Sharks are known as the dangers of the sea. When people hear about sharks, they relive the bloody, horrific scenes from the 1975 movie, Jaws. Since the 1980s, the number of shark attacks has increased (Huveneers, Whitmarsh, Thiele, Meyer, Fox, & Bradshaw, 2018). Likewise, the media covering these attacks and fatalities has risen as well, causing controversy on the interactions between humans and sharks.
Shark attacks began being recorded back in the early 1900s (West, 2011). Scientists gathered information from a viewpoint of encounter number per region in attempt to track factors affecting sharks, possibly causing their attacks (Ritter & Wetzel, 2015, Ritter & Kennedy, 2012). Recent studies, conducted in the United States, South Africa, Brazil, Reunion Island, and the Bahamas, the six global “hotspots” where sharks tend to bite the most, have shown many potential factors that could be infiltrating sharks and aiding in the damaged shark-human relationship (Chapman & McPhee, 2016). Factors such as pollution, over-abundance of humans, modifications near beaches or the coast, changes in climate, and unpredictable weather patterns all share the possibility of causing these attacks (Chapman & McPhee, 2016). Also, the increase of water-based sports and activities, such as surfing or scuba diving, could be a potential factor in the rise of shark attacks as it leaves humans more vulnerable to these predators (West, 2011). Even when humans aren’t being mauled by sharks, they are still spotting them from the comfort of the sand. In South Africa, on two popular beaches, there were 378 sightings of sharks recorded during a five-year time span (Weltz, Kock, Winker, Attwood, & Sikweyiya, 2013). With the climbing numbers of sightings and attacks, the media became attracted to the topic and the publics anxiety emerged.
The media was very quick to begin covering every shark-human occurrence. Reporters jumped to the opportunity to portray the dangers of the creatures of the sea. Sharks have become such a huge topic in media, there is even a televised show dedicated to these animals called Shark Week, where survivors of shark attacks confirm their frightening experiences and shark scientist grant factual information over how big a shark’s tooth actually is. With all of the media coverage of sharks, humans have developed a fear over them, shivering at just the sight of them on their TV. Humans have even begun to create devices to aid in their protection when swimming in the ocean. Devices such as Rpela, the SharkBanz bracelet, and the SharkBanz surfer leash have all been generated in attempt to keep the sharks away (Huveneers, et al., 2018). Although these devices are brilliant ideas, most humans do not realize that the media has made this issue with sharks way bigger than it needs to be and that our chances of getting eaten alive by these animals is very slim. Recent studies have been done to review just how fair media portrayal of these attacks are. One study revealed that between 361 shark-based articles written in a 26-month time-span, media mostly only covered the 6 fatalities that had occurred, even though it is extremely rare to die from a shark attack (Sabatier & Huvenners, 2018). Controversy has developed over the issue of media coverage on shark attacks and how the government should deal with the shark-human interactions (Fraser-Baxter & Medvecky, 2018). Christopher Neff, a member of the Department of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney, Australia, believes that beaches should be referred to as “the wild” and educating public safety will better personal behavior towards sharks and the ocean (Neff, 2012).
In conclusion, educating ourselves on sharks, learning about the habitat of the ocean, and understanding that sharks aren’t out to get us is, is important, especially in a society so terrified of these creatures. Having ecotourism management and gaining respect towards the ocean will hopefully aid to a decline in shark attacks, although there are still many factors that could be affecting the rising numbers (Clua, 2018).
