Forty years after "Jaws", the summer still means sharks

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The sun is rising, the oceans are warmer, and sharks are strong on television and in movies.

More than 40 years after "Jaws" has taken its marks from the biggest attractions of summer on big and small screens, despite the concerns expressed by marine scientists that some programs are undermining efforts to protect a declining population.

Celebrating its 30th anniversary, Discovery Channel's "Shark Week" debuted on Sunday with celebrity encounters with animals, a "SharkCam" capturing their lives in the Bahamas, and a science trip to the waters off Cuba where some of the greatest tall whites have been sighted.

"There is something about it being a summer vacation.Many people will spend some time on the beach, and 'Shark Week' will connect," said Nancy Daniels, Discovery Channel Manager.

"Shark Week" is one of Discovery's greatest successes, attracting an American audience of more than 35 million viewers last year.

The combination of information, entertainment and scientific research can be a difficult balance, but Daniels said that "Shark Week" begins from a place of wonder.

"We have really tried to partner with the scientific community to make sure that it is not only a scare but that we are teaching the public these animals so that they can learn more and respect theirs. behavior, "said Daniels.

"Shark Week" inspired rivals, such as the current "SharkFest" two-week National Geographic with documentaries such as "Mayhem in Mexico" and "The Whale That Ate Jaws."

The Syfy channel weighs next month with the sixth installment of the cult movie "Sharknado", a drama comedy about a cyclone that lifts man-eating sharks into the ocean and drops them off in the suburbs. Los Angeles.

In August, the movie "The Meg" seeks to compete with "Jaws" with his account of a 70-foot-long megalodon shark that reappears on an American beach after being thought out for millions of years. 39; years.

Marine biologists note that of the 400 species of sharks in the world, none considers humans as their favorite food. Their main job as predators is to keep the ocean populations healthy by weeding the sick or unfit.

"The depiction of sharks in some media has probably added to the myth of sharks as a dangerous killer," said Hans Walters, a field researcher at the New York Aquarium.

"If you've ever swam in the ocean, you've probably been swimming with sharks.The really interesting thing about shark attacks is not the frequency with which they occur, but the frequency at which they do not occur, "said Walters.

The world's shark population is in free fall, with estimates of 100 million losses each year to fishing, often just for their fins, or

Despite public fascination with shark attacks, marine biologist Luke Tipple hopes that shows like "Shark Week" will spread the message that must be protected. [19659004] "It also inspires people to go out and see sharks for themselves, or perhaps to be marine biologists or scientists, or to contribute to conservation," said Tipple.