May 13, 2024 • 44 mins
In this episode, we have a fascinating interview with Kaleigh Grant, also known as Kay. Kay takes us on a journey from her upbringing outside Philadelphia to becoming a renowned shark expert in Hawaii. She sheds light on the crucial role sharks play in the ecosystem and the various threats they encounter, including overfishing and plastic pollution. Kaye underscores the significance of adopting sustainable practices such as using reef-safe sunscreen and reducing single-use plastics. Through her company, Kaimana Ocean Safari, she actively works towards connecting people with the ocean and advocating for conservation.
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Guest Info:
Kayleigh Grant
Founder – Captain – Lead Safety Diver
Kayleigh “Kay” grew up outside of Philadelphia with a deep love and longing for the ocean and curiosity of its inhabitants. Kay has a Bachelor of Science in Ecotourism & completed the Marine Option Program at the University of Hawaii, as well as a shark specialty course with Queensland University and Cornell University. She’s been living in Hawaii for 12 years and was able to further her love of the ocean and learn invaluable information about safety and sharks from the amazing team at One Ocean Diving from 2015-2020. Kay has guided ocean goers of all walks of life at home in Hawai’i, as well as around the globe with her Kaimana Expeditions. Kay is passionate about connecting people to the ocean in a deeper way and inspiring others to change their daily habits to better benefit the natural world. Onboard Kay will teach you how to properly interact with animals, safely interact with sharks, the importance of cutting out single-use plastics, which sunscreens are safe for the reef, and more!
Website - https://www.kaimanaoceansafari.com/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mermaid.kayleigh/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/kayleighnb
Tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@mermaid.kayleigh
---
Want more of the show? Check out all of our links below:
Website - https://www.unfilteredunion.com
---
Guest Info:
Kayleigh Grant
Founder – Captain – Lead Safety Diver
Kayleigh “Kay” grew up outside of Philadelphia with a deep love and longing for the ocean and curiosity of its inhabitants. Kay has a Bachelor of Science in Ecotourism & completed the Marine Option Program at the University of Hawaii, as well as a shark specialty course with Queensland University and Cornell University. She’s been living in Hawaii for 12 years and was able to further her love of the ocean and learn invaluable information about safety and sharks from the amazing team at One Ocean Diving from 2015-2020. Kay has guided ocean goers of all walks of life at home in Hawai’i, as well as around the globe with her Kaimana Expeditions. Kay is passionate about connecting people to the ocean in a deeper way and inspiring others to change their daily habits to better benefit the natural world. Onboard Kay will teach you how to properly interact with animals, safely interact with sharks, the importance of cutting out single-use plastics, which sunscreens are safe for the reef, and more!
Website - https://www.kaimanaoceansafari.com/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mermaid.kayleigh/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/kayleighnb
Tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@mermaid.kayleigh
---
Want more of the show? Check out all of our links below:
Website - https://www.unfilteredunion.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_03 (00:01):
This is Linz.
SPEAKER_01 (00:03):
This is Russ.
SPEAKER_03 (00:04):
And we're married.
Are we?
Yep, since 2013.
SPEAKER_01 (00:07):
We're the hosts of the Unfiltered Union podcast.
SPEAKER_03 (00:09):
Where we discuss popular headlines and interview
interesting people.
SPEAKER_01 (00:13):
Our opinions may vary, but we will never censor
our guests or our viewpoints.
SPEAKER_03 (00:17):
Welcome to the Unfiltered Union.
SPEAKER_01 (00:23):
We have another guest.
SPEAKER_03 (00:25):
Good job!
SPEAKER_01 (00:26):
I'm supposed to do the intro this time.
SPEAKER_03 (00:30):
You volunteered to do the intro this time.
SPEAKER_01 (00:33):
No, I didn't, but okay.
All right.
Today we have with us KayleeGrant, aka Kay.
She grew up outside Philadelphiawith a deep love and longing for
the ocean and the curiosity ofits inhabitants.
Kay has a Bachelor of Science inEcotourism and completed the
Marine Option Program at theUniversity of Hawaii, as well as
(00:55):
a shark specialty course withwith Queensland University and
Cornell University.
She's been living in Hawaii forthe past 12 years and was able
to further her love of the oceanand learn invaluable information
about safety and sharks from theamazing team at One Ocean Diving
from 2015 to 2020.
(01:17):
Kay has guided ocean goers ofall walks of life at home in
Hawaii as well as around theglobe with her Kaimana
expeditions.
Kay is passionate aboutconnecting people to the ocean
in a deeper way and inspiringothers to change their daily
habits to better benefit thenatural world on board.
Kay will teach you how toproperly interact with animals,
(01:39):
safely interact with sharks, theimportance of cutting out single
use plastics, which sunscreensare safe for the reef and more.
SPEAKER_03 (01:47):
Good job.
SPEAKER_01 (01:48):
That was a struggle for me.
SPEAKER_03 (01:52):
We're growing here.
SPEAKER_01 (01:53):
I don't know how to read good.
SPEAKER_03 (01:56):
But I mean, all that to say, let's start from the
very beginning with you here,Kay.
You talk about how you grew upoutside of Philadelphia.
SPEAKER_01 (02:03):
Yeah, Philadelphia.
Ocean.
To Hawaii is big.
SPEAKER_03 (02:10):
Right.
So what started your interest inthe ocean and wanting to
interact with animals of thesea?
SPEAKER_00 (02:17):
Well.
Well, my dog is like climbingunder me.
Thank you guys so much forhaving me.
I'm excited to be here.
Yeah, I grew up outside ofPhiladelphia in an area called
Bucks County.
And so I spent my summers as akid going to Jersey Shore, just
like you see on TV.
(02:38):
And I loved whales when I wasgrowing up.
We are in the generation of, orI'm in the generation of growing
up to Free Willy and The LittleMermaid.
And I just loved whales.
So my dad would take me whalewatching off of the coast of
(02:58):
Massachusetts.
And from there, I kind of justwent through the typical go to
school, get a job sort ofroutine.
After I was a kid, I didn'treally realize that working in
the ocean was necessarily apossibility for me.
But After I graduated college, Imoved out to Hawaii.
(03:22):
And from there, I was fullysurrounded by the ocean.
So it was inevitable that Irevisited this love of the ocean
and marine life.
So from there, I started workingas a dive master and taking
people scuba diving.
And I remember on my first scubadive, when I was learning how to
scuba dive, I found a sharktooth in the sand.
(03:44):
And I brought it up to myinstructor.
And I was like, look, this is socool.
And he was like, well, that'sawesome because, you know, what
a special rare find.
And I think that was like a signthat they were going to be in my
life and very important to me.
So then I went on to work withsharks on the North Shore of
Oahu for many years beforefinally starting my own company
(04:06):
called Kaimana Ocean Safari outhere in Kona with my husband,
Cam.
SPEAKER_01 (04:12):
That's awesome.
SPEAKER_00 (04:13):
Do you still have that shark tooth?
I do.
Oh, yes.
Amongst many more.
that I've collected now over theyears.
SPEAKER_01 (04:20):
Yeah, that's a pass down through the generation type
deal right there.
SPEAKER_00 (04:26):
It was certainly a very special omen.
So I actually put on a necklaceand I'd been wearing it around
for quite a while.
SPEAKER_01 (04:33):
Right on.
So what drew you to Hawaii?
I mean, you kind of gave us somehints that working with the
ocean and stuff, but like I saidbefore, Philadelphia, Hawaii,
that's long.
That's a lot of miles.
Yeah, that's pretty far.
SPEAKER_00 (04:47):
Oh, yeah, that's a really big leap.
And I was not as well traveledas I am now.
Coming out of college, I hadnever been more west of than
Texas.
So that was a huge leap for me.
Throughout my college career, Idid some volunteering programs
where I went down to Central andSouth America, and volunteered
(05:10):
to help teach kids English andthings like that.
So during that, it just I thinktravels a way to really expand
your mind and teach you so muchabout the world around you.
And for me, that was definitelythe case.
I was like, wow, there's so muchmore to the world than this like
county that I grew up in.
(05:31):
And so when I graduated college,I was like, okay, like I want to
keep going.
I want to keep traveling and seewhat else is out there.
So I didn't necessarily have aplan.
My degree is in ecotourism.
So I kind of knew that I wantedto take people on adventures one
day I didn't exactly at the timeknow what that looked like I
(05:52):
really I value experiences a lotand I think that they can really
shape and change people so thatis what I wanted to give people
that's what I wanted to do withmy purpose and then luckily I
was able to combine that withthe ocean but I was just looking
for my next adventureessentially and what I went to
do next and I was looking atplaces all over the world but I
(06:15):
had a friend that I wasn'tcollege with and he was like,
yeah, you can come like crash onmy couch for until you find a
place.
And I was like, you're inHawaii.
Okay, that doesn't sound like abad idea.
I had about like$3,000 in mypocket and three suitcases.
And I went out, I bought ascooter.
I was like, on a moped for thefirst couple years of living out
(06:40):
there.
And I got a job at a
SPEAKER_03 (06:47):
I mean, that's awesome.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, the plane ticket alone,though, probably ate up a lot of
your savings.
SPEAKER_00 (06:55):
I know.
I was just like a young, brokecollege student.
But it's almost like, yeah, justthings were so simple, like way
more simple back then.
So it was easier than it wouldbe for me to do something like
that now.
So I'm glad I took the leap atthat time in my life.
SPEAKER_01 (07:11):
For sure.
I mean, I'm not saying we did ahuge leap like that, but we went
from Virginia to Florida andthat was rough.
So bad.
It was awful.
I recommend people to check outFlorida, but moving across state
lines, you got to really thinkabout it before you do it and
(07:33):
plan because it was rough forus.
SPEAKER_03 (07:36):
It's hard.
SPEAKER_01 (07:37):
For
SPEAKER_03 (07:38):
sure.
I think with Florida, we haveall of our favorite things about
living here.
Kay, what would you say is yourfavorite thing about Hawaii
living?
SPEAKER_00 (07:46):
Oh my gosh, definitely the ocean especially
like out here in Kona it's justit's really my favorite place to
dive so I'm very lucky that Ilive somewhere that is my
favorite place to dive and alsothe Aloha spirit you know
whenever I'm like back on theeast coast or on the mainland I
can definitely feel the energyof the hustle and bustle around
(08:07):
me a little bit more just kindof like that slow pace that
island life the Aloha spirit isdefinitely very prevalent here
and you know you can feel itwhen you're just here.
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (08:21):
It's a culture thing.
And we never had a big culturescene in Virginia where we're
from.
But down here, Tampa is likethat.
It's super weird.
