Friends for Sharks

 

Friends for Sharks is a marine conservation cause working to support charities and increase worldwide awareness of the plight of sharks

 

Here at Friends for Sharks we will:

  • Use our voices to promote marine conservation and increase worldwide awareness of the threats to sharks and rays
  • Educate and encourage people to become Friends for Sharks themselves and protect the oceans around them
  • Inspire people to be the change they want to see in the world
  • Reach audiences worldwide, including people of all ages and social backgrounds
  • Raise money for nominated charities
  • Conduct voluntary work across the globe to contribute to the local communities we visit
  •  

    For more information on our mission, our World Tour in 2015 or any aspect of Friends for Sharks please do not hesitate to contact us

Friends for Sharks Blog

  • great white shark

Shark Attacks: How to Protect Yourself

Featured in the International Business Times: I really enjoyed this interview with the […]
  • great white shark

Where to Cage Dive with Sharks

‘Great white sharks first appeared around 11 million years ago and can be found around […]

  • white shark

Top Tips for Cage Diving with Sharks

This is one of my all-time favourite articles, as it contains great new tips for […]

 

About Friends for Sharks

Our 2015 World Tour

2015

 

 

Take a moment to learn more about our sponsors

What People Are Saying!

Awesome talk at Somerville Intermediate in Auckland, New Zealand. We learnt so much about these special animals and have a new positive perspective on their personalities and importance. Thank you both for an interesting and enjoyable presentation.
Kim Jones, Somerville School, Auckland, New Zealand. September 2015
Kathryn & Nicholas gave a fantastic talk on sharks with lots of amazing slides and videos of sharks. It totally changed my view of sharks and heightened everybody’s awareness as to how important sharks are to maintain a healthy, balanced marine environment
Sue Henderson, Piako Underwater Club, Morrinsville, New Zealand. August 2015
Highly recommend your presentations for anyone swimming in our oceans. You have so much to share. Very informative and fun. Enjoy your travels
Jetts Fowler, Piako Underwater Club, Morrinsville, New Zealand. August 2015
Thanks for the great presentation tonight at the Piako Underwater Club. Learned loads and had a laugh which is always good. All the best for the rest of your events
John Campbell, Nelson Provincial Museum, New Zealand. June 2015
Incredibly informative and effective presentation. You could see the kids would go on to apply their new awareness to every situation involving sharks in the future…so effective and awesome for Shark conservation worldwide!
Tess Luxton, Conservation Kids New Zealand, Picton, New Zealand. June 2015
That was one of the best presentations I have seen at our school as it kept me interested
Student, Waimea College, Richmond, New Zealand. June 2015
‘My son got home from school and gave me a 30 minute talk on all the shark facts her learned at the shark lecture that day!!  AMAZING!  From a child that just says school was “good” everyday and no more words than that….he could not stop talking about sharks!! Thanks so much for putting that on for the kids, he LOVED it.
, Clifton Terrace School, Nelson, New Zealand. June 2015
Your visit was great in that it sparked a lot of learning before, during and afterwards. The teachers and parents learned heaps too. The children’s pictures best depict their learning  as some pictures are quite detailed. The shark playground play changed immediately after you had gone from chasing each other to catch and eat to children talking about that sharks rarely kill people. You  two are doing a great job educating us here in New Zealand
Anthea Kershaw, Nelson South Kindergarten, New Zealand May 2015
Thanks from all of us in Southland who were fascinated by your talk and really encouraged by your infectious enthusiasm.  We loved having you guys down here and look forward to seeing you down here again sometime soon.
Forest & Bird, Southland Branch, New Zealand, 12th May 2015
Thank you very much for taking the time to come and join us at the Brighton Surf Life Saving Club last Friday evening. The feedback from those who attended has been really positive and many, including myself, now have a different respect for what previously has been a very much feared risk of swimming in our beautiful ocean.

The knowledge, experience and passion that you both obviously have for these amazing animals is so obvious and your willingness to share that with us in such an informative manner is to be acknowledged.

Nicky Third, Brighton Surf Life Saving Club, New Zealand. April 2014
They were very interactive with the kids and really valued their questions (and statements!). They used lots of great visuals and were very passionate about their subject. We really appreciated the way they differentiated the presentation for the different age groups. I learned heaps from them and will think differently about sharks in the future!
Penny McCauley - Year 8 teacher, Templeton Primary School
It is interesting to learn how sharks can actually be nice instead of vicious.
I enjoyed watching the videos of them swimming around the cages
We really enjoyed all the facts and stories and how we could ask questions anytime.
Year 8 Children, Templeton Primary School
Thanks Nick and Kathryn. I really enjoyed the way you conveyed facts…e.g. with having visuals, putting numbers up and asking children for the question, striding out the length of sharks. Lots of questioning and involvement from the audience. The kids in my class really enjoyed it and so did I. It initiated lots of conversation in my class afterwards. Thanks and all the best!
Anna Cousins - Year 3 teacher, Templeton Primary School
We would like them to come again!
We like how they told us how many sharks are in the world.
We loved how they told us the names of the sharks
We liked how they told us about how the top jaw comes out when they are attacking. Also how they stepped out the length of the sharks.
We liked the pictures and videos. Thanks!
Year 3 Children, Templeton Primary School
In Room 3 we have been learning how bees are our ‘friends’ (ie they only sting us if we get in their way, pollination etc) and the children were intrigued to learn that sharks are very beneficial also. The talk generated lots of discussion and many of the children chose to write about what they had seen and heard. Well done Kathryn and Nick, your knowledge and enthusiasm was very evident.
Room 3 Teacher, Templeton Primary School
I liked how Kathryn and Nick knew the names of some of the sharks.
Some of the sharks looked like they were smiling.
I would like to be in a cage to see the sharks up close.
Sharks can live for a long time.
Don’t eat shark fin soup because the sharks get hurt.

