According to shark and marine conservation charity Bite Back, sharks have been around since before dinosaur-times. There are around 390 species of sharks in the world with 31 different types of shark living in British waters.
Most sharks have five rows of teeth and can have up to 3,000 teeth! Not surprising they’re the ocean’s top predator. Yet, unlike the shark’s portrayal in the film The Shallows where Blake Lively is surfing on a secluded beach and finds herself on the feeding ground of a great white shark, shark attacks on humans are incredibly rare.
In fact, sharks themselves are more at risk from another deadly predator: humans. So what can be done to help protect them from becoming further endangered?
To celebrate Shark Awareness Day on July 14th, we’ve spoken to a panel of shark experts to get an insight into what it’s like to work with these fascinating creatures and how they can be protected.
Mafia Island, Tanzania Photo: Simon Pierce
First, the introductions…
Dr Simon Pierce is Co-Founder & Principal Scientist of the Marine Megafauna Foundation. He is a member of the IUCN Shark Specialist Group and also hosts responsible whale shark research and photography experiences with Aqua-Firma.
Dr Peter Richardson is Head of Biodiversity and Fisheries at the Marine Conservation Society (MCS). Peter manages the MCS Biodiversity and Fisheries teams which run Basking Shark Watch, a public sightings scheme for UK and Ireland, which has generated the largest database of public basking shark records in the world.
Alan Godwin is Director at Reef & Rainforest Tours and is also a Trustee for the Shark Trust, a charity based in Plymouth dedicated to protecting the world’s shark and ray species.
Daniel Moore is a PhD Researcher at Durham University. Daniel uses genetic techniques to understand the population structure of sharks and other marine vertebrates. He looks at shark DNA to find out who is related to who and by how much and this research is vital to help policymakers understand potential threats and use conservation resources more effectively.
Emily Cunningham is Communications Officer at The Wildlife Trusts. Wildlife Trusts’ marine work focuses on securing an ecologically coherent network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in UK waters – many of which will benefit UK shark species.
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- Dr Simon Pierce
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- Dr Peter Richardson
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- Alan Godwin
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- Daniel Moore
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- Emily Cunningham
“The Basking shark – mightily impressive and a fantastic wildlife spectacle”
Sharks that capture our imagination:
Simon: The whale shark. I’ve been studying these gigantic fish for over 10 years now and still find them completely fascinating. Being so large (up to 20m long and over 30 tonnes in weight), you would think they would be easy for us to find but, in fact, we know very little about their habits.
Alan: I love seeing black tip reef sharks. They are harmless (as are most sharks) and can be seen on many dives. They are sleek, curious and beautiful to behold.
Emily: The Basking Shark! I have a lifelong obsession with this incredible elasmobranch – although I’ve yet to see one. To spot even a fin is number one on my bucket list – despite numerous boat trips and countless hours on headlands scanning unyielding waves. One day!
Basker with snorkeller Photo: frogfishphotography.com
Daniel: My favourite species has to be the Ghost Catshark, Apristurus aphyodes. Ghost Catsharks are a genus of sharks found in the deep sea all over the world and are relatively unknown. They are bizarre creatures that will never see daylight in their whole lives, often living a mile beneath the surface of the ocean.
Peter: The Basking shark – mightily impressive and a fantastic wildlife spectacle that holidaymakers in Cornwall, the Isle of Man and the west coast of Scotland can safely enjoy each summer.
Apristurus aphyodes – The Ghost Catshark Apristurus aphyodes caught from 1500m off the coast of Scotland. © Marine Scotland_Daniel Moore
“It is estimated that up to 100 million sharks are killed every year, globally”
Why I got into shark conservation:
Daniel: I was fascinated by dinosaurs as a child so when I learnt sharks are even older than dinosaurs I was instantly hooked. We now know that sharks have been on this planet for at least 420 million years; the oldest dinosaurs just appeared a mere 230 million years ago. To think these creatures have been around for so long and remained relatively unchanged makes the impact of man on sharks even more upsetting; it is estimated that up to 100 million sharks are killed by man every year, globally.
Emily: I’ve wanted to be a marine biologist since I was a little girl. What started out as a love of dolphins quickly became an obsession with all things marine, which was fixed once I did my first UK sea dive. From then on I knew I wanted to work in UK marine conservation.
Simon: I was fascinated with animals, including sharks, from an early age. I learnt to dive during my final undergraduate year and I was hooked. I emailed my future PhD supervisor, Professor Mike Bennett at The University of Queensland until he gave in and took me on as a student.
Galapagos Hammerhead Shark, Darwin Island. Photo: Dan_Holmes/Aqua-firma
“In Mexico, we had around 180 whale sharks around the boat all at once”
How sharks inspire wonder:
Simon: Last year in Mexico, we had around 180 whale sharks around the boat all at once. I’ve also also seen hundreds of hammerheads in schools in the Galapagos. I’ve been approached underwater by whales and great white sharks, played with sea lions, and been awestruck by how fast penguins are in the water. I’m incredibly lucky to be able to explore this amazing planet for a living.
