Shark scientist Clinton Duffy on shark behaviour, what swimmers should know, and what it's like tagging great whites

I watched JAWS as a kid and was subsequently scared to go in the water, just as the movie's tagline promised. Now I swim in the sea regularly and I know a bit more about sharks, but I wanted to talk to an expert.

Clinton Duffy grew up with a fascination of sharks after encountering a bronze whaler, and he has spent much of his life and career in the pursuit of knowledge about these sharp-toothed ocean predators (as well as other marine creatures, such as rays). He worked in marine science at DOC and is now a Curator of Marine Biology at Auckland Museum – and there's a very cool exhibition about sharks opening in December.

In this episode, we talk about:

• What to do (and not do) if you're swimming and meet a shark

• Where (and when) not to swim if you're actively trying to avoid sharks
• The many and varied species of sharks that live in NZ waters (most of them prefer deep water)
• The likelihood of being attacked by a shark (hint: it's not high)
• How shark populations have declined worldwide due to overfishing and habitat destruction
• Clinton's career as a marine scientist, including tagging and studying great whites (he explains how to tag a shark; definitely a job for the professionals)
• Clinton's favourite shark: it can walk!
• The fascinating sharks of the deep sea (here's a link to the Deep-Sea Podcast)
• How to respect stingrays in the shallows when entering and exiting the water, and how Clinton dealt with a stingray that sat on his head while he was diving.

The photo of Clinton holding a tagged school shark was taken by Brit Finucci, Earth Sciences NZ, in Dusky Sound this year.  Clinton was assisting Dr Alice Rogers, Victoria University of Wellington, and Dr Finucci tagging broadnose sevengill sharks and school sharks.

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