Great Fight Shark: Changing Perceptions of Marine Predators

• In Event: Complicated relationships: Wildlife management, protection, and control

Abstract

n 1974, great white sharks burst into the public consciousness. With the publication of Jaws, and the blockbuster movie that followed, humans had a new awareness of white sharks, and a new foe to fear when they entered the ocean. Yet Jaws itself was a product of changing ideas about sharks in general, and white sharks specifically, and would prove to be part of a trajectory of rapidly changing attitudes towards white sharks: from coward, to villain, to hero. This trend was followed by conservation measures, and today, white sharks are the most protected shark species on the planet. While the shift in perception of sharks from vermin and villain to keystone species and charismatic megafauna has been presented as beneficial, it has brought new challenges. In particular, actors involved in environmental policy and shark fisheries are faced with new public scrutiny and pressure regarding their management practices. This paper examines the new tensions that scientists, fisheries agents, and others must navigate in the wake of our new infatuation with sharks.

Author

• Michaela J Thompson, Harvard/MIT