Jim Abernethy
Aliases: jimabernethy, James R. Abernethy
Role: Shark expedition leader, underwater photographer, conservationist
First appearance: 2002 ([1])
Affiliation: Jim Abernethy’s Scuba Adventures (JASA), M/V Shear Water, Shark Savers (board member)
Biography
Jim Abernethy is a shark diving expedition leader, award-winning underwater photographer, and marine conservationist based in Florida who operates Jim Abernethy’s Scuba Adventures (JASA). He is the captain and owner of the M/V Shear Water, a liveaboard dive vessel that has served as the platform for countless shark encounters in the Bahamas over more than two decades. Abernethy is one of the world’s most experienced shark divers, known for his intimate knowledge of individual sharks — including the famous tiger shark “Emma” — and his passionate advocacy for shark conservation.
Wetpixel Partnership
Abernethy’s operation became central to the Wetpixel community’s shark photography program starting in 2002, when Eric Cheng, David Fleetham, Jim Watt, and Andy Sallmon joined a Bahamas shark expedition aboard the Shear Water with five Canon D60 digital SLRs ([2]). That trip marked the beginning of a long partnership between JASA and Wetpixel, with annual shark and dolphin expeditions continuing for over a decade.
JASA hosted and co-led numerous Wetpixel shark and dolphin expeditions from 2002 through at least 2012, building a bridge between the professional shark research community and the underwater photography community. These trips typically provided access to tiger sharks, lemon sharks, Caribbean reef sharks, great hammerheads, oceanic white-tip sharks, and Atlantic spotted dolphins ([3], [4]).
Oceanic White-Tip Discovery
In an exploratory trip with Brian Skerry and National Geographic approximately three years before 2008, Abernethy discovered a population of oceanic white-tip sharks in the Bahamas near Cat Island, after hearing reports from fishermen. This led to multiple successful expeditions. Shark scientist Samuel “Doc” Gruber, upon seeing photos from these encounters, told Eric Cheng that the sharks were once “everywhere” but that it had been many years since he had seen one alive. In May 2007, JASA had an epic trip in which divers swam with more than 20 oceanic white-tip sharks at once ([5]).
The M/V Shear Water made the 32-hour crossing to Cat Island for these encounters. Eric Cheng led a May 2008 expedition with guests including Douglas Seifert, during which they encountered multiple oceanic white-tips over three days of diving ([6]).
2008 Fatal Shark Bite Incident
In February 2008, a tragic incident occurred aboard the Shear Water when a 50-year-old diver, Markus Groh, was fatally bitten by a shark during a shark diving expedition. The incident drew international media attention and threatened to impact shark diving regulations in the Bahamas. Wetpixel played an active role in supporting Abernethy and shark diving, organizing testimonials and a petition to preserve diving access ([7]).
2011 Shark Bite
In January 2011, Abernethy himself was bitten by a Caribbean reef shark and hospitalized. True to form, he used the press conference following his release to advocate for shark conservation, wearing his “Stop Eating Shark Fin Soup” shirt and emphasizing that over 200,000 sharks are killed daily for the shark fin trade. He stressed that the incident was minor and that he would resume his shark advocacy immediately ([8], [9]).
Contributions
- Shark expedition operations: Operated JASA and the M/V Shear Water for decades, providing underwater photographers access to sharks, dolphins, and other large marine life in the Bahamas. His operation facilitated encounters with tiger sharks, lemon sharks, Caribbean reef sharks, great hammerheads, oceanic white-tip sharks, and Atlantic spotted dolphins.
- Oceanic white-tip discovery: Found a population of oceanic white-tip sharks in the Bahamas near Cat Island, leading to multiple successful expeditions with Brian Skerry, Eric Cheng, and Douglas Seifert ([10]).
- Conservation advocacy: Active campaigner for shark protection, goliath grouper protection, and the preservation of Blue Heron Bridge as a dive site. Freed tangled sharks from fishing debris ([11], [12], [13]).
- Published author: Authored the book Sharks Up Close (2009), praised by Howard and Michele Hall and David Doubilet, featuring intimate shark portraits from his decades of experience ([14]).
