Swimming with a Shiver of Sharks, a guest post by Kerry O’Malley Cerra
Ten years ago, if you had asked me to jump in the ocean where I could literally see sharks congregating, I would have hijacked the boat and driven away to safety as quickly as possible—fully expecting everyone on board to thank me for saving their lives. I have zero desire to be a shark-snack. And I was sure that’s what I would have become had I taken the plunge because, you know, the movie Jaws clearly educated all of us on that terror.
Now listen, I appreciate fiction just as much as the next person. I mean, I write it, right? And kudos to the writers, directors, producers, props people (especially the props people!), and everyone else who worked on that film because they succeeded in scaring the bejesus out of millions of people across multiple generations for all eternity to come.
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And yet, as of today, I have willingly jumped in open waters and swam with five different species of sharks: a bull shark, several Caribbean reef sharks, whale sharks, nurse sharks, and seven lemon sharks.
So what changed? What made me get over this fear?
Okay, I’ll be honest. I’m not fully over the fear. All animals can be unpredictable. Yes, even your sweet bunny. So while I don’t necessarily fear sharks in general anymore, I always, ALWAYS exercise an abundance of caution before zipping the wet suit, snapping my mask and snorkel into place, and dropping—fins first—off the side of a boat into a shiver of sharks. (Yes, a group of sharks is called a shiver! So appropriate, right?)
But back to what changed! The answer is super simple. I got educated. Schooled by my daughter. Informed by the documentary Sharkwater! And from there, I evolved . . . or at least my thoughts did. And really, isn’t that what’s so incredible about our world? The fact that we are allowed to learn and grow and change our minds about perceptions we once held? Sometimes, I feel like we’re afraid to admit when we were wrong about things, but truly, the admiration is in being able to confess we didn’t quite know enough so we did the hard work to find out truths.
And the truth is, we are not shark-snacks!
Read that again. We are not shark snacks. The simplest truth here is that sharks existed millions of years before humans, and we are not part of their diet. Shark bites to humans are almost always a case of mistaken identity or the result of a shark feeling threatened. And more facts . . . sharks have way more to fear from humans than humans do from sharks. With many sharks now showing up on the endangered species list, it’s time for us to do all we can to save these animals and keep the balance of our oceans’ ecosystems intact.
Once I did my own homework and saw for myself that all these things were true, my fear dissipated. That doesn’t mean I wasn’t nervous the first time my daughter and her team of marine scientists at the Bimini Biological Field Station in the Bahamas took us on a shark excursion. And truly, if you’re gonna jump into sharky waters, there’s no group I’d trust more to do this with than these experts. As they anchored the boat off a reef, I saw the sharks congregating immediately. Three of the team members were already in the water tying up the boat, and Caribbean reef sharks swam right on by them over and over, never once poking their snouts in anyone’s personal space. So my tension eased almost right away.
We were instructed to get in the water and hold onto a rope that was tethered from the back of the boat to the ocean floor. We had a shark lab team member on each end of the rope with us—my husband, me, and our friend Alex—sandwiched between them. There was a shark-labber watching our backs, and we were instructed on what to do if a shark swam toward us from the front. Fun note: you first put your feet out to get them to turn their direction away from you, but if that doesn’t work, you guide them by their noses with your palm and push them off to the side. This sounds scary, but it’s not. You can tell by their body language that they are simply swimming curiously rather than in attack mode where they’d come at you quickly.
Once we felt safe, we were allowed to drop off the line and swim at our leisure while the trained shark-labbers kept watch. There was something epically cool seeing my daughter protecting us, when all her life, it had—up till then—been our job to protect her. Can you cry underwater? Yes. Yes, you can.
Once I cleared the mask of my tears, I swam like I’ve never swum before. It was incredible! And while I wish I could write a thousand words here to make you understand this, to feel what I felt while I snorkled my way around the ocean’s playground with these beautiful sharks, there are no words adequate enough, so I won’t try. But I will say, it hooked me for life.
All of my shark encounters so far have been trips with my daughter, and I’d have it no other way. How cool that we get to share this passion together. How cool that I, who always taught her about life, have become the student to her expertise.
