We will meet the people that have been touched by sharks, whose lives have been changed by working closely with them, including Mike Rutzen, who studies shark behaviour at a closer range  than anyone else in world, outside the cage...

We will also explore the Great White's position in the food chain: the energy of the sun is harnessed by plankton through photosynthesis, whilst the CO2 that dissolves into the sea is transformed into the organic building blocks of life... this energy, and this carbon is absorbed by the filter feeders: pelagic fish that are in turn hunted by the first tier of predators, including the fur seals whose energy rich blubber is the Great Whites main source of food. Not only do our fishing practises upset this chain, pollution enters at lower levels, making the top tier creatures a potential reservoir of poisons. Sharks and dolphins are slowly accumulating high levels of mercury in their systems...

Like land based predators, however, these incredible creatures are under threat: from loss of habitat, competition over food resources, and the global trade in shark finning. Like all predators, sharks play a pivotal role within their ecosystem: when lost, the system faces total collapse.

Great White Shark 3D copyright Yes/No Productions 2010 all enquiries contact julia@stomp.co.uk

Mike Rutzen with Great White, South Africa

Jaws agape, Guadaloupe, Mexico