Abbie Kerr
My name is Abbie Kerr and I currently live in New Orleans, LA working in the field of fisheries. Primarily, I document bycatch on commercial fishing vessels in the Gulf of Mexico with trips at sea lasting up to 40 days. In terms of shark diving, I grew up with a strong fascination for sharks with the dream of one day meeting them face-to-face in the water. My initial interest started as an adrenaline-seeking desire to swim with fearsome predators, however I quickly realized this was not the case once I witnessed my first shark 30 meters below the surface. Instead, I experienced a sense of peace and awe. My interests in the field of marine science began with sharks and have since shifted towards fisheries, however I will continue to promote my love for sharks through my photos.
During this dive in West Palm, Florida, there were bull sharks swimming in all directions. As we ascended and the visibility improved, I was hoping and waiting for this shot as the sun peeked through the surface. For me, it is a photo that highlights the beauty of sharks and encapsulates their power. I like to think that the sun shines down on this shark with gratitude for maintaining balance in our oceans.
The lemon shark is the first shark I ever encountered in the water as a diver when diving in Jupiter, Florida. When encountering an amazing predator such as a shark, I felt nothing but respect along with a surprising feeling of comfort. Most often that feeling is replaced with fear for many people around the globe, leading to a collective lack of understanding of sharks. Just as we respect terrestrial predators and acknowledge the risk we take when stepping into one’s territory, we do not seem to maintain equal respect for our ocean. Humans’ seeming capability of taming the natural world has led us to acquire a false sense of security when stepping into the largest ecosystem on the planet, our ocean. Natural predators reside there just as they do on land, but we seem to harbor stronger animosity towards sharks despite the fact that shark attacks are exceedingly rare. The ocean is their territory, not ours, and now we are allowing violence to accompany our fear. Millions and millions of sharks are killed each year at unsustainable rates. As I drift in the water column watching the lemon sharks glide all around me, I cannot help but feel a twinge of sadness knowing the difficult road that lies ahead for sharks around the globe.
I added this spooky effect to a photo of a lemon shark, taken in West Palm, Florida, because lemon sharks are one of the most seemingly harmless sharks to be around when diving in this area. Typically, I like to photograph sharks in order to promote the fact that sharks do not live up to their feared reputations, however I found a bit of humor when presenting a “scarier” version of the beloved lemon shark. In my experience, lemons sharks are known to swim straight at you, bump into you every which way, and curiously investigate their surroundings, all without showing any signs of aggression. One should never be complacent when stepping into a wild predator’s territory, however in the case of the lemon shark, they never fail to make me chuckle as they weave in and out of divers.
These photos of me were taken by my dive buddy, Alison Atchia in West Palm, Florida on two separate dive trips. It exemplifies a perfect display of mutual, peaceful curiosity. I love watching the shark’s eye as they glide by. Briefly, their eye meets yours and with what almost seems to be blatant disinterest, they direct their attention back to their search for food. In this case, it was a lemon shark (left) and bull shark (right) making their rounds before moving in on the bait box just above us.
This photo is from a bull shark dive in West Palm, Florida in May 2020. This was my first experience with bull sharks up-close, and it completely changed my initial opinion of them formed by their fearsome reputation. While other divers may have contradicting experiences, bull sharks in this area are initially quite shy. We descended and remained still while hoping for bull sharks to arrive, practically begging for them to draw closer. I am so thankful for this experience as it has given me the opportunity to speak on the bull shark’s behalf about their lesser-known shy tendencies.
Photographed is a bull shark in West Palm, Florida that is hungry for a piece of bait just outside the frame. This happens to be one of my favorite photos I have taken because it resembles a stereotypical, “scary” shark photo, whereas, in reality, these sharks were anything but frightening during this dive. Most often, when I voice my opinion about sharks it is to negate their feared reputation; however, photos like these remind one that they are still a powerful, wild predator and should be treated as such.
Abbie Kerr- Taken by Alison Atchia West Palm, Florida