Alessandro De Maddalena

ALESSANDRO DE MADDALENA

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Alessandro De Maddalena (Milan, 1970) is one of the world’s foremost shark experts. He’s a researcher, former Adjunct Professor of Vertebrate Zoology, lecturer, writer, illustrator, photographer and expedition leader.

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ACADEMIC TITLES

He is ‘Dottore Magistrale in Scienze Naturali’. He earned a ‘Laurea Magistrale’, equivalent to a Master of Science, M.Sc., from the University of Milan. His Thesis was on the presence of the great white shark in the Mediterranean Sea.

From 2017 to 2022 he was an Adjunct Professor of Vertebrate Zoology (Ichthyology) for the post-graduate course in Marine Sciences at the University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy.

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SHARK MUSEUM

Together with his wife, biologist Alessandra Baldi, he created the Shark Museum, located in Simon’s Town, South Africa. Lectures in shark biology and marine biology are regularly hosted at the museum.

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LECTURES

He has given over 200 lectures on sharks at universities, museums, diving associations, yacht clubs and other organizations in 18 Countries (Italy, France, Monaco, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Spain, Switzerland, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, South Africa, Maldives, United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Mexico and South Australia). The venues included many prestigious scientific institutions such as the universities of Milan, Naples, Leiden and Budapest, the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, the Oceanographic Institute of Paris, the Natural History Museums of Vienna, Prague, Madrid, Cape Town, Milan, Bolzano and Trento.

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SHARK EXPEDITIONS AND ORCA EXPEDITIONS

Since 2010 he has hosted over 60 expeditions to observe sharks and orcas. On these expeditions he gives courses in biology of sharks and orcas in English, Italian and French. These expeditions are run by Apex Shark Expeditions in South Africa, by Rodney Fox Shark Expeditions in South Australia, and by Orca Norway / Strømsholmen Sjøsportsenter in Norway.

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ONLINE COURSES

Since 2022 he has taught numerous online courses in biology of sharks and orcas, run by ASD Blu Deep Emotions.

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OTHER PROJECTS

He has created the Italian Great White Shark Data Bank, he’s a founding member of the Mediterranean Shark Research Group, a Regional Investigator of the Global Shark Attack File, an Ambassador of the Undersea Soft Encounter Alliance, and a collaborator of Sharks Mission France.

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BOOKS

He authored or co-authored 20 books on sharks: Sharks of the Maldives, Biologia dello Squalo Bianco, Great White Sharks of South Africa, Mediterranean Great White Sharks, La Baia degli Squali Volanti, Lo Squalo Bianco nel Mediterraneo, Sharks of New England, Great White Sharks in United States Museums, Pesci Martello / Hammerhead Sharks, Sharks – The Perfect Predators, Le Grand Requin Blanc sur les Côtes Françaises, Sharks of the Mediterranean, Sharks of the Pacific Northwest, Mako Sharks, 25 Haie, Great White Sharks Preserved in European Museums, I Grandi Animali Marini del Mediterraneo – Guida al loro Riconoscimento in Mare, Sharks of the Adriatic Sea, Lo Squalo Bianco nei Mari D’Italia, Squali delle Acque Italiane – Guida Sintetica al Riconoscimento.

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RESEARCH REPORTS

He authored or co-authored 46 research reports published in the following peer-reviewed scientific journals:  Annales Series historia naturalis, Museologia Scientifica, Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova, Bollettino del Museo civico di Storia naturale di Venezia, Thalassia Salentina, Biljeske – Notes, Journal of the National Museum of Prague, South African Journal of Science, Marine Life, Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals, Aquatic Conservation Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, Journal of the Black Sea / Mediterranean Environment, Cahiers de Biologie Marine, Marine Ecology Progress Series, Marine Biological Journal.

