This picture really represents the magic of the Farallon Islands for me. The first sight of a shark's fin cutting the water like this is really thrilling — almost more so than the view we eventually gain of the whole animal. In the film's script, I think I called the Farallones "frightening in their beauty and isolation," and this photograph seems to capture that. The Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge is closed to the public, and only rarely are film crews allowed access by special permit. I feel very privileged to have been able to see the place firsthand, and to be able to bring a part of this experience to the Animal Planet audience.

During the making of this film, I have warmed to the white shark, and along with the researchers, I think that it would be our loss if we allowed the white shark to reach extinction. The immediate human threat to white sharks is hunting them for sport, and for their teeth and jaws. Although the sport fishermen may return them to the ocean, many animals are so shocked and oxygen deprived that they may not survive for long.

My fear is that there is also an indirect threat. Unless we come to understand the ecology of the animal better, we will not fully grasp how humans affect the white shark population. We are almost certainly depriving them of food by our industrial fishing. Since they are at the top of the food chain, any disturbances will eventually reach the white sharks, but the connections may be very indirect. The world is in danger of losing many of its larger predators, and we should try hard to save this one while we still have time.