A 麻豆传媒高清版 graduate whose day job gets her up close and personal with the ocean鈥檚 most terrifying predator is featuring in a new Channel 4 marine wildlife series.
Marine biologist Alison Towner has become a global expert in the ecology of great white sharks following almost 15 years of research in South Africa.
The 35-year-old, who grew up in Ramsbottom, Lancashire, is now appearing in Work on the Wild Side 鈥 a ten-part series following vets and volunteers from across the UK who gave up their day jobs to rescue, rehabilitate and release some of the world鈥檚 most endangered animals in South Africa.
Alison, who was inspired to become a marine wildlife expert after reading her late father鈥檚 novel about salmon and their epic migration at the age of 11, completed a degree in marine biology at 麻豆传媒高清版 in 2006. She then worked as a scuba diving instructor in the Red Sea before taking up a placement with a shark cage diving company two hours east of Cape Town, South Africa.
The role has seen her accompany a host of celebrities including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, TV presenter Philip Schofield, rugby star Ben Foden and most recently MasterChef鈥檚 Greg Wallace cage-diving with the world鈥檚 most feared marine predator 鈥 often diving by their side as a guide.
It has also led to her involvement with the company鈥檚 non-profit organisation in Gansbaai 鈥 the 鈥榳hite shark capital of the world鈥 - where she is now head marine biologist.
Not only has Alison鈥檚 research changed scientific understanding of the behaviour and movement of great white sharks in the area, particularly against the influence of killer whales, it also continues to expose the ongoing threats and risks faced by the species.
Alison, who is expecting her first child, allowed camera crews to follow her team鈥檚 efforts conducting research, rehabilitating ocean life and protecting endangered species such as the African penguin over the course of a month. Viewers will see Alison perform a necropsy on a shark and release a group of penguins following their successful rehabilitation 鈥 just two of the day-to-day activities of her dream job.
Every day I go out I still pinch myself. My passion is unwavering.
鈥淵ou have to make some big life changes but if I was to go back, I鈥檇 do it all over again. It鈥檚 such a meaningful way of life and I鈥檓 thrilled to be involved.
鈥淚 consider myself a guardian of this ecosystem. I gave my life up for it. You can have the best paid job in the world without being happy but I couldn鈥檛 be happier with my job.
鈥淵ou can be parked on the water and the next minute see a huge shark launching out of the water with a seal in its mouth 鈥 it doesn鈥檛 get any more impressive than that.
鈥淭hese sharks will literally rocket out of the water. That experience never gets old.
The former Tottington High School pupil became fascinated with sharks at a young age - a passion which led her to achieving her PADI junior open water scuba diver qualification by the age of 11.聽 Her father Eric Towner, a former Manchester Evening News journalist who she lost when she was five, used to read her shark stories and had also lived in South Africa during the 1970s.
Sharing his passion for marine life, Alison spent a summer as a dive master at a diving centre on the Greek island of Zakynthos before embarking on her Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology at 麻豆传媒高清版.
鈥淚 was exposed early on to turtle conservation and by the time I got to Bangor, I had the diving under my belt and had spent a lot of time in the sea,鈥 she said.聽 鈥淚t was my first choice uni. I still remember driving over the Menai Bridge and thinking this is one of the most beautiful parts of the UK.
鈥淲hat I really enjoyed about the course in Bangor is that it gave me such a diverse skills set. On Anglesey, we had every type of shore habitat you could want as a marine biologist. We learned about kelp, the sand dunes at RAF Valley, how beaches evolve 鈥 all the foundation knowledge you鈥檇 need I got from Bangor.聽
鈥淚 still refer back to that course now, it has been instrumental.
鈥淥bviously, marine biology is very popular in the UK and most costal universities offer the course. Bangor had a great reputation and subsequently I鈥檝e had so many volunteers and interns coming over to join the programme with me who are Bangor students or graduates.鈥
After her degree, Alison spent a year as a diving instructor at the Red Sea, off the coast of Jordan, before taking up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work with Marine Dynamics Shark Tours 鈥 an ecotourism and conservation cage-diving enterprise in South Africa.
鈥淧eople ask me if I went to volunteer but there鈥檚 no glamourous story. I was sat in an internet caf茅 in Jordan and was browsing through a website on a cage-diving company in South Africa when I noticed there were no female staff whatsoever and thought I was qualified enough to send a very forward email saying they needed a girl among the team!鈥
The gamble paid off and a month later Alison found herself the company鈥檚 only female crew member.
Over the course of the next 15 years, Alison amassed some of the most extensive data sets on the population dynamics, environmental influences and movement ecology of great white sharks in the world which has since formed the basis of her PhD on the spatial temporal ecology of white sharks.
The research, which also enabled her to complete a Masters鈥 degree through the University of Cape Town, centred on the use of acoustic and satellite tagging equipment on sharks to track their movements over a number of years.聽
Alison鈥檚 work has been featured in the highly-respected British scientific journal Functional Ecology as well as National Geographic, Discovery Channel shows and the BBC as well as a hugely-successful US cable TV programme called Air Jaws: The Hunted, which she co-hosted. The new Channel 4 series, which runs weekly on Saturdays from March to May, was produced by Waddell Media, before the pandemic.
Each half-hour programme takes viewers on an emotional rollercoaster as the wildlife heroes open up about their passion to save animals in danger of extinction including the 鈥楤ig Five鈥 (African lions, leopards, rhinoceros, elephants, and Cape buffalo)聽on the Northern Plains.
鈥淭he series is about Brits in South Africa working in conversation. Most of them are women, which is particularly refreshing,鈥 explained Alison.聽
鈥淭he CEO of the production company, Jannine Waddell, came down and we had a nice chat. I remember feeling a bit nervous because it was very much being followed around all day with the cameras. However, she was the most wonderful and ethical producer you could have imagined and took great care to tell the real story.鈥
Alison鈥檚 latest research is focused on the threats facing great white sharks from prey removal to over fishing and the impact on the species but in the midst of a global pandemic and with the temporary collapse of tourism, funding is an ongoing challenge. 鈥淭he movement data is critically important for the future management of the species,鈥 she said.聽
鈥淭he Government has no budget, funding or the will to fund tagging of sharks but they do like it when researchers provide these projects so they can obtain vital data.
鈥淭he Save Our Seas Foundation sponsor a lot of our tagging equipment as does the marine science programme Acoustic Tracking Array Platform (ATAP).
鈥淒uring the pandemic, the salary I relied upon for my work with the Trust has been slashed in half and I鈥檝e had to do a lot of work externally to supplement it to be able to stay here.鈥
With a single satellite tag costing 拢1,000 and a basic acoustic tag coming in at 拢400, the need for continuous financial support is vital.
Alison now hosts regular shark talks on Airbnb鈥檚 online experiences platform to raise funds. Income is also generated through filming projects however future conservation work will continue to depend on wildlife tourism and the return to cage diving experiences.
鈥淭here are still people who have doubts that cage diving is ethical. Usually, when they do it they realise they had it all wrong as cage diving is incredibly important for conservation,鈥 she said.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the benefit of having celebrities involved as they are able to convey that message to a larger audience. They have all been really crucial in the conservation side of things.鈥
Work on the Wild Side is Channel 4 on聽Saturdays between March-May or watch on
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