Since sharks roamed the Earth much before humans existed, they already had a long history when people met them. In several cultures that developed near the coasts, men knew them and even had a respect relationship with sharks.

For the people living in the Pacific islands, the sea is part of their daily life and culture. The ancient islanders had various beliefs about the great creatures of the ocean, and one of them represented the shark as a god who guided sailors and fishers. They also believed that this god was a powerful manifestation of their ancestors and symbolized strength, nobility, and power.

Beliefs have variations according to the region, but they share the conception of deity. In some cultures, it is still a subject that deserves respect. A story known in Hawaii relates the adventure of the goddess Pele, who sailed from her home to the islands in a magic canoe accompanied by the shark god Kamohoali’i just to transport the volcanoes.

The native people of Hawaii were very familiar with sharks. To this culture, sharks are a powerful force that deserves protection. There are many stories and legends among their people that involve sharks. In many of them, sharks are gods that protected the people of Hawaii.

By the year 3000 B.C. The Phoenicians represented in painted pottery beings very similar to sharks attacking a person. Roman historian and naturalist Pliny the Elder (23 A.D. – 79 A.D.) described sharks as creatures that attacked pearl hunters.

It was the Greek philosopher Aristotle who called the sharks “selache,” a name that is still in the superorder that groups the sharks (Selachimorpha). Aristotle explained that the sharks mated together in a way similar to that of dogs, but they joined their bellies.

The Islamic culture was aware of the sharks that inhabited the Tigris River. In his book “The Wonders of Creation and the Curiosities of Existence,” Zakariya Quazwini created a part which included a description of the sharks and the fear they inspired.

Even the Aztecs had knowledge about the danger of sharks. When they went out to the ocean, they placed rows of chilies hanging from their canoes so that sharks did not approach while they were fishing.

In the modern world, they also play a relevant role in our culture. However, the connotations of the word “shark” are not usually good, as they are considered to be extremely dangerous to humans.

SHARKS IN FILMS

The premiere of Steven Spielberg’s film “Jaws” (Jaws, 1975) marked a before and after in the common conception of these fish. The impact of the story of a malevolent, bloodthirsty shark, who ferociously annihilated everything that moved in its path, was massive and still lodged in the collective memory. However, the fear of sharks did not start after the film was released, but it reinforced the feeling although it showed only a small part of the behavior of some species of sharks.

After this shocking representation of sharks is the movie “Jaws” from the 1970’s. Many sequels were made to it as well. This particular film brought the shark into the spotlight for the first time in the minds of many people. However, these movies also evoked terror, and many people though never going back into the ocean after watching the original Jaws movie!

Even for such an early film, Jaws made the shark appear to be very realistic. It was an animatronics shark though and not real sharks. The images were very genuine for the time which made people think of real sharks.

Other movies that have represented sharks are “12 Days of Terror” (Documentary, Jack Sholder 2004), “Deep Blue Sea” (Renny Harlin, 1999), Megalodon (Pat Corbitt, 2002) and the sequels of JAWS.

Since then though some other films have come out that show sharks in a better light. For example, there is one in finding “Nemo” that is trying to be helpful and to change the view others in the ocean have of them. He doesn’t want to be seen as a threat or a predator anymore.

In the fun film Shark Tales, a young shark is embarrassed when his family finds out that he doesn’t care to eat meat. He is a vegetarian. It is a great film about being who you are and not what other people expect you to be.

Not all movies about sharks though are fiction. Some of them are amazing documentaries that bring us closer to shark life than we will ever experience in person.

IN LITERATURE

Some of the books that narrate real or fictional stories about sharks are the source of the film Jaws of Peter Benchley, published in 1974. The author took as the basis the events of the summer of 1916, which terrified the people of the east coast of the United States as result of a series of deadly shark attacks. The novel was very successful and became a best seller.

Benchley wrote another book about sharks, called “White Shark” (1994), which had an adaptation for television, but it did not get the same success than its previous book.

There are more books out there about sharks. Some of them are stories with sharks as fun characters in them. Others are more realistic about the actual species of sharks, and some others are pure fiction.

There are many cultural references, but conceptions change over time. Sometimes it is great to look out and see the world through the eyes of other cultures to have a wider view of the world, and in this case, about these fantastic creatures called sharks.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shark_tooth

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaws_(film)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shark#In_popular_culture

https://www.amazon.com/White-Shark-Peter-Benchley/dp/0312955731

BioExpedition Publishing © 2017.

Sometimes people kill sharks for sport while fishing. Other times, humans kill sharks for fishing to use their meat as food and to use their fins for medicinal purposes.

A large number of sharks is a victim of bycatch, as result of commercial fishing since some of the most valued species are also the favorites of some species of sharks.

