Shark Girl (ATOM Study Guide)

Conservationist, filmmaker, activist, delinquent – nineteen-year-old Madison Stewart has been called many things, but to her friends she's simply 'shark girl'. Growing up on the Great Barrier Reef, Madison soon realised the creature she loves most is disappearing fast. Every year up to 80,000 sharks are killed in this UNESCO World Heritage Site for cheap fish steaks and luxury shark fin soup. And Madison discovers both are laced with dangerous toxins that can cause serious brain damage. So turning passion into action, she sets out to stop the slaughter and shatter our perception of these alleged man-eaters. Armed with just a video camera, she fearlessly swims with tiger sharks, feeds a rowdy gang of Caribbean reef sharks and removes fishhooks from the mouths of oceanic silky sharks. She also investigates how more and more countries protect their sharks – Mexico, Palau, the Bahamas – and back home she bravely takes her campaign right to the heart of the shark-fishing industry. Madison's journey is a powerful wake-up call and a moving record of one determined young woman to save the animal she loves, but most others would like to see dead.

Curriculum Links

Shark Girl can be applied to Year 9–10 studies of Science, Geography, Interpersonal Development, English and Media Arts.