Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 968 is my conversation with Chris Fischer, the founder of OCEARCH, the nonprofit that catches, tags, and tracks great white sharks and other apex predators to study how they live and move. Chris went from running fishing television shows like Offshore Adventures to building a custom research vessel and a lifting platform that lets scientists work on a live great white for about fifteen minutes before releasing it. We talk about the nursery discoveries that rewrote the science and how the data is shaping conservation policy.
Listen now: press play in the player above to watch the full conversation, or stream Episode 968 on your favorite podcast app.
Chris Fischer is the founder of OCEARCH, a nonprofit organization focused on apex predator research and ocean conservation. He grew up in Kentucky fishing obsessively, built a career in fishing television with shows like Offshore Adventures and Ocean Hunter, and then transitioned into shark science. He built OCEARCH to address gaps in how great white shark research was being done and has grown it into a globally recognized platform that tags and tracks great white sharks and other apex predators.
OCEARCH is a nonprofit organization founded by Chris Fischer that conducts research on great white sharks and other apex predators by capturing, tagging, and tracking them. The team uses a custom-built ship with a hydraulic lifting platform to safely bring a shark aboard, collect data, and return it to the water. The tags then transmit real-time location data when a shark surfaces, allowing scientists and the public to follow individual sharks online.
OCEARCH brings a shark onto a hydraulic lifting platform on its research vessel and the team works under roughly a fifteen-minute window to attach tracking devices and collect biological samples while keeping the animal calm and safe. Chris describes how carefully orchestrated each step is, the equipment involved, and what happens when things do not go as planned, with the shark's well-being prioritized above everything else.
OCEARCH's tracking data revealed great white shark nurseries in coastal locations where scientists did not expect juvenile great whites to spend time. That finding challenged long-held assumptions about where these sharks grow up and how they use coastal waters. Chris explains why nursery locations matter so much, because protecting them directly affects fishing regulations, coastal management, and the long-term survival of great white populations.
The tracking data OCEARCH collects is used to influence real conservation decisions, from fishing regulations to marine protected area designations. Chris talks about the challenge of turning scientific data into action, getting buy-in from stakeholders, and why a complete picture of shark behavior and migration is essential for protecting ocean health. The ripple effects reach far beyond sharks to entire marine ecosystems.
Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 968 with Chris Fischer is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and iHeartRadio. The video version is embedded at the top of this page.
I have followed OCEARCH for years, and Chris and I actually go back to the ICAST and fishing-television days before OCEARCH even existed, when he was making shows like Offshore Adventures. Watching a guy I knew from the TV world build one of the most recognized shark research organizations on the planet was something I wanted to dig into. We finally sat down to walk through the whole arc.
Press play in the player above to hear the whole conversation.
Chris grew up in Kentucky chasing fish and frogs, got hooked on the water young, and a childhood motorhome trip all the way to Kodiak, Alaska helped set the course. He built a fishing-TV career first, then redirected all of it into science. The path from puddle fisherman to founder of OCEARCH is not a straight line, and the way he tells it is worth hearing in his own words.
Catching and tagging a great white is a precision operation. Chris walks through how the team gets a shark from the water onto the lifting platform, keeps it calm, and collects everything they need in the roughly fifteen minutes they have before release. He is honest about the risks and the moments things do not go to plan. It is the most detailed look I have heard at how this work really happens. Listen to that section of the episode.
The breakthrough that stuck with me most is the nurseries. OCEARCH's data showed juvenile great whites spending time in places no one expected, upending assumptions scientists held for decades. Chris explains what the data revealed and why protecting those nursery areas matters for the whole population. Press play in the player above.
Chris is clear that the data is not just for journals. He talks through how tracking information has fed into fishing regulations and marine protected areas, and how hard it is to turn science into policy people will actually adopt. For anyone who spends time on the water, this is the part that matters most. Scroll up and watch the player above.
Listen to the full conversation: press play in the YouTube player at the top of this page.
What strikes me most about Chris is the commitment to doing the work right, putting the animals first, collecting data that actually matters, and making sure it translates into real conservation impact.
The famous sharks and the tagging stories are fascinating, but the bigger picture, why apex predators matter to all of us who love the ocean, is what stays with me.
Press play in the player above to hear how it all fits together.
Chris Fischer · OCEARCH · Offshore Adventures · Ocean Hunter · Marco Island, Florida · Kodiak, Alaska · ICAST
The Tom Rowland Podcast brings you long-form conversations with the most accomplished anglers, hunters, conservationists, and outdoor professionals in the game. Listen to every full-length Tom Rowland Podcast interview.
Chris Fischer is the founder of OCEARCH, a nonprofit dedicated to apex predator research and ocean conservation. Before founding OCEARCH he worked as an expedition leader and in fishing television, producing shows such as Offshore Adventures. He built OCEARCH to address gaps in how great white shark research was being conducted and has grown it into a globally recognized platform whose tracking data has led to major discoveries about shark behavior, migration, and nursery habitats, and directly informs conservation policy worldwide.
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