June 2, 2026
The Shark That Turns Fear Into Fascination
Blue sharks are one of the most beautiful and misunderstood predators in the ocean. In this episode of How to Protect the Ocean, we explore how this sleek, cold water shark can change the way people think about sharks, especially when they see one off the coast of Atlantic Canada.
Blue sharks travel enormous distances, follow ocean conditions, and play an important role in healthy marine ecosystems. They are predators, but they are also ambassadors for a better understanding of sharks. This episode looks at why sharks belong in the ocean, why cold Canadian waters are full of surprising life, and why fear can turn into fascination when people meet the right species.
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YouTube: www.speakupforblue.com/youtube
Transcript
1
00:00:00,050 --> 00:00:03,850
Most people are afraid of sharks,
but there's one shark that turns
2
00:00:03,890 --> 00:00:07,550
fear into fascination almost
every single time someone sees it.
3
00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:11,711
And yes, you can find it
in cold Canadian waters.
4
00:00:12,211 --> 00:00:15,291
This is the How to Protect the Ocean
podcast, your weekday ocean news update.
5
00:00:15,431 --> 00:00:20,701
If you care about staying informed
on the ocean every weekday, Monday to
6
00:00:20,711 --> 00:00:23,951
Friday, hit that follow button right
now on your favorite podcast app so you
7
00:00:23,971 --> 00:00:27,773
don't miss tomorrow's story, which we're
gonna be talking about a sea turtle.
8
00:00:27,793 --> 00:00:31,393
This is the largest sea turtle in
the world, and it comes in cold
9
00:00:31,433 --> 00:00:33,823
waters for visits, and we're gonna
talk about that tomorrow, so don't
10
00:00:34,184 --> 00:00:35,967
miss it, and hit that follow button.
11
00:00:36,148 --> 00:00:37,528
Today, we're answering a simple question.
12
00:00:37,793 --> 00:00:40,811
Can one shark change the way
people think about all sharks?
13
00:00:41,111 --> 00:00:43,971
Because according to marine biologist
Kirsti Burnett, there's one species
14
00:00:43,991 --> 00:00:46,311
that seems to do exactly that.
15
00:00:46,371 --> 00:00:49,129
Now, if you probably wanna know who
is Kirsti, if you didn't listen to,
16
00:00:49,279 --> 00:00:50,952
uh, yesterday's episode, shame on you.
17
00:00:51,035 --> 00:00:51,505
I'm just kidding.
18
00:00:51,693 --> 00:00:53,287
You can go back and listen
to it after this episode.
19
00:00:53,307 --> 00:00:55,047
But Kirsti is my interview for this week.
20
00:00:55,127 --> 00:00:57,067
She is a guest on the podcast on Friday.
21
00:00:57,107 --> 00:01:00,876
We talk about celebrating cold
water in this week before Oceans
22
00:01:00,966 --> 00:01:02,046
Week and before Ocean's Day.
23
00:01:02,431 --> 00:01:04,875
So she is somebody I work
with at Pisces Ocean.
24
00:01:04,935 --> 00:01:05,855
She's a marine biologist.
25
00:01:05,875 --> 00:01:06,815
She's got a master's degree.
26
00:01:07,021 --> 00:01:10,452
She's a dive master, and she talks
all about growing up on Nova Scotian
27
00:01:10,532 --> 00:01:14,478
shores, and what she likes to do, and
how she likes to go below as well as
28
00:01:14,528 --> 00:01:17,426
above surface, and be able to see
all these wonderful things like the
29
00:01:17,426 --> 00:01:21,322
mola mola and the blue shark, which
we're gonna be talking about today.
30
00:01:21,497 --> 00:01:23,797
When most people picture a shark,
they picture a great white,
31
00:01:23,877 --> 00:01:25,017
and that can be a little scary.
32
00:01:25,117 --> 00:01:25,817
I get that, right?
33
00:01:25,973 --> 00:01:29,666
It has big teeth, big
reputation, big Hollywood career.