Like the community here is bigand the sports teams are
actually rooted for here, unlikein Virginia.
(08:43):
Everybody only watches hockeythere.
But yeah, I
SPEAKER_00 (08:47):
think it's hard to realize there is culture where
you're from, but other peoplewould probably see it if they
went to
SPEAKER_01 (09:04):
Virginia.
That's true.
You're from the place where allthe presidents came from.
And I guess it just falls ondeaf ears after a while.
(09:26):
Well,
SPEAKER_03 (09:27):
diving in here.
So how did you really get yourstart with shark diving?
Like where would you likepinpoint?
I mean, you mentioned the tooth.
Is that kind of what led you to,Hey, maybe I can find sharks in
the wild.
SPEAKER_00 (09:41):
Yeah, for sure.
I always tell people like, causepeople will ask all the time and
sort of over complicated, like,how did you do this?
What should I do?
You know, what exactly is yourjob and where did you learn in
all of these things?
And it's actually just like waymore simple than you think you
know just go to the ocean justgo in the ocean as much as you
(10:02):
can and you're bound to startseeing some things and learning
a lot the sharks are the bestteachers too and basically
whatever subject it is thatyou're interested in just spend
time hanging out with them lookat the guy my octopus teacher
right and how he was able tolike have this whole form this
whole connection and do thiswhole documentary just by going
(10:24):
out there every day and spendingtime looking for this octopus so
it's kind of like the same thingyou know and in Hawaii there are
areas that are more prevalentfor sharks the North Shore of
Oahu being one of them and butreally anywhere you know so mine
really started with scuba divingand I always recommend like if
people are looking to have a jobin the ocean to start with scuba
(10:46):
diving go out get your divemaster I recommend patty and
just like work in the industryif you become the person that's
taking the people out likeyou're gonna be out so often and
you're You're going to see morethings and learn more stuff.
So just making sure spendingtime in the ocean and taking
people out there.
And over time, you know, youdefinitely learn a thing or two.
SPEAKER_01 (11:08):
So I have a question and it is around the public
perception of sharks is nothingbut fear, but fear.
You swim with them.
You know them a lot better thanthe Discovery Channel feeding
somebody who sits on the couchand watches that all day.
SPEAKER_03 (11:29):
And we've seen videos of you touch them.
SPEAKER_01 (11:31):
Yeah, yeah, right.
So what I'm trying to get at iswhy are they important and what
does the ocean look like withoutsharks?
Because they are a key player tothe ecosystem and people don't
tend to understand that.
SPEAKER_00 (11:47):
Absolutely, yeah.
Well, regarding the fear ofsharks, I think it's a normal
thing they're wild animalsthey're apex predators and I
never want to become someonethat preaches that they're puppy
dogs because it's just reallynot the case right they should
be you know I wouldn't say likefeared demonized but like feared
(12:08):
to like a healthy degree thatit's like okay I have respect
for that animal and that is awild animal and like it's their
home it's their ocean and all ofthose good things so you know a
lot of the videos I put outsometimes it's like hey they're
not the man-eating monstersbecause after all the time that
I've spent in the water withthem, like if they were, I would
not be alive.
(12:28):
But then I also want to likeshow people, but yes, they are
predators and we shouldn't justtake that for granted and do
things that are sort of likestupid and sort of asking for
it.
So there's a very fine linethere.
And I think once people learn,okay, and see them for
themselves, especially gettingto go in the water with sharks,
they're like, okay, they're notman-eating monsters.
(12:48):
Their overly dramatized thingsportray.
And then when they learn, okay,they're really important for the
ocean's ecosystem.
They help regulate all of thefish populations.
They remove the dead, dying,weak individuals to leave only
the strong to survive andreproduce.
(13:08):
They help keep everything inbalance.
Everything in the ecosystem,everything in that food chain
has a role from the bottom tothe top.
And sharks being at the top,they have a very important role
as well.
And if we remove them from theecosystem, we create what's
called a trophic cascade whereeverything below is actually
severely affected as well.
So they are really important forthe ecosystem.
(13:30):
And then people also learn, hey,okay, so there's this animal.
They're not as scary as themedia portrays.
They're really important for theecosystem.
And then they learn, wow,they're being killed at a rate
of over 100 million sharks peryear for their meat, for their
fins, as bycatch.
And all of that was sort of afactor for me to be like okay I
(13:52):
want to do something about itand try to save and protect them
or just show the general publichow awesome they are and teach
them all of this stuff so it'sbeen really cool because I do
think that there has been a bitof a shift in people
understanding sharks and fallingin love with sharks and it's
been cool to sort of be a partof that in a way
SPEAKER_03 (14:12):
I mean do you think the media plays a part in the
misconception of sharks or isthere something else at play
SPEAKER_00 (14:18):
absolutely for sure the media like it's still so
frustrating because I do feellike we have come a long way
like I was saying but I thinkthat we still have a long way to
go even when you see what Iwould call a shark encounter
where maybe somebody's swimmingand a shark comes by like
there's times or that will stillbe labeled an attack and if the
(14:39):
sharks literally doing nothingit's just swimming in the ocean
just lives there like
SPEAKER_01 (14:44):
you're in his house
SPEAKER_00 (14:45):
yeah so that is really frustrating and I think
the mainstream media definitelyDefinitely likes to
sensationalize and overlydramatize everything.
And definitely with sharks,getting that headline, you know,
attack and creating that fear isjust going to sell more views
(15:05):
and more, you know, attention.
So I still think that we have along way to go, but that's sort
of, yeah, another topic on themedia and how terrible they can
be with so many differenttopics.
But sharks fall victim to thattoo.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (15:21):
For sure.
Yeah.
So you said they're killed alot.
I mean, overfishing and thingslike that.
But you said they're killed fortheir fins and stuff.
Can you kind of explain whythey're killed for that?
Because I know, at least in theUS, I don't think shark fin soup
is much of a delicacy here.
SPEAKER_00 (15:41):
Yeah, I had never heard of shark fin soup before
moving to Hawaii and getting alittle closer to Asia, where
it's mainly served as a chowder.
But we can't even just blame oneparticular country because so
many countries around the worldare contributing to the
harvesting of the fins.
So it's really a global issuefor sure.
(16:02):
But shark fin soup is sort oflike a delicacy, something that
you would have on specialoccasions like weddings.
And it's just the fin of theshark.
So much of the shark, whenthey're finning them, is wasted,
often tossed back into the oceanand disregarded.
Obviously, it's best if you dokill something to utilize the
entire animal versus just asmall portion of their body.
(16:25):
This portion of their body hasno taste, no nutritional value
even.
And in fact, shark meat is veryhigh in mercury, so it's
actually bad for you.
I do think that there's going tobe a lot of changes in the near
future, and there already hasbeen.
(16:45):
I know that the Chinesegovernment, I believe they
banned serving shark fish insoup in government events so
that is a step in the rightdirection they're starting to
like recognize it maybe a bit sowe just want to keep getting
that word out there um and letpeople know what it is why it's
harmful for the sharks forhumans for their fins for shark
(17:10):
fin soup and their meat and athird one is bycatch is huge is
why they're being killed at arate of and this is like an
estimate it could be way morethan this about 100 million per
year, and they think that someestimates say it could be over
200 million per year, which isjust mind-blowing.
So in addition to the shark finsoup, there's also a big problem
(17:32):
with how we fish these days.
We just fish veryindiscriminately.
We've become really good atfishing, so we're able to catch
everything, basically, in thearea.
And that leads to a lot ofanimals that we didn't even
intend to catch getting caughtand then dying, usually,
fighting on that line.
Um, and that is essentiallybycatch.
(17:54):
So sharks are a huge, huge, um,target in bycatch because they
would eat the same things that atuna would eat.
So if we're trying to catch tunaand we are laying out thousands
of baited hooks with whatevertype of bait to catch tuna, you
know, if a shark swims by,they're going to get that too.
And the problem with sharksspecifically being caught as
(18:17):
bycatch or killed for their finsor being just killed in general
is that, um, Being that animalat the top of the food chain,
they do have a slowerreproductive rate.
They don't reproduce as quicklyas something in the lower levels
to replenish their population.
So they're having a really hardtime, obviously, keeping up with
these numbers, like 100 millionsharks per year.
(18:41):
That is pretty much the plightof
SPEAKER_03 (18:43):
sharks.
SPEAKER_01 (18:44):
Yeah, it's terrible.
SPEAKER_03 (18:46):
I mean, on top of their slow, I guess, offspring,
their reproduction, they alsostruggle, I guess, with having
multiple in the womb, right?
They not all make it.
Is that a true thing?
Or did I just see that onTikTok?
SPEAKER_01 (19:04):
I think that's great whites, right?
SPEAKER_00 (19:06):
Yeah, reproduction is definitely different with
each individual species, but alot that give live births.
In the womb, sometimes they canactually eat each other a little
bit before they come out.
And then, you know, when theycome out, depending on the
species, like they're small,they're more like fish size,
they're more like bait size.
So then they have to worry aboutother predators, especially like
(19:27):
larger sharks going after them.
So there's a lot that is goinginto it, you know, and you're
talking about animals that are alot of species are having live
births versus spawning, youknow, like thousands of eggs
Right.
And things like that.
So it's just a lot harder forthem to keep up with.
And there's usually casualties,you know, in each kind of litter
(19:49):
of pups.
So, and baby sharks are calledpups, which is so cute.
So we should love sharks justfor that.
SPEAKER_01 (19:55):
Yeah, right.
SPEAKER_00 (19:56):
As soon as you said that, I was like,
SPEAKER_03 (19:58):
she said
SPEAKER_01 (19:58):
pups.
SPEAKER_02 (20:00):
Yay.
SPEAKER_03 (20:01):
They have puppy teeth, right?
They got the little baby teeth.
SPEAKER_02 (20:05):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (20:07):
Well, I mean, so you have a picture behind you and
that picture behind you you.
You are swimming with, I'm goingto assume it's a great white.
It's big.
Yes,
SPEAKER_00 (20:16):
that one is very big.
That's definitely the biggestshark with teeth that I've seen
ever.
Probably like the biggest sharkI've seen ever.
That was in 2019.
And that was in Hawaii, off thecoast of Oahu, about 12 miles.
And there was a dead whalecarcass.
So a lot of people are alwayssurprised to hear that there was
(20:36):
a great white in Hawaii.
That's crazy.
We do have great whites here.
They're just extremely rare tosee because the water is quite
warm for them.
And so they like to stay down alittle deeper where it's cold,
but a lot of them will kind offollow the great whites out from
California out to Hawaii andhopefully, you know, or
hopefully running across a deadone and then they're able to
(20:58):
gorge themselves and really getstuffed in a lot of nutrients
and kind of replenish that.
