{"id":784459,"date":"2026-07-07T08:59:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T08:59:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/784459\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T08:59:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T08:59:20","slug":"how-underwater-filmmaking-can-help-save-hammerhead-sharks-before-its-too-late","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/784459\/","title":{"rendered":"How Underwater Filmmaking Can Help Save Hammerhead Sharks Before It’s Too Late"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AHost, Bertie Gregory dives with several Hammerhead Sharks. (credit: National Geographic\/Jeff Hester) <\/p>\n

National Geographic kicked off its annual summer Sharkfest event in a huge way with a brand-new, jaw-dropping special, Hammerhead Sharks Up Close With Bertie Gregory. These eye-catching, iconic sharks are wildly misunderstood, unfairly feared, and face an existential threat. Gregory spoke to PetaPixel about his new special on hammerhead sharks and what people can do to protect marine life. <\/p>\n

Bertie Gregory\u2019s name should be familiar to anyone who enjoys nature and wildlife documentaries. Gregory, an award-winning cinematographer, filmmaker, and environmentalist, is perhaps best known for his Up Close series of nature documentaries, including Cheetahs Up Close<\/a> and Dolphins Up Close. Gregory also worked on the acclaimed television mini series, Seven Worlds One Planet and A Perfect Planet.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Gregory is one of the premier names in wildlife filmmaking today. He is extremely committed to his craft and bringing science to the masses in a way that\u2019s digestible, accessible, and entertaining. <\/p>\n

\u201cA picture paints a thousand words, right?\u201d Gregory tells PetaPixel. \u201cI don\u2019t know the last time you read a scientific paper \u2014 you know, I studied zoology, I know how to read science, work with lots of scientists \u2014 science is not written for entertainment. Science is written for science\u2026 it\u2019s often very dry, very boring.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"AHost, Bertie Gregory, with his camera ready, excited at the prospect of another dive. (credit: National Geographic\/Will West)<\/p>\n

However, as Gregory knows firsthand, the science is also extremely important for decision-making processes, including political action and legislation. The mission then is to make that science easy to understand so that good research can drive appropriate actions. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo my job is pairing that scientific data with visuals to bring it to life,\u201d Gregory says. \u201cGood decisions are based on data. But they\u2019re often also based on emotion, and that\u2019s where my work comes in.\u201d <\/p>\n

How Gregory brings that science to life through pictures depends largely on which animal he\u2019s filming. In the case of cheetahs in Cheetahs Up Close, he and his team used massive rigs with remotely controlled super-telephoto zoom lenses<\/a> attached to trucks, super-fast drones, and groundbreaking technology. Filming hammerhead sharks underwater is an entirely different ballgame. <\/p>\n

\"AHost, Bertie Gregory dives at Revillagigedo Islands. (credit: National Geographic\/Jeff Hester) \"AHost, Bertie Gregory dives with several Hammerhead Sharks. (credit: National Geographic\/Jeff Hester) \"AHost, Bertie Gregory underwater in Mexico. (credit: National Geographic\/Jeff Hester) \"AHost, Bertie Gregory, finds himself surrounded by Galapagos and white tip sharks as he continues to search for hammerheads. (credit: National Geographic)<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the key benefits of being underwater is that because water is viscous, it\u2019s like you\u2019re shooting with a gimbal the entire time,\u201d Gregory says. \u201cSo on land, in order to track alongside the cheetahs, we needed a half-a-million-dollar camera system and drones and things. Underwater, you can just, if you\u2019re good, swim around and it\u2019s like you\u2019ve got a gimbal in your hand. So it\u2019s a lot more immersive.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, we can\u2019t breathe underwater,\u201d Gregory laughs. \u201cIt\u2019s very annoying. So we traditionally use scuba equipment, but those bubbles are noisy. Hammerhead sharks are very shy.\u201d <\/p>\n

Gregory and the team used rebreathers for Hammerhead Sharks Up Close. These military-grade apparatus recycle the wearer\u2019s air, which is significantly quieter than scuba gear. Gregory says the quietness is \u201ckey\u201d because hammerhead sharks are very quick to hide. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s a big misconception about sharks in general, that they are aggressive, man-eating killers. It\u2019s just not true. There were 65 confirmed unprovoked shark bites<\/a> worldwide last year, nine of them, unfortunately, fatal. Given the total number of people who go into the ocean every year, shark bites are exceedingly rare. In the case of hammerhead sharks specifically, they are even rarer still. There are just over 30 documented hammerhead shark bites on record since 1580. <\/p>\n

