Mississippi State marine biologist Marcus Drymon and his research work has been featured on a National Geographic documentary airing on Disney+.
Drymon is stationed at MSU’s Coastal Research and Extension Center in Biloxi. In late 2022, the shark scientist’s work caught the attention of a production company who tapped him for the documentary.
“Sharks are fascinating,” Drymon said. “I’ve been fortunate to work on sharks at a variety of institutions, but nowhere like Mississippi State University. At MSU, I receive tremendous support from leadership which creates an exceptional working environment that cultivates success.”
Shark Beach with Anthony Mackie, which was released in July, takes place on Lake Pontchartrain where Mackie and Drymon fish for bull sharks.
“Working with the production company was easy. They had a detailed plan for every step of the process,” Drymon said. “The best part of working with them was their desire to stay true to the science. For example, all of the information I shared was fact-checked.”
“My particular interest in this documentary was shark depredation, a human-wildlife conflict that’s on the mind of anglers across the Gulf of Mexico,” continued Drymon, detailing the phenomenon when sharks eat all or part of a hooked fish before the angler can reel in their catch. “If there’s one thing I’d like to be highlighted from this documentary, it’s the fact that depredation is complicated.”
To conduct the research, Drymon catches, tags, and releases sharks, allowing him to go below the surface to better understand the role sharks play in maintaining healthy coastal ecosystems. The work also allows scientists to determine factors that determine sharks distribution and movement patterns.
In the National Geographic documentary, Mackie lands a 30-inch baby bull shark, a first for the actor. Even though it was just one of 10,000 catches for Drymon in the last 15 years, he said the job never gets old.
“Being part of this show was a blast,” Drymon said.
