Dr. Yannis Papastamatiou of Nat Geo’s ‘Shark Beach with Anthony Mackie’ on His Adventures with the Ocean’s Apex Predators
“Your chance of actually getting bitten by a white shark is pretty low. We know that now because, in California, we have drone footage of them swimming along the shoreline with humans in the water — people paddleboarding, surfing, swimming — and there are hardly any attacks or bites.”
I had the pleasure of talking with Dr. Yannis Papastamatiou. Dr. Papastamatiou, a researcher renowned for his expertise in shark ecology, was born and raised in London, England. His early fascination with marine life began during his childhood summers spent snorkeling in the warm waters of Greece. This passion for the ocean guided his academic and professional journey, starting with an undergraduate degree from the University of Southampton. Eager to delve deeper into marine research, Dr. Papastamatiou relocated to the United States, where he earned a Master’s degree from California State University Long Beach, followed by a Ph.D. from the University of Hawaii.
Currently, Dr. Papastamatiou serves as an Assistant Professor at Florida International University. His research focuses on the physiological and behavioral ecology of sharks and other marine predators. His work has led him to various parts of the globe, including Japan, Mexico, the Bahamas, the Pacific Islands, Alaska, and Belize. This extensive fieldwork has resulted in nearly 60 publications in scientific literature, contributing significantly to the understanding of marine predator behavior and ecology.
Dr. Papastamatiou’s interest in marine life extends beyond sharks to the exploration and study of deep coral reefs, those located more than 50 meters below the surface. In 2017, he joined the research team at Pelagios Kakunjá, collaborating on several projects in Cabo Pulmo, the Revillagigedo Archipelago, and Guadalupe Island.
In interviews, Dr. Papastamatiou often reflects on his formative years in Greece, attributing his love for the ocean and sharks to his experiences there. He has shared numerous stories from his global diving expeditions, recounting encounters with various shark species, including white sharks, tiger sharks, oceanic whitetips, and reef sharks. His adventures have seen him dive without a protective cage among these apex predators, providing unique insights into their behavior.
Despite common misconceptions, Dr. Papastamatiou emphasizes that the likelihood of shark attacks on humans is low. He often cites examples from his research in California, where drone footage shows white sharks swimming near humans without incident. He compares the risk of shark bites to interactions with terrestrial predators like grizzly bears or lions, suggesting that sharks are generally not interested in humans as prey. However, he also acknowledges the need for caution and respect when working with these powerful animals.
Dr. Papastamatiou has experienced his share of close calls, including being bitten twice while tagging sharks. These incidents, although not life-threatening, underscored the unpredictable nature of his research subjects. His dedication to understanding sharks’ behavior and ecology has led to significant contributions in the field, despite the inherent risks.
One of Dr. Papastamatiou’s notable projects includes his involvement in the documentary “Shark Beach,” featuring actor Anthony Mackie. The film explores the issue of depredation in Florida waters, where sharks often take fish hooked by anglers, causing economic and ecological tensions. The documentary highlights the conflicts between the fishing and diving communities and aims to foster a better understanding of shark behavior and conservation needs.
Dr. Papastamatiou is also aware of the occasional reports of genetic anomalies in sharks, such as double-headed specimens. While acknowledging their rarity, he notes the lack of evidence indicating an increase in such occurrences, emphasizing the need for further research to draw any significant conclusions.
For those aspiring to a career in marine biology, Dr. Papastamatiou offers practical advice. He stresses the importance of genuine passion for marine life, strong foundational knowledge in mathematics and physics, proficiency with computers, hands-on research experience, and a broad interest in ecological questions rather than a narrow focus on specific species.
As a leading figure in marine predator research, Dr. Papastamatiou aims to inspire a movement towards greater understanding and coexistence with these vital animals. He advocates for the importance of maintaining healthy predator populations, viewing their presence as indicative of robust ecosystems.
Dr. Papastamatiou’s work can be followed through various platforms, including Twitter (@DrYannis), Instagram (YannisPapastamatiou), and his lab’s website at Florida International University (www.peclabfiu.com). His contributions continue to shape the field of marine biology, advancing both scientific knowledge and public awareness of the intricate dynamics of ocean ecosystems.