So we were lucky enough to findthe dead whale and I did not
expect something like a greatwhite to pop up, but that's That
was such an amazing experience.
We actually recently had anotherdead whale in Kona.
So that would be my third overthe 12 years that I've lived
(21:20):
here.
So, you know, whales die.
It's always sad, of course.
They die a lot just of naturalcauses, just like anything else.
Sometimes human causes too, ofcourse, but they feed an
ecosystem so well.
A dead whale feeds an ecosystemfor something like 10 years
because every, you know, you getthe sharks and the fish and
(21:42):
things like that.
But then as it sinks, it'sdecomposing and it hits the
seafloor and there's all typesof other decomposers down there
that are feeding on it for agesuntil the bones are decomposing
then.
So it's a really fascinatingkind of event to get to see.
But yeah, Great White came upand she was feeding on the dead
(22:03):
whale and she was totally likerelaxed and chill.
Probably many reasons for that.
She may have been pregnant, youknow, Do you want to run around
attacking stuff when you'repregnant?
You probably just want to lay onthe couch and eat.
She also had a huge feast, ahuge dead whale that was
(22:23):
providing her so much food thatshe was like, I'm not going to
mess with these humans.
And there was dolphins there.
She's like, I'm not going tomess with these dolphins.
I'm just going to go for thisbig, free, easy meal here with
this dead whale.
So it was really beautiful,really peaceful.
really amazing experience I'm sograteful for but definitely not
(22:45):
something I would recommend thatsomebody should just think oh
yeah mermaid Kaylee said thatgreat whites are safe because
that is not the case you knowlike I said any shark has the
potential to be dangerousthey're not little puppy dogs
and especially something like agreat white they're just so huge
and massive if they didsomething like an exploratory
(23:06):
bite to find out what you arethat could mean that your limb
is gone that could mean that youdie and there were great great
whites that I was able to swimwith in New Zealand inside of a
cage that were behaving a lotdifferent than this beautiful
big lady here.
They were smaller, juvenile,very athletic and breaching as
they're hunting and the water ismurkier.
(23:26):
And yeah, I was totally finebeing in a cage.
So I would say go try to swimwith them in a cage.
That's where you're going to besafe and you're going to get to
see them.
And they're really, reallyamazing.
And this was sort of like a oncein a lifetime moment with like a
very once in a lifetime type ofshark.
SPEAKER_01 (23:43):
And you got a picture.
SPEAKER_00 (23:45):
It's an awesome picture.
SPEAKER_01 (23:47):
Yeah, exactly.
You have to, you gotta havethat.
SPEAKER_02 (23:51):
Right.
SPEAKER_03 (23:52):
I mean, I think even with a cage, I think my heart
rate would start to rise.
Right.
And I would start to feel theadrenaline racing through me.
I mean, what, what would be youradvice to someone who's either
in a cage or free diving andencounters a shark?
Like, how do you stay calm?
SPEAKER_00 (24:09):
I know.
Well, staying calm is perfect.
probably the hardest part butthe most important part because
they can really like they'revery good at sort of reading
energy because how theycommunicate with each other even
is through body language sostaying calm is going to be
utmost important if you panicthat's not that's the worst
(24:29):
thing that you can doessentially so as best you can
just stay calm just realize heythis is a shark this is where
they live you know hopefullythey're not doing anything
aggressive they're just kind ofhanging out out there.
So stay calm, stay relaxed.
Because if you start splashing,panicking, flailing, then you
look eye-catching the sharks andbe like, okay, is that something
(24:50):
that's hurt or injured?
I should probably go like checkthat out a little closer.
So stay nice and calm.
Then you want to make eyecontact with the shark.
And I know most people can'teven make eye contact with like
the Starbucks barista thesedays, but make eye contact with
the shark.
You want to look it in their eyebecause you look more like a
predator that way.
It's very simple.
(25:11):
all of these things to what wehear about bears, except we just
hear it more and it makes moresense for us because bears live
on land like we do.
We hear, you know, say, heybear, get big, look at it, don't
turn your back and run away.
That's gonna make the bear wannachase you.
It's kind of the same thing withthe shark.
Look at the shark, get big,don't splash, flail, any sudden
(25:33):
movements, but you could slowlyback away, but just go backwards
while you're looking at it,okay?
And then if the shark is comingup to you, You can stick your
fin out towards the shark.
Maybe you have like your GoPropole on you.
Maybe you have a surfboard.
If you can put something betweenyou and the animal, obviously
that's going to be a reallygreat barrier.
And if not, of course, there isthe redirecting with your hand
(25:57):
technique, which obviously Iwouldn't recommend for someone
to just go out and try thatdoesn't have this experience.
But in an emergency situation,if that's all you have on you,
you want to push on top of theirhead and kind of push them away
like a little Heisman over topof them.
And yeah, slowly back away andget out of the water.
But what a lot of people don'trealize is that it can be really
(26:18):
easy to avoid a shark encounterbefore you even get in the
water.
One of the things you can do,look around.
If the water looks pretty murky,you probably want to avoid
swimming in it if you can.
Go in groups if you have morepeople around you.
You might look more intimidatingto a shark.
You have more people to lookaround.
Watch your back.
(26:39):
Don't go in anywhere wherepeople are fishing.
Sometimes you'll see peoplefishing from land, from piers,
or even a dive flag out therecould indicate somebody
spearfishing.
If there's dead fish in thewater, that could attract sharks
closer, which is probably prettyobvious.
And also after heavy rainfall,you want to avoid swimming
(26:59):
because there could be reallyheavy rainfall making the water
murky.
But also if there's flooding,can sometimes sweep land animals
from land out to sea.
That does happen out here inHawaii and we will see the
sharks coming up and you knowthe garbage men of the sea sort
of with the tiger sharks they'llclean it all up so you want to
(27:21):
avoid being around that at all
SPEAKER_01 (27:24):
for sure see I never thought about that like land
animals being in the shark diettoo I mean it's crazy no it
didn't make sense
SPEAKER_03 (27:33):
especially in Florida and Hawaii places where
it rains a lot and things getthe runoff
SPEAKER_01 (27:38):
into the ocean it rains a lot here and we get
freshwater eels floating upthrough the storm drains.
It's disgusting.
SPEAKER_00 (27:45):
Yeah.
My husband actually captured areally cool drone video of a
dead boar that had been sweptout a couple of miles.
It was already dead.
And there was a tiger sharkeating it.
So it definitely happens here.
I've heard about it here in Konawith dead goats, dead boar.
(28:06):
So it's definitely somethingthat happens.
SPEAKER_01 (28:08):
Yeah.
It makes a lot of sense forsure.
SPEAKER_03 (28:10):
It really does.
I mean, we've talked about theidea of what is happening with
bycatch and the threats that areoccurring to sharks at this
point.
I mean, overall, what would yousay is the biggest threat to
ocean life?
SPEAKER_00 (28:26):
Well, I definitely stand by saying that our fishing
practices need to change.
I'm not against fishing.
My husband's a spear fisherman.
I think there's so many ways,especially if you can go out and
get your own sea food that wecan make it really sustainable
um so just the ways that we fishneed to change obviously if you
(28:48):
cannot eat fish altogetherthat's amazing or you know know
that you're going out andgetting it yourself but it's
really the industries that weneed to take a look at and how
they're operating um and thenyou know i'm not as well versed
in all of this but climatechange is for sure affecting the
ocean negatively um it makes meso sad because i just see on
(29:11):
like all my Instagram page.
So many corals around the worldare just like bleaching and that
just feels like we're going tolose something like we're
watching it before our eyes.
So yeah, that really makes mesad.
SPEAKER_03 (29:25):
Yeah.
I mean, and speaking aboutcorals, we, I think during your
introduction, we talk aboutsunscreens that are safe for
reefs.
I mean, do you have anyrecommendations of sunscreens
that are safe?
SPEAKER_00 (29:37):
Yeah, for sure.
I really like this sunscreenbrand called called All Good.
They're on Amazon too.
And they have, I think they havelike tinted sunscreens too and
like the regular zinc, but whatmakes them really good and what
you can look for if you'relooking for sunscreens, it is a
great way to do your part.
You know, it's, it's really likea lot of the big countries and
(29:59):
these huge corporations thatneed to make the change.
But of course we can help in ourown little personal ways as
well.
But this company, what you'lllook for on the back, as you may
know, you'll look for only zincor titanium within the sunscreen
as the active ingredient shouldbe right there at the top on the
back of the sunscreen bottle.
But not only that, what a lot ofpeople don't know is you also
(30:22):
want to look for non-nano zincoxide.
That will just assure that theparticles within the sunscreen,
the particles of the zinc arenot small enough for the corals
to consume them within thewater.
So that's the problem with thechemical sunscreens, the corals
(30:43):
are actually like ingesting thechemicals and filtering it.
So with the non-nano zinc, theparticles are just not big
enough to actually go throughthat process.
So it's not only zinc, it'snon-nano zinc, but even just
zinc is better than thechemicals.
So there's like levels of howgood your sunscreen can be, but
(31:04):
check out All Good.
They're really, they're good.
They're all good.
SPEAKER_01 (31:07):
They're all good.
The nice plug
SPEAKER_00 (31:09):
there.
Good branding.
for them yeah
SPEAKER_01 (31:11):
yeah right so well i i think sunscreen is is
definitely something that we canchange but you're also a big
proponent of eliminatingsingle-use plastics so what do
you think just your average joecan do to kind of remove or not
remove because we can't becauselike you said big industry they
(31:34):
use plastic for everything butwhat can we do to kind of lower
our plastic footprint To
SPEAKER_00 (31:41):
help our oceans.
(32:10):
Reusable bags, keep them in yourcar, you know, say no to straws,
try to catch them at therestaurant before they throw
them on the table because that'sall they do now is just throw it
on the table.
It's like, wait, no, I don'tneed that.
So those things are reallygreat.
But like we said, it's thebigger businesses and the
corporations that we need to beholding accountable.
But we can do that with ourpurchasing power and just us as
(32:32):
consumers.
So every time that you aresupporting a brand that is doing
the right thing, sustainable,even if it costs a little bit
extra, that is going to forcethose bigger corporations to
need to compete and keep up withthe buying power that we have
and the dollar sign, becausethat's unfortunately what drives
so much today is the economicsaround it all.
(32:55):
So, yeah, we actually can make abig difference just with our
purchasing power, just with thechoices that we make.
So I would say, you know,support and supporting locals,
supporting things that arecloser to you, small businesses
within your community and thinkabout that economy.
And then when you do Do you needto buy something?
