JAKE DAVIES ANGEL SHARK PROJECT / WALES

Jake Davies

Jake grew up on Pen Llŷn, North Wales and coming from a maritime family meant that from a young age the underwater world and marine life have played a major role in his life. Jake is the Project Coordinator for Angel Shark Project: Wales which aims to better understand the Critically Endangered angel shark off the Welsh Coast. He is also a Project Leader on a Save Our Seas Foundation Project to pilot the initiative of testing Baited Remote Underwater Video Cameras (BRUVs) to help better understand angel sharks in Wales and the Canary Islands.

As an underwater videographer he aims to share the the range of marine life and habitats found beneath the waves along the Welsh Coast and further afield. Footage has featured on BBC and Discovery Channels Shark Week.

Q: Can you tell us a little about your research? What does a typical day in the field look like?

“No two days are the same. Due to the conditions off the Welsh coast there is a limited fieldwork season. As a Project Coordinator for Angel Shark Project: Wales a lot of my time is spent carrying out engagement work with fishers, communities and snorkelers/divers to help better understand Angelsharks off the Welsh coast. This is then followed by the part that many people don’t see – spending lots of time in front of a computer screen doing data management and analysis. During the summer, when the weather allows for it, there is time to get in the water for snorkel or dive surveys.”

“A recent big chunk of exciting fieldwork has been for a Save Our Seas Foundation Baited Underwater Video System (BRUVs) project, to trial whether BRUVS can be used to monitor Angelsharks. This involved over 100 hours of footage collected off the Welsh coast and another 35 hours off the waters of La Graciosa, “Canary Islands.”

Through sharing underwater videos and photos of amazing and unique wildlife/ habitats that are found beneath the waves along the Welsh Coast as well as abroad Jake hopes to inspire people to go beneath the waves and making the underwater world more accessible for all.

DeepSea Channel welcomes Jake Davies to the our video production team and digital magazine as a story contributor.

Follow Jake on IG @jdscuba