'Sharks of the Dead Zone' host devoted to biodiversity in marine life, equity in her profession'

“Sharks of the Dead Zone,” which premieres at 9 p.m. Friday as part of Discovery’s Shark Week, sounds a bit frightening. And it is, if you care about the health of our planet.

 The host of the special is all about finding ways to preserve the biodiversity that dead zones can harm. She is dynamic marine ecologist Dr. Tiara Moore, aka Dr. T, who has traveled the globe from Costa Rica to French Polynesia in her research.

Moore also wants to promote diversity and improve equity within her own profession. She is the founder and CEO of Black In Marine Science. It's a nonprofit group that celebrates and connects Black marine scientists from around the world, encourages young people to follow in their footsteps and promotes environmental awareness.

This week, Moore spoke to the Free Press about being part of Shark Week programming, her dual missions and her brush with bull sharks for the special. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

QUESTION: “Sharks of the Dead Zone” sounds scary. Is this an ecology scary story?

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ANSWER: It is definitely an ecology scary story. The dead zone part, people are like, “What is that about?” A dead zone is really what happens when we have a lot of nutrient pollution and we’re seeing these large algae blooms that happen in the water. What happens subsequently is they deplete the oxygen in the water. So imagine that’s there’s something on the top taking the oxygen out of the water. The animals underneath aren’t going to be able to survive.

Q: So dead zones, they’re damaging to sharks and everything and everybody?

A: That’s correct.  It really causes just a whole ecosystem shutdown, if you will. If fish are dying, everything else is starting to die as well. And then that has an impact on us. It impacts everything.

Q: Is there some optimism in the special? Is there a way we can address these dead zones?

A: Yeah, the exciting part is that we’re trying to see if these bull sharks are able to survive in a dead zone. It’s important because we’re looking at a particularly large area known as the Indian River Lagoon (on the Atlantic side of Florida). Historically, bull sharks have been able to go there, reproduce, have their babies, and that’s where those babies grow and then they enter into the open ocean. Think of it a nursery, more of a safe space, for these female bull sharks.

Now what’s interesting is the Indian River Lagoon has basically become, largely in the summertime, a dead zone due to the increased nutrient pollution. There is human waste, nutrient pollution from fertilizers, people just throwing trash out. We have impacted this nursery for these sharks. Are they able to still go and have their babies there? Because If they aren’t, that matters. If they are, that matters. No matter what we find, it’s really important and it’s ecologically exciting for me.

Q: You founded Black in Marine Science. Can you talk about it and its goals?

A: That is my baby. I actually left my full-time job as a scientist in 2023 to run Black in Marine Science full-time. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit really aimed at celebrating current Black marine scientists in the field while also spreading environmental awareness and inspiring the next generation.

I’m a marine scientist. I have my PhD in ecology and evolutionary biology from UCLA, I went on to do this prestigious post-doc and was working at an environmental nonprofit as a scientist. But unfortunately, I was treated as if I didn’t belong, largely because of the color of my skin. It was a very isolating and, honestly, traumatic experience for me, to where I really questioned if I wanted to be a scientist at all.  

The pandemic springboarded me to being able to create a safe space for myself because we were at home. I no longer had to be in this toxic environment at work. Then, at the same time, we really had a racial justice movement in 2020, to where, for the first time, my colleagues were like: “Hey, Tara’s Black! Let’s ask her about racism.”

It made me decide: Do I want to continue to perpetuate this trauma for myself? Because these people don’t even know what racism is. I had to decide, no, I can’t leave science. How do I make science work for me and how do I make science work for Black people and work for everyone. I think when Black people are included, it’s better for everyone because we bring a different perspective and cultural awareness to the field that is unmatched.

Q: You’ve traveled the globe in your studies. What’s the closest you’ve gotten to a shark?

A: Well, as you’ll see on Friday with “Sharks of the Dead Zone,” I got very close to a shark. Just in my diving experience, a shark will roll up, not very predatory, usually like nurse sharks, where I’m diving. It hasn’t been anything scary. But in this episode, there are bull sharks involved. That was probably the closest I’ve ever gotten to an aggressive shark. I’ll be honest, I  was scared for my life. But I made it.

Q: What would you tell younger generations that is encouraging about the future?

A: I’m encouraged by organizations like Black in Marine Science. I’m also encouraged by things like Shark Week. We worked with (wildlife biologist and TV host) Forrest Galante, who’s the executive producer on this. They wanted to (reflect) the change in science communication that’s happening. How to tell a story about sharks that’s educational, but also includes someone, I’ll be honest, who doesn’t look like the regular Shark Week person. That’s a choice. They could have picked anybody for this role.

 I’m encouraged to see shifts like this, especially happening in the larger-scale media. When you think about science, (it can seem) just like white hair, white men, white coats in a lab. No, marine science is lit! it’s fun. It’s joyful. There are these huge things going on. We can all come together to really create change and make a difference. That’s what I see with our younger generation and that’s what makes me most excited to be a part of it.Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture critic Julie Hinds at jhinds@freepress.com.

'Sharks of the Dead Zone'

9 p.m. Friday

Discovery