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ARTICLES

He authored or co-authored 87 articles for the following popular and professional magazines: Sub, Mondo Sommerso, Il Pesce, EuroFishmarket, Aqva, SvbAqva, Oasis, Quark, Airone, Rivista Marittima, La Rivista della Natura, Dive New Zealand, Dive Pacific, The World and I, Biologie in unserer Zeit, Unterwasser, Tauchen, Duiken, Apnéa, Plongeurs International, Océanorama, Enviromagazin, Mojesabz.

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SCIENTIFIC REVIEWS

He has also acted as a referee for the following scientific journals: Acta Adriatica, Animal Conservation, Annales – Series historia naturalis, Cybium, Journal of Fish Biology, Journal of the Marine Biological Association, Periodicum Biologorum, Italian Journal of Zoology, PLOS ONE, Cahiers de Biologie Marine, Journal of the Black Sea / Mediterranean Environment.

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PHOTOGRAPHY  AND ILLUSTRATION

His photos and his illustrations of sharks and other marine animals have appeared in numerous books, scientific journals, popular magazines and other media, including National Geographic Espana, National Geographic Turkey, National Geographic Indonesia, Dive Magazine, Divers For The Environment, Focus, Geo, BBC Wildlife, Sub, Mondo Sommerso, Il Pesce, SvbAqva, Quark, Airone, Rivista Marittima, Dive New Zealand, Dive Pacific, The World and I, Tauchen, Duiken, Océanorama, Geographical Magazine, Muy Interesante, Boats & Yachting, Annales Series Historia Naturalis, Mojesabz, Biologie in unserer Zeit, Newsweek, Newsweek Japan, Forbes, Esquire, Reader’s Digest, Independent, New York Post, Stern, Huffington Post, The Conversation, Daily Mail, China Times, La Stampa, Port Lincoln Times, Fox News, Discovery Channel, BBC.

His images have been used by numerous research and conservation organizations, including Apex Shark Expeditions, Pelagic Shark Research Foundation, Save Our Seas, FishBase, NOAA, WWF, Greenpeace, Oceana, Shark Trust, Reefquest Center for Shark Research, Shark Mission France, Ailerons, Necton, PEW Trust, iSea, Monaco Oceanographic Museum, London Natural History Museum, Port Elizabeth Museum, Cape Town Aquarium, Aquarium of Paris, California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, Everhart Museum of Natural History, Science & Art in Scranton, Boulogne-sur-Mer Aquarium, Milan Civic Aquarium, Porto Cesareo Marine Biology Museum, Museo del Mare di Milazzo, Talisayan Whale Shark Museum, Australian Government’s Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment.

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INTERVIEWS

He has been interviewed for numerous media (RAI, Mediaset, Repubblica, La Stampa, Esquire, Quotidiano Nazionale, Gazzetta dello Sport,  Radio Capital, Radio Popolare, National Geographic UK, The Times, TV Globo, ZDF, Channel 7, SBS News, ABC Radio Adelaide, ABC Radio Port Lincoln, Port Lincoln Times, Midi Libre, 20 Minutes, Focus, etc.) and he has taken part in various television and radio broadcasts.

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DOCUMENTARIES

He was involved in the making of the following documentaries:

– Requiem pour les requins (by Stéphane Granzotto, 2010),

– The Price of Existence (by Skyler Thomas, 2014),

– God of Ocean (by Barbara Szalai e Roland Taskó, 2015),

– Leurs Vies aquatiques (by Carole Greco, 2016),

– Isla Guadalupe Great White Shark Expedition (by Barbara Szalai e Roland Taskó, 2016),

– Sharks of Southern Africa Expedition (by Manfred Kappner e Michaela Michal / AUFACHSE.at, 2019),

– Tiburón blanco. La leyenda del mediterráneo (by Juan David Pernias, 2021),

– Alison Kock und der Weiße Hai (by Doris Ammon, 2021).

Fantástico mergulha com orcas nas águas da Noruega (by Candice Carvalho Feio, Luigi Sofio and Lucas Louis, 2023).

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INTERNET

Updates on his work are available on the following websites.

ALESSANDRO DE MADDALENA

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SHARK MUSEUM

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