About Us

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The Atlantic Shark Institute is a Rhode Island based nonprofit, tax exempt charitable organization under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. We are a shark research organization dedicated to funding and supporting the Atlantic’s best shark scientists and researchers in an open and collaborative way. These respected scientists and organizations benefit from our support and our team of research donors by providing funding for a wide variety of high value shark research projects. In essence, we provide the resources they need to do critical shark research, collaborate and to be a unified voice to represent the elasmobranch scientific community. Through this unique model we can assist in research, management, conservation and awareness of large predatory sharks in the Atlantic region.

Our Mission

Our mission, and that of our science partners, is to do the highest quality shark research to help conserve and manage these magnificent animals. While estimates vary depending on the source, more than 100 million sharks are reportedly killed annually worldwide. For many species, harvests are not sustainable and an alarming number of species are considered vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered as a result. The Atlantic Shark Institute funds research on shortfin mako, blue, porbeagle, common thresher, great white, spinner, blacktip and many other species of sharks with the singular goal of aiding in their protection and sustainability.

Unique in the world of shark research, our funded scientists work in an open and collaborative way to fully leverage the opportunities before them. Working toward a common goal, they can get more done, more efficiently and with results that are broader than would otherwise be the case. Doing so answers critical questions about sustainability, habitat, conservation, and policy that will ensure these apex predators are protected and managed in a responsible and logical manner.

Meet The Team

Jon Dodd

Executive Director

Jon is an experienced marine biologist who has spent his entire life on the water with a particular focus and affinity for sharks. From his first close encounter with a blue shark at the age of 14, he has been fascinated by sharks and their growing need for greater understanding and management in many parts of the world. Jon tagged his first shark in the 1980s and has been engaged in a wide variety of shark research projects and collaborations ever since. Jon leads the Atlantic Shark Institute and has direct experience investigating a wide variety of shark species, including shortfin mako, great white, common thresher, blue, porbeagle, blacktip, dusky and more. Jon earned a biology degree from the University of Rhode Island with an emphasis on fisheries and has worked as a volunteer at the NMFS Apex Predator Investigation Lab in Narragansett, RI. Jon has caught and released more than 1,000 sharks and has tagged the majority of those sharks for a wide variety of research projects. He was on the board of the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy for several years, holds an Advanced Open Water dive certification, and has been diving for over 40 years. Jon also co-founded an education finance company with his brother Steven and managed it for more than 25 years. The company grew to several hundred employees, handled billions of dollars annually on behalf of client schools, and was ultimately sold to one of the nation’s top 10 largest banks.

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Dr. Joshua Moyer

Resident Research Scientist

Like many affiliates of the Atlantic Shark Institute, Josh was interested in marine biology at an early age. Josh pursued his interests and graduated from Millersville University of Pennsylvania with an undergraduate degree in biology. He continued his education, earning the degree of Master of Science in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Cornell University and his doctoral degree in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Josh has published research on a variety of shark species including great white, blue, tiger, bull, mako, sand tiger, porbeagle, gulper, and prickly dogfish sharks. His primary research interests are the ecomorphology and evolution of modern sharks, and Josh has employed a variety of laboratory and field-based techniques to conduct his research. As Resident Research Scientist, Josh conducts original, publishable research with the Institute. He also consults with Institute leadership and sponsored scientists concerning experimental design and execution, and he ensures that projects sponsored by the Atlantic Shark Institute meet scientific standards.

Dr. Gregory Skomal

Research Advisory Board

Gregory is an accomplished marine biologist, underwater explorer, photographer, aquarist, and author. Through the Massachusetts Shark Research Program, he has been actively involved in the study of sharks since 1989. His research on shark ecology, life history, and behavior has spanned the globe from the Arctic Circle to the Red Sea.

He is also adjunct faculty at the University of Massachusetts School for Marine Science and Technology in New Bedford, MA, a guest investigator at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, MA, and an adjunct scientist with the Center for Shark Research in Sarasota, FL. He holds a master’s degree from the University of Rhode Island and a PhD from Boston University.

