WEBVTT - On the couch: Jaws 50th anniversary documentary on National Geographic

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<v Speaker 1>SJA in This Afternoon on Lunch Now. In nineteen seventy five,

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<v Speaker 1>one movie forever changed how we saw sharks and indeed

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<v Speaker 1>how we saw movies. Now, fifty years later, Jaws is

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<v Speaker 1>still sending ripples through pop culture and also the conservation world.

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<v Speaker 1>This July National Geographic honors the blockbuster that redefined summer

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<v Speaker 1>with Jaws at fifty The Definitive Inside Story. It's a

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<v Speaker 1>brand new authorized documentary featuring never before seen footage, personal

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<v Speaker 1>home videos, and exclusive interviews from everyone from Steven Spielberg

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<v Speaker 1>to James Cameron, Emily Blunt, Guillermo del Toro, and shark

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<v Speaker 1>scientists like Felippe Gusto. It's part of this year's Shark

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<v Speaker 1>Fest lineup, and it's more than just movie nostalgia. It's

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<v Speaker 1>a celebration of storytelling, of science and the sea. One

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<v Speaker 1>of the voices featured in the documentary is that of

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<v Speaker 1>Gibbs Gurguru, a Kenyan shark scientist whose work explores the

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<v Speaker 1>a of these incredible animals, and he joins us now

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<v Speaker 1>to talk at sharks and science and also what it

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<v Speaker 1>means to undo decades of myth and misunderstanding. Gibb's good

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<v Speaker 1>to have you with us on Cape Talk this afternoon.

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<v Speaker 2>That's a pleasure listen.

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<v Speaker 1>You've you've worked with with some of the most the

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<v Speaker 1>ocean's most or inspiring sharks. What what first drew you

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<v Speaker 1>to study sharks?

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<v Speaker 2>You know, I my passion for studying sharks was actually

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<v Speaker 2>bequeathed to me from my study advisor. During my bachelor's

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<v Speaker 2>I was studying medicine and with you, I wasn't good

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<v Speaker 2>at it. And if you know, if I ended up

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<v Speaker 2>becoming a medical doctor, it's like a malpractice suit waiting

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<v Speaker 2>to happen. So he's like, maybe you better dive with

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<v Speaker 2>sharks instead, And I was like, all right, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>I might as well. You know what I got to lose.

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<v Speaker 1>And I mean, it's they are. They are such fascinating creatures.

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<v Speaker 1>Did you have any idea when you first essentially kind

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<v Speaker 1>of got into the water, just how your love and

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<v Speaker 1>fascination of them would develop.

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<v Speaker 2>Honestly, no, because truth be told, I just sort of

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<v Speaker 2>went there almost just to see what was going to happen.

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<v Speaker 2>And every day I just tried something different. I practiced

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<v Speaker 2>my skills. And after it's been like what like almost

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<v Speaker 2>fifteen years that I've been working with these animals. I

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<v Speaker 2>actually think I'm getting kind of good at it at

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<v Speaker 2>this stage. So and the passion also follows with you know,

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<v Speaker 2>just showing up every day, and I think that's I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>that can be said for anything you do in life,

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<v Speaker 2>whether it be art or science, or music or business.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, to show up.

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<v Speaker 1>You focus on shark DNA, won't you just tell us

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<v Speaker 1>a little bit about what that research involves and how

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<v Speaker 1>it helps us understand sharks shark species in their behavior.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, the thing I love the most about DNA

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<v Speaker 2>is that it sort of tells you the hidden stories

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<v Speaker 2>that you're never going to be able to tell just

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<v Speaker 2>by looking at the animal. You know, everything that that

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<v Speaker 2>animal has experienced from generation to generation is imprinted into

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<v Speaker 2>their DNA, and all it takes is just a tiny

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<v Speaker 2>piece of tissue and some technology, and we can read

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<v Speaker 2>what that code says generation after generation and then sort

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<v Speaker 2>of understand what these animals are living like, what they're

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<v Speaker 2>going through, where they like to live, who they mat with.

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<v Speaker 2>All of these are the things that we can we

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<v Speaker 2>can understand just by learning about the tiny molecules hidden

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<v Speaker 2>in every cell.

