Join me, Leslie Kolovich for a wonderful conversation with 89 year old Stan Waterman, one of our ocean’s most beloved friends.  Mr. Waterman has a long list of accomplishments that have all evolve around his passion for the water and conservation for it’s inhabitants especially sharks.   Stan has been in the forefront of scuba diving since the inception of Jacques Cousteau’s invention of the Aqua Lung. He also was one of the first to be the eyes for the world to see the incredible underwater world of our oceans, filming his adventures for National Geographic, ABC, and ESPN.  He was the “pioneer” for many things in his field, especially his underwater film work. Mr Waterman talks about growing up in Maine, going to college, then making a decision to take a chance and leave the security of his of his little home town and literally  ”jump into the deep and swim”.

Stan Waterman and a 40' Whale Shark in Austrailia

In this podcast Stan tells us the important role sharks play in the food chain of the oceans.   Without them the balance of the entire underwater world is thrown off and cannot be sustained.  The Discovery Channel has produced a 90 minute segment for Shark week on he and his family called, “The Man Who Loves Sharks”.  However, Stan tells me a little secret,  he really doesn’t love sharks, it’s more about respecting them.  He is on the board of directors for a conservation group called Shark Savers.  Stan talks about the importance of our youth today getting involved with conservation of our oceans and especially sharks.  Here’s a stat that should make us all stand up right now…..72 million sharks a year are taken just for their fins!  Say NO!  The sharks are on the losing end of this, once they are gone, well, I think we know how this story will end.  SAY NO To Shark Fin Soup!

This has been one of my most favorite interviews to date.  Words of Wisdom from a very wonderful man:   Stay active no matter what age, stay involved, and dare to take that risk to get yourself out of the “regular”.

Enjoy the podcast now: :

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