Episode Details

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It is Shark Week, but here on California’s Central Coast, Shark Week can feel a whole lot like regular week. We live in a place where drone footage captures sharks cruising just beyond the break, surfers share the water with animals they may never see, and the Pacific is always reminding us whose house this really is.

Marine conservationist and documentary filmmaker Kendyl Berna joins Adam to dive into Discovery’s Biggest Mako on Earth. For decades, fishermen have told stories of enormous mako sharks, possibly 15 to 20 feet long, moving through the waters off Southern California. Now, a striking photograph and a Shark Week expedition are turning that ocean lore into a serious scientific question: Could the largest mako on Earth be hunting near Catalina?

Kendyl takes us behind the scenes of the expedition, where Shark Week follows the scientific “what ifs” that traditional research funding may be unable to chase. She shares the moment a massive shark appeared so late in the day that the excited crew nearly forgot to film, and explains what really happens when the scientist, the filmmaker, and the awestruck human all meet the same animal at once.

Adam and Kendyl also get into the delicate balance between making thrilling television and respecting sharks as wild animals that never volunteered to become entertainment. Kendyl explains why Shark Week’s suspense can still serve a larger conservation purpose, even when hours of peaceful shark behavior never make the final cut.

The conversation eventually comes home to the Central Coast, where Adam has spoken with surfers carrying bite-marked boards and previously welcomed renowned shark investigator Ralph Collier. Kendyl discusses how coastal communities can hold two truths at once: sharks deserve understanding and protection, and the fear people carry into the water is real. Her message is not that people will ever stop being afraid, but that sharks are present far more often than we realize, usually without incident.

Beyond television, Kendyl is the co-founder of Beyond The Reef, a nonprofit working throughout the British Virgin Islands. Its projects include shark tagging, cetacean research, ghost-fishing-gear removal, coral monitoring, artificial reefs, youth swim programs, coastal cleanups, and community science outreach. She is also the creator of Report The Reef, an app that helps boaters report marine incidents, record wildlife sightings, and become active participants in protecting the waters around them.

Biggest Mako on Earth premieres Monday at 10 PM ET/PT on Discovery, with an encore at 11 PM ET/PT.

Learn more and follow Kendyl:

• Kendyl Berna Official Website

• Kendyl Berna on Instagram

• Beyond The Reef

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