Photo by James N. McKibben
Professor Don Nelson, photographed in 1979
By Laura Lothian, On-line Forty-Niner
April 15, 1997
When Dr. Donald Richard Nelson died, at age 59, of melanoma on March 7, a woman lost more than her husband, a university lost more than a biology professor and a friend lost more than a mentor.
The world lost a pioneer in the field of shark research and conservation.
Nelson, a Cal State Long Beach faculty member since 1965, spent the majority of his life studying sharks.
His long-time friend and collaborator, Jim McKibben, a CSULB technician and marine biology graduate, described Nelson's entry to the world of sharks as completely by chance.
"His original interest was photographing birds and he spent many hours in the New Jersey pine barrens photographing them," he said.
Trips to the New Jersey shore lead Nelson to skin diving and an unexpected encounter with a shark.
"The elegance, grace and beauty of the shark captured his imagination, as Don was forever hooked on sharks," McKibben said.
Nelson's life was peppered with career highlights ranging from his successful challenge of the theory that sharks are unpredictable to rubbing shoulders with celebrities from all walks of life.
Steven Spielberg sent a crew to Nelson's office to see what a real shark researcher's office looked like for the movie "Jaws," Marlin Perkins, host of TV's "Wild Kingdom," accompanied Nelson on shark expeditions, and David Lean, director of "Dr. Zhivago," was as excited, when they met in the South Pacific, to meet a shark researcher as Nelson was to meet a famous director, McKibben said.
Nelson met fellow seaman Jacques Cousteau several times and worked closely with Cousteau's sons.
Nelson taught general biology, marine natural history and animal behavior at CSULB. He published dozens of works and worked on more than 20 films including "Blue Water White Death," four "Wild Kingdom" television shows, and NOVA.
In 1994 the Discovery Channel honored his career with a half-hour documentary, "The Shark Doctor."
"All of Don's work was great for the university," said McKibben, who worked with Nelson for 25 years. "He'd always give recognition to Cal State."
Nelson also was involved in the James Bond movie, "Thunderball." Instead of his usual role as shark expert, cameraman or narrator, he played a villain diver.
Discussing Nelson's extraordinary life, McKibben recalled one of the most exciting events the two experienced in 1991.
A fisherman had caught an unusual-looking shark off Dana Point and reported it. The shark, a megamouth, was the first of its kind to be seen alive. The male megamouth was 13 1/2 feet long with a hippopotamus-like nose.
"It really stirred up the science world," McKibben said. "Where had this shark been hiding? I felt like I was on a voyage with Charles Darwin on the HMS Beagle."
Currently only six or seven megamouth sharks have been seen and, with the exception of the one from Dana Point, all were dead, having been caught in nets.
"We put a transmitter on it and Don and his students followed it for over 50 hours."
Nelson was one of the first researchers in the world to use small ultrasonic transmitters to follow the movements of sharks.
It was through this technology that Nelson and his associates were able to track sharks' feeding and mating habits. They discovered that some sharks followed a set ritual, such as grouping the same way during the day, dispersing at night, then doing it all over again.
Nelson and company also recorded "posturing" of sharks by charging gray reef sharks with only a camera as protection.
This "suicide" technique elicited attacks that were recorded and used in several documentaries.
Nelson's most recent project involved the development of a computer multi-media program, "The Marine Species Database," which had become the foundation for the marine natural history course he taught.
He cofounded the American Elasmobranch (a class comprising cartilaginous fishes with well-developed jaws including sharks, rays and skates) Society, which is devoted to the study and preservation of the fish, and served as its president one year ago.
"He knew he had cancer for the last couple of years," McKibben said. "But he'd never slow down. He taught last fall and was going to teach this spring but I told him to take it off, I wanted him to bounce back."
McKibben said he did not know if the cancer was caused by years of sun damage or from nuclear exposure. "We used gallons of sunscreen but 20 years ago all they had was Sea and Ski," he said.
Nelson made several skin-diving trips to the Enewetak Atoll, the site of bloody World War II battles and nuclear testing.
Memorial services for Nelson were held Friday at the Japanese Gardens.
Nelson is survived by his wife, Ginger Nelson; stepdaughter, Gillian Brady; mother and stepfather, Anna and Frank Orlando; and one step-grandchild.