Our farthest trip was to Isle Mujeres, Mexico where we swam with majestic, ginormous whale sharks that gracefully, gently, and magnificently graced us with their beauty and presence.
But the most fun shark encounter was right off the coast of Florida where we swam with seven lemon sharks. I’d heard that lemons are often playful, and it’s no joke. These curious sharks wove in, out, and around our small group, coming right up to us with zero fear. And as I made my way back to the boat at the end, one rammed me in the back so hard, I was shoved forward with a force that could have landed me in the boat had I been closer. And while that may scare some, it’s proof that if that shark wanted to eat me, I would have, in that moment, been a perfect snack. But as we are not shark-snacks, I tell this story as confirmation that we really don’t have much to fear when it comes to shark interactions. Still, you should always swim with buddies and be vigilant and cautious at all times. That shark wanted to play. I was leaving, but he wanted me to stay. I fully believe that’s all it was, and because I stayed alert and mindful, I was able to handle this well-intentioned surprise.
My vow to swim with sharks as often as possible, and always with my daughter, led me to set a goal . . . swim with at least ten different types of sharks by 2028. I have no idea why I picked that year, but I did. And since I’m up to only 5 as of now, it’s time to schedule another trip.
These excursions have deepened my need to take a stand for sharks—who are so often misunderstood. I’m never going to be a marine biologist at this point in my life. But writing about sharks. . . educating kids about them, about why we need them, why we need to care about their declining populations . . . that I can do. I hope you’ll check out Make a Little Wave so you too can learn about sharks. And hopefully, you’ll share the book far and wide. The sharks need every single one of us!
A video mashup of all our dives so far.
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If you’re ever in Florida and are looking for the very best shark seafari for you and your family, I highly recommend Ryan Walton of Shark Tours, Florida based out of Palm Beach.
Stay salty, all! Hope to see you in the water.
~Kerry
Meet the author
Kerry O’Malley Cerra is an award-winning author of middle grade books. Her first novel, Just a Drop of Water, landed on five state reading lists, won the Crystal Kite Award, a Florida Book Award, and was named to VOYA’s Top Shelf Fiction list for 2014. Her second novel, Hear Me, is a Sunshine State Reader Award winner. Stay tuned for her forthcoming books, Make a Little Wave, (Oct. 1, 2024 from Carolrhoda Books, Lerner Publishing) and a nonfiction picture book, The Gallaudet Eleven: The Story of NASA’s Deaf Bioastronauts (March 2026 from Little, Brown BFYR). Kerry’s work has received praise from The New York Times, Kirkus, School Library Journal, Booklist, VOYA, and the Horn Book Guide calling her stories moving, perceptive, well-developed, and woven with an expert hand. A deaf author herself (who now hears with the help of one cochlear implant), she’s passionate about books that depict d/Deaf and/or hearing loss experiences for children. Kerry, a former high school media specialist and social studies teacher, lives in South Florida with her husband and two poorly behaved rescue dogs.
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About Make a Little Wave
Swim with the current, or go against the flow?
Savannah has been feeling out of place ever since her family moved to Sandy Dune, Florida. She finds it easier to make friends with animals than people. Plus, everyone in Sandy Dune seems to love spending time in the ocean, and Sav never feels comfortable leaving the shore.
When her classmate Tanner invites her to the opening of his family’s restaurant, Sav’s excited—until she’s served a bowl of shark fin soup. Sav has always been scared of sharks, but she’s horrified that they’re inhumanely killed for this expensive delicacy. Especially as she learns more about these surprisingly gentle creatures and discovers that some shark species are being hunted to the point of endangerment. Tanner’s family brushes off her concerns, but Sav resolves to stop them from serving the soup.
To do that, she’ll have to learn how to use her voice and face her biggest fears.
ISBN-13: 9781728493220
Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date: 10/01/2024
Age Range: 10-14 Years
Filed under: Guest Post
About Amanda MacGregor
Amanda MacGregor works in an elementary library, loves dogs, and can be found on Twitter @CiteSomething.
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