LXD 019 : Cristina Zenato – Shark Professional & Conservationist

Retrieved from ScubaGuru - Expert Advice & Best Practices for Scuba Diving Professionals Cristina Zenato – Shark Professional, Cave Explorer and Conservationist On today’s episode I chat with one of the most influential women underwater. Italian born Cristina Zenato traveled to the Bahamas to take a beginner diving class, and that’s where she fell in love with diving and with the Bahamas. Eventually Cristina became a dive pro. Her credentials include PADI Course Director, NSS-CDS Full Cave Instructor, and TDI Extended Range and Advanced Nitrox with Decompression Procedures Instructor. This helps her explore the many cave systems in the Bahamas – yes there are cave systems in the Bahamas! She even speaks five languages. But what Cristina is most noted for is her expertise with handling Caribbean Reef Sharks on special shark dives in the Bahamas. She has a special way with sharks, a gift, whereby sharks are so comfortable with her they literally come lay in her lap. Due to this intimacy she has been able to study sharks and assist other researchers in studying shark behavior. And this closeness has even allowed her to remove fishing hooks from their jaws. No wonder Cristina has been inducted into the Women Divers Hall of Fame and the Explorers Club, as well as being a recipient of the Platinum Pro 5000 Award. Items In This Podcast Taking scuba classes on vacation in the BahamasWorked at a Bahamian resort just to scuba dive800 logged dives per yearFrom a love of diving to a love of protectingCristina’s mentor “Uncle Ben” RoseBahamian cave and cavern systemsBahamas National Trust 2020Shark handling with Caribbean Reef SharksWhy she is able to remove hooks from Caribbean Reef SharksOctopus giving birthFavorite diving locationsTips for diversSpeaking at DC Dive Show and Beneath The SeaHer coursesNew not-for-profit – People of The Water Resources 10 Mistakes Divers Make and How to Prevent Them POWnonprofit.org cristinazenato.com Sponsor Special thanks to our episode sponsor Aggressor Fleet Thanks for Listening! Thank you for joining me again. Do you want to give a shout out to our guest on this podcast? Leave a note in the comments section below! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post. Also, please leave an honest review for The League of Extraordinary Divers podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! And, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. The post LXD 019 : Cristina Zenato – Shark Professional & Conservationist appeared first on ScubaGuru.