For Shark Week, ‘Shark Tank’ dives into conservation efforts
“It’s time for a Shark to meet sharks,” Daymond John, an entrepreneur from ABC’s “Shark Tank,” declares before jumping in the water with the real thing.
So Wednesday, he and the other fast-talking investor tycoons will trade their business attire for wetsuits in a Shark Week special on Discovery (9 EDT/PDT).
John, founder of the Fubu clothing line; venture capitalist Kevin O’Leary; New York real-estate maven Barbara Corcoran; and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban were dispatched around the world to spend time with nonprofits devoted to shark conservation. Then each tried to convince the others why their team deserves a $50,000 donation.
John went to see what the Bahamas National Trust is trying to accomplish with its shark sanctuary and a proposed code of conduct to create a sustainable shark-tourism economy.
“It’s the Wild West out there,” he told his fellow Sharks. “There are a lot of dive operators out there, and we need to create a code for them.”
In an interview, he ticked off a list of questions the group wants to answer: “Is it OK for the divers to touch the sharks? The sharks may get too accustomed to humans. How many people are in the water per shark? How many security divers do you need? Do you chum the water? How long do you stay down? How close to the shore do you go?”
O’Leary, also known as Mr. Wonderful, traveled the Georgia Aquarium to swim with whale sharks, a species whose population has shrunk by 50 percent in the past 75 years.
But before he could get in the tank, a wardrobe dilemma had to be solved: He wanted to dive sporting his signature black suit, an idea the aquarium rejected.
“I said, ‘I don’t mind sacrificing a suit, but I’m swimming with those whale sharks in my suit; otherwise, people won’t recognize me,’ ” O’Leary recalled saying, only to be informed he couldn’t go into the water wearing something that hadn’t been approved or sterilized. “So I told them, ‘That’s your problem. I’m wearing a suit in there, so you go figure it out.’ ”
The solution: a custom wetsuit, approximating a white shirt, black tie, lapels and even a pocket square. “I think it’s hilarious,” O’Leary declared.
Putting aside O’Leary’s fun, Corcoran asked why whale-shark research is worthy of outside funding.
“We’re trying to figure out, ‘Are these fish being damaged by their environment?’ ” O’Leary tells her in the special. “Is there something we should learn about how their health is changing?”
John and O’Leary say the Shark Week episode made them more excited to fund environmentally friendly product pitches from contestants.