Marine biologist and shark conservationist Alison Towner has worked extensively with the media and her research has been featured with National Geographic, BBC, Discovery channel among various other productions. She is currently in progress with her PhD which examines driving factors of movement in white sharks.
Glamour: From an early age you developed a love of the ocean and its inhabitants. What inspired this?
Alison Towner (AT): My late father was a writer with a real passion for the ocean, which definitely influenced me as a kid. I knew from the age of five I wanted to study marine life and had this avid interest in sharks. I used to read to everyone around me (who would listen) my shark books and create articles on my type writer. I grew up in rural Lancashire, Northern England (near to Manchester) and didn’t have a whole lot of access to the ocean until I was older. By the age of 17 I started working overseas as a dive master while studying marine biology in North Wales.
Glamour: What do you think about the level of global marine and shark conservation currently – is enough being done?
(AT): There is no escaping the fact that we are putting unprecedented levels of pressure on the natural world - both marine and terrestrial. If am whole heatedly honest, being in conservation can be really overwhelming and so I try to navigate this by embracing positive change rather than continually moaning about all the pressures. There is no lack of gloomy information out there and ‘spiracy’ documentaries have a way of hooking right into the hearts of the public and instilling a sense of guilt and lost hope. Activism and campaigning can make huge noise, but there are fights to be selected and usually such fights are with top political levels to enforce law and huge corporates to act upon their damage. Just twenty years ago plastic was seen as the best convenience mod con - Tupperware parties were a thing - these days huge shifts in attitudes are happening fast. I've seen kids in townships here in South Africa telling their parents to turn off taps properly and why plastic straws are not necessary. There are amazing efforts from NGOs to conserve wildlife better (beach cleans, replanting forests, rehabilitation and outreach projects) but it is no good if the messaging is not translated with hope and tangible results. Scientists, conservationists, NGOs, governments and enforcement need to work together and support local communities to sustain positive change, not against one another.
Glamour: In terms of marine and shark conservation, currently what are the major threats that are affecting the oceanic environment?
(AT): In a nutshell, climate change, pollution, industrialised fishing and extraction of marine resources are probably the top culprits doing the most damage. All of these are human made (anthropogenic), and all can be reduced and brought down significantly if corporates work with governments to commit and put money into doing so. Ice caps are melting, coral reefs are bleaching, marine animals are ingesting plastic, chemicals are altering the reproductive capacity of the tiniest marine organisms. Commercial fishing of the high seas is happening at levels that cannot be sustained, especially those non-selective gears. We cannot keep clearing rainforests and the floors of our oceans and expect the planet to remain intact. The demand for shark meat and shark fins are still so high that we see 70-100 million sharks killed a year to feed these trades. Unfortunately, as the human population grows and the ever increasing capitalist gap fortifies, the wealthier get wealthier and that insatiable demand for wildlife rises (negatively impacting the very poorest of communities). I cannot fathom that three billionaires just went to space for fun when money of that magnitude could have been used to feed an entire coastal community struggling to find fish to feed their families, for example.
Glamour: What is it about sharks that draw you to them? Is it mainly about changing the media’s perception of them as dangerous or is there more to it?
(AT): I largely ignore press and tabloids these days as we are living in a misinformation and fake news crisis - while some shark reporting is fair, the vast majority is not. What draws me to sharks is their mystery. I have been studying white sharks for 15 years in South Africa, yet we still have not filmed them breeding or mating - nobody has - anywhere on EARTH. We have only just described their genome and they have been around for over 40 million years, when the dinosaurs were walking the Earth sharks were swimming around in our seas already. I have more behavioural questions on what they do with their time than when I started studying them. They simply fascinate me, and that combined with the appreciation I have for their critical ecological role, I think I will forever be shark obsessed. By the way, Greenland sharks live over 300 years old making them the longest living vertebrate on the planet. What is not to be drawn to about these fascinating animals?
Glamour: What has been your experience as a women in ocean science/ conservation been like?
(AT): I have a twin brother and noticed from young that he was far more of a risk taker than me. Men seem to willingly jump into scenarios while women often hesitate and doubt themselves far easier. This is true in ocean science when skippering boats, tying knots, fishing, diving and a very practical skill sets are required. In my experience as a women in this field, we can do everything that guys can- we just need that confidence, and support. I learned that if you hustle a bit and persist, a strong male colleague will guide and teach you, not make you feel inadequate. Working together is key, and learning from one another.
Glamour: There has been quite a bit of discussion about over a lack of women in this industry and within features such as Shark Week. You were one one of the the few women involved in Shark Week before? What are your thoughts on this?
