Hammertime (5050 – SABC3)

LP_HammertimeAfrica Media team produced this short 7 minute documentary for local environmental news program 5050. Big thanks to the shows scientist Gibbs Kuguru and team for helping to make the production so fun to produce!

 


Brief: One of the most recognisable shapes when it comes to shark species, is the strange elongated head of the Hammerhead shark. Physical characteristics aside, there is actually very little else known about these distinctive ocean creatures. What is known, is that they are heavily persecuted in the shark-fin industry, and their numbers are dropping rapidly.

Gibbs Kiguru, a marine biologist from Stelenbosch has made it his mission to find out as much about the Hammerhead shark in an effort to conserve them. He is pioneering new ways to catch young sharks with minimal stress to the animal, and hopes that his tracking technology will give researchers some insight as to what happens to the young sharks when they leave the safety of South Africa’s waters.