As overfishing, climate change and the myriad of associated complications come to bear on the world, Dulvy faces a unique challenge: how do we bring the plight of our ocean’s species, specifically sharks, to the surface?

To understand the threats, Dulvy looks to the case of the canary. Up until the 20th century, mining groups used canaries as a poisonous gas detection system. Coal miners navigated through dark tunnels with the bird, and if it went into distress, miners were alerted to toxic levels of carbon monoxide or methane in the passage. The canaries exposed a danger that was otherwise invisible to humans.

Like the precarious survival of the canary in a mine, declines in shark species populations send signals about environmental dangers plaguing our oceans. As co-chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Shark Specialist Group, Dulvy is using big data to reveal the current state of shark populations, and predict how shark numbers will change over the next century. His work is advancing knowledge and helping to protect the future of our oceans.