National Geographic’s annual SHARKFEST will commence with a special feature, Shark Beach with Anthony Mackie: Gulf Coast. This hour-long program, airing at 9/8c, will be hosted by Anthony Mackie, known for his role in Marvel’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Mackie, who also serves as the executive producer, explores the waters of New Orleans, his hometown, alongside scientists and local fishermen. The special aims to address issues such as the impact of shark depredation on fishermen, the safety of local communities, and shark conservation in the Gulf Coast region.
Immediately following, at 10/9c, SHARKFEST will feature Shark vs. Ross Edgley. This program documents ultra-athlete and shark advocate Ross Edgley as he takes on various physical challenges inspired by the behaviors of different shark species. Edgley, known for his world record in the longest assisted stage sea swim, will attempt to replicate the maneuvers of sharks such as the hammerhead, mako, tiger shark, and great white.
SHARKFEST 2024 will be broadcast across multiple platforms including Nat Geo, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo Mundo, ESPN2, Disney+, and Hulu, beginning July 1. The event includes a variety of new programs such as Baby Sharks in the City, which investigates a newly discovered great white shark nursery near New York City, and Shark Attack 360, which analyzes the reasons behind shark attacks using forensic technology. Other programs include Supersized Sharks, focusing on large tiger sharks off Norfolk Island, and Attack of the Red Sea Sharks, which looks into a rise in shark attacks in Egypt.
Throughout SHARKFEST, National Geographic highlights the importance of marine conservation. The programming aims to provide viewers with insights into shark behavior and the ecological roles these predators play. In Baby Sharks in the City, for example, researchers use camera tags to study the behavior of baby great white sharks in the Atlantic, while Supersized Sharks features efforts to tag pregnant tiger sharks to learn about their pupping grounds.
Shark Beach with Anthony Mackie: Gulf Coast delves into the phenomenon of depredation, where sharks intercept fish caught by fishermen. This issue has led to increased interactions between humans and sharks, prompting concerns among local fishing communities and scientists. The program examines the environmental factors contributing to these encounters and their broader implications for the Gulf of Mexico.
Yitzi: It’s an honor to meet you. Before we dive in deep, no pun intended, our readers would love to learn about your personal origin story. Can you tell us a little bit about your childhood, how you grew up, and how you eventually became an expert in sharks?
Yannis: Yeah, sure. So I am actually London born and raised. I had an English mother and a Greek father. I also lived for seven years in Athens, Greece. My teenage years were spent in Greece, and that’s really where my love of the ocean came from, swimming in the Mediterranean Sea. That’s also where my love of sharks began. I decided early on that I wanted to pursue this as a career. I did my undergraduate studies in the UK, and at the time, most shark research was happening in the States. So I came over to the US for grad school, completing my master’s, PhD, and postdocs here. Eventually, I built my career in the US.
Yitzi: It’s fascinating. You probably have some amazing stories from swimming with sharks.
Yannis: I have a few, yeah. I’ve had a few adventures over the years. I’ve been fortunate enough to dive all over the world and work with sharks in places like South Africa, the Bahamas, Belize, California, the Pacific Ocean, Japan, and even up to Alaska. I’ve worked with a wide range of species, including white sharks, tiger sharks, oceanic whitetips, and reef sharks. I’ve been in the water without a cage with white sharks, and I’ve been among a group of about 300 to 400 feeding reef sharks at night. I’ve also been offshore in the open blue ocean with six to seven oceanic whitetip sharks. So, I’ve been lucky to see some amazing sights and have some incredible adventures with my shark research.
Yitzi: Maybe you could clarify some misunderstandings. So my understanding is that if you swim with a great white shark, you’re likely to be eaten. How does it work to swim with sharks with no cage?
