BIO

My name is Jeremy Shelton, and I’m a freshwater conservation biologist and photographer based in Cape Town, South Africa. I grew up splashing in coastal rock pools and following crabs and tadpoles in a small stream behind my family home in Cape Town, South Africa. A fascination with nature, encouraged by my dad - a marine biologist - led me to study conservation biology at the University of Cape Town.

In 2013, I completed a PhD in freshwater biology, and in 2014 joined the Freshwater Research Centre (FRC) – a Cape Town-based non-profit organisation working as a freshwater biologist and conservationist.

After a decade of research, publishing 15 scientific papers, I picked up a camera and quickly realised the power of images and visual storytelling in communicating science and affecting conservation action.

In 2019 I co-founded Fishwater Films with fellow storyteller Otto Whitehead - a platform for telling stories about the incredible diversity of freshwater life beneath the surface of our river, streams and wetlands, and the passionate conservation efforts afoot to protect them.

Today, I work on a mix of freshwater science and photography assignments as a FRC researcher and National Geographic Explorer, adopting a multi-disciplinary approach to fulfilling South Africa’s need for freshwater awareness and conservation.