Why sharks with Fernando Reis?

Fernando Reis is a shark expert, an environmentalist and conservationist, specialized in shark diving training and in shark advocation, founder and Executive Director of the Sharks Educational Institute.

An Economist with a Post-degree and a Master in Marketing, and as well a drawing and fine art painting teacher. When he becomes a diver,the earlies 80’s, the underwater world changes his way of life forever. Nowadays, Fernando Reis is an experienced shark diver, a trainer and a well known international shark advocate.

In the 90’s he has started to dive with sharks all around the world and becomes a Divemaster and a White Shark Awareness Diver. Today he is a Sharks’ Diver guide and trainer, as well as a board member and founder of the Sharks Atlantic Platform.

As an independent shark researcher, he has already collaborated with several associations like APECE in Portugal, Pro-Squalus in Brazil,Shark Alliance, and other international NGOs. In the Canary Islands, Spain, during the second decade of the XXI century, he has found has presided to the Canary Islands Shark Alliance (Alianza por los Tiburones de Canarias). He has been promoting conservation shark habitats projects for more than a decade. He has been Marketing Manager Director in 2006 for the Exposub Portugal, the first diving show in Portugal, and from 2007 he was a founding member of the Commission ‘Shark Protection in Portugal’. Since 2013, he was a founding member, coordinator, and president of the Spanish Association ‘Canary Islands Shark Alliance’, and since 2015 member of the Steering Committee of the Sharks Atlantic Platform. Since then, he is the coordinator, innovation designer and Key Note Speaker for the shark educational training on these NGOs. 

Beginning the 20’s and as he’s back to Portugal, he has been named Portuguese Ambassador for the United Nations SDG14 – Life below water. And, in 2021 he founds and presides to the Portuguese Association ‘SEI Portugal’ – the national branch of the Sharks Educational Institute. 

As an environmental conservationist based on his academic training and personal development, Fernando Reis has been invited by several times as speaker at international conferences and seminars about the importance of sharks in the media marine environments and their contribution to a healthy biodiversity. Also as a marine conservationist and an environmental expert, with the Sharks Educational Institute, he has been developing several educational activities for different publics, dedicated to the marine and shark conscientiousness at a global level. 

Oriented for a better knowledge of all the marine life balance, Fernando dedicates a part of his life to sharing and to teach his skills on creative educational events, publications as a regular writer for the ‘Divers for the Environment’ (UAE) and ‘El Librito del Sur’ (Argentina) magazines, multidisciplinary’ exhibitions, film festivals, conferences, workshops, and lectures. Also since 2014, he was the director of the four editions of the Canary Islands International Underwater Film Festival of Agüimes. 

As executive director of the Sharks Educational Institute, Fernando Reis assures the long-range of the NGO’s strategy through the development of new educative proposals with the stakeholders and partners of the organization, based on the scientific knowledge, as on best working knowledge of the most significant developments and achievements in the field of shark awareness and marine conservation. He designs, develops and implements the most customer oriented plans for the different activities the Sharks Educational Institute realizes together with its partners into their public events.