Pair swim with 20-foot shark
HALEIWA, Hawaii — Two shark researchers who came face to face with what could be one of the largest great whites ever recorded are using their encounter as an opportunity to push for legislation that would protect sharks in Hawaii.
Ocean Ramsey, a shark researcher and conservationist, said she encountered the 20-foot shark Tuesday near a dead sperm whale off Oahu.
The event was documented and shared on social media by her fiance and business partner Juan Oliphant.
Oliphant, who photographed the now-viral images, said it’s unclear if the shark is “Deep Blue,” believed to be the largest great white ever recorded.
“She looks the part right now,” Oliphant said about the shark spotted Tuesday.
Ramsey, who operates Oahu-based One Ocean Diving and Research with Oliphant, said she has been pushing for several years for a bill that would ban the killing of sharks and rays in Hawaii, and hopes this year the measure will become law.
She said the images of her swimming next to a huge great white shark prove the predators should be protected, not feared.
Ramsey and her team observe behavior, identify and tag sharks and share that data with researchers as well as state and federal officials.
Unlike many marine mammals, sharks are not a federally protected species, though there are laws against the sale of their fins.
Ramsey said it’s impressive that the great white has survived a “gantlet of human death traps.”
“I don’t know how old she is,” Ramsey said. “But for her to survive through so many longline fisheries and, you know, gill nets and team nets and fishermen who might just kill her because they think that she is a monster it’s very special.”