A shark, a woman.. and a growing dream
Posted By Jeff Ayliffe on 2 August 2006
That moment was almost a sign for Lesley, after so many years of enjoying and experiencing a great diversity with the ocean, it became clear that sharks and their predicament would be her path. She tells me that she did a lot of soul searching, and "it may sound a bit strange" she says, "but it's almost as if I was guided to do what I'm doing.."
It's difficult for me, even though I have only known her for a brief time, to imagine her doing anything else. Going against all that the corporate world had taught her, she left a highly paid job, cashed in her pension fund, and set up AOCA. The first, and ongoing, project was a need to alter peoples perceptions about sharks, off which 100 million or more are killed annually worldwide. Because of perceptions, people do not care, and those perceptions need changing. Lesley started the Maxine Science, Education and Awareness Programme, or M-Sea, in honour of Maxine, and began the drive to get the funding to begin the project.
For a long time, she struggled to find assistance and sponsorship, with the concern being that the big corporates were wary of the image of being linked to 'sharks'. In a sad twist of irony, these magnificent animals were even being awarded negative reputations in a boardroom, far from their usual un-truths about shark-attacks. The light at the end of the tunnel came from a phone call from the international conservation organisation called 'Save Our Seas Foundation'. They had liked Lesley's proposal, the funding was cleared, and so began a wonderful partnership.
On a cold, blustery day in March 2004, off Arniston, Lesley and a group of aquarists from the Two Oceans Aquarium slipped Maxine from her 'mobile tank' onboard an inflatable craft, and into the ocean. She was free once again, and fittingly, she was joined by Lesley underwater, perhaps a little unsure of this new place.
A massive media contingent were present, and thanks to hours of behind the scenes work by Lesley and the staff of the Two Oceans Aquarium, thousands of people were anxiously following the progress of Maxine's release. The country had watched, on television and newspapers, as the day had drawn closer, yet once Maxine slipped off into the gloom off the Arniston coast, none of those people had witnessed the tears from Lesley. Maxine was gone, and Lesley understood better than most, of the new dangers her friend would face. I'm happy to say that a satellite tag has shown Maxine to be fit and healthy, and moving up the coastline following the eastward migration of the ragged- tooth Sharks. Since then, 2 further sharks, Val and Dee, have both been released, and are faring well. Through this programme, with the support of the Save Our Seas Foundation, AOCA have reached an estimated 70 million people worldwide, and somewhere out there, the perceptions will be changing. But the wholesale slaughter of sharks needs to stop.
So Maxine, Val and Dee are swimming freely as you read this, all having bid Lesley farewell off the Struisbaai coastline. And as I write this, I reflect on Lesley telling me that she wasn’t sure that what she was doing was enough.
She gave me a some children’s books that she had illustrated for my 7 year old son to pass on to friends. And when I saw his face as he took the books, I saw that she is doing enough. The books explain to my son that perceptions need changing, and they show him how it must be. His friends will see that, and so will their sons and daughters, and so will their sons and daughters, and so the dream will grow. And just as Lesley grew up watching Jacques Cousteau’s work, so my son will hopefully be inspired seeing some of Lesley's work. And the dream keeps growing.
To follow the ragged-tooth sharks journey, see www.aoca.org.za. The Save Our Seas Foundation M-Sea Programme is an AfriOceans Conservations Alliance in collaboration with the Two Oceans Aquarium, sponsored by the Save Our Seas Foundation.Photography credits: Freediving pic shot by Leon Muller, Aquarium shot from Andrew Ingram.
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