34
00:01:30,126 --> 00:01:31,166
But blue sharks are different.
35
00:01:31,503 --> 00:01:35,715
They're sleek, they're graceful,
and they're one of the most
36
00:01:35,755 --> 00:01:37,711
beautiful sharks in the ocean.
37
00:01:37,711 --> 00:01:41,586
And Kirsti spent years working with
blue sharks off the coast of Nova
38
00:01:41,606 --> 00:01:45,524
Scotia, and she says people often
arrive nervous about seeing sharks.
39
00:01:45,731 --> 00:01:49,026
Then they meet the blue shark,
and everything changes after that.
40
00:01:49,206 --> 00:01:51,127
People stop seeing a monster.
41
00:01:51,310 --> 00:01:53,979
They start seeing an animal,
a curious animal at that.
42
00:01:54,434 --> 00:01:58,183
An elegant animal, an animal
that belongs in the ocean.
43
00:01:58,233 --> 00:02:01,748
That's important 'cause blue sharks are
one of the great travelers of the sea.
44
00:02:02,029 --> 00:02:05,863
A 2024 study led by Francois Poisson
tracked blue sharks and found that
45
00:02:05,903 --> 00:02:09,776
they move across enormous distances
using different parts of the ocean
46
00:02:09,856 --> 00:02:11,336
at different times of the year.
47
00:02:11,525 --> 00:02:13,612
So these sharks don't
live in one neighborhood.
48
00:02:13,829 --> 00:02:18,136
They live in an ocean-sized world,
if you wanna put it that way, and
49
00:02:18,286 --> 00:02:20,356
that world includes Atlantic Canada.
50
00:02:20,656 --> 00:02:23,513
And when you see a blue shark off
Nova Scotia, you're looking at
51
00:02:23,523 --> 00:02:27,635
an animal that may have crossed
thousands of kilometers of ocean.
52
00:02:27,645 --> 00:02:28,889
Now just think about that.
53
00:02:28,889 --> 00:02:31,069
You know, it's not just
staying in and around the area.
54
00:02:31,364 --> 00:02:33,074
It's incredible when you think about it.
55
00:02:33,114 --> 00:02:34,234
Like, they don't have GPS.
56
00:02:34,294 --> 00:02:35,294
They don't have maps.
57
00:02:35,574 --> 00:02:36,512
There's no roads.
58
00:02:36,830 --> 00:02:39,762
Nothing, like, guiding them, like,
as a road and a lane with s- like,
59
00:02:39,902 --> 00:02:42,447
streetlights and everything like
that, yet they somehow navigate
60
00:02:42,507 --> 00:02:45,576
one of the largest environments on
the planet, an environment that
61
00:02:45,616 --> 00:02:47,818
takes up 70% of the planet.
62
00:02:48,069 --> 00:02:50,468
Scientists are still trying to
understand exactly how they do
63
00:02:50,478 --> 00:02:51,158
it, 'cause they just don't know.
64
00:02:51,442 --> 00:02:54,594
But we do know that they follow
conditions that help them survive.
65
00:02:54,846 --> 00:02:58,341
They follow water temperature,
they follow food availability,
66
00:02:58,371 --> 00:02:59,921
they follow ocean currents.
67
00:02:59,971 --> 00:03:02,807
Very common when you look
at how animals move.
68
00:03:03,129 --> 00:03:06,129
It's like they're reading an
invisible map that we just don't have.
69
00:03:06,449 --> 00:03:07,376
And they're not alone.
70
00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:10,611
Many animals in cold water
ecosystems are constantly moving.
71
00:03:11,050 --> 00:03:12,126
Whales do it.
72
00:03:12,226 --> 00:03:14,746
Leatherback sea turtles do it, which
we're gonna be talking about tomorrow.
73
00:03:15,326 --> 00:03:16,106
Seabirds do it.
74
00:03:16,246 --> 00:03:18,546
Blue sharks are just part of that story.
