This summer, the American Elasmobranch Society held a memorial symposium for beloved scientist Dr. Jeff Carrier, and I was asked to speak about Jeff’s work at Seacamp. By request, here’s the text of my remarks, along with some photos.
Many AES members worked with Jeff Carrier for longer than I did. But I bet that few people met him at a younger age than I did.
Here I am at 15 years old, as student attending Seacamp. That’s what I looked like the summer I met Jeff.
Here I am that same summer with one of the first sharks I ever did a research workup on, a nurse shark.
So what is Seacamp? It’s a marine biology summer camp based in Big Pine Key, Florida, where it’s oeprated since the 1960’s. Students particiapte in sleepaway summer camp sessions, like I did for 5 summers in middle school and high school. During those sessions, they can get SCUBA certified and take a variety of marine biology courses taught by instructors with a marine biology degree. (They’re always hiring if you want a fun entry level job, I loved working there for two summers after college!) In total, coutning school year programs where schools come down for a week at a time, over 2,000 students a year go through their programs.
Jeff worked with Seacamp since before I was born, he was the director of the fall/spring program in the late 1970’s and maintained a relationship until 2024, helping to train staff in safe boat operations as well as shark research.
He also used camp facilities as a base of operations for some of his nurse shark research, and it was in that capacity that I met him as a camper.
As we were returning from a day of snorkeling, one of my instructors pointed at Jeff standing on a dock and said “that’s one of the scientists we work with, he studies sharks.” I assume my instructor said more than that, but I had already taken off running to meet him. He answered my questions for over an hour; I almost missed dinner!
Indeed, Jeff was the first professional shark scientist I ever met. I won’t say that I chose this career because I met Jeff, indeed I was attending Seacamp because I already knew I wanted to be a marine biologist. But the advice he gave me helped shape my career, and the encouragement he gave me got me through rough times for years after our conversation.
One of Seacamp’s signature courses is shark biology, a class which Jeff helped design and taught many times over the decades. I taught it myself during my time working there.
In addition to lectures and field research experience, the shark bio class also brings sharks back to camp where students not in the class can learn from them. There’s a temporary holding tank as well as a “shark pond” that allows students to safely snorkel with sharks.
Lots of people got to experience a wild shark for the first time in their lives thanks to the shark bio class. And as we know, encounters like these can result in perspective shifts that last a lifetime.
Many AES members either attended or worked at SeaCamp. In 2022, one of my former shark bio students, now a Postdoc at Princeton, attended AES, and I got to introduce him to Jeff.
After Jeff died, Seacamp hosted one of his memorial services. Seacamp’s boats, driven by staffers trained in safe boat operations by Jeff, went out to one of his favorite places in the world, Coupon Bight. Aquatic Preserve. Each had a flag representing a different part of Jeff’s long, full, and fascinating life.
I’ll close by pointing something important and underappreciated. Lots has been said at this symposium about Jeff’s amazing legacy as a teacher, researcher, and mentor.
But THOUSANDS of middle school and high school students got to see their first-ever shark because of a program he built and maintained. Some of those people went on to pursue careers in marine biolgoy and ocean conservation, and all of them gained a greater appreciation for sharks, science, and the ocean.
I’d like to thank the organizers of this symposium for giving me the opportunity to speak, I’d like to thank Seacamp director Judy Gregoire for photos, facts and figures, and I’d like to thank Jeff for everything.
