Shark Research Committee

Ralph Collier is the president and founder of the Shark Research Committee (SRC) in Chatsworth, California. He is also the director of the Global Shark Attack File (GSAF) out of Princeton, New Jersey which is an incident log studying when, where and why shark incidents have occurred in order to lessen the likelihood of future incidents. Mr. Collier also penned a very informative book detailing 108 shark incidents ranging from 1926-1999; it also chronicles graphic photos along with their stories.

The Shark Research Committee, founded in 1963 as a 501(c)(3), scientific research organization, had a primary goal to assist the Office of Naval Research and the Smithsonian Institution by documenting shark attacks along the Pacific Coast of North America. This initial objective was soon broadened to include research on the general biology and behavior of sharks indigenous to the Pacific Coast, with particular emphasis on potentially dangerous species.

Early in their research, the organization found that the Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias)was determined to be in 87% of all recorded unprovoked shark attacks. As a consequence, the behavioral and biological data gathered over the last five decades on shark/human interactions relating specifically to the Great White Shark has provided insight into its ecology. Some of the research results have been published in scientific journals and appear in the book "Shark Attacks of the Twentieth Century - from the Pacific Coast of North America."

In 2013 the SRC celebrates 50 years of Biological and Behavioral Research of the sharks indigenous to the Pacific Coast of North America. Their research objectives from inception have been multifaceted, including public education, shark conservation and ecology, analysis of shark/human interactions and their pioneering DNA project. It has been their goal to present the shark"s crucial role in the marine ecosystem and its interactions with humans in a more realistic and scientific setting.

Many may not know that it has been estimated that over 70 Million sharks are killed annually, most for their ‘prized fins." Currently a third of the world’s 64 species of pelagic sharks face extinction. The SRC strides to bring awareness and help stop the senseless, annual slaughter of sharks.