See if there's the moresustainable choices out there
that you can gravitate towardsand put your dollar towards
(33:17):
that.
And that, I think, will make abigger difference over time.
SPEAKER_01 (33:22):
Yeah, I have a recommendation for shampoo and
body wash and deodorant.
Is that Ethique?
Ethique,
SPEAKER_00 (33:30):
yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (33:30):
Yeah, yeah, we used it.
It's awesome.
Yeah, it works just as well.
It's a bar of soap, not in abottle.
It's in a compostable box.
SPEAKER_00 (33:40):
Yeah, I was surprised at like how well that
worked, too, because and Ireally like that brand also.
But the conditioner, I wasworried because like I'm in the
ocean all the time.
So it's like real salty, realcrunchy and all that good stuff.
But it worked really well.
The condition was like it waslike better than regular
condition.
I was like, whoa, I'm likedetangling super well.
(34:01):
So, yeah, I agree.
SPEAKER_01 (34:03):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, I don't know why youthere's no to me other than
cost.
It is a little bit moreexpensive, but I I also think it
lasts a lot longer than regularshampoo because it's just like,
just rub it real fast and thenit suds up and then you're off
to the races.
But I like that stuff.
I recommend it.
And then like bite toothpastethat works well too.
(34:27):
And it's even better for yousupposedly than, than the
fluoride based stuff, butthere's no plastic tube to worry
about.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (34:35):
They also have laundry detergent sheets.
I use those too.
And like when you start actuallydigging into it, into some of
these products you're like wowthese are not only better for
the environment but they'rebetter for me too because they
don't have as much chemicals andall the stuff so I just use like
these laundry detergent sheetsare unscented because the scents
and added chemicals are supposedto be bad they're on your skin
(34:56):
all the time too and then I justput like essential oils in the
laundry and it smells like sogood and yeah it's better for
you better for the planet comesin cardboard it's like a
no-brainer you know
SPEAKER_01 (35:07):
for sure yeah the the the pods that people will
buy that you throw in thewashing machine, they don't
understand that that pod itselfis plastic.
SPEAKER_03 (35:15):
Yeah,
SPEAKER_01 (35:16):
the actual pod that dissolves in the laundry.
It's like that's turning intomicroplastics and you're
breathing that in.
SPEAKER_00 (35:25):
Or drinking it.
SPEAKER_01 (35:26):
Or drinking it, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (35:27):
Or eating it if you eat fish.
Like all the fish these dayshave microplastics.
SPEAKER_01 (35:32):
Yeah, well, I read a study.
It was about...
I can't remember.
Like...
nine out or eight out of 10placentas that scientists tested
from women had microplastics inthem.
It's insane.
It's like we have to changethat.
(35:53):
And that's not, that's for ourhealth too.
Not just the ocean, you know?
SPEAKER_00 (35:58):
And all this stuff has like forever cancer causing
chemicals in it and stuff likethat.
So really when we make thesesuggestions, it's just for
ourselves as well as the planetas a whole.
Like we're, We're all one here,you know, and it affects all of
us.
So
SPEAKER_01 (36:13):
it's
SPEAKER_00 (36:14):
important to make those changes.
Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_03 (36:18):
Well, I mean, to kind of go into what your goal
for Kaimana is, I mean, whatoverarching message do you want
to send with the Kaimana OceanSafari?
SPEAKER_00 (36:32):
Well, with Kaimana, it's so exciting for me to be
able to take people out there todo this because like I said, I
think the experience andactually getting out there is
what inspires people to make thechanges that we're talking about
and have these different likeperception changes in general
people just tend to protect whatthey love what they understand
(36:52):
what they experienced in theirown life so getting to take
people out there is reallyawesome and then while we're out
there we can talk to them aboutissues like this we can show
them how we're contributing toour local research organizations
we contribute by giving idphotos like the dorsal fins of
cetaceans the dolphin thewhales, as well as the sharks to
(37:12):
our local research organizationsso they can study them better.
So every time somebody comes outwith us, they actually get to
contribute to that research,which is really exciting.
And yeah, I want to continue todo that and continue to take
people on trips in other partsof the world as well, because I
think there's so much to see outthere and combining my love of,
(37:33):
as we talked about in thebeginning of the episode, you
know, different cultures anddifferent places around the
world and kind of getting out ofyour hometown and And combining
that with the love of the oceanand seeing the plight of the
ocean and ways that you canchange it is like awesome.
So I'm running a lot ofexpeditions with my husband
where we take people around theworld to go do these things.
(37:53):
We have a few spots left for ourhumpback whale expeditions this
fall.
I'm going to start probablybooking our shark diving
expeditions in Mexico for March2025 and some more exciting
things on the horizon as well.
So anybody can definitely reachout to me if that interests you.
For
SPEAKER_01 (38:11):
sure.
I am interested.
SPEAKER_00 (38:14):
He looks like, yes, can
SPEAKER_01 (38:16):
we do that?
Yeah, like March
SPEAKER_03 (38:17):
2025, maybe.
I
SPEAKER_01 (38:19):
was going to ask, are you ever going to do
anything in the Florida area?
SPEAKER_00 (38:24):
Yeah, actually, there may be a reason that I'm
coming to Florida in June, butI'm not sure yet.
I will definitely hit you guysup if that is the case.
Yes, please.
Do it.
I've been shark diving out therein Jupiter.
It's actually really fun.
SPEAKER_01 (38:40):
Yeah.
I would love to see you.
SPEAKER_03 (38:45):
I would love to see me.
I
SPEAKER_01 (38:48):
don't know if she'd make it out.
SPEAKER_03 (38:49):
No, Kay, talking to you, I can see it, right?
I know the shark's purpose.
I understand what the reason isbehind the shark.
And even, I guess being withsomeone like you, Kay, out on an
excursion like that, I feel likeI could maybe channel some of
your calmness and try it.
(39:10):
Like just experience it.
So I, I love talking to youabout this.
This is something that I thinkone day we, Russ and Linds will
be on a Kaimana excursion.
SPEAKER_01 (39:24):
We'll do this.
Well, and you just to you, youdon't just jump in, right?
You kind of like survey thesharks before, like make sure
they're, they've, they're not infeeding zone, you know, she will
keep us safe.
Right, right, right.
So it's not like you're just,all right there.
There's a shark.
Jump in.
You push her into the water.
SPEAKER_00 (39:46):
yes there's a lot that goes into it and we will
definitely make sure that youguys are nice and safe but I
definitely encourage people togo out and swim with sharks
because I think you can hearabout it over and over and kind
of like be beat over the headwith this information about
sharks but until you see themfor yourself you're like oh now
I get it you just yeah they justdon't behave in that way that
(40:08):
the media and the movies reallyhype it up you know
SPEAKER_01 (40:11):
for sure for sure and like you said they're just
seeing a shark swim next to akayaker a fisherman and it's not
an attack he's you're in hishouse
SPEAKER_03 (40:23):
right yeah and if you're fishing
SPEAKER_01 (40:25):
you have his food right right you just
SPEAKER_03 (40:26):
stole out
SPEAKER_01 (40:27):
of his pantry you stole my food bro
SPEAKER_00 (40:30):
it's like what would we do we would do the same thing
SPEAKER_01 (40:33):
exactly exactly there was a video that that was
just posted on social media thea lady was ziplining over it
looked like the everglades shewas ziplining over a pond and a
gator popped his head out andi'm like well Well, if
somebody's screaming over top ofyour head, you'd pop your head
out too.
What's going on?
Yeah.
It was the same thing.
I'm like, just leave the gatoralone.
(40:54):
It didn't do nothing to you.
SPEAKER_03 (40:57):
That makes sense.
Well, we ask every yes, Kay, andyou will be no exception.
Let's hear the answer here.
If you won$10 million tonight,what's the first thing you would
do tomorrow?
SPEAKER_00 (41:10):
Oh, my gosh.
Well, that is like, I mean, I'dprobably just be doing the same
thing because I really enjoywhat I do.
So I'm very lucky to have ananswer like that.
And yeah, I would probably bookmy dream trip which is to swim
with orca in Norway.
(41:30):
It's very cold and it's veryextreme, but I kind of like that
stuff.
And they're like hunting theherring and things over there.
So I would want to go check thatout.
SPEAKER_01 (41:42):
Yeah.
Wow.
Orca is probably my favorite seacreature.
SPEAKER_03 (41:47):
Soon to be shark.
Come March, 2025.
SPEAKER_01 (41:50):
I don't know what it is about orca, but the, they're
so smart.
SPEAKER_03 (41:55):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (41:56):
And, they're sinking ships off of what in the
Mediterranean and stuff.
Like they're smart enough tosink a boat.
That's insane to me.
SPEAKER_00 (42:07):
I got this orca sticker that has an orca on it
and it says, fuck them boats.
And I was like,
SPEAKER_01 (42:13):
yes, I
SPEAKER_00 (42:14):
love that.
Yeah, that's perfect.
SPEAKER_01 (42:16):
Yeah.
Yeah.
But seriously, I, I see them andI, you there, those are like
majestic creatures to me justbecause of the, the
intelligence, you know,
SPEAKER_03 (42:26):
absolutely
SPEAKER_00 (42:28):
yeah I really like predators so orcas are for sure
up there and I really want to gosee them in that way and I'm
sure one day I will so
SPEAKER_01 (42:36):
yeah and they they are like surgically precise when
they eat sharks right don't theyeat like the liver or something
it's like a delicacy to the orca
SPEAKER_00 (42:47):
yeah I think it's what essentially has like the
most nutritional value thatthey're after so they'll kill a
whole animal and just eat theirliver
SPEAKER_01 (42:57):
right but how did they know how do they know to
surgically remove that that partyou know
SPEAKER_00 (43:05):
it's really
SPEAKER_03 (43:06):
fascinating
SPEAKER_01 (43:07):
yeah yeah
SPEAKER_03 (43:08):
well if you do ever get to go see the orcas please
let us know how it is it soundscold sorry I don't like cold
I've heard
SPEAKER_00 (43:17):
it's very cold
SPEAKER_03 (43:20):
well okay let them know where to find you where can
they find you on social media oryour website or business all the
places All
SPEAKER_00 (43:27):
the
SPEAKER_03 (43:27):
places.
SPEAKER_00 (43:29):
Thanks for watching, guys.
You can find me on pretty muchall the social media platforms
at mermaid.kaylee.
If you want to come dive withme, my website is
kaimanaoceansafari.com.
SPEAKER_01 (43:44):
Kaimana, just so it's clear for people listening
to audio and not having accessto the show notes, how do you
spell that?
SPEAKER_00 (43:52):
It's K-A-I-M-A-N-A.
