William White

My passion for marine life began at a very early age and during my childhood I spent much of my time snorkelling or swimming in the waters off Western Australia. I began working at an aquarium as a diver/aquarist during my undergraduate years, which further propelled me towards a life working with sharks and rays. This led into my postgraduate studies on sharks and rays. While working towards my Honours and PhD, I began studying the ecology of sharks and rays in Shark Bay, a World Heritage Area. I then began doing research in fish markets in Indonesia where, at the time, not even baseline data were available for this fishery. The discovery of more than 20 new shark and ray species in Indonesia pulled me into the dark side – taxonomy! Since 2005, I have been involved in describing more than 60 species of sharks and rays. The ultimate goal of my research has always been to provide accurate scientific knowledge to better aid conservation efforts.