- Film and television: Featured in the documentary This Is Your Ocean: Sharks (2011) alongside Wyland and Guy Harvey, which premiered at the Newport Beach Film Festival ([15]). Also featured in the Canon documentary series Tales by Light alongside Eric Cheng ([16]).
- Operation Blue Pride: Co-conceived a program with Sue Chen, George C. Schellenger, and Shawn Heinrichs to introduce severely wounded combat veterans to sharks at Tiger Beach, Bahamas, giving them a new mission in ocean conservation. The project was documented as a film funded via Kickstarter ([17]).
- Goliath grouper trips: Led annual goliath grouper aggregation trips in the Bahamas, documented extensively on Wetpixel ([18]).
Forum Activity
Abernethy maintained a presence on the Wetpixel forums under the username “jimabernethy,” with 20 posts across 5 threads during 2003, 2004, and 2011, primarily sharing shark images and discussing expedition logistics. His top threads included “More shark images” (4 replies), “Caribbean Reef and Great Hammerheads” (3 replies), and “West Palm Beach and Bahamas!” ([source: person_matrix.json]).
Timeline
- 2002-07: Hosts early Wetpixel shark expedition with Eric Cheng, David Fleetham, Jim Watt, and Andy Sallmon in the Bahamas using Canon D60s ([19])
- 2003-02: Hosts Eric Cheng and DIVE Magazine crew for shark photography expedition ([20])
- ~2005: Discovers oceanic white-tip shark population near Cat Island, Bahamas, with Brian Skerry and National Geographic ([21])
- 2005-11: Leads Bahamas shark expedition ([22])
- 2007-01: Wetpixel announces Bahamas sharks and dolphins expeditions for July 2007 aboard Shear Water ([23])
- 2007-05: JASA has epic oceanic white-tip encounter with 20+ sharks at once ([24])
- 2007-08: Leads Bahamas exploratory drift expedition ([25])
- 2007-10: Wetpixel announces March 2008 Bahamas shark expedition ([26])
- 2008-02: Fatal shark bite aboard M/V Shear Water; diver Markus Groh killed. Major media coverage and community response ([27])
- 2008-05: Successful oceanic white-tip shark expedition with Eric Cheng, Douglas Seifert, and six other guests; three-day encounter near Cat Island ([28])
- 2009-04: Abernethy and crew free lemon shark tangled in rope that had grown into its skin ([29])
- 2009-12: Publishes book Sharks Up Close, endorsed by Howard and Michele Hall and David Doubilet ([30])
- 2010-07: Wetpixel Bahamas sharks and dolphins trip report ([31])
- 2010-09: Leads Wetpixel goliath grouper trip ([32])
- 2010-11: Featured in trailer for documentary This Is Your Ocean: Sharks ([33])
- 2011-01: Hospitalized after Caribbean reef shark bite; uses press conference to advocate for shark conservation ([34], [35])
- 2011-04: This Is Your Ocean: Sharks premieres at Newport Beach Film Festival ([36])
- 2011-06: Night diving with oceanic whitetip sharks ([37])
- 2011-08: Tiger shark “Emma” confirmed pregnant ([38])
- 2012-01: Wetpixel sharks and dolphins 2012 expedition ([39])
- 2012-07: This Is Your Ocean released on DVD ([40])
- 2013-06: Operation Blue Pride Kickstarter campaign — combat veterans introduced to shark diving ([41])
- 2016-10: Featured in Canon documentary series Tales by Light with Eric Cheng ([42])
Sources
- Wetpixel article, Jul 21, 2002: Bahamas 2002 With D60s ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jul 21, 2002: Bahamas 2002 With D60s ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jan 21, 2007: Wetpixel Bahamas Sharks Dolphins Expeditions July 2007 ↩
- Wetpixel article, Oct 5, 2011: Wetpixel Sharks And Dolphins Expedition 2012 ↩
- Wetpixel article, May 27, 2008: Oceanic White Tip Shark Expedition Trip Report ↩
- Wetpixel article, May 27, 2008: Oceanic White Tip Shark Expedition Trip Report ↩
