Brian Kakuk

Kakuk served as a US Navy diver for seven years in the 1980s. His work included salvage and underwater seacraft repair. He subsequently worked as a civilian contract diver in the Bahamas.^[3]

Kakuk has worked as the dive safety officer for the Caribbean Marine Research Center. He was featured as the chief science diver and diver in charge of safety for the Nova episode "Extreme Cave Diving." Producer James Barrat referred to Kakuk as "probably the planet's premier science and cave diver."^[4] Kakuk performed dive safety for films including installments of the Pirates of the Caribbean series.^[5] He has supported work for the BBC, National Geographic, and Japan's NHK.^[3]

Divers Jill Heinerth, Wes Skiles, and Edd Sorenson have conducted exploration missions with Kakuk. Kakuk is an advanced cave instructor trainer and co-authored Side Mount Profiles with Heinerth.^[6][7] Jonathan Bird's Blue World featured Kakuk as Bird's cave diving instructor, and Kakuk supported Bird's IMAX film Ancient Caves.^[8][3]

Kakuk founded the Bahamas Caves Research Foundation (BCRF) in the 1990s.^[3] He has campaigned for the protection of caves known as blue holes in the Abaco Islands with the goal of forming an underwater national park.^[9] In 2019, the South Abaco Blue Holes Conservation Area was designated.^[10] Kakuk has assisted researchers, discovered over a dozen animal species, and has four microscopic animals named after him.^[11][12][13]

In 2005 at Sawmill Sink, Kakuk discovered remnants of tortoises and crocodiles which were extinct on Abaco. His discoveries, combined with support from geologist Nancy Albury and curator David Steadman, led to the creation of a natural history museum branch in 2018. The museum was destroyed by Hurricane Dorian in 2019.^[10]

Kakuk is a fellow of The Explorers Club.^[14]

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