppose man has always searched in vain for the safe and comfortable middle ground. But as Yeats alluded, that’s not how life turns out. As always, we have to keep running, striving, innovating to go on living. We have to accept that the pace of change is increasing and that in life little is certain. We have to be humble and treat adversity as an opportunity to learn and grow. Then we can savour the precious moments we have to do what we love most or share with those we love.
I’ll drink a toast to life and wish that your Christmas and the New Year be full of those precious moments.