He dives with sharks. Without a cage

Over the last 25 years, Daniele Marco Pavan has spent hundreds of hours diving with sharks. And he hasn’t got a single bite mark to brag about. Though Pavan is fascinated by the ocean’s most feared creatures, they seem far less interested in him. And that’s just what he wants the world to understand. Because ignorance is killing them.

Hailing from Umkomaas in KwaZulu-Natal, Pavan learnt to dive under the instruction of Paul Wylie, a veteran shipwreck diver who wanted to teach the children of the area a useful pastime. This gave life to Pavan’s interest in the sea, but it was when his mother was diagnosed with cancer that he truly threw himself into it. Heart and soul. Sharks captured his imagination above all, and his study of and interaction with them revealed counter-intuitive facts. Pavan found that the great beasts are rather cautious, even shy.

He also discovered that engaging with sharks under the right conditions is a powerful experience that’s tough to describe or match. As a shark-dive guide, his goal is to quell the fears that society has about these complicated creatures. South Africa is home to a quarter of the world’s known shark species. Our efforts will play a crucial role in their future.