(AT): I have been working on Shark Week shows for over a decade and can honestly say with the severe lack of funding in this field I would have had to seek work elsewhere - salaries are rarely covered in grants (with or without the pandemic adding a whole extra layer of financial stress). In Africa governments rarely fund shark research. Shark Week does. Regarding the representation of women, I have definitely seen a gradual shift, this year featured more women and diversity than any other years but of course it is ratings driven. Dare devil guys are perceived as ‘cool and entertaining’, and the overall Shark Week audience demographic love them - they are the all American hero’s - those tuning in want to see (not much we can do about that!). There is a reason why reality TV series such as the The Deadliest Catch or Tiger King have such ratings and success on networks. Celebrities are also largely what the American audience want to see (whether we scientists like that or not). It is more about knowing what the audience is, accepting it and working with that in mind. I do feel the platform is working really hard to include more women and they have been really great to me and including my science throughout the years.
Glamour: In your opinion, what more can be done to get more women into this field and girls involved from a young age?
(AT): If you are a young woman interested in ocean science and conservation, take time in your youth to learn how to swim and dive there are people and NGOs around who can teach you and help. Explore the ocean as much as you can. Here in South Africa, our great sea forests of kelp just won an Oscar for their beauty- go have look and see them, or whatever habitat is on your doorstep- the further East in SA, the warmer the water and the better the reefs get. Governments should be putting budgets aside to encourage young women to study marine science, upskilling them and enabling them the same opportunities as men, this includes maternity pay and support. We can have children and start families well into our thirties and even forties these days and men do not need to be the sole bread winners.
Glamour: How do you hope that your voice and work as a shark advocate/ marine biologist will influence others?
(AT): I think actions speak louder than words. I have been fortunate to mentor and work with young students from all over the world, through the years, seeing them advance and go on to be successful in their careers is always an amazing feeling. In all honesty though, they have had the privilege that can afford them to intern in Africa. I want to see more women of colour here in South Africa making it in the marine conservation space. This is something that is changing but I want to see government resources thrown at this, currently there are only a handful of NGOs making these things happen, it needs to pick up momentum. The local high school where I am located here in Gansbaai, now how Ocean science on the curriculum which is so encouraging to see.
Glamour: Which woman has positively impacted you in your career?
(AT): I cannot say there is one woman but a whole bunch that have inspired my career teaching me different things in different ways. I am not typically a fan of influencers - we live in a world where so many people are validated by their number of followers when their content is quite superficial. I respect the real. The likes of the late Diane Fossey, Dr Eugienie Clarke, Emiline Pankhurst, Marie Curie, Dr Jane Goodall. Women who became immersed in their purpose and the cultures they impact and they genuinely empowered whole communities. Madison Stewart a young Australian filmmaker who pays fishermen in the poorest parts of Indonesia not to catch sharks by chartering their boats to dive, she can literally count the sharks she has saved, and the families she has provided incomes and schooling for. Then there is the formidable Zandile Ndhlovo, SA’s first black female free dive instructor. Zandile and her circles have really caught my attention - they are having ALL the tough conversations that so desperately need to be had while paving a path of hope for women in the African marine sphere.
Glamour: What are some of the great possibilities about being a woman in the world right now that may not be easy to see, but you feel women should take full advantage of without being ashamed or afraid?
(AT): Our voices are having more impact than ever in history. Many successful women (particularly in the sports arena) have recently turned around and said "These are my boundaries, and by them I shall stand". This is huge, and about a century too late to the table. Ride this wave ladies, women couldn't vote just a few generations back. Look how far we have come. There is still much work to be done, but the change has definitely begun and support for this is key.
Glamour: When it comes to success, the imposter syndrome is something a lot of women confesses to suffer from or have suffered from. Have you ever had to deal with it?
(AT): I have lost count of all the times I have wanted to walk away from academia, because of imposter syndrome. A person spends 20 years studying and in debt, gets their degrees, trains in specific skills sets, collects and analyses their data then they finally manage to publish their work for internet experts to slander and pick it apart. My advice is to filter out the anti-science or misinformation out there, view the comments sections with a pinch of salt and be grounded in your truth and integrity. Accept that constructive criticism is healthy but take advice and support from those who really do know and bring value to you and your work. Also, learn to give telepathic zap signs to those that question your work with their youtube degree. Oh, and pick your fights - like a plant, the more water you give it the more it will grow. Imposter syndrome is the voice inside your head making you doubt yourself. Counter act it constantly with gratitude. The more you do that the less that pesky syndrome can prevail. It will always be there, but it just needs putting firmly in its place.
Glamour: What do you love the most about the work that you do?
(AT): I actually never want to be a desktop biologist, but science does involve alot of laptop time. I look forward to being on the ocean more again as my PhD comes to an end. Being in the field, with the sharks I am so fond of, studying them, in their world, that never ever gets old. Similarly teaching others in the field is equally rewarding. Ernest Hemmingway’s ‘old man of the sea’ is still an iconic piece of literature, I intend to be an ‘old woman of the sea’ one day, with a bunch of kick ass women at my side as crew.
