« The new generation of divers ». That is the theme of the next diving show, which will take place from January 10 to 13, 2020 at Porte de Versailles in Paris. And it is Steven Surina, a perfect representative of this new generation, who will be the patron of this 22nd edition.
On this occasion, we are publishing an interview with Steven, by Christine Manganaro, which appeared in issue No. 8 of Dive!, with the bonus video presenting Shark Education, the organization he created to train divers to interact with sharks and become ambassadors of their cause.Photo above: Greg Lecoeur
Son of diving instructors, Steven Surina was born with a regulator in his mouth. At the school of the blue depths, he chose the « sharks » option, and never imagined his life anywhere else but underwater alongside these giants of the seas!
You were born in the Paris region, and yet a large part of your young life has already been written elsewhere…My parents moved to Egypt in 2002. I was just 14 years old and I completed my education up to the baccalaureate by correspondence with the CNED. So I spent my teenage years at the Dune club in Safaga that my parents ran from 2002 to mid-2005, before they created their own facility, the Alysés club in Hurghada.So there is no question where your passion for the sea and diving comes from… At 3 years old, my parents put a regulator in my mouth to make bubbles in my bath! (laughs). Long before our life in Egypt, my father was a seasonal worker in Corsica. I did my first dive there in 1994, even though I wasn’t old enough yet! At just 6 years old, it was a true revelation for me. At 8, I was exploring the depths of a pool in the Paris region and at 9, the Red Sea floors, where my parents were seasonal instructors every summer! From the moment we settled there, every weekend, holiday, and vacation, I was on a boat and especially underwater!Was choosing this as your profession always obvious for you?Initially, I wanted to become a naval architect, but upon seeing the disparity between correspondence courses and the required dossier for the training, I abandoned it. Since I loved drawing, I wanted to switch to an illustration school in Belgium, but that didn’t work out either. I was 18, with a Divemaster and Level 4 in hand, so eventually, becoming an instructor was the clear solution to dive, observe, draw, and share my passion. I worked for three years in my parents’ club to gain experience alongside great instructors. I obtained my PADI and FFESSM instructor diplomas, and after all these steps, I truly launched into cruises in 2009. But very quickly, I steered this activity towards sharks!
His six key dates:
August 20, 1988: Born in Clamart (92).1994: First dive in Corsica at Porticcio.2002: Moved to Egypt, on the shores of the Red Sea.2011: Creation of Shark Education.2013: Worked on tonic immobility in the Bahamas.2016: First free dives outside a cage with the great white shark.
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Ah, sharks! One could say it’s « your whole life »…We could say that, yes! At 4 and a half, my father showed me Cousteau’s documentary on the great white. I was both terrified and fascinated! From then on, I devoured all the books I could find, watched all the documentaries. During my first trip to Egypt in 1997, I saw my first shark while snorkeling, it was magnificent! As soon as I could, I did cruises dedicated to sharks… But as my empirical knowledge evolved, I noticed that the understanding that divers, and particularly instructors, had of these animals was often limited or erroneous. So I wanted to share what I knew, driven mainly by the desire to restore a part of the truth.
How did you go about it?In 2011, I created « Shark Education, » whose main goal is to train divers to meet different shark species and optimize their chances of interacting with them. I want the diver to become a real actor in this exchange. Their attitude will automatically influence the shark’s behavior, which, thanks to its supra-sensory abilities, perceives waves and emotions much better than any other marine animal. By realizing it is possible to interact with sharks, participants get a different image of them and become well-informed ambassadors to advocate their cause.Can we say that sharks are not dangerous to humans if we know how to approach them?The shark nevertheless remains an unpredictable predator that lives in an environment that is not ours. We are diving with the lions and tigers of the oceans, so to speak. However, all the fuss made about them, the ancestral fears upon which the Jawsimage was built, is not at all justified! We can’t talk about zero risk but we can minimize it by respecting certain behavior rules and preparing psychologically for this encounter. A diver’s wrong reaction can lead to the defensive or attack response of a shark, and that could be an issue. I like to believe that the people who go to meet sharks dive with the greatest feeling of humility, which already greatly reduces the risks!Have you ever had to intervene in a perilous situation to save a diver you were supervising?Most of the time, when a shark « attack » on a diver is mentioned, it is more about an emotional charge linked to a shark’s behavior getting very close and very fast. A diver who is unable to analyze the situation will view it as aggression, whereas, in fact, the animals are more trying to intimidate us and convey a message… The biggest risk in all this is the poor stress management of the diver who can become breathless, panic, putting themselves in danger. So, to concretely answer your question, I have never had to put my life in danger with a shark or because of a diver.Can you name one of your most beautiful memories during a dive with sharks?All my memories are extraordinary because each one is unique and different. But I have experienced moments of grace such as this intense connection with a gigantic great white female over 5 meters long when I did a cage-free dive in Mexico. Or this hammerhead shark ballet in Sudan: finding yourself for three-quarters of an hour amidst 200 individuals who tilt on their side, observe you, and invite you into a peaceful and relaxed dance… it’s as improbable as it is magical.
Is shark diving accessible to everyone?Diving with sharks requires perfect control of one’s emotions. That is why divers should have sufficient experience (+ than 50 dives) to be able to project themselves in immersion, regardless of the situation (in open water, on a seabed, with current, etc.). Most shark species living in tropical seas are generally found between 10 and 40 meters deep. It is therefore preferable to have a minimum level of autonomy (N2 and/or Advanced) to be able to observe them serenely.
Christine Manganaro
What you should also know about Steven…– He has totaled over 3,500 dives around the globe, encountering and observing 29 shark species in 11 countries over more than 14 years.
– He is one of the few French-speaking divers to practice tonic immobility on sharks which he developed alongside Cristina Zenato in the Bahamas (a technique consisting of putting the shark into catalepsy, a sort of trance during which the animal retains all its tonicity but no longer responds to external stimuli).
– He puts his empirical experience at the service of scientific study programs, notably alongside Dr. Bernard Séret, a shark expert and marine biologist at the National Museum of Natural History and at the IRD (Institute of Research for Development).
– After publishing his book in 2015 Understanding and diving with sharks (ed. Turtle Prod), Steven released in 2018, for the 20th anniversary of the Diving Show, a second work of over 400 pages: Sharks, interaction guide. It is dedicated to the interaction between humans and sharks, a true collection of the diver’s empirical knowledge coupled with the scientific expertise of Bernard Séret and illustrated with images by Greg Lecoeur.
- – In January 2019, he presents at the diving show the pilot of Legacy, a new documentary seriesproduced by Patrick Metzlé in which he is an actor-host.