SPEAKER_01 (43:56):
Awesome.
SPEAKER_00 (43:57):
Awesome.
SPEAKER_01 (43:58):
Yeah.
Thanks so much.
I would highly recommendchecking out Mermaid Kaylee's
social media pages because theyare awesome.
SPEAKER_03 (44:06):
It's
SPEAKER_01 (44:07):
literally what we watch almost every night.
It's awesome.
Seriously, I can't stop.
I'm just like scrolling andscrolling and scrolling.
I'm like, I just wasted an hourwatching shark videos.
SPEAKER_03 (44:18):
Not wasted.
SPEAKER_01 (44:19):
No, no, no.
You
SPEAKER_03 (44:21):
know what I'm saying.
UNKNOWN (44:21):
It's all the fun.
SPEAKER_03 (44:22):
Yes.
Thanks so much, Kay.
Thank
SPEAKER_01 (44:24):
you,
SPEAKER_03 (44:25):
guys.
SPEAKER_01 (44:25):
Oh, yeah.
Thank you.
thanks for listening to theunfiltered union did you like
the episode support the showvisit us on patreon at
patreon.com slash unfilteredunion
SPEAKER_03 (44:39):
or you can rock some merch check out our store at
store.unfilteredunion.com
SPEAKER_01 (44:44):
for all other things unfiltered check out our site at
unfilteredunion.com
SPEAKER_03 (44:50):
it's what you do with the
SPEAKER_01 (44:51):
things you love
This is Linz.
SPEAKER_01 (00:03):
This is Russ.
SPEAKER_03 (00:04):
And we're married.
Are we?
Yep, since 2013.
SPEAKER_01 (00:07):
We're the hosts of the Unfiltered Union podcast.
SPEAKER_03 (00:09):
Where we discuss popular headlines and interview
interesting people.
SPEAKER_01 (00:13):
Our opinions may vary, but we will never censor
our guests or our viewpoints.
SPEAKER_03 (00:17):
Welcome to the Unfiltered Union.
SPEAKER_01 (00:23):
We have another guest.
SPEAKER_03 (00:25):
Good job!
SPEAKER_01 (00:26):
I'm supposed to do the intro this time.
SPEAKER_03 (00:30):
You volunteered to do the intro this time.
SPEAKER_01 (00:33):
No, I didn't, but okay.
All right.
Today we have with us KayleeGrant, aka Kay.
She grew up outside Philadelphiawith a deep love and longing for
the ocean and the curiosity ofits inhabitants.
Kay has a Bachelor of Science inEcotourism and completed the
Marine Option Program at theUniversity of Hawaii, as well as
(00:55):
a shark specialty course withwith Queensland University and
Cornell University.
She's been living in Hawaii forthe past 12 years and was able
to further her love of the oceanand learn invaluable information
about safety and sharks from theamazing team at One Ocean Diving
from 2015 to 2020.
(01:17):
Kay has guided ocean goers ofall walks of life at home in
Hawaii as well as around theglobe with her Kaimana
expeditions.
Kay is passionate aboutconnecting people to the ocean
in a deeper way and inspiringothers to change their daily
habits to better benefit thenatural world on board.
Kay will teach you how toproperly interact with animals,
(01:39):
safely interact with sharks, theimportance of cutting out single
use plastics, which sunscreensare safe for the reef and more.
SPEAKER_03 (01:47):
Good job.
SPEAKER_01 (01:48):
That was a struggle for me.
SPEAKER_03 (01:52):
We're growing here.
SPEAKER_01 (01:53):
I don't know how to read good.
SPEAKER_03 (01:56):
But I mean, all that to say, let's start from the
very beginning with you here,Kay.
You talk about how you grew upoutside of Philadelphia.
SPEAKER_01 (02:03):
Yeah, Philadelphia.
Ocean.
To Hawaii is big.
SPEAKER_03 (02:10):
Right.
So what started your interest inthe ocean and wanting to
interact with animals of thesea?
SPEAKER_00 (02:17):
Well.
Well, my dog is like climbingunder me.
Thank you guys so much forhaving me.
I'm excited to be here.
Yeah, I grew up outside ofPhiladelphia in an area called
Bucks County.
And so I spent my summers as akid going to Jersey Shore, just
like you see on TV.
(02:38):
And I loved whales when I wasgrowing up.
We are in the generation of, orI'm in the generation of growing
up to Free Willy and The LittleMermaid.
And I just loved whales.
So my dad would take me whalewatching off of the coast of
(02:58):
Massachusetts.
And from there, I kind of justwent through the typical go to
school, get a job sort ofroutine.
After I was a kid, I didn'treally realize that working in
the ocean was necessarily apossibility for me.
But After I graduated college, Imoved out to Hawaii.
(03:22):
And from there, I was fullysurrounded by the ocean.
So it was inevitable that Irevisited this love of the ocean
and marine life.
So from there, I started workingas a dive master and taking
people scuba diving.
And I remember on my first scubadive, when I was learning how to
scuba dive, I found a sharktooth in the sand.
(03:44):
And I brought it up to myinstructor.
And I was like, look, this is socool.
And he was like, well, that'sawesome because, you know, what
a special rare find.
And I think that was like a signthat they were going to be in my
life and very important to me.
So then I went on to work withsharks on the North Shore of
Oahu for many years beforefinally starting my own company
(04:06):
called Kaimana Ocean Safari outhere in Kona with my husband,
Cam.
SPEAKER_01 (04:12):
That's awesome.
SPEAKER_00 (04:13):
Do you still have that shark tooth?
I do.
Oh, yes.
Amongst many more.
that I've collected now over theyears.
SPEAKER_01 (04:20):
Yeah, that's a pass down through the generation type
deal right there.
SPEAKER_00 (04:26):
It was certainly a very special omen.
So I actually put on a necklaceand I'd been wearing it around
for quite a while.
SPEAKER_01 (04:33):
Right on.
So what drew you to Hawaii?
I mean, you kind of gave us somehints that working with the
ocean and stuff, but like I saidbefore, Philadelphia, Hawaii,
that's long.
That's a lot of miles.
Yeah, that's pretty far.
SPEAKER_00 (04:47):
Oh, yeah, that's a really big leap.
And I was not as well traveledas I am now.
Coming out of college, I hadnever been more west of than
Texas.
So that was a huge leap for me.
Throughout my college career, Idid some volunteering programs
where I went down to Central andSouth America, and volunteered
(05:10):
to help teach kids English andthings like that.
So during that, it just I thinktravels a way to really expand
your mind and teach you so muchabout the world around you.
And for me, that was definitelythe case.
I was like, wow, there's so muchmore to the world than this like
county that I grew up in.
(05:31):
And so when I graduated college,I was like, okay, like I want to
keep going.
I want to keep traveling and seewhat else is out there.
So I didn't necessarily have aplan.
My degree is in ecotourism.
So I kind of knew that I wantedto take people on adventures one
day I didn't exactly at the timeknow what that looked like I
(05:52):
really I value experiences a lotand I think that they can really
shape and change people so thatis what I wanted to give people
that's what I wanted to do withmy purpose and then luckily I
was able to combine that withthe ocean but I was just looking
for my next adventureessentially and what I went to
do next and I was looking atplaces all over the world but I
(06:15):
had a friend that I wasn'tcollege with and he was like,
yeah, you can come like crash onmy couch for until you find a
place.
And I was like, you're inHawaii.
Okay, that doesn't sound like abad idea.
I had about like$3,000 in mypocket and three suitcases.
And I went out, I bought ascooter.
I was like, on a moped for thefirst couple years of living out
(06:40):
there.
And I got a job at a
SPEAKER_03 (06:47):
I mean, that's awesome.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, the plane ticket alone,though, probably ate up a lot of
your savings.
SPEAKER_00 (06:55):
I know.
I was just like a young, brokecollege student.
But it's almost like, yeah, justthings were so simple, like way
more simple back then.
So it was easier than it wouldbe for me to do something like
that now.
So I'm glad I took the leap atthat time in my life.
SPEAKER_01 (07:11):
For sure.
I mean, I'm not saying we did ahuge leap like that, but we went
from Virginia to Florida andthat was rough.
So bad.
It was awful.
I recommend people to check outFlorida, but moving across state
lines, you got to really thinkabout it before you do it and
(07:33):
plan because it was rough forus.
SPEAKER_03 (07:36):
It's hard.
SPEAKER_01 (07:37):
For
SPEAKER_03 (07:38):
sure.
I think with Florida, we haveall of our favorite things about
living here.
Kay, what would you say is yourfavorite thing about Hawaii
living?
SPEAKER_00 (07:46):
Oh my gosh, definitely the ocean especially
like out here in Kona it's justit's really my favorite place to
dive so I'm very lucky that Ilive somewhere that is my
favorite place to dive and alsothe Aloha spirit you know
whenever I'm like back on theeast coast or on the mainland I
can definitely feel the energyof the hustle and bustle around
(08:07):
me a little bit more just kindof like that slow pace that
island life the Aloha spirit isdefinitely very prevalent here
and you know you can feel itwhen you're just here.
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (08:21):
It's a culture thing.
And we never had a big culturescene in Virginia where we're
from.
But down here, Tampa is likethat.
It's super weird.
Like the community here is bigand the sports teams are
actually rooted for here, unlikein Virginia.
(08:43):
Everybody only watches hockeythere.
But yeah, I
SPEAKER_00 (08:47):
think it's hard to realize there is culture where
you're from, but other peoplewould probably see it if they
went to
SPEAKER_01 (09:04):
Virginia.
That's true.
You're from the place where allthe presidents came from.
And I guess it just falls ondeaf ears after a while.
(09:26):
Well,
SPEAKER_03 (09:27):
diving in here.
So how did you really get yourstart with shark diving?
Like where would you likepinpoint?
I mean, you mentioned the tooth.
Is that kind of what led you to,Hey, maybe I can find sharks in
the wild.
SPEAKER_00 (09:41):
Yeah, for sure.
I always tell people like, causepeople will ask all the time and
sort of over complicated, like,how did you do this?
What should I do?
You know, what exactly is yourjob and where did you learn in
all of these things?
And it's actually just like waymore simple than you think you
know just go to the ocean justgo in the ocean as much as you
(10:02):
can and you're bound to startseeing some things and learning
a lot the sharks are the bestteachers too and basically
whatever subject it is thatyou're interested in just spend
time hanging out with them lookat the guy my octopus teacher
right and how he was able tolike have this whole form this
whole connection and do thiswhole documentary just by going
(10:24):
out there every day and spendingtime looking for this octopus so
it's kind of like the same thingyou know and in Hawaii there are
areas that are more prevalentfor sharks the North Shore of
Oahu being one of them and butreally anywhere you know so mine
really started with scuba divingand I always recommend like if
people are looking to have a jobin the ocean to start with scuba
(10:46):
diving go out get your divemaster I recommend patty and
just like work in the industryif you become the person that's
taking the people out likeyou're gonna be out so often and
you're You're going to see morethings and learn more stuff.
