Mike Rutzen

Michael Rutzen (born 11 October 1970) is a South African conservationist, film maker, cage diving operator. Since beginning his career as conservationist, Rutzen has provided field support to the Department of Environmental Affairs of South Africa, when they require his shark expertise. Some projects include deployment of satellite and acoustic tags on white sharks and he is also a member of the Whale Disentanglement Network for the Department of Environmental Affairs. Since 2009 he has acted as field supervisor for population dynamics studies and DNA sampling programs being undertaken for the PhD study of Dr. Sara Andreotti (Stellenbosch University), which he also sponsored and co authored a number of white shark behavioural papers. He is one of the inventors of the eco-friendly Shark Safe Barrier, which prevents negative encounters between sharks and people. He is currently preparing the barrier for final testing and deployment for the protection of both sharks and man.