75
00:03:18,807 --> 00:03:21,506
Now, here's the part that
often gets overlooked.
76
00:03:21,928 --> 00:03:24,428
Blue sharks are predators,
and that's a good thing.
77
00:03:24,828 --> 00:03:27,048
Healthy ecosystems need predators.
78
00:03:27,208 --> 00:03:28,928
Predators help maintain balance.
79
00:03:29,179 --> 00:03:32,886
They influence prey behavior, they
shape food webs, and they k-
80
00:03:32,886 --> 00:03:35,082
help keep ecosystems functioning.
81
00:03:35,082 --> 00:03:38,712
Without predators, ecosystems can
become… Like, they're fairly unstable.
82
00:03:39,142 --> 00:03:43,078
So when people see blue sharks and
begin appreciating them, they're not
83
00:03:43,138 --> 00:03:45,058
just appreciating a single species.
84
00:03:45,267 --> 00:03:48,618
They're appreciating the role
that species plays in the ocean.
85
00:03:48,956 --> 00:03:52,027
And blue sharks make it easy
because they're beautiful.
86
00:03:52,153 --> 00:03:53,485
They're fascinating.
87
00:03:53,485 --> 00:03:56,057
They're often the shark
that changes people's minds.
88
00:03:56,316 --> 00:03:58,261
And the big takeaway is simple.
89
00:03:58,261 --> 00:04:00,715
The ocean isn't healthier without sharks.
90
00:04:00,715 --> 00:04:04,378
It's healthier because sharks are
there, and blue sharks make the best
91
00:04:04,418 --> 00:04:06,222
ambassadors the shark world has.
92
00:04:06,584 --> 00:04:08,015
That's really what it comes down to.
93
00:04:08,273 --> 00:04:12,660
They are a great symbol of
what sharks can be like.
94
00:04:12,924 --> 00:04:14,913
Just be careful if you're diving.
95
00:04:15,164 --> 00:04:17,586
You know, you still wanna be careful
if you're diving and you see one.
96
00:04:17,730 --> 00:04:20,070
They are a shark, they are a
predator, but they're curious animals.
97
00:04:20,368 --> 00:04:23,902
But when you see them from the surface
or you see them from a boat, you're
98
00:04:23,942 --> 00:04:25,242
really curious to see how they look.
99
00:04:25,282 --> 00:04:29,194
They're a very beautiful shark, and
I can't wait for you guys to see them.
100
00:04:29,394 --> 00:04:33,718
I want you guys to go to a place
like Nova Scotia or Newfoundland
101
00:04:33,718 --> 00:04:37,813
or PEI, Prince Edward Island, or
New Brunswick or even Quebec.
102
00:04:38,049 --> 00:04:40,874
And I want you to take a look at
what these blue sharks really look
103
00:04:40,934 --> 00:04:43,644
like if you get access to go out and
if you know where these sharks are.
104
00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:46,920
My interview on Friday with
Kirsti, she knows exactly where
105
00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:48,307
to find them for the most part.
106
00:04:48,307 --> 00:04:50,557
They're, you know, there's a big ocean
out there, but she knows where to find
107
00:04:50,557 --> 00:04:53,926
them and she can't wait to take people
out when she goes to see them, especially
108
00:04:53,986 --> 00:04:57,234
the students at Dalhousie University
that take the sharks course that she
109
00:04:57,274 --> 00:04:58,514
talks about in Friday's interview.
110
00:04:58,716 --> 00:05:02,640
But you wanna check out that interview
on Friday to make sure you hear all
111
00:05:02,670 --> 00:05:03,990
of it because it's a fascinating one.
112
00:05:03,990 --> 00:05:04,470
It's a fun one.
113
00:05:04,893 --> 00:05:05,773
We have a great time.
114
00:05:06,015 --> 00:05:09,568
So if you wanna hear that interview and
you wanna hear tomorrow's episodes on
115
00:05:09,568 --> 00:05:12,832
the leatherback sea turtle, follow this
podcast if you haven't done already,
116
00:05:12,862 --> 00:05:16,738
so that you can make sure every day,
you get a new episode during the week.
