Cristina Zenato

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Cristina Zenato
Born1971 (age 53–54)
Italy
Years active1994-present
Known forShark diving
Website cristinazenato.com

Cristina Zenato is an Italian-born shark diver and conservationist. She is known for her work with Caribbean reef sharks in The Bahamas.

Contents

Early life

Zenato was born in Italy in 1971. [1] Her father was a special forces military diver. [2] She was raised in the Congo until she was 15. [1] She completed high school in Italy. [3]

Career

Zenato began scuba diving at age 22 when traveling to The Bahamas. [4] She started training as a dive instructor and working with sharks in 1995. [5] The same year, she began working for Underwater Explorer's Society (UNEXSO). Later, she became both a PADI Course Director and NSS-CDS Cave Diving Instructor. [6] Zenato's cave diving projects have included remapping the underwater caves in the Lucayan National Park. [7] Zenato was inducted into the Women Divers Hall of Fame in 2011. [6] She is known for promoting the conservation of, diving with, removing fish hooks from Caribbean reef sharks around Grand Bahama Island. [8] [9] Her work has garnered her the titles of "shark whisperer" [10] [11] and "mother of sharks." [12]

Zenato has been featured in films and television programmes including Shark Week's Sharktacular, [13] Against the Current, [14] and Save This Shark. [15] In the late 2010s, she founded the non-profit, People of the Water. [16] She completed her PADI Course Director training in 2016. [4]

Personal life

Zenato first went to the Bahamas in 1994, during which time she decided she wanted to move there permanently. [6]

References

  1. 1 2 Toorish, Jeff. "A Passion For Diving: Cristina Zenato". www.advanceddivermagazine.com. Archived from the original on 15 September 2010. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  2. ↑ Kovac, Klara (22 October 2020). "Sharks are not a scary as we might think". Kovac Family. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  3. ↑ Burke, Owen James (24 July 2014). "Life in Salt: An Interview with Underwater Explorer and 'First Lady of Sharks' Cristina Zenato". The Scuttlefish. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Q&A with Cristina Zenato: Technical & Cave Diver". Scuba Diver Magazine. 6 June 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  5. ↑ "Grand Bahama shark handler, Cristina Zenato featured in Marie Claire magazine". The Bahamas Weekly. 8 May 2013. Archived from the original on 11 May 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 Kirkby, Sarah (4 May 2011). "Local diver is recognized at 'Women Divers Hall Of Fame'". The Bahamas Weekly. Archived from the original on 12 May 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  7. ↑ Bahamas National Trust (4 January 2018). "Mapping the Underwater Cave System at Lucayan Ntl. Park". www.thebahamasweekly.com. Archived from the original on 5 September 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  8. ↑ Evans, Mark (4 September 2021). "Cristina Zenato Joins Bite-Back's Media Campaign". Scuba Diver Mag. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  9. ↑ How one diver became the 'shark whisperer' - CNN Video , retrieved 2 January 2022
  10. ↑ "This Woman Can Hypnotize Sharks by Touching Them". The Inertia. 30 September 2015. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  11. ↑ Kate, Cary (31 May 2021). "Cristina Zenato is known as the 'Shark Whisperer'". The BL. Archived from the original on 2 January 2022. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  12. ↑ Evans, Mark (12 January 2023). "'Mother of Sharks' Cristina Zenato takes centre stage". Scuba Diver Magazine. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  13. ↑ Helmy, Sam (27 July 2017). "More Women Take Center Stage On Discovery Channel's 'Shark Week' - DeeperBlue.com". www.deeperblue.com. Archived from the original on 1 October 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  14. ↑ Singh, Rhea (27 March 2019). "Women directors leading in Ryerson's film festival". The Eyeopener. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  15. ↑ Dalton, Trent (29 August 2020). "Mick Fanning faces his demons". The Weekend Australian. Archived from the original on 21 June 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  16. ↑ Ramachandran, Mythily (27 March 2019). "Dancing with the sharks". gulfnews.com. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
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