\"AA formidable bull shark, swimming in the safety of protected waters that have allowed shark numbers to steadily increase. (credit: National Geographic) \"AA scalloped hammerhead shark swims safely in the protected waters of a national park, away from the legal fishing that has contributed to Hammerhead numbers crashing by 97% in some parts of Mexico. (credit: National Geographic) \"AWhite Tip Reef sharks asleep in a cuddle puddle. (credit: National Geographic\/Bertie Gregory)
\n \"Close-upWhite Tip reef shark face. (credit: National Geographic\/Bertie Gregory) <\/p>\n

\u201cI think a lot of people believe they\u2019re quite sort of dangerous and aggressive,\u201d Gregory says of hammerhead sharks. \u201cBut the reality is, in the case of the scalloped hammerhead sharks, the species we were focusing on, it\u2019d have been nice if they were a bit more interested in us. It\u2019d certainly make filming them easier. We spent the entire time trying to sneak up on them and working hard to get close.\u201d <\/p>\n

Sadly, scalloped hammerheads, which used to be plentiful in the waters around the Baja Peninsula where Gregory filmed a lot, are facing an existential threat. <\/p>\n

\u201cSince the 90s, because of the massive rise in shark fishing for shark fin soup, the population around the peninsula has fallen off,\u201d Gregory explains. \u201cThey\u2019ve suffered a 97% decline since the 90s.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

While this tragedy gets significant attention in the new documentary, National Geographic also has a written feature<\/a> that takes a closer look at the threats hammerhead sharks face, the greatest of which is humanity. <\/p>\n

Humans also have the potential to undo some of this damage and get sharks back on the right path. While it is not particularly difficult to justify the value of any living animal in and of itself, as Gregory says, sharks are exceptionally important to the ocean ecosystem, which is in turn vital to humanity\u2019s survival and ability to thrive. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou should want to look after sharks not just because I\u2019m telling you they\u2019re not scary and dangerous and that they look cool, but you should want to look after sharks because they\u2019re really important ecosystem engineers,\u201d Gregory says. \u201cThey keep the ecosystem in balance and make the ocean healthier. <\/p>\n

\"AerialSeal colony at Madalena Bay. (credit: National Geographic\/Erick Higuera) \"AHost, Bertie Gregory dives at Revillagigedo Islands. (credit: National Geographic\/Jeff Hester) \"AHost, Bertie Gregory dives with a bait ball. (credit: National Geographic\/Jeff Hester) \"AHost, Bertie Gregory dives with several Hammerhead Sharks. (credit: National Geographic\/Jeff Hester) \"AHost, Bertie Gregory, films a huge school of Pacific white sided dolphins. (credit: National Geographic) \"AHost, Bertie Gregory dives with a Giant Manta Ray (credit: National Geographic\/Jeff Hester)
\n \"AHammerhead Shark at Revillagigedo Islands. (credit: National Geographic\/Bertie Gregory) <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that\u2019s not something we should want to do because they\u2019re interesting or because morally that\u2019s the right thing to do. We humans benefit when the ocean\u2019s healthy. Just come at it from a totally selfish perspective, and it doesn\u2019t really matter what you think about sharks. That\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to shout about.\u201d <\/p>\n

Hammerhead Sharks Up Close With Bertie Gregory is available now on Disney+<\/a>, Hulu, and National Geographic. If viewers could take just three things from his new film, Gregory hopes it would be this: <\/p>\n

\u201cHammerhead sharks are awesome. That\u2019s point one,\u201d he exclaims. <\/p>\n

\u201cPoint two, don\u2019t be scared of sharks. Be respectful of them. But they should be a lot more scared of us than we are of them based on what we\u2019re doing to them.\u201d <\/p>\n

Perhaps most importantly, \u201cthe ocean needs more marine protected areas.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cFind out who the local authority is responsible for making those decisions and tell them to make more. If we all do that, the oceans, and humans, will be in a much better place.\u201d <\/p>\n

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