Bio

Joe Cavanaugh has worked as a marine biologist for the past 15 years.  His eclectic fieldwork experience includes SCUBA diving with sperm whales in Papua New Guinea, surveying coral reefs throughout the Caribbean Sea, surveying salmon habitat on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington, and collecting radiation samples in nuclear power plant discharge canals.  He now works for the National Marine Fisheries Service in St. Petersburg, Florida to protect endangered species such as sea turtles, smalltooth sawfish, sturgeon, and North Atlantic right whales.  Joe’s interest in sharks piqued with encounters while SCUBA diving in Florida.  The alarming decline in shark populations worldwide largely due to the shark fin soup market, prompted Joe to get involved in researching and educating the public about the shark finning crisis.  His trip to Hong Kong this summer will result in a comprehensive article outlining the shark finning problem and providing insight into solving this crisis.