Links to other pages in this site

What Is The Habitat Of A Shark?
Why Do Sharks Drown When Pulled Backwards?
How Does A Whale Shark Reproduce?
Where Do Sharks Live?
How Do Sharks Use Static Electricity?

Sharks skeleton is made of cartilage instead of bones to have a lighter weight which allows them to go up and down quickly in the ocean without a lot of effort to stay afloat.

Cartilage is robust but not as dense as bone which gives them a great flexibility that allows them bending much easier than bony fishes. Such elasticity also gives them more speed as tails can move faster to propel them through the water.

Links to other pages in this site

Why Are People Afraid Of Sharks?
What Color Is The Hammerhead Shark?
How Many Species Of Sharks?
Why Do The Great White Sharks Attack Humans?
Why Is Mako Shark Endangered?

Sharks do not have bones like other fish. Instead, they have a softer tissue called cartilage which is much lighter than bones and helps them to swim faster.

Even more, the flexibility of cartilage gives sharks the capability to bend more elastically than boned fishes.

Links to other pages in this site

Why Does A Shark Grow New Teeth?
How Big Is The Shark Brain?
What Do Sharks Have Instead Of Bones?
What Do Blue Sharks Eat?
Where Do Great White Sharks Live?

For thousands of years, sharks have been considered to be highly protein food, with great commercial and even recreational value. Shark fishing is a very popular activity around the world, for various purposes. Unfortunately, the practice endangers the survival of species when it is not done sustainably.

Each year, humans kill around 100 million sharks in commercial and recreational activities, including the infamous “shark finning.” In the past, people believed that they were not animals that need to be considered for protection and conservation since they were not appreciated compared to other animals and they were not economically important. However, this conception has been changing given the reduction of populations and the increasing demand for products made with their bodies.

REASONS FOR SHARK FISHING

Commercial hunting.
Several parts of shark bodies have high demand in the market, since they are highly priced, and sometimes they even reach exorbitant prices. Therefore fishers are interested in catching them.

As food.
Shark meat has been food for humans for many years. It is common in the diet of many people, but it is possible that some do not know that the fish they eat is a shark.

In Europe, North America, and South America you can get shark meat in some supermarkets as if it were fruit. This trend started because people began considering fish an alternative to pork, beef or chicken. In Australia, it is common to eat shark steaks and in many parts of Asia, eating shark is like eating chicken in America. Often their meat is considered a real delicacy.

Getting their fins.
“Shark finning” is a common but infamous practice for killing sharks. It consists of cutting only the fins of sharks on the open ocean and throwing the rest of the body with the possibility that the sharks die bled or attacked by other marine animals.

In Asia, there is a high demand for shark fins because they prepare a wrongly called “miracle” and very costly soup, which is common at banquets. The situation is severe, because although there are laws that prohibit the practice, millions of sharks are killed every year. And just for preparing a plate soup, that does not ensure its effectiveness.

Getting their skin and their oil.
Shark skin is a material used to make articles and clothing. The impact of fishing for this has not been assessed but could be a danger too. On the other hand, the oil from the liver of the animal, called squalene, has been used as a lubricant and as a raw material for cosmetics and medicines. The negative fact: 3,000 sharks are needed to produce 1 ton of squalane.

Obtaining their cartilage.
Products made with shark cartilage are getting popular as medicines or treatments in the form of capsules or powder, useful for treating various diseases in joints. Again, there is no scientific evidence for such affirmation.

Bycatch.
Sometimes fishermen do not intend to catch sharks, but they do not take proper actions to avoid catching them as they may get trapped in trawl nets or longline hooks. This practice is one of the main threats to sharks and represents a significant percentage of the number of dead animals.

Recreational fishing.
This activity has no useful purpose, more than entertainment. It is labeled as a sports fishing or fishing tournaments. In the United States alone, in 2011, about 2.7 million sharks were hunted under recreational activities.

Shark catch.

CONSEQUENCES OF SHARK FISHING

Excessive fishing results in a significant problem to an endangered species. The high demand for the products made with the parts of shark bodies increases the frequency of catching them and when the amount of sharks gotten are few, the price increases. It becomes a kind of vicious circle that affects the environment of sharks but also that of human beings because sharks play a significant role in the food chain and their existence provides many advantages to the environment.

Fishing has been common practice for many years, but the problem is overfishing and unsustainable. However, the situation has ignited the alarm bells of environmentalists, organizations and animal advocates, who strive to improve the living conditions of sharks.

In many countries, it is legal to kill sharks, and in some others, the practice continues even though it is against the law. The thrill of hunting large sharks is one that many people seek.

Sources:

http://www.iucnredlist.org/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shark_finning

https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-news/shark-finning-sharks-turned-prey

www.stopsharkfinning.net/

BioExpedition Publishing © 2017.