So just making sure spendingtime in the ocean and taking
people out there.
And over time, you know, youdefinitely learn a thing or two.
SPEAKER_01 (11:08):
So I have a question and it is around the public
perception of sharks is nothingbut fear, but fear.
You swim with them.
You know them a lot better thanthe Discovery Channel feeding
somebody who sits on the couchand watches that all day.
SPEAKER_03 (11:29):
And we've seen videos of you touch them.
SPEAKER_01 (11:31):
Yeah, yeah, right.
So what I'm trying to get at iswhy are they important and what
does the ocean look like withoutsharks?
Because they are a key player tothe ecosystem and people don't
tend to understand that.
SPEAKER_00 (11:47):
Absolutely, yeah.
Well, regarding the fear ofsharks, I think it's a normal
thing they're wild animalsthey're apex predators and I
never want to become someonethat preaches that they're puppy
dogs because it's just reallynot the case right they should
be you know I wouldn't say likefeared demonized but like feared
(12:08):
to like a healthy degree thatit's like okay I have respect
for that animal and that is awild animal and like it's their
home it's their ocean and all ofthose good things so you know a
lot of the videos I put outsometimes it's like hey they're
not the man-eating monstersbecause after all the time that
I've spent in the water withthem, like if they were, I would
not be alive.
(12:28):
But then I also want to likeshow people, but yes, they are
predators and we shouldn't justtake that for granted and do
things that are sort of likestupid and sort of asking for
it.
So there's a very fine linethere.
And I think once people learn,okay, and see them for
themselves, especially gettingto go in the water with sharks,
they're like, okay, they're notman-eating monsters.
(12:48):
Their overly dramatized thingsportray.
And then when they learn, okay,they're really important for the
ocean's ecosystem.
They help regulate all of thefish populations.
They remove the dead, dying,weak individuals to leave only
the strong to survive andreproduce.
(13:08):
They help keep everything inbalance.
Everything in the ecosystem,everything in that food chain
has a role from the bottom tothe top.
And sharks being at the top,they have a very important role
as well.
And if we remove them from theecosystem, we create what's
called a trophic cascade whereeverything below is actually
severely affected as well.
So they are really important forthe ecosystem.
(13:30):
And then people also learn, hey,okay, so there's this animal.
They're not as scary as themedia portrays.
They're really important for theecosystem.
And then they learn, wow,they're being killed at a rate
of over 100 million sharks peryear for their meat, for their
fins, as bycatch.
And all of that was sort of afactor for me to be like okay I
(13:52):
want to do something about itand try to save and protect them
or just show the general publichow awesome they are and teach
them all of this stuff so it'sbeen really cool because I do
think that there has been a bitof a shift in people
understanding sharks and fallingin love with sharks and it's
been cool to sort of be a partof that in a way
SPEAKER_03 (14:12):
I mean do you think the media plays a part in the
misconception of sharks or isthere something else at play
SPEAKER_00 (14:18):
absolutely for sure the media like it's still so
frustrating because I do feellike we have come a long way
like I was saying but I thinkthat we still have a long way to
go even when you see what Iwould call a shark encounter
where maybe somebody's swimmingand a shark comes by like
there's times or that will stillbe labeled an attack and if the
(14:39):
sharks literally doing nothingit's just swimming in the ocean
just lives there like
SPEAKER_01 (14:44):
you're in his house
SPEAKER_00 (14:45):
yeah so that is really frustrating and I think
the mainstream media definitelyDefinitely likes to
sensationalize and overlydramatize everything.
And definitely with sharks,getting that headline, you know,
attack and creating that fear isjust going to sell more views
(15:05):
and more, you know, attention.
So I still think that we have along way to go, but that's sort
of, yeah, another topic on themedia and how terrible they can
be with so many differenttopics.
But sharks fall victim to thattoo.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (15:21):
For sure.
Yeah.
So you said they're killed alot.
I mean, overfishing and thingslike that.
But you said they're killed fortheir fins and stuff.
Can you kind of explain whythey're killed for that?
Because I know, at least in theUS, I don't think shark fin soup
is much of a delicacy here.
SPEAKER_00 (15:41):
Yeah, I had never heard of shark fin soup before
moving to Hawaii and getting alittle closer to Asia, where
it's mainly served as a chowder.
But we can't even just blame oneparticular country because so
many countries around the worldare contributing to the
harvesting of the fins.
So it's really a global issuefor sure.
(16:02):
But shark fin soup is sort oflike a delicacy, something that
you would have on specialoccasions like weddings.
And it's just the fin of theshark.
So much of the shark, whenthey're finning them, is wasted,
often tossed back into the oceanand disregarded.
Obviously, it's best if you dokill something to utilize the
entire animal versus just asmall portion of their body.
(16:25):
This portion of their body hasno taste, no nutritional value
even.
And in fact, shark meat is veryhigh in mercury, so it's
actually bad for you.
I do think that there's going tobe a lot of changes in the near
future, and there already hasbeen.
(16:45):
I know that the Chinesegovernment, I believe they
banned serving shark fish insoup in government events so
that is a step in the rightdirection they're starting to
like recognize it maybe a bit sowe just want to keep getting
that word out there um and letpeople know what it is why it's
harmful for the sharks forhumans for their fins for shark
(17:10):
fin soup and their meat and athird one is bycatch is huge is
why they're being killed at arate of and this is like an
estimate it could be way morethan this about 100 million per
year, and they think that someestimates say it could be over
200 million per year, which isjust mind-blowing.
So in addition to the shark finsoup, there's also a big problem
(17:32):
with how we fish these days.
We just fish veryindiscriminately.
We've become really good atfishing, so we're able to catch
everything, basically, in thearea.
And that leads to a lot ofanimals that we didn't even
intend to catch getting caughtand then dying, usually,
fighting on that line.
Um, and that is essentiallybycatch.
(17:54):
So sharks are a huge, huge, um,target in bycatch because they
would eat the same things that atuna would eat.
So if we're trying to catch tunaand we are laying out thousands
of baited hooks with whatevertype of bait to catch tuna, you
know, if a shark swims by,they're going to get that too.
And the problem with sharksspecifically being caught as
(18:17):
bycatch or killed for their finsor being just killed in general
is that, um, Being that animalat the top of the food chain,
they do have a slowerreproductive rate.
They don't reproduce as quicklyas something in the lower levels
to replenish their population.
So they're having a really hardtime, obviously, keeping up with
these numbers, like 100 millionsharks per year.
(18:41):
That is pretty much the plightof
SPEAKER_03 (18:43):
sharks.
SPEAKER_01 (18:44):
Yeah, it's terrible.
SPEAKER_03 (18:46):
I mean, on top of their slow, I guess, offspring,
their reproduction, they alsostruggle, I guess, with having
multiple in the womb, right?
They not all make it.
Is that a true thing?
Or did I just see that onTikTok?
SPEAKER_01 (19:04):
I think that's great whites, right?
SPEAKER_00 (19:06):
Yeah, reproduction is definitely different with
each individual species, but alot that give live births.
In the womb, sometimes they canactually eat each other a little
bit before they come out.
And then, you know, when theycome out, depending on the
species, like they're small,they're more like fish size,
they're more like bait size.
So then they have to worry aboutother predators, especially like
(19:27):
larger sharks going after them.
So there's a lot that is goinginto it, you know, and you're
talking about animals that are alot of species are having live
births versus spawning, youknow, like thousands of eggs
Right.
And things like that.
So it's just a lot harder forthem to keep up with.
And there's usually casualties,you know, in each kind of litter
(19:49):
of pups.
So, and baby sharks are calledpups, which is so cute.
So we should love sharks justfor that.
SPEAKER_01 (19:55):
Yeah, right.
SPEAKER_00 (19:56):
As soon as you said that, I was like,
SPEAKER_03 (19:58):
she said
SPEAKER_01 (19:58):
pups.
SPEAKER_02 (20:00):
Yay.
SPEAKER_03 (20:01):
They have puppy teeth, right?
They got the little baby teeth.
SPEAKER_02 (20:05):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (20:07):
Well, I mean, so you have a picture behind you and
that picture behind you you.
You are swimming with, I'm goingto assume it's a great white.
It's big.
Yes,
SPEAKER_00 (20:16):
that one is very big.
That's definitely the biggestshark with teeth that I've seen
ever.
Probably like the biggest sharkI've seen ever.
That was in 2019.
And that was in Hawaii, off thecoast of Oahu, about 12 miles.
And there was a dead whalecarcass.
So a lot of people are alwayssurprised to hear that there was
(20:36):
a great white in Hawaii.
That's crazy.
We do have great whites here.
They're just extremely rare tosee because the water is quite
warm for them.
And so they like to stay down alittle deeper where it's cold,
but a lot of them will kind offollow the great whites out from
California out to Hawaii andhopefully, you know, or
hopefully running across a deadone and then they're able to
(20:58):
gorge themselves and really getstuffed in a lot of nutrients
and kind of replenish that.
So we were lucky enough to findthe dead whale and I did not
expect something like a greatwhite to pop up, but that's That
was such an amazing experience.
We actually recently had anotherdead whale in Kona.
So that would be my third overthe 12 years that I've lived
(21:20):
here.
So, you know, whales die.
It's always sad, of course.
They die a lot just of naturalcauses, just like anything else.
Sometimes human causes too, ofcourse, but they feed an
ecosystem so well.
A dead whale feeds an ecosystemfor something like 10 years
because every, you know, you getthe sharks and the fish and
(21:42):
things like that.
But then as it sinks, it'sdecomposing and it hits the
seafloor and there's all typesof other decomposers down there
that are feeding on it for agesuntil the bones are decomposing
then.
So it's a really fascinatingkind of event to get to see.
But yeah, Great White came upand she was feeding on the dead
(22:03):
whale and she was totally likerelaxed and chill.
Probably many reasons for that.
She may have been pregnant, youknow, Do you want to run around
attacking stuff when you'repregnant?
You probably just want to lay onthe couch and eat.
She also had a huge feast, ahuge dead whale that was
(22:23):
providing her so much food thatshe was like, I'm not going to
mess with these humans.
And there was dolphins there.
She's like, I'm not going tomess with these dolphins.
I'm just going to go for thisbig, free, easy meal here with
this dead whale.
