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Simon J Pierce

Shark Biologist & Underwater Photographer

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Sharks. Photography. Puns.

Thanks for stopping by! I’m a co-founder and whale shark researcher at the Marine Megafauna Foundation, and an irredeemable wildlife geek at Nature Tripper. I use this site (and my newsletter) to share my latest work… and dad jokes.

November 2019: I’m currently on Mafia Island in Tanzania working on whale sharks with Chris Rohner. I’ve created a new section here on the site, Field Notes, to share regular updates on what we’re up to! You can learn more, and support this work, on Patreon.

Notes from the field:

Short posts, photos, and random observations:

Game on

November 16, 2019
A whale shark researcher uses a laser measuring system to estimate the length of a shark at Mafia Island in Tanzania

How do we measure whale sharks?

November 15, 2019

Catching up with old friends

November 14, 2019
Whale shark and golden trevally at Mafia Island, Tanzania.

Some thoughts on marine conservation

November 13, 2019

A Bad Day

November 12, 2019

What’s the Skinny on Whale Sharks?

November 11, 2019

Writing:

I’m working on lots of articles for Nature Tripper at the moment. Here are some links to my latest features:

DIVING AT JULIAN ROCKS, AUSTRALIA: THE WORLD’S BEST TEMPERATE SHARK DIVE?

November 14, 2019

Thresher Sharks. So Threshy.

October 19, 2019
Two huge adult female whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) cross paths at Darwin Arch, Galapagos, Ecuador.

WHALE SHARK FACTS: THE AWESOME STATS ON EARTH’S LARGEST FISH

October 18, 2019

SCUBA DIVING GALAPAGOS ON THE HUMBOLDT EXPLORER

October 18, 2019

WHALE SHARKS IN THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS: A GUIDE FOR DIVERS

October 18, 2019

SHARK TSUNAMIS. YES, I’M WRITING ABOUT SHARK TSUNAMIS.

October 18, 2019

New Photography:

I spent July working as a Photographer in Residence for G Adventures on their Arctic expedition ship. We had some amazing wildlife encounters, including polar bears, blue whales, and walrus. My updated Arctic photo gallery is here.

After that, I flew over to the Galapagos in August for a wildlife trip and dive liveaboard for Aqua-Firma, then joined a research cruise with the Galapagos Whale Shark Project. We identified 33 whale sharks and got a bunch of tagging done. See my Galapagos collection here.

You can see all of my favourite recent photos (from the last 90 days) on Photoshelter. A few new shots made it into my top 100 photos, so that was great!


Upcoming trips

January 2020: Raja Ampat, Indonesia (FULL)

February & March 2020: Antarctica

June & July 2020: Svalbard (Arctic)

October & November 2020: Antarctica

September 2021: Galapagos Islands


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Like geeky animal facts and dad jokes?

I write a few articles just for my mailing list. They normally focus on something interesting, and possibly hilarious, that I've learnt about sharks (or other random animals) that week. There may also be groan-inducing jokes.

Real talk: there will be groan-inducing jokes.

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© 2019 Simon J Pierce. All rights reserved. You look fantastic.