Room 3 Children, Templeton Primary School
Thank you so much for the awesome presentation, Kathryn and Nick! It was VERY informative and age-appropriate as well so the children learned a lot and so did I. I loved the way that you asked the children a lot of questions making them think about it and you valued all the questions and answers from children. You are doing a fantastic job making a difference and I believe it works! 🙂
Mijin Kim - Year 3 Teacher, Templeton Primary School
Today I learnt about sharks. Sharks are my favourite and I am not scared anymore. I love the sharks. Miley
Today we learnt about sharks. There are lots of sharks. For a fact, did you know that sharks have a really good sense of smell? I love sharks.
Year 4 Children, Templeton Primary School
We learned that sharks are not ferocious or deadly to humans, as we previously thought. Sharks are very smart hunters, and they keep the food chain moving.
Without sharks eating fish, the ocean would be overpopulated and it would cause an imbalance in the food chain.
We also learned that sharks can’t swim backwards and we were surprised by that.
We really enjoyed the presentation
Children, Unknown Class, Templeton Primary School
Thank you Kathryn and Nick…what a fabulous presentation. So informative and well paced. You kept the children interested and involved. My class were so enthusiastic about the knowledge they gained and lots of follow up discussion occurred.
Shannon Moore - Year 7 teacher, Templeton Primary School
On behalf of our Looe Marine Conservation Group volunteers, I’d like to thank you once again for generously giving up your time to visit us here in Looe. The feedback has been fantastic and we were so pleased to have a good attendance on the night. Events like these help to enhance our profile locally and certain topics are guaranteed to generate more interest than others ! but it all goes toward getting more people involved in marine conservation efforts so thank you for the contribution you made to bringing in a large audience! Have a great time on your travels, good luck, good health, good fortune. And remember to book us in for the post return talk!
Gill Bridges, Looe Marine Conservation Group (March 2015)
Thanks again for coming yesterday, all the teachers and students enjoyed your presentation and found the information you shared both valuable and interesting! Happy travels and best of luck in your endeavours to help spread the word and create more people in the world that are Friends for Sharks 🙂
Jen Johnson, Henry Hudson Elementary School (March 2015)
Nick and Kathryn came and gave a talk to about 40 of our group in January 2015 at the Driftwood Spars in St.Agnes, England. We were transported from a cold winter’s night in Cornwall to the seas off South Africa and enjoyed some great stories and images of great whites whilst learning about these wonderful creatures and their conservation. They are passionate and engaging speakers and St.Agnes Marine Conservation Group would highly recommend them.
Chris Whitworth , Chair St.Agens MCG (25th March 2015)
Our event for sharks was such a success. As the first shop in Canada having Nicholas and Kathryn here was a great deal and everyone enjoyed the talk about sharks and their personal experiences. We all learned so much and it helped to see where we are with protecting what we all love so much. It was a pleasure to work with Kathryn and Nicholas and we hope they will inspire many more people around the globe to preserve the natural beauty for generations to come. You guys rock – thank you for doing this!
Vancouver Diving Locker, Vancouver, Canada (25th March 2015)
In February 2015, Kathryn and Nicholas gave a talk at The Natural History Museum, London. The talk was part of the Life Sciences Seminar Series, and the audience was the NHM researchers, curators and volunteers. Kathryn and Nicholas are passionate and engaging presenters, and their enthusiasm for wild life is infectious. I hope they will be able to visit the Museum again soon and give a public talk this time around. Meanwhile I wish them all the best with their World Tour!
Nadia Bystriakova, The Natural History Museum, London, England (25th February 2015)
Thanks for coming to our school today (Ao Tawhiti – Discovery campus). I was gutted not to stay for the whole thing – I had to go get my parents from the airport. As a lifelong shark-phobic, your story was almost beginning to get me to change my mind. I love your passion, it makes your talk very genuine and engaging. My two girls were FULL of shark facts this afternoon. Incidentally, my parents, fresh from a stint in the Galapagos Islands, had recently had a ‘shark talk’ too and the four of them were trading stories about how “nice sharks were really” – there are other people out there singing your song too which is good to know. Enjoy the rest of your tour and particularly the NZ bit (it’s as beautiful here as Cornwall, but with less people).
Clare Marshall, Ao Tawhiti School, Christchurch, New Zealand
We were all fascinated and blown away by just how much knowledge and passion you shared
Lisa, Ao Tawhiti School, Christchurch, New Zealand
I recently had a visit from Kathryn and Nicholas at Friends for Sharks and found them very interesting and informative. My year 13 students really enjoyed speaking directly to people that are actively involved in conservation.
Jackson Martin, Tereora College, Rarotonga, The Cook Islands