CELEBRATED HOSTS

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• Alison Kock

  Marine Scientist

  Alison Kock is a marine scientist determined to help secure the future of sharks through scientific research, awareness and community based conservation strategies.

  Alison leads research on one of the world’s largest concentrations of white sharks on the doorstep of a major city. She is completing a doctoral degree on white shark feeding ecology, movement patterns and population dynamics through the University of Cape Town and is the research manager of the pioneering Shark Spotter Programme in Cape Town.

  Alison is co-author of peer-reviewed articles on the predator-prey dynamics of white sharks and Cape fur seals, the impact of provisioning eco-tourism on the behaviour of white sharks and shark bite mitigation measures. She is a skilled field biologist with expertise in wildlife telemetry, animal-borne cameras, photo-identification and tissue sampling of free-swimming sharks. She received a prestigious bursary from the National Research Foundation for her Masters and Doctoral research.

  Her work has featured in hundreds of publications including the Smithsonian Magazine, CNN’s Planet in Peril, 100 Heartbeats and National Geographic documentaries. Fairlady and Oprah magazines featured her in articles about South Africans to be proud of and the City of Cape Town has recognised Alison for her role in the development of their policy on recreational water user safety and white shark conservation.

  Alison will engage travelers on a series of immersive experiences in Cape Town on The Sharks of South Africa program, traveling May 19-29, 2013.