Monday, January 28, 2013

The Sharks of the Forgotten Islands!


Great project!
It's by none other than Shark Warrior Mark Thorpe of iDiveSharks and Global Shark Initiative fame. I honestly thought that after the ignominious attack by the sharkanatics, Shark conservation had lost him forever - but he's back with a vengeance, a testimony to his genuine passion for Sharks but also, to his his Djibouti-drilled fighting spirit!

Check out the project outline here.
This is true, epic adventure and exploration on a rather monumental scale, this by one of the world's most accomplished underwater cameramen endowed with a profound knowledge of the region and its people.
Having done a very similar trip ten years ago, I can attest to the fact that this is very much a region in transition, with wide ranging consequences for its culture but also, and alas, for its terrestrial and marine ecosystems where biodiversity is very much under attack - so now is the moment to document what may well soon become nothing but a memory of better times!
And this, believe it or not, via a real, old-fashioned documentary, an art form that is alas in decline, where people will not parachute in for a quick shoot but instead, actually take the time to understand and then, to wait for natural events to unfold in their own time!
Interview here!

And you can get involved!
Mark has set up a dedicated  Facebook page where you can follow the preparations and later, the project's progress. Always the optimist much like David, he is resorting to crowdfunding and offering a variety of perks for different levels of support, even sponsored Tweets
This is not a cheap endeavor and I sure wish him more luck than the first time, the more as this is really an important and timely undertaking.
Plus, the Robinson Crusoe draw is really as cool as it gets!

Yes I know, that's a lot of links!
But it's for a worthy cause - so what are you waiting for!

2 comments:

OfficetoOcean said...

Totally agree, it's a really great project from a very talented guy!

Mark Thorpe said...

Thanks guys for the write up, much appreciated and yes, it will be massively interesting to see how the region has fared since your previous trip to the region.

Will keep you updated on all fronts.

Cheers,
Mark.