Global Dive Team - Natasha Dominique Marosi

Natasha Dominique Marosi

Location: Pacific Harbour, Viti Levu, Fiji

Occupation: Shark Conservationist and Phd Student

Scuba Diving Since: 2012

Favorite Local Dive: Shark Reef Marine Reserve, Viti Levu, Fiji

Favorite Dive Location: Fuvamulah, Maldives

 

An Interview with Natasha Dominique Marosi

Why did you decide to take the giant stride into the oceans?

I was an associate for a criminal defense firm in NYC and one of the male partners was an ex-Marine.  We were a fledging firm and he proposed that our team strive to be physically and mentally formidable whether it be land, sea or sky.  I was already a skydiver, a gym bunny, avid blader, training muai thai and trekking all over NYC with a weighted rucksack, so all that was left for me was to enter the ocean underworld!

 

How has diving changed your life? 

Diving opened up an entire new world for me, and the passion that developed led me to my career change.  I left my entire life behind to relocate and work in shark conservation.  I have never felt more comfortable, more fulfilled or more inspired then when I am underwater surrounded by an aggregate of Bull Sharks that I consider my extended family. 

 

What kind of diving do you like to do?

Ok so I am very spoiled and very biased.  I love shark diving obviously because it is what I do on the daily.  But I love drift dives scouting out eels, puffers, boxfish, gobies and triggerfish. I love deep dives and open ocean dives looking for oceanic manta rays, and elusive elasmobranchs like schooling scalloped hammerheads, silvertips and pelagic thresher sharks.

 

 

Tell us about one of the most amazing experiences you have had underwater? 

Wow that is a tough question.   I think that if you are a scuba diver, you are guaranteed amazing experiences every time you take that giant stride into the ocean.  Here is one: one day on Shark Reef, after the second dive,  I remained on the 15m slope alone after all the staff and clients had exited the water.  The Bull Sharks had all gone, I was left in silence, staring out towards the Beqa Channel waiting expectantly.  After a minute or so, there she was, headed my directed with a slow and steady swim.  It was ‘Crook’, a big, bold and badass female Bull Shark.  I was transfixed, and stared at her in awe.  I allowed my camera rig to drop to my side and my aluminum shark stick to fall away from my grip to the ocean floor.  I stood on the slope, and allowed her to approach, she came with a measured glide and then turned away when she was close enough to touch, locking her gaze with mine.  I will never forget the sparkle in her eye, like the whole experiment was a private game to be played by just the two of us.  It was the beginning of an epic shark and human relationship that is still developing to this day.

 

Where are some of your favorite places underwater?

Shark Reef Marine Reserve, Fiji;  Fuvamulah, Maldives, Cenotes, Mexico

 

What is your advice to someone considering diving? 

You may not be a natural, it may be difficult overcoming some of your fears or mastering some skills, and you may have some setbacks.  But if you stay the course, you will be richly rewarded.  Becoming a competent and self-sufficient diver is your key to access the underwater world and believe me it will forever change your life.

 

What would you tell people about the oceans? 

The oceans may be vast, but there is a limit to their resiliency.  Many of the ecosystems are much more fragile than we perceive them to be.  We cannot continue to regard our oceans as a resource that we have unlimited access to pillage and plunder. 

 

 

What does diving mean to you? 

Diving means freedom.  The effect of crossing into the realm below from the one above is immediate, like a cathartic shedding of one’s skin.  With every meter I descend, my soul is lighter, a holistic purification compliments of Mother Nature herself.

 

What's your favorite thing in your dive bag? 

My favorite thing in my dive bag would have to be my steel mesh gloves.  They are actually butcher’s sleeves, I wear them under my wetsuit when I dive with the sharks on Shark Reef.  Every time I pull them out and hear the rustle of the mesh it fills me with exhilaration. Wearing the gloves means I can leave the shark stick behind. It symbolizes my willingness to allow a shark into my personal space by appearing neutral instead of geared up for a confrontation.

 

Follow Natasha on Instagram: @sharkdusoleil, @myfijishark, @thefijisharkdive

Follow Natasha on Facebook:  @myfijishark