Decades after the release of Jaws, the sound of Dun dun... Dun dun... still gets people excited today. People are fascinated, and far too often terrified, by sharks. Our fear of sharks is simply irrational considering that you are more likely to be killed by a toaster than a shark. Unfortunately, we tend to fear what we do not understand. The fact is, we should be scared FOR sharks, not of them.
I occasionally hear people say that the world would be better off without sharks. What these people don't know is that without sharks, the oceans would suffer devastating and unpredictable consequences. As our ocean's top predators, sharks need to be protected. But here's the tricky part -- how do we spread this knowledge to the rest of the world?
Discovery Channel's Shark Week is the one week each year when Americans turn on their televisions for the sole purpose of being captivated by sharks. This one week provides a unique opportunity to reach out to the general public to educate them about sharks, the threats jeopardizing their future and what we can all do to help protect them. Discovery Channel is increasingly using Shark Week as a chance to raise awareness about shark conservation and urge viewers to take action to help protect sharks.
Shark Week 2010, which is when Oceana became an official conservation partner, did not contain phrases like "man eater" and provided more context on the rarity of shark attacks. In addition, viewers were provided with a more conservation focused episode with Late, Late Show host Craig Ferguson. Discovery also aired shark conservation public service announcements (PSAs) staring Ferguson and directed viewers to the internet where they could write to their members of Congress to support the Shark Conservation Act, which was subsequently signed into law in January.
Furthermore, the buzz about Shark Week does not stop at the Discovery Channel. A constant stream of media attention surrounds this highly sought-after programming. Each year during Shark Week, television talk shows across the country interview shark experts and shark week topics even slip into scripted TV programs. For example, Tracy Morgan's character on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock advised another character to "Live every week like it's Shark Week."
While I can't give away any details about the 2011 programming, what I can tell you is that Discovery Channel is finding new and interesting ways to entertain, educate and captivate all at the same time.
While Shark Week might leave some thinking twice about entering the water, it helped spread a single conservation message to nearly 31 million viewers in just one week in 2010. With that said, let me be the first to wish you a Happy Shark Week 2011.
This post first appeared in Scuba Diving Magazine.
Matt Rand: Shark Week Conservation Roundup (VIDEO, SLIDESHOW)
Keith Addis: Lessons From Diving With Whale Sharks
Serious, non-dogmatic answers only, please.
The fact that preservation of species gets turned into a political issue worries me, I am thinking of the notorious spotted owl controversy.
The area of the world the animal resides in seems to matter. I think animals in places like Asia and Africa are much more likely to go extinct due to cultural and economic reasons.
But I wonder if people will watch shows about sharks that don't include the emotional pay-offs and scares they are used to. Most shows about animals are about predators and they all include scenes of predators attacking their prey and they seem to get more gory, just like the rest of the media. The mundane, day to day biology isn't featured as often and I guess probably doesn't attract viewers, sadly.
I wouldn't even mind the shark attack stories if they provoked a response in people that "sharks are potentially dangerous, like any other wild animal, so I will be careful around them" rather than "sharks are the serial killers of the sea and must be exterminated."
I am looking forward to Shark Week and hope you find that happy balance between the two extremes.
I enjoy the day to day biology of animals much more than what seems to get shown. How many shows do we REALLY NEED of lions killing cape buffalo? On Animal Planet or National Geographic Wild, you can watch an entire marathon of those shows, with different titles but essentially showing the same thing.
It's nice that there is at least some choice with shows like River Monsters and the show with Zeb Hogan, and the show about shark researchers.