Ep 3 | Brinkley Davies | Shark Conservation and Communities | Crossing the Tideline

Brinkley Davies grew up surfing the Yorke Peninsula and the West Coast of South Australia, two coastlines that have had more than their share of shark encounters, fatalities included. She is also a marine biologist, conservationist and diver who has spent years working alongside Great Whites, including three years on the cage diving boats out of Port Lincoln.That combination makes for a rare kind of conversation. Brinkley doesn't sit neatly on either side of the debate, and that's what makes her perspective so valuable.We talk about what it was like growing up surfing in SA when shark presence was just part of the deal, what she observed working that closely with Great Whites, the difference between surfing and diving in terms of how you read risk, and the environmental factors driving more frequent encounters along the SA and WA coasts.We also get into the mental health toll on coastal communities after clusters of attacks, what she saw happen to the people around Streaky Bay and Yorke Peninsula in recent years, the gap between what the data says and what people are actually feeling, and why better risk communication at a community level is something she feels strongly about.One of the more layered conversations in this series.