{"id":188846,"date":"2021-05-14T00:31:14","date_gmt":"2021-05-13T22:31:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/?p=102488"},"modified":"2021-05-14T00:31:14","modified_gmt":"2021-05-13T22:31:14","slug":"pregnant-south-african-freediver-swims-among-pregnant-sharks-in-the-incredible-freediving-diaries-finale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/pregnant-south-african-freediver-swims-among-pregnant-sharks-in-the-incredible-freediving-diaries-finale\/","title":{"rendered":"Pregnant South African freediver swims among pregnant sharks in the incredible Freediving Diaries finale"},"content":{"rendered":"

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For the first time ever, audiences are going to get the chance to view the incredibly rare footage of four-time South African freediving champion, Beth \u2018The Mermaid\u2019 Neale, experiencing a truly unique maternal experience of swimming among pregnant ragged tooth sharks \u2013 while pregnant herself. The footage \u2013 which was shot in KwaZulu-Natal\u2019s UNESCO World Heritage Site, iSimangaliso Wetland Park \u2013 forms part of the season finale of Freediving Diaries, which is airing on Friday, 14 May on PPL\u00b0WX \u2013 People\u2019sWeather (DStv CH-180 and Openview CH-115) at 18:00.<\/p>\n

Freediving Diaries is a world-first freediving television series that follows Beth and her partner, Miles \u2018Aquaman\u2019 Cloutier, as they explore the ocean residents off the coasts of Mozambique and the Maldives. It was during the filming of this inaugural season that Beth discovered she was pregnant with her first child, however, following extensive research on freediving and pregnancy, they took the informed decision to keep filming the journey of Mozambique coastline from Ponto to Ouro to Vilankulous and Bazaruto, through the pristine atolls of the Maldives.<\/p>\n

Commenting on this incredible dive experience, Beth said: \u201cI used to be terrified of sharks, and it is through spending time with sharks underwater that I was able to overcome my fear. It\u2019s very powerful that, as a pregnant woman, I can dive down and respectfully interact with pregnant ragged tooth sharks and share their important story. I want people to understand that sharks need our protection. Without sharks, the entire marine ecosystem is impacted negatively.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said it had been a privilege spending time with pregnant ragged tooth sharks in iSimangaliso Wetland Park, a place which provides a sanctuary for these sharks to gestate and give birth.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sharks are protected and so return year after year to ensure the continuation of their species,\u201d continued Beth. \u201cWe are so fortunate to have the shark maternity ward of the oceans in South African waters, and I am so happy that we could conclude Freediving Diaries back home in South Africa, sharing such an important story. I\u2019m sure that people watching will be inspired to rethink the way they see sharks, and have a greater understanding of the importance of marine protected areas along our coastlines.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added that it was important to showcase a real \u2018homegrown ocean conservation success story\u2019 amidst the many challenges facing the oceans today.<\/p>\n

Her partner, Miles, a Canadian-born freediver, films the series alongside Beth. Commenting on the show\u2019s conservation perspective, he said: \u201cProtecting these areas and the species in them is so important for our daughter\u2019s future, and the generations to come. We look forward to the day she is diving with us to experience these sharks in her own way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Focusing on the series final, Miles said: \u201cWhat an amazing opportunity for me to capture pregnant Beth swimming with pregnant sharks. For Beth and I to be doing what we love together; promoting conservation, freediving, and having our unborn baby as part of it, really checks all of our boxes. The more time we spend diving with sharks, the more our respect grows for these animals, and the deeper our connection to nature.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thandi Shabalala, iSimangaliso Wetland Park Marketing and Brand Manager, explained that the park\u2019s ocean component forms one of only 49 UNESCO Marine World Heritage Sites.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gives us pleasure to know that the protection levelled upon by the Marine Protected Areas Act ensures a safe nursery for many marine species in iSimangaliso, which also gives the pregnant ragged tooth sharks a sanctuary to gestate so as to give birth to the next generation of sharks,\u201d said Shabalala. \u201cRaggies \u2013 as they are fondly known \u2013 like human mothers, give birth to one or two young after a period of nine months. Their conservation status remains vulnerable which calls for more awareness and preservation measures.\u201d<\/p>\n

Freediving Diaries is filmed in partnership with \u2013 PPL\u00b0WX \u2013 People\u2019sWeather \u2013 Africa\u2019s first and only 24\/7 weather, environmental news and lifestyle channel. Don\u2019t miss this season finale of Freediving Diaries on Friday, 14 May on PPL\u00b0WX \u2013 People\u2019sWeather (DStv CH-180 and Openview CH-115) at 18:00. For those who missed the previous episodes, there\u2019s also the weekend omnibus which will showcase some of their incredible adventures of diving with whales, dolphins, turtles, manta rays, whale sharks, tiger sharks, nurse sharks.<\/p>\n

To view the footage of Beth \u2018The Mermaid\u2019 Neale, swimming among pregnant ragged tooth sharks \u2013 while pregnant herself, follow the YouTube link \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/xEQO6TwV978<\/p>\n

Follow their journey on Instagram at @onebreathbeth @freedivingcouple & @PeoplesWeather (#FreedivingDiaries) or visit www.peoplesweather.com for more details on the show.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Source: MyPR.co.za<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the first time ever, audiences are going to get the chance to view the incredibly rare footage of four-time South African freediving champion, Beth \u2018The Mermaid\u2019 Neale, experiencing a truly unique maternal experience of swimming among pregnant ragged tooth sharks \u2013 while pregnant herself. The footage \u2013 which was shot in KwaZulu-Natal\u2019s UNESCO World […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":188847,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9021],"tags":[3257],"class_list":{"0":"post-188846","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mypr","8":"tag-mypr","9":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/pregnant-south-african-freediver-swims-among-pregnant-sharks-in-the-incredible-freediving-diaries-finale.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=188846"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188846\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/188847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=188846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=188846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=188846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}