117
00:05:17,078 --> 00:05:18,398
So, that's it for today's episode.
118
00:05:18,458 --> 00:05:21,633
If you wanna get a hold of me, you
can do so by just going to my socials.
119
00:05:21,753 --> 00:05:23,413
All the links are in the show notes.
120
00:05:23,663 --> 00:05:26,783
And of course, thank you so much for
joining me on today's episode of the
121
00:05:26,803 --> 00:05:28,102
How to Protect the Ocean podcast.
122
00:05:28,228 --> 00:05:29,346
I am your host, Andrew Lewin.
123
00:05:29,426 --> 00:05:29,966
Have a great day.
124
00:05:30,006 --> 00:05:32,186
We'll talk to you next time,
and happy conservation.
00:00:00,050 --> 00:00:03,850
Most people are afraid of sharks,
but there's one shark that turns
2
00:00:03,890 --> 00:00:07,550
fear into fascination almost
every single time someone sees it.
3
00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:11,711
And yes, you can find it
in cold Canadian waters.
4
00:00:12,211 --> 00:00:15,291
This is the How to Protect the Ocean
podcast, your weekday ocean news update.
5
00:00:15,431 --> 00:00:20,701
If you care about staying informed
on the ocean every weekday, Monday to
6
00:00:20,711 --> 00:00:23,951
Friday, hit that follow button right
now on your favorite podcast app so you
7
00:00:23,971 --> 00:00:27,773
don't miss tomorrow's story, which we're
gonna be talking about a sea turtle.
8
00:00:27,793 --> 00:00:31,393
This is the largest sea turtle in
the world, and it comes in cold
9
00:00:31,433 --> 00:00:33,823
waters for visits, and we're gonna
talk about that tomorrow, so don't
10
00:00:34,184 --> 00:00:35,967
miss it, and hit that follow button.
11
00:00:36,148 --> 00:00:37,528
Today, we're answering a simple question.
12
00:00:37,793 --> 00:00:40,811
Can one shark change the way
people think about all sharks?
13
00:00:41,111 --> 00:00:43,971
Because according to marine biologist
Kirsti Burnett, there's one species
14
00:00:43,991 --> 00:00:46,311
that seems to do exactly that.
15
00:00:46,371 --> 00:00:49,129
Now, if you probably wanna know who
is Kirsti, if you didn't listen to,
16
00:00:49,279 --> 00:00:50,952
uh, yesterday's episode, shame on you.
17
00:00:51,035 --> 00:00:51,505
I'm just kidding.
18
00:00:51,693 --> 00:00:53,287
You can go back and listen
to it after this episode.
19
00:00:53,307 --> 00:00:55,047
But Kirsti is my interview for this week.
20
00:00:55,127 --> 00:00:57,067
She is a guest on the podcast on Friday.
21
00:00:57,107 --> 00:01:00,876
We talk about celebrating cold
water in this week before Oceans
22
00:01:00,966 --> 00:01:02,046
Week and before Ocean's Day.
23
00:01:02,431 --> 00:01:04,875
So she is somebody I work
with at Pisces Ocean.
24
00:01:04,935 --> 00:01:05,855
She's a marine biologist.
25
00:01:05,875 --> 00:01:06,815
She's got a master's degree.
26
00:01:07,021 --> 00:01:10,452
She's a dive master, and she talks
all about growing up on Nova Scotian
27
00:01:10,532 --> 00:01:14,478
shores, and what she likes to do, and
how she likes to go below as well as
28
00:01:14,528 --> 00:01:17,426
above surface, and be able to see
all these wonderful things like the
29
00:01:17,426 --> 00:01:21,322
mola mola and the blue shark, which
we're gonna be talking about today.
30
00:01:21,497 --> 00:01:23,797
When most people picture a shark,
they picture a great white,
31
00:01:23,877 --> 00:01:25,017
and that can be a little scary.