So it was really beautiful,really peaceful.
really amazing experience I'm sograteful for but definitely not
(22:45):
something I would recommend thatsomebody should just think oh
yeah mermaid Kaylee said thatgreat whites are safe because
that is not the case you knowlike I said any shark has the
potential to be dangerousthey're not little puppy dogs
and especially something like agreat white they're just so huge
and massive if they didsomething like an exploratory
(23:06):
bite to find out what you arethat could mean that your limb
is gone that could mean that youdie and there were great great
whites that I was able to swimwith in New Zealand inside of a
cage that were behaving a lotdifferent than this beautiful
big lady here.
They were smaller, juvenile,very athletic and breaching as
they're hunting and the water ismurkier.
(23:26):
And yeah, I was totally finebeing in a cage.
So I would say go try to swimwith them in a cage.
That's where you're going to besafe and you're going to get to
see them.
And they're really, reallyamazing.
And this was sort of like a oncein a lifetime moment with like a
very once in a lifetime type ofshark.
SPEAKER_01 (23:43):
And you got a picture.
SPEAKER_00 (23:45):
It's an awesome picture.
SPEAKER_01 (23:47):
Yeah, exactly.
You have to, you gotta havethat.
SPEAKER_02 (23:51):
Right.
SPEAKER_03 (23:52):
I mean, I think even with a cage, I think my heart
rate would start to rise.
Right.
And I would start to feel theadrenaline racing through me.
I mean, what, what would be youradvice to someone who's either
in a cage or free diving andencounters a shark?
Like, how do you stay calm?
SPEAKER_00 (24:09):
I know.
Well, staying calm is perfect.
probably the hardest part butthe most important part because
they can really like they'revery good at sort of reading
energy because how theycommunicate with each other even
is through body language sostaying calm is going to be
utmost important if you panicthat's not that's the worst
(24:29):
thing that you can doessentially so as best you can
just stay calm just realize heythis is a shark this is where
they live you know hopefullythey're not doing anything
aggressive they're just kind ofhanging out out there.
So stay calm, stay relaxed.
Because if you start splashing,panicking, flailing, then you
look eye-catching the sharks andbe like, okay, is that something
(24:50):
that's hurt or injured?
I should probably go like checkthat out a little closer.
So stay nice and calm.
Then you want to make eyecontact with the shark.
And I know most people can'teven make eye contact with like
the Starbucks barista thesedays, but make eye contact with
the shark.
You want to look it in their eyebecause you look more like a
predator that way.
It's very simple.
(25:11):
all of these things to what wehear about bears, except we just
hear it more and it makes moresense for us because bears live
on land like we do.
We hear, you know, say, heybear, get big, look at it, don't
turn your back and run away.
That's gonna make the bear wannachase you.
It's kind of the same thing withthe shark.
Look at the shark, get big,don't splash, flail, any sudden
(25:33):
movements, but you could slowlyback away, but just go backwards
while you're looking at it,okay?
And then if the shark is comingup to you, You can stick your
fin out towards the shark.
Maybe you have like your GoPropole on you.
Maybe you have a surfboard.
If you can put something betweenyou and the animal, obviously
that's going to be a reallygreat barrier.
And if not, of course, there isthe redirecting with your hand
(25:57):
technique, which obviously Iwouldn't recommend for someone
to just go out and try thatdoesn't have this experience.
But in an emergency situation,if that's all you have on you,
you want to push on top of theirhead and kind of push them away
like a little Heisman over topof them.
And yeah, slowly back away andget out of the water.
But what a lot of people don'trealize is that it can be really
(26:18):
easy to avoid a shark encounterbefore you even get in the
water.
One of the things you can do,look around.
If the water looks pretty murky,you probably want to avoid
swimming in it if you can.
Go in groups if you have morepeople around you.
You might look more intimidatingto a shark.
You have more people to lookaround.
Watch your back.
(26:39):
Don't go in anywhere wherepeople are fishing.
Sometimes you'll see peoplefishing from land, from piers,
or even a dive flag out therecould indicate somebody
spearfishing.
If there's dead fish in thewater, that could attract sharks
closer, which is probably prettyobvious.
And also after heavy rainfall,you want to avoid swimming
(26:59):
because there could be reallyheavy rainfall making the water
murky.
But also if there's flooding,can sometimes sweep land animals
from land out to sea.
That does happen out here inHawaii and we will see the
sharks coming up and you knowthe garbage men of the sea sort
of with the tiger sharks they'llclean it all up so you want to
(27:21):
avoid being around that at all
SPEAKER_01 (27:24):
for sure see I never thought about that like land
animals being in the shark diettoo I mean it's crazy no it
didn't make sense
SPEAKER_03 (27:33):
especially in Florida and Hawaii places where
it rains a lot and things getthe runoff
SPEAKER_01 (27:38):
into the ocean it rains a lot here and we get
freshwater eels floating upthrough the storm drains.
It's disgusting.
SPEAKER_00 (27:45):
Yeah.
My husband actually captured areally cool drone video of a
dead boar that had been sweptout a couple of miles.
It was already dead.
And there was a tiger sharkeating it.
So it definitely happens here.
I've heard about it here in Konawith dead goats, dead boar.
(28:06):
So it's definitely somethingthat happens.
SPEAKER_01 (28:08):
Yeah.
It makes a lot of sense forsure.
SPEAKER_03 (28:10):
It really does.
I mean, we've talked about theidea of what is happening with
bycatch and the threats that areoccurring to sharks at this
point.
I mean, overall, what would yousay is the biggest threat to
ocean life?
SPEAKER_00 (28:26):
Well, I definitely stand by saying that our fishing
practices need to change.
I'm not against fishing.
My husband's a spear fisherman.
I think there's so many ways,especially if you can go out and
get your own sea food that wecan make it really sustainable
um so just the ways that we fishneed to change obviously if you
(28:48):
cannot eat fish altogetherthat's amazing or you know know
that you're going out andgetting it yourself but it's
really the industries that weneed to take a look at and how
they're operating um and thenyou know i'm not as well versed
in all of this but climatechange is for sure affecting the
ocean negatively um it makes meso sad because i just see on
(29:11):
like all my Instagram page.
So many corals around the worldare just like bleaching and that
just feels like we're going tolose something like we're
watching it before our eyes.
So yeah, that really makes mesad.
SPEAKER_03 (29:25):
Yeah.
I mean, and speaking aboutcorals, we, I think during your
introduction, we talk aboutsunscreens that are safe for
reefs.
I mean, do you have anyrecommendations of sunscreens
that are safe?
SPEAKER_00 (29:37):
Yeah, for sure.
I really like this sunscreenbrand called called All Good.
They're on Amazon too.
And they have, I think they havelike tinted sunscreens too and
like the regular zinc, but whatmakes them really good and what
you can look for if you'relooking for sunscreens, it is a
great way to do your part.
You know, it's, it's really likea lot of the big countries and
(29:59):
these huge corporations thatneed to make the change.
But of course we can help in ourown little personal ways as
well.
But this company, what you'lllook for on the back, as you may
know, you'll look for only zincor titanium within the sunscreen
as the active ingredient shouldbe right there at the top on the
back of the sunscreen bottle.
But not only that, what a lot ofpeople don't know is you also
(30:22):
want to look for non-nano zincoxide.
That will just assure that theparticles within the sunscreen,
the particles of the zinc arenot small enough for the corals
to consume them within thewater.
So that's the problem with thechemical sunscreens, the corals
(30:43):
are actually like ingesting thechemicals and filtering it.
So with the non-nano zinc, theparticles are just not big
enough to actually go throughthat process.
So it's not only zinc, it'snon-nano zinc, but even just
zinc is better than thechemicals.
So there's like levels of howgood your sunscreen can be, but
(31:04):
check out All Good.
They're really, they're good.
They're all good.
SPEAKER_01 (31:07):
They're all good.
The nice plug
SPEAKER_00 (31:09):
there.
Good branding.
for them yeah
SPEAKER_01 (31:11):
yeah right so well i i think sunscreen is is
definitely something that we canchange but you're also a big
proponent of eliminatingsingle-use plastics so what do
you think just your average joecan do to kind of remove or not
remove because we can't becauselike you said big industry they
(31:34):
use plastic for everything butwhat can we do to kind of lower
our plastic footprint To
SPEAKER_00 (31:41):
help our oceans.
(32:10):
Reusable bags, keep them in yourcar, you know, say no to straws,
try to catch them at therestaurant before they throw
them on the table because that'sall they do now is just throw it
on the table.
It's like, wait, no, I don'tneed that.
So those things are reallygreat.
But like we said, it's thebigger businesses and the
corporations that we need to beholding accountable.
But we can do that with ourpurchasing power and just us as
(32:32):
consumers.
So every time that you aresupporting a brand that is doing
the right thing, sustainable,even if it costs a little bit
extra, that is going to forcethose bigger corporations to
need to compete and keep up withthe buying power that we have
and the dollar sign, becausethat's unfortunately what drives
so much today is the economicsaround it all.
(32:55):
So, yeah, we actually can make abig difference just with our
purchasing power, just with thechoices that we make.
So I would say, you know,support and supporting locals,
supporting things that arecloser to you, small businesses
within your community and thinkabout that economy.
And then when you do Do you needto buy something?
See if there's the moresustainable choices out there
that you can gravitate towardsand put your dollar towards
(33:17):
that.
And that, I think, will make abigger difference over time.
SPEAKER_01 (33:22):
Yeah, I have a recommendation for shampoo and
body wash and deodorant.
Is that Ethique?
Ethique,
SPEAKER_00 (33:30):
yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (33:30):
Yeah, yeah, we used it.
It's awesome.
Yeah, it works just as well.
It's a bar of soap, not in abottle.
It's in a compostable box.
SPEAKER_00 (33:40):
Yeah, I was surprised at like how well that
worked, too, because and Ireally like that brand also.
But the conditioner, I wasworried because like I'm in the
ocean all the time.
So it's like real salty, realcrunchy and all that good stuff.
But it worked really well.
The condition was like it waslike better than regular
condition.
I was like, whoa, I'm likedetangling super well.
(34:01):
So, yeah, I agree.
SPEAKER_01 (34:03):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, I don't know why youthere's no to me other than
cost.
It is a little bit moreexpensive, but I I also think it
lasts a lot longer than regularshampoo because it's just like,
just rub it real fast and thenit suds up and then you're off
to the races.
But I like that stuff.
I recommend it.
And then like bite toothpastethat works well too.
(34:27):
And it's even better for yousupposedly than, than the
fluoride based stuff, butthere's no plastic tube to worry
about.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (34:35):
They also have laundry detergent sheets.
I use those too.
