Shark expert honoured for conservation

Shark expert honoured for conservation

Underwater adventurer and shark expert Valerie Taylor has been appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for her service to conservation.

Together with her husband Ronald, Ms Taylor has fought for more than 50 years for the protection of underwater creatures, in particular the great white shark, the grey nurse shark, sea lions, the potato cod, the southern right whale and marine turtles.

She has also fought for the conservation of habitats, such as the Great Barrier Reef and Ningaloo Reef Marine Park in Western Australia.

Born in Sydney in 1935, Ms Taylor spent her teenage years living near the sea in Cronulla, in Sydney's south, and met her husband when they were both members of the Sydney's St George spearfishing club.

After they both became champion spearfishers in the early 1960s, they decided to switch from killing fish to filming and photographing them.

"We saw what a terrible thing we were doing," Ms Taylor told AAP.

"I could speak about it because I was there.

"We were both champions and I knew that if we went out to a reef, we could take every good fish off it.

"We were decimating reef life."

Ms Taylor went on to became a multi-award winning underwater cinematographer and photographer, working on dozens of documentaries and major feature films, such as as Jaws, Orca and Sky Pirates.

Her fascination with the underwater world and admiration and respect for sharks has prompted her to risk her life on occasions.

In 1979, Ms Taylor was the first to test a stainless steel mesh suit designed by her husband as protection from sharks.

While wearing the suit, Ms Taylor enticed sharks to bite her by placing tuna under the mesh. Her husband filmed the encounters, enabling them both to gain insights into how different species of sharks feed and attack.

The Taylors' long-lasting relationship and adventurous careers have also been the subject of several films, including Sea Lovers and In the Realm of the Shark.