32
00:01:25,117 --> 00:01:25,817
I get that, right?
33
00:01:25,973 --> 00:01:29,666
It has big teeth, big
reputation, big Hollywood career.
34
00:01:30,126 --> 00:01:31,166
But blue sharks are different.
35
00:01:31,503 --> 00:01:35,715
They're sleek, they're graceful,
and they're one of the most
36
00:01:35,755 --> 00:01:37,711
beautiful sharks in the ocean.
37
00:01:37,711 --> 00:01:41,586
And Kirsti spent years working with
blue sharks off the coast of Nova
38
00:01:41,606 --> 00:01:45,524
Scotia, and she says people often
arrive nervous about seeing sharks.
39
00:01:45,731 --> 00:01:49,026
Then they meet the blue shark,
and everything changes after that.
40
00:01:49,206 --> 00:01:51,127
People stop seeing a monster.
41
00:01:51,310 --> 00:01:53,979
They start seeing an animal,
a curious animal at that.
42
00:01:54,434 --> 00:01:58,183
An elegant animal, an animal
that belongs in the ocean.
43
00:01:58,233 --> 00:02:01,748
That's important 'cause blue sharks are
one of the great travelers of the sea.
44
00:02:02,029 --> 00:02:05,863
A 2024 study led by Francois Poisson
tracked blue sharks and found that
45
00:02:05,903 --> 00:02:09,776
they move across enormous distances
using different parts of the ocean
46
00:02:09,856 --> 00:02:11,336
at different times of the year.
47
00:02:11,525 --> 00:02:13,612
So these sharks don't
live in one neighborhood.
48
00:02:13,829 --> 00:02:18,136
They live in an ocean-sized world,
if you wanna put it that way, and
49
00:02:18,286 --> 00:02:20,356
that world includes Atlantic Canada.
50
00:02:20,656 --> 00:02:23,513
And when you see a blue shark off
Nova Scotia, you're looking at
51
00:02:23,523 --> 00:02:27,635
an animal that may have crossed
thousands of kilometers of ocean.
52
00:02:27,645 --> 00:02:28,889
Now just think about that.
53
00:02:28,889 --> 00:02:31,069
You know, it's not just
staying in and around the area.
54
00:02:31,364 --> 00:02:33,074
It's incredible when you think about it.
55
00:02:33,114 --> 00:02:34,234
Like, they don't have GPS.
56
00:02:34,294 --> 00:02:35,294
They don't have maps.
57
00:02:35,574 --> 00:02:36,512
There's no roads.
58
00:02:36,830 --> 00:02:39,762
Nothing, like, guiding them, like,
as a road and a lane with s- like,
59
00:02:39,902 --> 00:02:42,447
streetlights and everything like
that, yet they somehow navigate
60
00:02:42,507 --> 00:02:45,576
one of the largest environments on
the planet, an environment that
61
00:02:45,616 --> 00:02:47,818
takes up 70% of the planet.
62
00:02:48,069 --> 00:02:50,468
Scientists are still trying to
understand exactly how they do
63
00:02:50,478 --> 00:02:51,158
it, 'cause they just don't know.
64
00:02:51,442 --> 00:02:54,594
But we do know that they follow
conditions that help them survive.
65
00:02:54,846 --> 00:02:58,341
They follow water temperature,
they follow food availability,
66
00:02:58,371 --> 00:02:59,921
they follow ocean currents.
67
00:02:59,971 --> 00:03:02,807
Very common when you look
at how animals move.
68
00:03:03,129 --> 00:03:06,129
It's like they're reading an
invisible map that we just don't have.
69
00:03:06,449 --> 00:03:07,376
And they're not alone.
70
00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:10,611
Many animals in cold water
ecosystems are constantly moving.
71
00:03:11,050 --> 00:03:12,126
Whales do it.
72
00:03:12,226 --> 00:03:14,746
Leatherback sea turtles do it, which
we're gonna be talking about tomorrow.