Yannis: Even with a white shark, which is considered one of the more dangerous species, your chance of actually getting bitten is pretty low. We know that now because, in California, for example, where we see a lot more white sharks, we have drone footage of them swimming along the shoreline with humans in the water — people paddleboarding, surfing, swimming — and there are hardly any attacks or bites. You can see videos of these sharks swimming past humans. Sometimes they turn to take a look, but for the most part, they just turn away and leave them alone.
So, although you might think that being around a white shark means you’re highly likely to get bitten, that’s not the case. A good way to view this is to compare your chances of not getting bitten by a white shark to hanging around a grizzly bear, a tiger, or a pride of lions. With those predators, you’re a lot more likely to get bitten than you are with sharks. I can say with confidence that we are not on the menu for sharks because if we were, we’d see a lot more bites happening every day.
Yitzi: Wow. So when you swam with sharks, were they sharks that generally aren’t aggressive, or did you have some kind of shark repellent or something like that?
Yannis: No, I didn’t use any shark repellents. The reasons for being in the water with sharks vary. Sometimes I’m not necessarily in the water to see the sharks. For example, if I have equipment I need to retrieve from the seafloor, I might encounter sharks while getting it. Other times, we might be trying to tag the sharks, and sometimes we do that in the water. With the white sharks, for example, we were in the water to tag them. So there are various reasons.
For the vast majority of those instances, the sharks were not in an aggressive state. That doesn’t mean they can’t become aggressive, so you always have to be very cautious. Although the chance of getting bitten is very low, if you do get bitten by a white shark, it can be serious. You have to be extremely careful and remember that these are wild predators. While I don’t think they’re likely to eat us, they are still wild animals and need to be treated with respect.
Yitzi: Did you ever have an incident where you were fearful for your life?
Yannis: I’ve had instances where I’ve been nervous. What makes me more nervous is knowing there are sharks around but not being able to see them. For example, we were working off an island in Mexico, studying great whites. We went to retrieve some equipment from the seafloor, swimming along the bottom because it’s safer. The water was very murky that day, almost milky. We could see white sharks from the boat before we went in the water, but we never saw them once we were down there. That made me nervous.
I’ve been bitten by a shark twice, both times while trying to tag them. I was in the boat during both incidents, not just minding my own business in the water. Obviously, those weren’t pleasant experiences. I know what it’s like to get bitten. Both times, it was on my hand, so it wasn’t life-threatening. I remember the initial bites not hurting much, but they definitely hurt afterward. In one case, the shark held on when it bit, and while the initial bite didn’t hurt, it started to hurt soon after.
Both times, I was in remote locations with no hospitals nearby. I had to wait 24 to 48 hours before I could be evacuated to a hospital. It wasn’t life-threatening, but in one instance, the damage severed the tendons in my fingers. It wasn’t a fun experience, but it turned out fine in the end.
Yitzi: So can you tell us a bit about Shark Beach? Why should we watch it?
Yannis: Sure. Shark Beach is a documentary featuring Anthony Mackie investigating a significant issue in Florida called depredation. Depredation happens when you’re fishing, and a shark takes or bites the fish you hooked before you can reel it in. This is causing a lot of problems. If you bring in a half-chewed fish, no one will eat it. This isn’t just about losing a fish; professional fishing organizations are facing economic losses due to this.
Depredation has created animosity between the fishing community and sharks. Meanwhile, diving communities want to dive with the sharks, which creates tension between them and the fishing communities. Some fishers have even started killing sharks because they believe there are too many, impacting their catch.
In Shark Beach, Anthony Mackie explores this issue in two locations: primarily in Louisiana, where he’s from, and in South Florida, where he visits me to see the issues firsthand. We take him on one of our research trips to study bull sharks, one of the main culprits of depredation. Our goal is to understand where bull sharks go and identify areas of overlap with fishers to reduce conflicts.
In the documentary, Anthony joins us in tagging a bull shark, helping to highlight an issue many people aren’t aware of. Often, negative images of sharks are related to attacks on humans. In this case, it’s about sharks biting fish that humans are trying to catch, which is causing significant problems in our waters. Shark Beach brings attention to this lesser-known but important issue.