Dr. Lisa Natanson

Research Advisory Board

Lisa was a Senior Research Fisheries Scientist with the Apex Predators Program at the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in Narragansett, RI. Lisa started her research on sharks in California in 1982. In 1984 she relocated to the East Coast and became part of the team researching life history of Atlantic sharks at NMFS. Lisa’s research focuses on age and growth and reproduction of sharks. She is also actively involved in the collection of data for food habits research and in tagging sharks with both conventional and satellite tags. Much of Lisa’s time is spent in the field collecting biological samples at recreational shark tournaments or engaged in research on commercial, recreational and research vessels. Lisa’s expertise is recognized internationally and she has been asked to aid in research in New Zealand and Canada. Additionally she and her research have been featured in several films including National Geographic, Discovery Canada, and Swords Life on the line. Lisa has a bachelor’s degree from Occidental College, a master’s degree from the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories through San Jose State University and a PhD from the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography.

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Dr. Neil Hammerschlag

Research Advisory Board

Dr. Neil Hammerschlag is a marine ecologist and shark researcher based out of Nova Scotia, Canada. He is also the founder of Atlantic Shark Expeditions, a new organization dedicated to providing opportunities for the public to safely experience, discover, and help protect the wonders of sharks through ecotourism and citizen science.

Neil’s research centers on the behavioral ecology of the ocean’s top predators under global change. He has published over 140 scientific articles and has projects currently underway in Nova Scotia, Florida, Bahamas, South Africa, and the Galapagos Islands.

Dr. James Sulikowski

Research Advisory Board

James is a marine ecophysiologist Professor and Associate Director in the School of Mathematical & Natural Sciences at Arizona State University. His interdisciplinary research integrates aspects of reproduction, the physiological responses to stress and how these parameters influence by-catch mortality, as well as investigating the composition, movements, and spatial/temporal distribution of marine species. Dr. Sulikowski's interests in aquatic environments along with his diverse background, which includes techniques in endocrinology and fisheries biology, continues to provide his students various research opportunities across the globe.

Brian Skerry

Research Advisory Board

Brian is a photojournalist specializing in marine wildlife and underwater environments. Since 1998 he has been a contract photographer for National Geographic Magazine covering a wide range of subjects and stories. In 2014 he was one of five photographers named as a National Geographic Photography Fellow. In 2015 he was named a Nikon Ambassador and in June 2017 he was awarded the title of Rolex National Geographic Explorer of the Year.

Brian’s work has also been featured in publications such as Sports Illustrated, The New York Times, BBC Wildlife, Paris Match, GEO, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Smithsonian, Esquire, Audubon and Men’s Journal. He is the author of 10 books including the acclaimed monograph Ocean Soul. His latest book, SHARK, was released in June 2017.

Wes Pratt

Research Advisory Board

Harold “Wes” Pratt is a semi-retired shark researcher with a 50-year career studying the biology of Atlantic blue, shortfin mako, white, nurse and sandbar sharks first with NOAA's Apex Predator Program in Narragansett, RI, and now collaborating as Adjunct with the Fisheries Science and Emerging Technologies team at New England Aquarium. Work with his colleagues Nick Whitney, and Theo Pratt in the Florida Keys since 1991 has resulted in cutting-edge discoveries into the reproduction, site-fidelity, migrations, and mating behavior of the nurse shark. They have revealed many previously unknown and unexpected facets of the complex lives of these fascinating but poorly understood vulnerable sharks.

Wes is a diver, photographer; Coast Guard licensed Captain and has lived and worked undersea in a saturation diving mode several times. He has over 45 years’ experience diving with sharks both in and out anti-shark cages and from sit-on-top kayaks. Pratt is very concerned with the future of both sharks and humans.

Rest of the Team

Alex Sabo

Research Assistant

Hanna Verkamp

Research Assistant

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Mike Laptew

Cinematographer

John Albert

Fundraising

Sponsors and Donors

Thank you to our major donors and acoustic receiver sponsors. The following individuals and organizations have supported our vital research and have contributed greatly toward ocean conservation and research.