Since this is the week “Jaws” debuted in 1975, and Rhode Island will arguably have one of the coolest license plates in the country, it seemed like the perfect time to catch up with Jon Dodd, Executive Director of the Atlantic Shark Institute. While the institute has gained notoriety in the last few months for the design and overwhelming response to its Mako shark license plate, it should also be noted they fund multiple research projects important to the health of the ocean.

There are two times of year at the institute, and as Dodd told me, “Right now is the heart of field season.” Analysis will come during the colder months. Currently, the institute has more than a dozen research projects running with its various partners. A month ago, Dodd was in Bermuda, investigating a mystery of two tags on Porbeagle sharks and is still awaiting the final analysis. That trip will also be featured as part of “Shark Week” on the Discovery Channel in late July. He told me earlier in the week he’d helped tag a 14-foot Thresher shark. On Friday (June 23), he’ll be south of Misquamicut dropping a 250-lb. acoustic receiver as part of a tracking project; and later this weekend or early next week he’ll be helping set up underwater cameras as part of another project.

Speaking about the research they do, Dodd said, “Shark health is ocean health, and ocean health is our health.” He obviously cares deeply about the work, describing the way they reduce times when tagging sharks, likening the time next to the boat to a NASCAR pitstop, all in an effort not to tire out animals. We talked about shark lifecycles and how some female sharks may not have their first pup until they are 20 or 30 years old and may not have a second for another decade. While at the same time, man has become ruthlessly efficient at wiping out a vital part of the ocean’s ecosystem.

It was at this point I asked him about Peter Benchley and Jaws. Dodd talked about how the book and movie had really “lit the fuse” when it came to shark tournaments along the East Coast after it hit theaters. However, Dodd did note that Benchley came full circle after seeing the effects of his work and became an advocate and educator for marine sciences afterward. Even today, on Benchley’s website, one of the quotes highlighted is, “Save the sharks, and we can save the oceans.”

Sharks have been around 450 million years, but the ocean environment is just as cruel and unforgiving. Females instinctively seek warmer, shallower water to give birth, but once the act is over, she swims right, and the pup swims left, having to fend for itself. This is where the system of Marine Protected Areas comes into play, preventing fishermen from casting lines or nets into areas where females might pup newborns. Also, the tagging and data collection from all the research, not just from the institute but from other universities, partners, marine institutes, and government agencies, is collated into a cumulative database. If migration patterns change or year-old sharks are being caught in places never found before, then protected areas can be redefined. “That’s why the research is so important,” said Dodd.

I met Jon Dodd on May 2nd at a film opening for a mutual friend, Corey Favino, a surfer and photographer/videographer who was premiering a film. I noticed he was wearing a shirt with the ASI logo and joked, “So, I guess you’re getting one of their license plates, huh?” He casually showed me the email app on his phone and replied, “I am the license plate guy.” They first displayed the new plate design in late April; the state needs 600 to run a new design, Jon’s phone had double that amount when I met him. Now they have more than 6000 enrolled for the new plate design, and the first run should be on the roads in August or September. If you’d like to get the plate, it’ll cost you $42.50, with $20 going to the institute. If you’d like to donate directly, you can go to their website and click the “Get Involved” tab, scroll down and click the “Donate” button and make a contribution that will be 100 percent tax deductible and do towards saving the oceans.

For more information on sharks, the ocean, their partners, and how you can help, feel free to visit their website: Home | Atlantic Shark Institute.