Hi, Everyone! I'm Alice, little sister to Bella and a
casual observer aboard Galeos. My original summer plans had included soaking up
the sun poolside but then I suddenly found myself halfway around the world on a
research boat. I'm not the researcher in my family. In fact, I'm not even a fan
of open water. It's my older sister, Bella Cullen, who is the marine biologist
in love with the oceans. Bella came to MMR to learn about sharks and she is
getting a first-rate education from her mentor Masen, with tips, tidbits, and a
ton of support from the rest of the team too. It was a little jarring to arrive
here and see how much they'd already bonded with my sister, to witness the
lengths they would go to in order to educate and protect her. It was even
harder to process that they apply this same dedication and passion to their
work, which right now happens to be sharks. Toothy, massive, scary as all hell
sharks—at least to me. The team takes more of a "Girls just want to have
fun" view on these fish. Fish is actually the correct term! I looked it up—and
made Gopher promise it was right.
So these fish are endangered for a lot of reasons, but
they all basically lead back to one source and that's us humans. People like me
who are afraid of sharks and don't see a problem with there being less of these
fish in the water. People who think shark fin soup makes them cool and
debonair. People who have to fish for a living but don't use the right nets,
either out of expense or just not caring—we're going to assume the latter here.
We need everyone to care about sharks. We need it because these fish are at the
top of a very sophisticated food chain and every time we take one down, we
shift the balance in a bad way. If we don't start preserving these guys, we're
gonna topple it right on over and have no one but ourselves to blame. And blame
doesn't fix anything so what then?
Everyone here at MMR—Masen, Bella, Whit, Lee, Gopher—they
all want to help fix things. They study sharks so they can save them. This is a
really simple way to say it, and maybe in time I'll figure out how to truly
explain the beauty of their collected genius, but for right now it's the best I
can do. See I've only glimpsed a small part of what they do for sharks, for all
of us really. But what little I've seen is enough to inspire me. Back home,
back where I avoid open water like a plague, I volunteer on a lot of committees
focused on helping people in my community to survive and thrive. Helping others
is my passion in life and I believe that every hour of hard work I put in is
one less hour of hardship for someone else. I believe we all have to work
together and help each other in order for any one of us to truly know
happiness. It gives me purpose to be generous.
I have to admit, I wasn't very generous when I first
met this team. I only saw them as shark people. I saw them as adventure seekers
wasting their intelligence and talents on people-eating monsters. I brought
with me a bias that I have carried ever since I lost my father to a bull shark
attack. It's funny when I look back on it now, but the person I butted heads
with most is the one who has the best understanding of what it will take to get
people to care about sharks—Masen knows the key to conservation is changing
perception. Show me a struggling family and I can't donate fast enough. Show me
a puppy and I will foster it until it finds a home. Show me a lion, a whole
pack even, and I will sign every petition to save their species and give them a
future. But a shark? What has a shark ever done for me but break up my family?
I love scallops—I know this seems off topic, but bear with
me. I love scallops hot off the girl, bathed in butter over pasta, and stuffed
inside a potato with other yummy ingredients. But I might not get to have
scallops in a few years because we humans are killing too many sharks. Scallops
are near the bottom of the food chain. Sitting in the middle are rays. Rays
love scallops too. In fact, they love them so much, they don't even wait for
them to get big and plump and extra delectable. They just raid the beds and
wipe them out. Know what eats the rays and keeps them from overwhelming the
scallops? Sharks! And when we have no sharks to eat the rays, and the rays eats
the scallops unchecked, then we have no hauls for the fisherman, no income for
the households, and no food on the tables of our neighbors. I know all of this
because of MMR.
In addition to their own work, they are working with
other researchers, and reading countless studies. They are collecting the
knowledge and doing their best to put it into simple terms, terms that people
like me will understand. Their passion and dedication are visible in everything
they do and it’s truly inspiring. You see, MMR isn't just a single research
team. What they really are, are volunteers on the biggest, most important
committee we have—the committee to save our planet. The more MMR learns about
sharks and how to save them, the more they'll contribute to saving the entire
human race. That's pretty damn bad ass.
I still don't like sharks but as someone recently told
me, I don't have to like them to respect them. Out of respect for the major
role sharks play in my life and the lives of all those I care about, I'm going
to make my first ever donation to a shark conservation fund and I'm also going
to sign a petition to help ban finning. What will you do to help save us all?
No comments:
Post a Comment