And like when you start actuallydigging into it, into some of
these products you're like wowthese are not only better for
the environment but they'rebetter for me too because they
don't have as much chemicals andall the stuff so I just use like
these laundry detergent sheetsare unscented because the scents
and added chemicals are supposedto be bad they're on your skin
(34:56):
all the time too and then I justput like essential oils in the
laundry and it smells like sogood and yeah it's better for
you better for the planet comesin cardboard it's like a
no-brainer you know
SPEAKER_01 (35:07):
for sure yeah the the the pods that people will
buy that you throw in thewashing machine, they don't
understand that that pod itselfis plastic.
SPEAKER_03 (35:15):
Yeah,
SPEAKER_01 (35:16):
the actual pod that dissolves in the laundry.
It's like that's turning intomicroplastics and you're
breathing that in.
SPEAKER_00 (35:25):
Or drinking it.
SPEAKER_01 (35:26):
Or drinking it, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (35:27):
Or eating it if you eat fish.
Like all the fish these dayshave microplastics.
SPEAKER_01 (35:32):
Yeah, well, I read a study.
It was about...
I can't remember.
Like...
nine out or eight out of 10placentas that scientists tested
from women had microplastics inthem.
It's insane.
It's like we have to changethat.
(35:53):
And that's not, that's for ourhealth too.
Not just the ocean, you know?
SPEAKER_00 (35:58):
And all this stuff has like forever cancer causing
chemicals in it and stuff likethat.
So really when we make thesesuggestions, it's just for
ourselves as well as the planetas a whole.
Like we're, We're all one here,you know, and it affects all of
us.
So
SPEAKER_01 (36:13):
it's
SPEAKER_00 (36:14):
important to make those changes.
Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_03 (36:18):
Well, I mean, to kind of go into what your goal
for Kaimana is, I mean, whatoverarching message do you want
to send with the Kaimana OceanSafari?
SPEAKER_00 (36:32):
Well, with Kaimana, it's so exciting for me to be
able to take people out there todo this because like I said, I
think the experience andactually getting out there is
what inspires people to make thechanges that we're talking about
and have these different likeperception changes in general
people just tend to protect whatthey love what they understand
(36:52):
what they experienced in theirown life so getting to take
people out there is reallyawesome and then while we're out
there we can talk to them aboutissues like this we can show
them how we're contributing toour local research organizations
we contribute by giving idphotos like the dorsal fins of
cetaceans the dolphin thewhales, as well as the sharks to
(37:12):
our local research organizationsso they can study them better.
So every time somebody comes outwith us, they actually get to
contribute to that research,which is really exciting.
And yeah, I want to continue todo that and continue to take
people on trips in other partsof the world as well, because I
think there's so much to see outthere and combining my love of,
(37:33):
as we talked about in thebeginning of the episode, you
know, different cultures anddifferent places around the
world and kind of getting out ofyour hometown and And combining
that with the love of the oceanand seeing the plight of the
ocean and ways that you canchange it is like awesome.
So I'm running a lot ofexpeditions with my husband
where we take people around theworld to go do these things.
(37:53):
We have a few spots left for ourhumpback whale expeditions this
fall.
I'm going to start probablybooking our shark diving
expeditions in Mexico for March2025 and some more exciting
things on the horizon as well.
So anybody can definitely reachout to me if that interests you.
For
SPEAKER_01 (38:11):
sure.
I am interested.
SPEAKER_00 (38:14):
He looks like, yes, can
SPEAKER_01 (38:16):
we do that?
Yeah, like March
SPEAKER_03 (38:17):
2025, maybe.
I
SPEAKER_01 (38:19):
was going to ask, are you ever going to do
anything in the Florida area?
SPEAKER_00 (38:24):
Yeah, actually, there may be a reason that I'm
coming to Florida in June, butI'm not sure yet.
I will definitely hit you guysup if that is the case.
Yes, please.
Do it.
I've been shark diving out therein Jupiter.
It's actually really fun.
SPEAKER_01 (38:40):
Yeah.
I would love to see you.
SPEAKER_03 (38:45):
I would love to see me.
I
SPEAKER_01 (38:48):
don't know if she'd make it out.
SPEAKER_03 (38:49):
No, Kay, talking to you, I can see it, right?
I know the shark's purpose.
I understand what the reason isbehind the shark.
And even, I guess being withsomeone like you, Kay, out on an
excursion like that, I feel likeI could maybe channel some of
your calmness and try it.
(39:10):
Like just experience it.
So I, I love talking to youabout this.
This is something that I thinkone day we, Russ and Linds will
be on a Kaimana excursion.
SPEAKER_01 (39:24):
We'll do this.
Well, and you just to you, youdon't just jump in, right?
You kind of like survey thesharks before, like make sure
they're, they've, they're not infeeding zone, you know, she will
keep us safe.
Right, right, right.
So it's not like you're just,all right there.
There's a shark.
Jump in.
You push her into the water.
SPEAKER_00 (39:46):
yes there's a lot that goes into it and we will
definitely make sure that youguys are nice and safe but I
definitely encourage people togo out and swim with sharks
because I think you can hearabout it over and over and kind
of like be beat over the headwith this information about
sharks but until you see themfor yourself you're like oh now
I get it you just yeah they justdon't behave in that way that
(40:08):
the media and the movies reallyhype it up you know
SPEAKER_01 (40:11):
for sure for sure and like you said they're just
seeing a shark swim next to akayaker a fisherman and it's not
an attack he's you're in hishouse
SPEAKER_03 (40:23):
right yeah and if you're fishing
SPEAKER_01 (40:25):
you have his food right right you just
SPEAKER_03 (40:26):
stole out
SPEAKER_01 (40:27):
of his pantry you stole my food bro
SPEAKER_00 (40:30):
it's like what would we do we would do the same thing
SPEAKER_01 (40:33):
exactly exactly there was a video that that was
just posted on social media thea lady was ziplining over it
looked like the everglades shewas ziplining over a pond and a
gator popped his head out andi'm like well Well, if
somebody's screaming over top ofyour head, you'd pop your head
out too.
What's going on?
Yeah.
It was the same thing.
I'm like, just leave the gatoralone.
(40:54):
It didn't do nothing to you.
SPEAKER_03 (40:57):
That makes sense.
Well, we ask every yes, Kay, andyou will be no exception.
Let's hear the answer here.
If you won$10 million tonight,what's the first thing you would
do tomorrow?
SPEAKER_00 (41:10):
Oh, my gosh.
Well, that is like, I mean, I'dprobably just be doing the same
thing because I really enjoywhat I do.
So I'm very lucky to have ananswer like that.
And yeah, I would probably bookmy dream trip which is to swim
with orca in Norway.
(41:30):
It's very cold and it's veryextreme, but I kind of like that
stuff.
And they're like hunting theherring and things over there.
So I would want to go check thatout.
SPEAKER_01 (41:42):
Yeah.
Wow.
Orca is probably my favorite seacreature.
SPEAKER_03 (41:47):
Soon to be shark.
Come March, 2025.
SPEAKER_01 (41:50):
I don't know what it is about orca, but the, they're
so smart.
SPEAKER_03 (41:55):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (41:56):
And, they're sinking ships off of what in the
Mediterranean and stuff.
Like they're smart enough tosink a boat.
That's insane to me.
SPEAKER_00 (42:07):
I got this orca sticker that has an orca on it
and it says, fuck them boats.
And I was like,
SPEAKER_01 (42:13):
yes, I
SPEAKER_00 (42:14):
love that.
Yeah, that's perfect.
SPEAKER_01 (42:16):
Yeah.
Yeah.
But seriously, I, I see them andI, you there, those are like
majestic creatures to me justbecause of the, the
intelligence, you know,
SPEAKER_03 (42:26):
absolutely
SPEAKER_00 (42:28):
yeah I really like predators so orcas are for sure
up there and I really want to gosee them in that way and I'm
sure one day I will so
SPEAKER_01 (42:36):
yeah and they they are like surgically precise when
they eat sharks right don't theyeat like the liver or something
it's like a delicacy to the orca
SPEAKER_00 (42:47):
yeah I think it's what essentially has like the
most nutritional value thatthey're after so they'll kill a
whole animal and just eat theirliver
SPEAKER_01 (42:57):
right but how did they know how do they know to
surgically remove that that partyou know
SPEAKER_00 (43:05):
it's really
SPEAKER_03 (43:06):
fascinating
SPEAKER_01 (43:07):
yeah yeah
SPEAKER_03 (43:08):
well if you do ever get to go see the orcas please
let us know how it is it soundscold sorry I don't like cold
I've heard
SPEAKER_00 (43:17):
it's very cold
SPEAKER_03 (43:20):
well okay let them know where to find you where can
they find you on social media oryour website or business all the
places All
SPEAKER_00 (43:27):
the
SPEAKER_03 (43:27):
places.
SPEAKER_00 (43:29):
Thanks for watching, guys.
You can find me on pretty muchall the social media platforms
at mermaid.kaylee.
If you want to come dive withme, my website is
kaimanaoceansafari.com.
SPEAKER_01 (43:44):
Kaimana, just so it's clear for people listening
to audio and not having accessto the show notes, how do you
spell that?
SPEAKER_00 (43:52):
It's K-A-I-M-A-N-A.
SPEAKER_01 (43:56):
Awesome.
SPEAKER_00 (43:57):
Awesome.
SPEAKER_01 (43:58):
Yeah.
Thanks so much.
I would highly recommendchecking out Mermaid Kaylee's
social media pages because theyare awesome.
SPEAKER_03 (44:06):
It's
SPEAKER_01 (44:07):
literally what we watch almost every night.
It's awesome.
Seriously, I can't stop.
I'm just like scrolling andscrolling and scrolling.
I'm like, I just wasted an hourwatching shark videos.
SPEAKER_03 (44:18):
Not wasted.
SPEAKER_01 (44:19):
No, no, no.
You
SPEAKER_03 (44:21):
know what I'm saying.
UNKNOWN (44:21):
It's all the fun.
SPEAKER_03 (44:22):
Yes.
Thanks so much, Kay.
Thank
SPEAKER_01 (44:24):
you,
SPEAKER_03 (44:25):
guys.
SPEAKER_01 (44:25):
Oh, yeah.
Thank you.
thanks for listening to theunfiltered union did you like
the episode support the showvisit us on patreon at
patreon.com slash unfilteredunion
SPEAKER_03 (44:39):
or you can rock some merch check out our store at
store.unfilteredunion.com
SPEAKER_01 (44:44):
for all other things unfiltered check out our site at
unfilteredunion.com
SPEAKER_03 (44:50):
it's what you do with the
SPEAKER_01 (44:51):
things you love
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