Sharks are beautiful animals, and if you're lucky enough to see lots of them, that means that you're in a healthy ocean. You should be afraid if you are in the ocean and don't see sharks- Sylvia Earle
Welcome to another great episode of the Caribbean Ocean Perspectives Series featuring Tadzio Bervoets, Director of the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance, a Network Organization that supports nature conservation on all six islands of the Dutch Caribbean and is involved in ensuring that some of the region’s well-known MPAs such as the Bonaire National Marine Park and the Saba National Marine Park receive the necessary capacity and financial support.
Tadzio recently co-founded the Caribbean Shark Coalition (CSC) in 2020 in response to international calls for enhanced, collaborative conservation efforts for sharks and rays in the Greater Caribbean region. The CSC is a collection of member experts from NGOs, local communities, intergovernmental organizations and governments, academia, and policy institutes working together to advance the study and conservation of sharks and rays found in the waters of the Greater Caribbean. The CSC has as its major goals and mission: To foster collaboration in shark and ray research, policy, and capacity building for conservation among stakeholders in the region, and to provide opportunities for knowledge transfer and data synthesis; To safeguard the long-term health of shark and ray populations in the region, and to promote the protection of critical habitat; To promote a sustainable future for these species as well as human livelihoods who depend on them. To effectively address ongoing and future areas of conservation and species management plans for countries and territories in the Greater Caribbean region; Greater collaboration and capacity building is fostered among and between actors and stakeholders in the Greater Caribbean region. Working with local scientists, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), intergovernmental organizations and governments, we target capacity building for filling critical knowledge gaps through science, as well as the advancement of specific conservation actions.
Tadzio is the first Dutch Caribbean Member of the Explorers Club for his contribution to Science in the Wider Caribbean Region and he is an experienced dive instructor who has recently started to use closed-circuit rebreathers to enhance his coral reef monitoring activities.
In this episode, we discuss the importance of sharks in the Caribbean, the threats they face, data collection on shark populations and the role of the Caribbean Shark Coalition and the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance in protecting these species. To learn more follow the social media accounts linked below and be sure to give the EcoVybz Podcast some love. 
Instagram: Caribbean Shark Coalition, Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance 
Website: https://caribbeansharks.co/ https://dcnanature.org/