Yitzi: I recently read an article about the increase of double-headed sharks. Are you familiar with that and why it’s occurring?
Yannis: Yes, I’ve heard about sharks with genetic anomalies, like having two heads. There have been a few instances of these being found. However, I haven’t seen any evidence suggesting that the occurrence is increasing. It’s not something I’ve specifically researched, so I might not be fully aware.
It would be challenging to study because these events are extremely rare, and you would have a very small sample size to determine if there’s an increase. But it is true that some sharks, almost always juvenile or still in the uterus, have been found with two heads.
Yitzi: This is our signature question. Can you share with our readers five things you need to be a successful marine biologist?
Yannis:
- First of all, you’ve got to get into it for the right reasons. That means being fascinated with these animals. You don’t want to get into it for the money or the glory. It has to be a genuine love for animals or marine life, whatever it is you study, and a drive to learn more. That’s one.
- Number two, this really starts at the school level, obviously. Grades and classes are important if you want to get into academia. But you’ve got to make sure you also focus on classes you may not think are that useful, like mathematics and physics. I probably neglected those when I was in school, and that was a mistake because they’re the foundation of all science. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a biologist, a chemist, or a physicist, you need to know those basics. So don’t ignore them.
- For my third one, make sure you’re as good with computers as you can be. Learning to use computers is basically like learning another language, and get good at it because there’s no branch of science where you won’t need computer skills, especially in this day and age.
- Number four, get as much experience as you can with actual research. This is more for when you’re getting into the undergraduate level. Find labs, and volunteer for research. It doesn’t have to be shark research if that’s what you’re interested in. Just get experience with research. There’s a big difference between taking classes and actually doing your own research. It’s important to learn what those differences are because you may not like research, which is fine. It’s not for everybody.
- For my fifth one, try to identify areas of research that interest you. Don’t get too focused on a specific animal. Don’t think like, “I just want to study great whites,” because that’s not going to be a successful approach. You should be interested in broader questions. I consider myself a predator ecologist. I mostly study sharks, but I don’t only study sharks. I study other predators as well. So identify broad scientific areas that interest you and then try to get your research experience or graduate school experience in those areas rather than just focusing on a specific animal.
Yitzi: Amazing answer. This is our final aspirational question. So, Yannis, because of the great work that you’re doing and the platform that you’ve built, you’re a person of enormous influence. Do you think you’re going to be able to inspire a movement that would bring the most good to the most people?
Yannis: Well, I mean, I’ll keep it to where my expertise is, which is obviously the marine environment and predators. Some people love predators, some people hate them. Our views of conservation have changed a lot over the last few decades. More people now understand the importance of conservation, but there’s a negative side to that as well. There is conflict between big predators and humans, whether it’s a shark biting a human or a bear or a mountain lion killing a human. These negative conflicts are a darker side of conservation.
What I would like is for people to understand how important predators are, and that we just have to learn to coexist with each other. What we don’t want is a situation where we don’t have these predator populations. That would be really bad. I tell people, you may not like sharks, but an ocean without sharks is an unhealthy one. A healthy ocean should have sharks, regardless of your views on them. It’s a great sign that we’re seeing more and more sharks, at least in US waters and other places as well. That’s a positive sign, a sign of a healthy ecosystem. We just have to learn to coexist with these predators as their populations hopefully keep increasing.
Yitzi: How can our readers watch the series? How can they continue to follow your work?
Yannis: The Shark Beach series is available on Hulu and Disney Plus. It’s also aired on the National Geographic channel, though I don’t know the exact schedule. You can follow my work on Twitter; my handle is @DrYanis. I’m also on Instagram, and my username is YannisPapastamatiou, all one word. To learn more about my work, you can visit my lab’s website at Florida International University. The website is www.peclabfiu.com.
Yitzi: Yannis, thank you so much for your gracious ideas in this conversation, and I wish you continued success.
Yannis: My pleasure. Thanks for talking to me.
Dr. Yannis Papastamatiou of Nat Geo’s ‘Shark Beach with Anthony Mackie’ on His Adventures with the… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.