73
00:03:15,326 --> 00:03:16,106
Seabirds do it.
74
00:03:16,246 --> 00:03:18,546
Blue sharks are just part of that story.
75
00:03:18,807 --> 00:03:21,506
Now, here's the part that
often gets overlooked.
76
00:03:21,928 --> 00:03:24,428
Blue sharks are predators,
and that's a good thing.
77
00:03:24,828 --> 00:03:27,048
Healthy ecosystems need predators.
78
00:03:27,208 --> 00:03:28,928
Predators help maintain balance.
79
00:03:29,179 --> 00:03:32,886
They influence prey behavior, they
shape food webs, and they k-
80
00:03:32,886 --> 00:03:35,082
help keep ecosystems functioning.
81
00:03:35,082 --> 00:03:38,712
Without predators, ecosystems can
become… Like, they're fairly unstable.
82
00:03:39,142 --> 00:03:43,078
So when people see blue sharks and
begin appreciating them, they're not
83
00:03:43,138 --> 00:03:45,058
just appreciating a single species.
84
00:03:45,267 --> 00:03:48,618
They're appreciating the role
that species plays in the ocean.
85
00:03:48,956 --> 00:03:52,027
And blue sharks make it easy
because they're beautiful.
86
00:03:52,153 --> 00:03:53,485
They're fascinating.
87
00:03:53,485 --> 00:03:56,057
They're often the shark
that changes people's minds.
88
00:03:56,316 --> 00:03:58,261
And the big takeaway is simple.
89
00:03:58,261 --> 00:04:00,715
The ocean isn't healthier without sharks.
90
00:04:00,715 --> 00:04:04,378
It's healthier because sharks are
there, and blue sharks make the best
91
00:04:04,418 --> 00:04:06,222
ambassadors the shark world has.
92
00:04:06,584 --> 00:04:08,015
That's really what it comes down to.
93
00:04:08,273 --> 00:04:12,660
They are a great symbol of
what sharks can be like.
94
00:04:12,924 --> 00:04:14,913
Just be careful if you're diving.
95
00:04:15,164 --> 00:04:17,586
You know, you still wanna be careful
if you're diving and you see one.
96
00:04:17,730 --> 00:04:20,070
They are a shark, they are a
predator, but they're curious animals.
97
00:04:20,368 --> 00:04:23,902
But when you see them from the surface
or you see them from a boat, you're
98
00:04:23,942 --> 00:04:25,242
really curious to see how they look.
99
00:04:25,282 --> 00:04:29,194
They're a very beautiful shark, and
I can't wait for you guys to see them.
100
00:04:29,394 --> 00:04:33,718
I want you guys to go to a place
like Nova Scotia or Newfoundland
101
00:04:33,718 --> 00:04:37,813
or PEI, Prince Edward Island, or
New Brunswick or even Quebec.
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And I want you to take a look at
what these blue sharks really look
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like if you get access to go out and
if you know where these sharks are.
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My interview on Friday with
Kirsti, she knows exactly where
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to find them for the most part.
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They're, you know, there's a big ocean
out there, but she knows where to find
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them and she can't wait to take people
out when she goes to see them, especially
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the students at Dalhousie University
that take the sharks course that she
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talks about in Friday's interview.
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But you wanna check out that interview
on Friday to make sure you hear all
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of it because it's a fascinating one.
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It's a fun one.
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We have a great time.
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So if you wanna hear that interview and
you wanna hear tomorrow's episodes on
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the leatherback sea turtle, follow this
podcast if you haven't done already,
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so that you can make sure every day,
you get a new episode during the week.
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So, that's it for today's episode.
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If you wanna get a hold of me, you
can do so by just going to my socials.
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All the links are in the show notes.
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And of course, thank you so much for
joining me on today's episode of the
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How to Protect the Ocean podcast.
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I am your host, Andrew Lewin.
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Have a great day.
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We'll talk to you next time,
and happy conservation.
