Worthing scientist highlights huge threats facing our endangered sharks

Sophie Maycock is the co-author of Shark The Illustrated Biography (Princeton University Press, £25 hardback, available from Amazon, Target, Waterstones etc).

Sophie, who has recently made Worthing her new home, trained as a research scientist, specialising in evolutionary biology, shark behaviour and threatened species conservation.

“I have experience working with sharks in South Africa, Australia, the Netherlands and the Bahamas, and have assisted as a teaching assistant on the iconic shark biology course that runs out of Coastal Carolina University, USA.

“During my studies and subsequent work, I became increasingly aware of how poor science communication is regarding sharks, especially surrounding the huge threats they face and how seriously endangered they are. Therefore, I decided to pivot in my career and focus more on public outreach and science communication – rather than working with sharks in the field.

“I have now made it my life’s mission to work for sharks. I want to raise public awareness and interest about these fascinating animals and maybe even change some people’s minds.

“I now run a science communication website called SharkSpeak that has become quite popular across several different social media platforms. I am proud to have an extensive list of subscribers and over 10,000 followers on Facebook. The site includes articles, fast facts and infographics about sharks; making complicated science accessible to everyone. The goal is to increase knowledge and fascination, bust pervasive myths about sharks, and to close the gap between scientists and the general public so that the exciting new discoveries about sharks are free for everyone to wonder at.

“The site aims to make complex science about sharks accessible to everyone. Dan Abel discovered my work through this site and as he enjoyed my laid-back writing style, he invited me to co-author an upcoming book with him. I always hoped I would be able to write a book, so this was a dream come true, and I have been a huge fan of Dr Abel’s work for many years so to be able to work with him was a huge honour.

“The goal of the book is to delve into some of the scientific knowledge we have about sharks – how sharks evolved, how many different species there are now, how diverse they are, how they breed, where they are born, what they eat…

“We focus on biographising four hero species, but we also dip into the lives of many other species, to tell the story of many different sharks and we also make sure to feature some of the weirdest oddballs out there. Accompanied by around 100 beautiful watercolour images, the book takes readers on a journey, bringing the shark’s tale to life.

“I think this will appeal to people who are interested in nature or science. As it is not written like a dusty scientific tomb, but more of a commuter novel that can be dipped into here and there, the book will not alienate anyone and we hope a broad audience will be able to enjoy it.

“Sharks are amongst the most seriously threatened of all animals on the planet and it is vital that the public rally behind scientists and conservationists to save endangered sharks.

Therefore we hope that this book contribute to raise public awareness; we hope to intrigue people who know nothing about sharks, educate shark lovers in a bit more depth and maybe change the minds of those who think that sharks are mindless, killing machines with no worth.”

It is Sophie’s first book: “But I am hoping to chase this publication with a second book about how sharks think – how their minds work, how smart they are and what it is like to be a shark. I want to shift people’s perceptions away from the Jaws stereotype and help people to realise that sharks are not mindless, soulless, killing machines, but they are actually very intelligent, cognitively advanced animals, that are as socially developed as many mammals and birds.”