Ocean Ramsey Reveals Calm Confrontation as Key to Surviving Great White Encounters

19 July 2025'

Ocean Ramsey in Netflix's Shark Whisperer. Courtesy of Netflix

Ocean Ramsey, a veteran shark diver and conservation advocate, has shared the precise survival strategy she employs when facing great white sharks. In a discussion on Australia’s Sunrise network ahead of her Netflix documentary Shark Whisperer, Ramsey explained that instead of fleeing in panic, she remains calm, maintains eye contact, and swims toward the shark before retreating slowly. This approach harnesses the shark’s heightened senses to display confidence and deter curiosity, avoiding dangerous misunderstandings that panic and thrashing can provoke.

Ramsey, who has garnered over a million followers for her educational content on shark behavior, emphasized the importance of this message. She hopes that viewers learn that sharks rarely target humans unless provoked by fear­-based reactions. By advocating for this calm assertiveness, she works to dismantle sensationalized portrayals of sharks on screen—those that show them as bloodthirsty monsters—replacing dread with awareness, respect, and self-assurance.

During the televised interview, Ramsey reflected on her experiences diving near great whites off Australia’s Neptune Islands. She recounted how maintaining composure, deliberate eye contact, and steady movement prevented any aggression from approaching sharks. In one intense moment with a tiger shark, she turned her back and allowed the shark to inspect her, then redirected it away using gentle, controlled gestures applying pressure to its head and gills—a method she developed over countless dives.

Ramsey advises against untrained individuals trying this herself, underlining that her method comes from years of experience and tailored training. Her goal is to offer a survival guideline for emergencies rather than to encourage casual shark encounters.

Her Netflix documentary, Shark Whisperer, premiered in June and showcases not only her signature underwater calm but also her innovative training methods, such as practicing redirecting techniques with horses and stingrays to build an intuitive feel for animal behavior in the wild.

Ocean Ramsey’s narrative reflects a broader mission. Rather than reinforcing fear, she champions a message rooted in coexistence: learn shark body language, respond with calm confidence, and respect their place in the ecosystem. Her work serves both personal safety and global conservation, encouraging viewers to rethink their relationship with these often misunderstood apex predators.