The Sharkman meets Carl Roessler

Hello Carl.

 

Welcome to

Sharkman’s World

 

Sharkman: How long have you been interested in sharks?

 

Carl: When I began diving in the 50s, sharks were little understood and therefore feared. It wasn’t until the advent of overseas dive travel in the early 70s that we began feeding them and found out that they were quite rational and therefore possible to take divers to enjoy.

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Sharkman: How did this interest start?

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Carl: At first, we concentrated on small colourful fish and corals in our diving. After a year or so of doing that, it was inevitable that our interest would expand to rays, turtles and sharks. In the Caribbean, we didn’t have a lot of sharks around on our reef dives. When I began going to Australia and other world-wide destinations, we saw many sharks and began to feature them on each expedition. Over the years they evolved into the centrepiece of almost every major overseas destination.

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Sharkman: In what way is your work related to sharks now?

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Carl: I dive with them and write about them as often as possible, always hoping to learn more. Mainly, though, I now share nearly thirty years of experience to help divers who visit my web site decide where they would like to dive. Sharks are often a key interest when they contact me.

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Sharkman: How many times a year do you make these trips?

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Carl: These days, I do four or five destinations each year. In past years I’d do six or seven places each year.

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Sharkman: Carl, you have practically dived all over the world (except Malta). Do you have a favourite dive spot, and if yes – why?

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Carl: I have often said that on any given day, there is one place that is the best in the world that day. The weather, the currents and other factors combine just right, and the diving becomes it’s best. Some places where this happens fairly often would include Papua New Guinea’s Coral Sea; Malpelo; the southern Red Sea; Socorro and Rowley Shoals in Western Australia. Those places are not overwhelmed with divers, so I like going back to them whenever I can. My favourite places are often characterised by there being one boat – the one I’m on – in a fifty-mile radius.

 

Sharkman: Every picture tells a story. Most of your pictures must have involved a slight level of risk. Was there ever a moment of real danger?

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Carl: Diving, even diving with sharks, is not particularly dangerous. My feeling is that you have to be both unlucky and stupid to be hurt diving. My only moments of danger occurred when I pushed the envelope with big sharks in order to get better pictures. In those cases, my life-long good luck held …

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Sharkman: You were one of the first to photograph the “Tiger / Ragged Toothed Shark” of Malpelo. Please tell us about this experience.

 

Carl: Captain Heinz of The Inzan Tiger first discovered the Tiger / Ragged-Toothed Sharks. When he first encountered them he thought they were Great Whites, but soon discovered that he had something even better. I was on the first cruise when he shared his discovery with clients. We made repeated dives at his secret seamount location, and encountered the sharks in depths of 160 to 220 feet. These are fabulously exciting animals!