SHARK LIVES MATTER
Sint Maarten recently designated its entire exclusive economic zone a marine protected area and shark sanctuary. Dr Anjani Ganase meets Tadzio Bervoets, director of the Sint Maarten Nature Foundation and advocate for sharks in the Caribbean. My first meeting with Tadzio Bervoets was under unusual circumstances. Shortly before we were to meet, I got this request: “ Do you have access to a small airtight container and some rubbing alcohol? ” Before I could ask why, Facebook exploded. Tadzio, director of the Sint Maarten Nature Foundation, was attending a conference at a hotel in Trinidad to present on marine ecosystem resilience. But he found out that he was being served bake and shark. Passionate about shark conservation and research, he had to speak out, he had to do something. It turned out I was aiding and abetting the smuggling of the tiniest piece of cooked shark meat out of Trinidad for genetics testing to determine the species of shark being served. Tadzio grew up o...