After the release of Jaws in 1975 fanned primal fears of underwater terrors, the whole world went on a shark hunt. The slaughter was indiscriminate – the gentle grey nurse shark, which unfortunately has a prominent mouthful of scary-looking teeth, was hunted to extinction in parts of the US, and Australian populations were under attack. Diver and conservationist Valerie Taylor went on a mission: to get the world’s first protected status for a shark species.

In the documentary Playing with Sharks (2021), Taylor is shown in her home overlooking the ocean, feeding birds and writing letters (as the voice-over describes her ceaseless lobbying of politicians) – a portrait of her that illustrates the narrative of her activism. As we see footage of her caressing placid sharks ‘like a dog’, she points out the persuasive power of a piece of good film. For the viewer, it’s a doubled experience, as it’s designed to have the same persuasive effect on us.

The grey nurse shark’s way-too-close brush with extinction reminds us how vital it is to advocate for creatures threatened by human activities.

See more Valerie Taylor in Playing with Sharks