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<v Speaker 1>You are one of the voices featured in Jewels at fifty.

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<v Speaker 1>Just tell us how it came to be. Gives that

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<v Speaker 1>you were involved in the documentary and what does it

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<v Speaker 1>mean to be part of this tribute to such an

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<v Speaker 1>iconic film.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, So Laurent Bozzrow, I hope I'm saying his name properly.

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<v Speaker 2>He's a director of the film. He was clearly he

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<v Speaker 2>was approved by Steven Spielberg himself, and he was, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>looking for some voices, and I guess he found me

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<v Speaker 2>as a sort of an alternative voice and just said,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, would you like to share some of the

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<v Speaker 2>the impacts that you've seen from the Jaws film? And

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<v Speaker 2>I heard you say earlier that it was the first

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<v Speaker 2>horror movie that you watched. I mean, it was also

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<v Speaker 2>one of the first that I watched as a kid

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<v Speaker 2>growing up in Kenya. But there's so many firsts with

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<v Speaker 2>regard to Jaws. You know, it is a mass piece.

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<v Speaker 2>It was the the first summer blockbuster ever, So I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>we have like summer blockbuster season and it was literally

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<v Speaker 2>Jaws that started them. I mean, what how can we have,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, our current existence without Jaws. It almost feels

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<v Speaker 2>like there's there's plenty plenty to be said, for how

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<v Speaker 2>it's impacted many cultures, many lives around the world.

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<v Speaker 1>It's also impacted, it's fair to say, how we view sharks,

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<v Speaker 1>and an awful lot of people might credit Jaws with

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<v Speaker 1>really sparking a kind of global shark fear. Do you

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<v Speaker 1>think that the film, I guess, unfairly demonized sharks or

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<v Speaker 1>maybe conversely helped raise awareness of them in its own way.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I kind of feel like we were always afraid

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<v Speaker 2>of sharks in some way, or at least afraid of

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<v Speaker 2>the ocean, and then Jaws came along, which, by the way,

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<v Speaker 2>excellent filmmaking. I mean, if you saw what Spielberg and

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<v Speaker 2>the team was able to do in nineteen seventy five

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<v Speaker 2>with the technology they had of the day, absolute masterful

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<v Speaker 2>artistic filmmaking. However, you know, when people watched it, they

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<v Speaker 2>became afraid of sharks because now the fear of the

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<v Speaker 2>ocean had a face and it had a name, and

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<v Speaker 2>the same was Jaws, the Great White Shark, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>whereas Bruce we like to call it, and I have

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<v Speaker 2>to just say this, why is it that we can't

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<v Speaker 2>just enjoy the film without having that film inform how

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<v Speaker 2>we feel about real world issues. You know, it would

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<v Speaker 2>be like if I watched Jurassic Park and you know,

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<v Speaker 2>the next time I stepped into the jungle, I was like,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, just just waiting for a t rex to

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<v Speaker 2>creep up on me. It's you know, it's a film,

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<v Speaker 2>but it's not a scientific documentary. And I think that

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<v Speaker 2>that's for me as a scientist. I have seen Jaws

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<v Speaker 2>a lot of times. I appreciate the the artistic presentation

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<v Speaker 2>for the people that actually studied sharks and you know,

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<v Speaker 2>tried to understand what a shark looked like, how it moved.

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<v Speaker 2>But I don't see that as as any way as

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<v Speaker 2>like as a real world portrayal, a true portrayal of

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<v Speaker 2>great white sharks. And if you have any question for

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<v Speaker 2>how sharks actually live or how they exist, get on

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<v Speaker 2>social media. Find sharks. Scientists like Jasmine Graham, like Melissa Marquez,

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<v Speaker 2>like Jessica Kramp. These are people that are you know,

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<v Speaker 2>exposing the true nature of sharks in such a beautiful

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<v Speaker 2>way that it's like you don't need to get on

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<v Speaker 2>the news, just just get on social media. It's free.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, the news has been democratized. We have the

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<v Speaker 2>freedom to see the truth from our peers, if.

