Great White Sharks in Danger: Ocean Ramsey Swims with Them to Save Them (Video)

Great white sharks are slowly disappearing from the world's oceans. Now, a woman named Ocean Ramsey is out to save them--by swimming with them. The 27-year-old model and conservationist travels the globe, free diving with many species of sharks in order to prove that they are nothing like the creature seen in "Jaws."

Most recently, the conservationist swam with a 17-foot-long great white shark. Photographed by her friend, Juan Oliphant, she is shown hitching a ride on the shark's fin while 'tail riding' through the deep. The latest interaction means that so far, she has swum with 32 different species of sharks.

"It's difficult to express the incredible joy and breathtaking emotion experienced locking eyes with a great white shark," said Ramsey in an interview with MailOnline. "Watching the shark acknowledge and observe me, while I peacefully and calmly allowed it to swim towards me, and then experience it accepting my touch, allowing me to dorsal and tail ride."

Currently, shark populations are facing massive threats from overfishing and, in particular, the practice of shark finning. A newly released study estimates that about 100 million sharks are killed each year, a number that's unsustainable since it can take years for sharks to grow to maturity and then reproduce.

Great white sharks, though, are in more danger than most. They're slowly disappearing from the oceans, despite efforts to stop their decline. High levels of mercury, DDT and other chemicals can be found in the bodies of great whites, young sharks are often caught in fishing nets and their food source of choice, sea lions and seals, have declined in several regions. Currently, only an estimated 339 of these sharks remain in the Northeastern Pacific region.

Yet Ramsey hopes that her efforts will bring light to the issue and cause people to realize that these sharks are worth saving. Check out the video of her swimming with the massive creature below, originally appearing here.