Speaking

1) Facing a shark? Deal With it - and Feel Safe

Most people fear sharks – but why? It’s not likely they had a bad experience with one of them. So then, why? Is it because sharks can come up from the dim and dark depths of the sea, can hurt and even kill us, can’t be read, and we don’t know how to react when facing one? Whatever the reason may be, sharks are not the animals the media portrays. They are most often shy, cautious, and hesitant to come closer, and that includes the ultimate predator as well; the white shark. Sharks are the least dangerous predators over 100 lbs on our planet. That says it all. However, numbers don’t count when facing a shark, and its curiosity may take over.

So why is dealing with sharks still such an unknown? Aren’t there researchers out there studying the true nature of these animals? No, they aren’t, and there isn’t. Only a handful of scientists study shark-human interaction and body language. This talk is about the insight of such work and the most intriguing questions. What is the thinking process behind a shark’s approach; how does a shark interpret a new situation; what factors likely dominate such an approach? Questions like these are studied through series of tests between sharks and humans in defined but free, non-restricted scenarios and answers given to the “Why me?” and “What do I have to do?” questions.

Erich shares his motivation and knowledge about facing sharks and how everybody can learn and not just be among them but also how to communicate. You learn what to look for when a shark approaches, what factors influence the situation the most, and most importantly, how to act and react in a safely manner based on the shark’s signaling.

2) After a near-fatal shark attack getting back into the game

April 9, 2002, is the date when the most aired shark attack on TV of all time took place (over 40 million viewers when first aired). During a shoot for Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week,” the unthinkable happened, a fully grown bull shark bites off the calf of a scientist right in front of the camera. To be the scientist with the most face-to-face encounters with sharks in the scientific community and get nearly killed by one was the worst combination that could happen for the cause to protect these animals. This scientist was Erich.

No one cared to know why it happened, just that it happened, so there was not much empathy from colleagues and a lot of ridicule. He did not only lose his sponsors, classes, and his livelihood, but his reputation lost every ounce of credibility. On top of that, many “shark haters” used this very incident to underline their point of view that sharks are dangerous since not even experts can prevent it. Reasoning with these types of people was impossible; likewise, he could not shake off all the unfairness of those people who finally had a shot at him. Erich was in the cross hair for months, and nothing could protect him. So he withdrew from the public, and after a lot of soul searching, he decided to start all over, no matter what.

This talk is about not giving up and having the courage to try it once more. Erich started from scratch, without money or support. But he wanted to make his incident count and began a new area of research, the interpretation of approach pattern of sharks and factors influencing these situations. Without the incident, this research would never have happened. Now, 18 years later, his understanding of sharks is way beyond what he knew on this dark Wednesday in April of 2002.

What is the message?

This talk revolves around how life can fall apart but can be rebuilt with determination, hope, and the mantra never to give up.

3) Act, react, rescue and prevention - dealing with a shark incident

Each summer, we are hounded by the same stories about shark attacks. And like always, the local municipalities and commission boards cry for help, better protection and prevention for the general public, better monitoring and education for lifeguards, and on, and on. Each year history repeats itself: we are called in to interpret and interviewed after it happened again.

This talk revolves around the questions of what to do and how to do it when a shark injures a person, as well as how to prevent the preventable. The motivation behind a bite is mostly straight forward, not so why this particular shark lowered its thresholds of hesitation to the point that it took a bite. In contrast, other sharks before and after being in the same situations did not do so. The question is why.

What is the message?

You will learn all about the “do's and dont's” that truly matter when being among sharks, or specifically facing one. It further strengthens the understanding that environmental factors can be read and interpreted for the sake of a safe retreat or a potential face-off.