On the line with… Charlotte Birkmanis
Charlotte Birkmanis is a wildlife ecologist and shark scientist. We spoke with her about fieldwork, writing children’s fiction, and shark public relations.
Charlotte, you completed your PhD last year at the University of Western Australia. Can you tell us about your findings?
I completed my PhD in December 2021, and my work focused on pelagic sharks, the ones you might not be so familiar with – for example, blue, mako and oceanic whitetip sharks. I looked at where these sharks are, why they are there, and how that, and their numbers, change over time – kinda like time travel. Although I was lucky enough to spend a lot of time in the field both overseas and around Australia during my PhD, this work focused on Australian waters and the adjacent Indo-Pacific high seas.
Charlotte tagging a lemon shark. © Adrian Gutteridge
For your media work, you have been described as “‘public relations manager’ for sharks and other misunderstood predators.” What’s the best way to change public opinion about marine predators?
I have a friend in the media to thank for that tagline, and as it’s kind of stuck it gives me something to work towards! How to change public opinion about predators is the million-dollar question! I think that really listening to what people are saying and combatting all the misinformation out there about wildlife is important. We need to distil the latest science into bite-sized nuggets and communicate that far and wide so everyone can join in the conservation conversation. Also, I like to share fin-facts about sharks, highlight their lesser-known quirky side, to get people to see them as more than just their teeth.
How did your children’s book, Little Shark Lulu is sleeping, come about?
Little Shark Lulu has been with me through most of my research journey – the little shark with a story to tell! What started with me noting down fun facts about the animals that live in our ocean and sharing them online and in talks turned into so much more. I ended up working with Josie Montano, an old friend I met volunteering through the SES (State Emergency Service), and Carla Hoffenberg to bring Lulu and her friends to life through such amazing illustrations.
Little Shark Lulu is sleeping is a fun fact-filled fable about what goes on in the ocean when the sun goes down, told through the eyes of a little shark called Lulu. It features some lesser-known denizens of the deep that don’t normally feature in children’s books (like plankton) and you’ll notice that Lulu doesn’t have any teeth – not even baby teeth – and that is deliberate. I wanted people to see a shark without teeth, as the teeth are normally what people focus on.
Charlotte recently published a children’s book about ocean life.
What is your most memorable ocean experience?
It would have to be diving in the Chagos Archipelago. I was doing some field work and we were diving with silvertip sharks and it was all so calm. Here we were, miles from anywhere, and it was so peaceful. Unfortunately, I hadn’t turned the GoPro on yet, so I didn’t get footage of it, but it was such an amazing experience – diving along that drop-off and peering into the big blue.
Which little-appreciated fish species should get more love?
Definitely handfish. They are so cute. The way they strut with their little ‘hands’ rather than swim. And their frowny faces – the grumps of the sea. I find it fascinating that they are related to deep-sea anglerfish, but we don’t know what their illicium (fluffy headpiece) is for … These tiny fish certainly need a helping hand (you can even find one in Little Shark Lulu is sleeping).
"On the line" is a regular series featuring interviews with ASFB members and other fish researchers. Charlotte Birkmanis delivered an invited plenary at the 2022 ASFB conference in Surfers Paradise, Queensland, in November 2022.