Few animals are as enigmatic as the whale shark. Globally threatened, almost all the scientific info available pertains to the juvenile males typically found in coastal waters. To see the real giants, such as this pregnant female, intrepid divers must venture to remote seamounts like Darwin Island in the northern Galapagos.
“From the abyssal depths to coastal shallows, ecosystems are shaped by sharks”
Shark conservation SOS alert:
Daniel: Sharks are the apex predators in many marine environments meaning they are crucial to maintaining healthy populations of other groups of marine creatures. Where we have healthy populations of sharks, it’s likely that the rest of the marine environment in that area is healthy too.
Peter: We need to look after our oceans to ensure that generations to come continue enjoy the company of our sharks. In the UK we have some impressive shark species, many of which are threatened – including the second largest fish in the world: the basking shark.
Emily: From the abyssal depths to coastal shallows, ecosystems are shaped by sharks. The catastrophic ecological effects of their ongoing decline is well documented – and just last week whale sharks, the biggest fish on the planet, were listed as endangered. Maligned as sharks are, our lives will be poorer for every species we lose.
Snorkel with Whale shark, Tanzania Photo: Dr Simon Pierce/ Aqua-Firma
“Sharks should not be feared – people put themselves in far more danger every time they cross a road than when they go for a swim”
How you can help protect sharks:
Alan: Uncontrolled fishing for fins and meat is the main threat to sharks today. Luckily progress has been made in China where awareness of the pointless destruction of so many sharks just to satisfy the appetite for shark fin soup is increasing, assisted by the Shark Trust and other conservation bodies. People can help by joining the Shark Trust and contributing to the work we do as well as by avoiding unsustainable fish in supermarkets, caught by massive nets which kill lots of sharks as by-catch.
Emily: Although environmental charities do great work, they can’t do it alone: write to your MP, sign that petition, tell your friends about the damage caused by Fish Aggregation Devices (FADs) – be the change!
Peter: Also, if you spot a basking shark on your trips to the coast please report your sighting to us at the Marine Conservation Society for our Basking Shark Watch.
Photo: frogfishphotography.com
Simon: You could participate in sustainable wild shark tourism or volunteer with a credible programme. Make a donation to a good not-for-profit or university. Shark scientists on social media will often post opportunities to make public comments to government on topics such as fisheries legislation. While these may seem like dry topics, making a contribution – often there’s a template to simply copy and paste – will genuinely have a positive impact.
Daniel: It’s vital to promote a better understanding about sharks and dispel the commonly held notion of them as vicious man-eaters. This viewpoint just doesn’t hold up to scientific scrutiny. We are only now just beginning to understand that many shark species are highly social animals and some are even being shown to have complex personalities. Sharks should not be feared – people put themselves in far more danger every time they cross a road than when they go for a swim in the ocean. Education about sharks is key to their future conservation.
Drone view Whale Sharks feed, Tanzania Photo; Dr Simon Pierce/ Aqua-Firma
“Volunteer, start a blog, be active on social media. When the hard work pays off, it’s worth it!”
Get involved! Here’s how:
Emily: To work in marine conservation takes more than a good degree and relevant experience – you need to stand out from the crowd. Get yourself known to people you’d like to work with or for: volunteer for them, start a blog or be active on social media. Believe me, when the hard work pays off, it’s worth it!
Daniel: Volunteer. Be passionate. Don’t give up. Marine conservation is a tough area to make a career from but it is possible. It is also worth remembering that marine conservation is an incredibly broad term which covers a wide array of jobs. Think carefully about what you are good at and play to your strengths. When you achieve your goals in marine conservation the rewards are the greatest of any career.
Simon: If you’d like to study sharks, you have work to do. Solid university results is a necessary start – intelligence and motivation are assumed. If you want to be a field biologist, you’ll need experience. Make yourself known to people conducting marine research in your area – even if it isn’t on sharks. If you can volunteer, perfect. The shark research community is small and a good reference will go a long way. If possible, choose a university where there is an active shark research program, and make friends with the people involved.
Mafia Island, Tanzania. Photo: Dr Simon Pierce
“What happens in the next 10-20 years will determine the fate of sharks forever”
Are we doing enough to protect sharks?
Peter: We can always do more: the ocean’s resources should not be treated as a commodity – we must live within the constraints of our environment.
Daniel: We are at a crucial tipping point I think. What happens in the next 10-20 years will determine the fate of sharks forever. The threats they face are bigger than ever but so is the will and determination to protect them. There is still hope – we just need to keep pushing for stronger protection and better education and then sharks may still be around for many millions of years to come.
Thank you to Alan, Simon, Daniel, Peter and Emily for taking part in our panel – and happy Shark Awareness Day!