700 Sharks

In June 2014, during the full moon, Laurent Ballesta embarked on the *Gombessa Expedition 4* (Le mystère mérou) to observe a mass gathering of thousands of groupers in the southern pass of the Polynesian atoll of Fakarava. There, he encountered an extraordinary congregation of over seven hundred grey sharks. This unprecedented density raised questions about the social behaviors potentially governing such a large and wild group. Over three years of preparation, Ballesta and his international scientific team worked to overcome their fear and suppress defensive reflexes that might provoke shark aggression, with the goal of immersing themselves in the center of the shark pack to study and film it from within. The expedition employed a range of advanced technologies, including microchips, receiving antennas, hydrophones, and an array of 32 synchronized cameras. As the spawning season of the groupers approached, the team sought to understand the strategies the sharks might employ.