Video: Cartoonist Jim Toomey on Sharks and Ocean Health

Article June 6, 2012 Read time:

Projects: Global Shark Conservation

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Jim Toomey, a renowned ocean life cartoonist, says we can learn from one of his characters, Sherman the shark. Fifteen years ago, Toomey created the daily comic strip "Sherman's Lagoon," which appears in more than 150 newspapers in North America. It combines Toomey's two lifelong passions: drawing and the sea. Now he has partnered with the Pew Environment Group to create a series of short videos to help educate people about ocean life.

The inspiration for Toomey's comic strip can be traced to a family vacation in the Bahamas, where he saw a shark swimming in a lagoon. The Bahamas also happens to be the site of one the world's first shark sanctuaries, a place where sharks are safeguarded from fishing. Because sharks are at the top of the food web, protecting them is an important part of maintaining a healthy balance of life in the sea. In this new video, Toomey enlists the help of Sherman himself to illustrate just how important sharks are to ocean health.