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<v Speaker 1>You're just joining us this afternoon on lunch, I'm chatting

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<v Speaker 1>to Gibbs Kuguru, who's one of the voices featured in

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<v Speaker 1>a new national geographic documentary it's called It's called Jaws

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<v Speaker 1>at fifty The Definitive Story. It's fifty years since that

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<v Speaker 1>movie really forever change not only how we saw sharks, but,

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<v Speaker 1>as Gibs just said, how we saw movies. And it

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<v Speaker 1>forms part of this year's Shark Fest line up more

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<v Speaker 1>than just movie nostalgia, really a celebration of storytelling, of science.

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<v Speaker 1>It's featuring brand new, never be seen or never seen

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<v Speaker 1>before footage, some personal home videos, and exclusive interviews with

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<v Speaker 1>people like Gibbs and Steven Spielberg James Cameron. In terms

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<v Speaker 1>of how this documentary reframes the legacy of Jaws, Gibbs,

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<v Speaker 1>is it helping to kind of shift the story from

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<v Speaker 1>that fear that we just spoke of to respect and

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<v Speaker 1>curiosity and then in turn towards conservation.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh, one hundred percent. And that's actually one of the

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<v Speaker 2>main reasons why I feel comfortable sitting on the panel,

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<v Speaker 2>of course with absolute giants like Spielberg and Jordan Peel

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<v Speaker 2>and Glmore Gaielmore de tour. I can't say that name,

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<v Speaker 2>g del Toro, but you know, for me it was

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<v Speaker 2>such an honor because you know, we're actually understanding the

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<v Speaker 2>behind the scenes of what actually happened behind the making

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<v Speaker 2>of Jaws, and also what can be said about how

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<v Speaker 2>we can use this ex pose on sharks to protect sharks.

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<v Speaker 2>And you know, no message could be any more important

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<v Speaker 2>to me as a shark scientist and understanding how best

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<v Speaker 2>to exist and coexist with the wildlife that inhabits our environment.

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<v Speaker 1>You are doing really kind of cutting edge work in

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<v Speaker 1>marine science. So what's it like being a shark researcher

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<v Speaker 1>on the African consonant and how how are our waters

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<v Speaker 1>shaping shark research not just here on the continent but globally.

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<v Speaker 2>That is the best compliment anyone has ever given me. Like, honestly,

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<v Speaker 2>I'm floating on cloud nine, Sarah Jane, So thank you

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<v Speaker 2>for that. What I can say as an African shark

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<v Speaker 2>scientist and just well just a shark scientist in general,

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<v Speaker 2>is that there are so many frontiers yet to be explored,

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<v Speaker 2>so many voices yet to be heard, and you know,

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<v Speaker 2>so many mysteries yet to be uncovered. Because sharks are

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<v Speaker 2>you know, as much as we know about sharks, and

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<v Speaker 2>I think shark science, you know, I want to say

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<v Speaker 2>it's you know, close to thirty or forty years old,

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<v Speaker 2>as like as like a cohesive field. We still know

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<v Speaker 2>very little about these animals. And what I would love

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<v Speaker 2>to see is more young folks getting out there and

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<v Speaker 2>pushing the edges of what we understand with regards to

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<v Speaker 2>sharks and marine conservation. I am just, you know, just

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<v Speaker 2>just a cog in the in the gigantic machine. That's

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<v Speaker 2>that's going to continue for generations. So if there's any

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<v Speaker 2>shark scientists or or versioning shark scientists that are listening,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, don't ask for permission, get in the water,

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<v Speaker 2>start exploring. We need we need you.

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<v Speaker 1>Gibbs. It's been wonderful to speak to you. I'm so

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<v Speaker 1>looking forward to catching this this documentary. Thanks very much,

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<v Speaker 1>indeed for making time for us at this Sarteny and Gibbs.

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<v Speaker 1>Gaguru is a Kenyan shark scientist whose work explores the

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<v Speaker 1>DNA of these remarkable animals, and he's also one of

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<v Speaker 1>the people featured in this documentary on National Geographic honoring

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<v Speaker 1>that block blockbuster movie from nineteen seventy five that redefined

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<v Speaker 1>summer its Jaws at fifty, the definitive inside story,