Lost Shark Guy Dr. David Ebert is one of the most respected names in shark science today, and in this Ocean People profile from Ocean Decoded Live, host Andrew Lewin breaks down why. Ebert is a friend, colleague, and co-host of Andrew's on the Beyond Jaws podcast, and over a career spanning more than 35 years he has described more than 50 new species of sharks, skates, rays, and chimaeras, work that's earned him the nickname "The Lost Shark Guy." He's the Director of the Pacific Shark Research Center at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories and holds a PhD focused on ichthyology.
Ebert's method is fieldwork-first: he visits fishing villages and ports around the world, checks trawl catches, and talks directly with local fishermen about what's being caught and what hasn't turned up in years. That work has taken him to South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, China, the Philippines, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Brazil, Mexico, California, and Alaska, searching for species long thought extinct and documenting ones brand new to science. He's also spent his career mentoring graduate students and early-career scientists in the field, and he and Andrew dig into just how winding and non-linear that path into shark science really is on their podcast, Beyond Jaws: Exploring Shark Science and Conservation.
Ebert's research and expeditions have been featured on Discovery Channel's Shark Week (including the Alien Sharks series and a river-shark search for "Extinct or Alive" in Northern Australia), BBC, National Geographic, and network morning shows, with funding support from the Save Our Seas Foundation. He's held leadership roles including president of the American Elasmobranch Society and an IUCN Vice Chair role for taxonomy. Follow his ongoing search for lost sharks at lostsharkguy.com and on Instagram @lostsharkguy, and check out Beyond Jaws for more of his story.
Website: https://www.lostsharkguy.com/
Extinct or Alive YouTube Series: https://youtu.be/YsKEJZ1-cgA?si=viRVIV4e07W3IId8
Beyond Jaws Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@beyondjawspodcast7591
Chapters:
0:00 Intro: Meet Dr. David Ebert, the Lost Shark Guy
2:25 How He Finds Lost Sharks: Trawls, Fishing Villages, and Fieldwork
4:41 The Beyond Jaws Podcast and Mentoring the Next Generation
7:53 Career Snapshot: Titles, PhD, and Global Shark Expeditions
8:57 Wrap-Up: Follow Dave Ebert and Watch Beyond Jaws
Takeaways:
Dr. David Ebert, known as the Lost Shark Guy, is Director of the Pacific Shark Research Center at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories and has described more than 50 new species of sharks, skates, rays, and chimaeras over a career spanning more than 35 years.
His fieldwork centres on fishing villages, trawl catches, and conversations with local fishermen, taking him to South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, China, the Philippines, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Brazil, Mexico, California, and Alaska.
He co-hosts Beyond Jaws: Exploring Shark Science and Conservation with Andrew Lewin, and has mentored graduate students and early-career scientists throughout his career.
His TV credits include Discovery Channel's Shark Week (Alien Sharks, and an "Extinct or Alive" river-shark search in Northern Australia), BBC, National Geographic, and network morning shows, with research funding support from the Save Our Seas Foundation.
He's held leadership roles including president of the American Elasmobranch Society and an IUCN Vice Chair role for taxonomy.
Follow his search for lost sharks at lostsharkguy.com and on Instagram @lostsharkguy.
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