First-ever Documentary on Gulf of Mexico Great White Sharks Premieres

Sabine Pass, TX - The shadow appeared just beneath the surface, massive and slow, circling through a slick of chum under a Gulf oil rig off Sabine Pass on the Texas-Louisiana border.

When it rolled, revealing a flash of serrated, triangular teeth, charter Captain Ryan Warhola knew what he was looking at.

"I saw the teeth-triangle shaped, not curved like a mako's which is a close cousin to the great white," Warhola recalled of that 2005 encounter.

"I immediately thought of Chester."

That sighting off the coast of Sabine Pass, dismissed by many as a fishing story, would spark two decades of investigation by wildlife journalist Chester Moore culminating in the first-ever documentary on great white sharks in the Gulf of Mexico.

Titled Gulf Great White Sharks: Return of an Icon [https://youtu.be/dHcnKMmwd-8?si=QFMX36fbfiCZQVER], the film explores historical and modern sightings of great whites in the region, challenging the notion that these apex predators are absent from southern waters. The project was written and produced by Moore, an award-winning journalist and conservationist known for his reporting on marine wildlife. Paul Fuzinski of Aptitude Outdoors was videographer and editor on the project.

"This documentary was really born from that phone call from Ryan," Moore said.

"I dug into old records and talked to offshore captains and biologists. What I found made it clear: great white sharks are here and they've been here longer

than we realized. Their populations in the Atlantic region were decimated until protections were put in place in 1997. Now we're starting to see the population come back and they are in somewhat larger numbers reclaiming some of their old swimming grounds in the Gulf."

The film highlights encounters throughout the Gulf, including Galveston, Port Aransas, and the Chandeleur Islands. It also tells the tale of "LeeBeth," a satellite-tagged 14-foot female white shark who traveled from South Carolina to South Padre Island in early 2023.

Tagged by the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy and Capt. Chip Michalove of Outcast Sportfishing, this shark turned previous notions about the species movements in the Gulf upside down.

Featuring expert commentary from top marine biologists and conservationists Gulf Great White Sharks: Return of an Icon offers drone footage, scientific analysis, and historical perspective to reveal a story that's reshaping how scientists view shark migration and habitat.

A public premiere was held at the Museum of the Gulf Coast in Port Arthur, Texas, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Jaws. More than 350 attendees viewed the film.

The full documentary is now available for free at [https://www.gulfgreatwhites.com/documentary/]https://gulfgreatwhites.com/documentary/ and on Moore's official YouTube channel.

Moore, who also founded the Gulf Great White Shark Society and the conservation outreach Higher Calling Wildlife, hopes the film will inspire further research and conservation of the Gulf's top predators.

Chester Moore is available for interviews.

Instagram: @gulfgreatwhitesharksociety [http://www.instagram.com/gulfgreatwhitesharksociety]

Website: www.gulfgreatwhites.com [https://www.gulfgreatwhites.com/documentary/]

Media Contact
Company Name: Gulf Great Whites
Contact Person: Chester Moore
Email:Send Email [https://www.abnewswire.com/email_contact_us.php?pr=firstever-documentary-on-gulf-of-mexico-great-white-sharks-premieres]
City: Sabine Pass
State: TX
Country: United States
Website: http://www.gulfgreatwhites.com

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