- Wetpixel article, Feb 29, 2008: Bahamas Shark Bite Aboard Shear Water Official Thread ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jan 27, 2011: Jim Abernethy Hospitalized After Lemon Shark Bite ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jan 29, 2011: Jim Abernethy Speaks To The Press About Shark Bite ↩
- Wetpixel article, May 27, 2008: Oceanic White Tip Shark Expedition Trip Report ↩
- Wetpixel article, Apr 15, 2009: Jim Abernethy And Crew Free Tangled Lemon Shark ↩
- Wetpixel article, Mar 18, 2008: Petition To Protect The Blue Heron Bridge ↩
- Wetpixel article, Oct 20, 2009: Petition Continue To Protect Goliath Groupers ↩
- Wetpixel article, Dec 3, 2009: Announcing Jim Abernethys Book Sharks Up Close ↩
- Wetpixel article, Apr 6, 2011: Premiere Of This Is Your Ocean Sharks ↩
- Wetpixel article, Oct 3, 2016: Tales By Light Premieres ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jun 7, 2013: Operation Blue Pride On Kickstarter ↩
- Wetpixel article, Sep 12, 2010: Wetpixel Goliath Grouper Trip Journal 2010 ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jul 21, 2002: Bahamas 2002 With D60s ↩
- Wetpixel article, Feb 15, 2003: Shark Photography Expedition Bahamas ↩
- Wetpixel article, May 27, 2008: Oceanic White Tip Shark Expedition Trip Report ↩
- Wetpixel article, Nov 28, 2005: Bahamas Shark Expedition Dec 12 21 2005 ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jan 21, 2007: Wetpixel Bahamas Sharks Dolphins Expeditions July 2007 ↩
- Wetpixel article, May 27, 2008: Oceanic White Tip Shark Expedition Trip Report ↩
- Wetpixel article, Aug 7, 2007: Bahamas Exploratory Drift Expedition August 21 27 ↩
- Wetpixel article, Oct 25, 2007: Wetpixel Bahamas Shark Expedition March 2008 ↩
- Wetpixel article, Feb 29, 2008: Bahamas Shark Bite Aboard Shear Water Official Thread ↩
- Wetpixel article, May 27, 2008: Oceanic White Tip Shark Expedition Trip Report ↩
- Wetpixel article, Apr 15, 2009: Jim Abernethy And Crew Free Tangled Lemon Shark ↩
- Wetpixel article, Dec 3, 2009: Announcing Jim Abernethys Book Sharks Up Close ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jul 29, 2010: Wetpixel Wetpixel July 2010 Jasa Sharks Dolphins Trip Report1 ↩
- Wetpixel article, Sep 12, 2010: Wetpixel Goliath Grouper Trip Journal 2010 ↩
- Wetpixel article, Nov 26, 2010: This Is Your Ocean Sharks Trailer Released ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jan 27, 2011: Jim Abernethy Hospitalized After Lemon Shark Bite ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jan 29, 2011: Jim Abernethy Speaks To The Press About Shark Bite ↩
- Wetpixel article, Apr 6, 2011: Premiere Of This Is Your Ocean Sharks ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jun 22, 2011: Night Diving With Oceanic Whitetip Sharks ↩
- Wetpixel article, Aug 23, 2011: Emma The Tiger Shark Is Pregnant ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jan 26, 2012: Spaces Available On Wetpixel Sharks And Dolphins 2012 ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jul 3, 2012: This Is Your Ocean Released On Dvd ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jun 7, 2013: Operation Blue Pride On Kickstarter ↩
- Wetpixel article, Oct 3, 2016: Tales By Light Premieres ↩
- Bahamas 2002 with D60s (article) ↩
- Shark Photography Expedition, Bahamas (article) ↩
- Bahamas shark bite official thread (article) ↩
- Oceanic white-tip shark expedition trip report (article) ↩
- Jim Abernethy and crew free tangled lemon shark (article) ↩
- Announcing Jim Abernethy’s book Sharks Up Close (article) ↩
- Jim Abernethy hospitalized after shark bite (article) ↩
- Jim Abernethy speaks to the press (article) ↩
- This Is Your Ocean: Sharks premiere (article) ↩
- Operation Blue Pride on Kickstarter (article) ↩
- Tales by Light premieres (article) ↩