HOW TO SPEND IT | FT | WISEGUISE
Sharking around on an underwater fashion editorial
“Shark wrangler Marcus Kitching has nine boxes of dead fish to attract and “manage” the sharks. For each underwater session, he collects around 20 Caribbean reef sharks, some up to 3m long. They aren’t man‑eaters, but even an unintentional nip can slice off a finger, so Kitching wears head-to-toe chainmail. There are just 40 minutes of each dive-time, so the crew have to work fast. Lights are quickly secured with weights, but every so often a shark rams into the photographer’s strobes or clips the crew with a fin as it streaks past. After two challenging days underwater, the team are left with 40 empty air cylinders, nine sodden designer outfits, one set of very bloodshot eyes – and an amazing set of pictures. It’s a wrap.” How to Spend it / FT.
BELOW THE SCENES
An underwater fashion editorial with just one model and thirty Caribbean reef sharks
Filmed and photographed by Zena Holloway
Although laws ban the hunting of these magnificent Caribbean Reef sharks, the fishing industry in South America unintentionally lands them in about 40% of their catch. Around the world sharks are in big trouble with over 90% of the world’s sharks wiped out through fishing, cruel shark fining and shark mitigation strategies. As a result between 70 and 100 million sharks die a year.
The shoot took place at Shark Junction, near Nassau. Here they have a relatively healthy population of sharks. The locals feed them regularly to attract the sharks for tourism and this serves to educate people about the importance of sharks in our oceans.
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