( CNN ) -- For nearly 50 years Ron and Valerie Taylor have been filming sharks at close quarters , bringing the lives of the ocean 's most fearsome predators to TV and the big screen . Ron , 76 , was a spear fisherman before he and Valerie started working with film and TV companies who wanted shark dramas . The conflict of hunting one day , then capturing the underwater life with a 16mm camera the next , led Ron to forsake spear hunting for full-time filming . Getting close to sharks , including the few species dangerous to humans , has put the Australian couple in treacherous situations . One of the most perilous came in 1969 when the couple had to fend off a school of sharks off the coast of South Africa while filming them feast on a dead whale . Valerie has also been bitten three times , yet despite the hazards of the job both remain in awe of sharks and committed to their protection . They blame the voracious appetite of people for shark fins for endangering many shark species . `` World wide sharks are in serious danger , mainly for shark finning , '' Ron Taylor told CNN . `` The Asian market just ca n't get enough of sharks fin ; the price has gone way up . Even Australian fishermen are taking shark fins now in the Great Barrier Reef . `` Some species of sharks are protected , like the Great White Shark ... but with other species of sharks there are no restrictions . '' The Taylors hope their captivating underwater footage has helped educate people that sharks deserve respect and protection . However they admit that some of their work may have been viewed as adding to the negative image that sharks are dangerous . `` To some extent the documentaries perpetuate the myth , because they see people with sharks , but whenever you see documentaries with divers in the water and sharks around , those sharks have been attracted with bait , '' said Ron Taylor . The couple filmed the live shot for 1975 film `` Jaws '' and did not expect their work would have the affect of almost scaring a generation from swimming in the sea . `` The problem was that [ `` Jaws '' ] was so well done that people believed that the sharks really were like that , that there was a vendetta against sharks and Valerie and I got a lot of criticism ... the number of people learning to dive dropped off . So the dive shops were very unhappy about Valerie and I being involved in a film that reduced their commercial possibilities . '' Yet the Taylors remain committed to raising awareness of the importance of marine biodiversity and shark protection . `` You 've just got to tell your story well and have good imagery . And you can make a big difference to the way not only the government but the people on the country can view their marine wilderness areas , which should be looked at the same as national parks on land , '' said Valerie Taylor . Ron Taylor added : `` We really need no-take zones where marine creatures have a chance to reproduce unmolested and the fishermen do n't want it . The want to be able to take fish from everywhere . We need marine national parks with no-take zones . ''
Australian couple have been filming sharks for nearly 50 years . Worked on 1975 film 'Jaws ' and filmed numerous documentaries . Committed to saving species of shark endangered by increased shark finning .