Jim Abernethy is an award-winning author, photographer, cinematographer, filmmaker and conservationist who pioneered cage-free encounters with large predatory sharks.

After beginning scuba diving at a young age, Jim witnessed the dramatic decline of marine wildlife firsthand. This became the driving force behind his commitment to protecting vulnerable and disappearing species.

For decades, Jim has led cage-free expeditions with tiger, great hammerhead, oceanic whitetip, bull and lemon sharks. Through these close encounters, he helps people replace fear with love and become ambassadors for sharks and the oceans.

Jim’s award-winning imagery has appeared in leading nature publications, and he has worked with many of the world’s foremost wildlife filmmakers and media organizations.

Jim is the founder of three nonprofit organizations: WildlifeVOICE, Operation Blue Pride and Project Seahorse for Kids.

Through Operation Blue Pride, Jim gave veterans a new fight: protecting wildlife and its habitat. Through in-water activities, wildlife encounters and education, the program successfully inspired veterans to become conservationists.

Through Project Seahorse for Kids, Jim taught 120 children annually for four years to swim and snorkel—and some to scuba dive—while revealing the value of the underwater world and inspiring future conservationists.

Jim’s understanding of sharks changed profoundly while trying to remove a fishing hook from one. Using love and affection, he spent two hours making friends with the shark and gaining its trust. It responded favorably, allowing him to move progressively closer until it became completely relaxed and he successfully removed the hook. That experience revealed sharks’ capacity for trust and demonstrated that they are sentient beings capable of recognizing and responding positively to affection. It inspired Jim’s lifelong campaign to change how the world sees and protects sharks—and led him to remove hundreds of fishing hooks from nine different shark species by making friends with all of them.

Today, Jim’s primary focus is WildlifeVOICE, which conducts an exceptionally diverse range of conservation campaigns confronting threats to wildlife on land and at sea. Through education, advocacy and direct action, WildlifeVOICE inspires people of all ages to become a voice for animals and protect the natural world.

Jim spends much of his life at sea, leading expeditions with sharks, whales, dolphins, orcas and other large aquatic wildlife. His company, Jim Abernethy’s Scuba Adventures, is based in Riviera Beach, Florida. He is also available for educational presentations and conservation events.

Selected Films and Television Productions

• Tales by Light: Misunderstood Predators — Netflix and National Geographic
• Deep Sea 3D — IMAX; shown in 1,759 IMAX theaters worldwide
• Tiger King — BBC Television
• This Is Your Ocean: Sharks — Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV
• Sharks of North America — Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV
• Sharks, My Love — Amazon Prime Video and YouTube