From Fear to Fascination: Rewriting the Shark Narrative

Gracie Wenzel

Introduction – Why Sharks Have Such a Bad Reputation

“When you enter the ocean, you enter the food chain…” This quote by Jacques Cousteau has stuck with me throughout many years because of the truth behind it. The ocean does not belong to us, it belongs to marine predators, with one of the top ones being sharks. When most people think about sharks, fear shoots through them (Ostrovski et al., 2021). The media portrays them as mindless killing machines that will attack anything and everything (Casola et al., 2022). The sad thing is, most people believe this portrayal without looking below the surface, figuratively and literally. 

When diving deeper, we can see that there is so much more than what meets the eye. The phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover” comes to mind. The killers that they are perceived to be are largely inaccurate and harmful to their overall conservation efforts. While sharks are often feared, scientific research shows they are vital to ocean ecosystems and deserve protection rather than fear.

How Media Created the “Monster Shark”

In the summer of 1975, the movie Jaws was released and forever changed how people viewed sharks (Ostrovski et al., 2021). Before that, most people didn’t spare them a second thought; they were just a part of fishermen's tales. If you have never seen Jaws, the precipice is that a Great White Shark goes on a killing spree in the waters of a popular New England island, called Amity Island, during the 4th of July weekend. In order to stop the killings, the town's sheriff, a marine biologist from NOAA, and a well-known shark hunter go out with the hope of stopping the shark once and for all. By the end of the fight, and subsequently the movie, the only survivor is the town’s sheriff. The shark ended up killing the marine biologist and the fisherman, and the sheriff killed the shark. Throughout the movie, the shark becomes very persistent and personally aims for the men on the boat. This personification of the shark was only the beginning of the end for them. 

From then on, the media began to jump on this portrayal and continue to paint them as killing machines. Every summer you see the news talk about “shark infested waters” or a “shark attack.” The wording of these articles are intentional, as they aim to strike fear and further push the fact that sharks are killers. When Shark Week first started, the hope was that it would help rebrand how these animals are portrayed. However, they seem to be on the same train as news outlets (O’Donnell et al., 2019). Most of their episodes have the words killer, attack, assassins, monsters, reign of terror, etc. in them and are only looking at isolated events rather than true facts and statistics. Media narratives, as we see, rarely reflect the biological reality of shark behavior. Research on media framing confirms that negatively framed shark content increases fear and perceived danger, whereas positive framing has the opposite effect (Casola et al., 2022).

The Reality of Shark Attacks

The true reality is that these “attacks” are extremely rare. In 2025, there were a total of 105 shark interactions around the world. 65 of them are considered to be unprovoked, which means that a person was bitten in the ocean without provoking the shark in any way (Florida Museum of Natural History, 2026). 29 were considered to be provoked, meaning that the person that was bitten was intentionally initiating contact with the shark. Of the remaining 11, 4 were on boats, 2 were post-mortem, 4 were unassigned or unconfirmed, and 1 was in an aquarium setting. Long‑term analysis further shows that global shark‑attack rates are low and vary over decades, influenced by human activity patterns rather than shark aggression (Midway et al., 2019).

Looking at this image, you can see that you are more likely to die by everyday occurrences, such as the flu, a car accident, or even by falling. There is more of a chance of being struck by lightning or hit by an asteroid than you are to be bitten by a shark. 

There are even documented photographs off the coast of California that show hundreds of sharks swimming in between people swimming in the ocean and nobody was “attacked” by any of the sharks. Sharks do not naturally see humans as prey. Normally, a shark will bite a person only once and realize it is not what they are hunting for. Sharks often mistake humans for seals – their natural prey. The outline of a surfboard and certain bathing suit colors can throw them off. They can’t see the same colors that we can, however, bright colors to us are still “bright” in a sense to them. By being informed and understanding what they see and how they function, the amount of shark bites or “attacks” can be severely cut down. 

Sharks as Essential Ocean Predators

Sharks play a critical role in the marine ecosystem by maintaining balance. As an apex predator, they help regulate the populations of species in the food web below them. This prevents any singular group from becoming too dominant. By preying on weak, sick, or slow sea animals, they also contribute to the overall health and genetic strength of marine populations (Dedman et al., 2025). This form of natural population control helps maintain biodiversity and supports stable, functioning ecosystems. In marine environments where sharks are present, prey species are known to change their behavior, further protecting habitats like coral reefs and seagrass beds from overuse. In this way, sharks are essential to keeping ocean ecosystems balanced and resilient (FIU Institute of Environment, 2026). 

Sharks are also what are known as keystone species. A keystone species, by definition, is “an organism that has a disproportionately large effect on its ecosystem relative to its low abundance, with its removal often causing ecosystem collapse.” This means that if sharks were to completely disappear, then the system as a whole will also disappear; the ocean as we know it will be gone forever.

What Happens When Sharks Disappear

If sharks were to be removed from the ecosystem, then the careful balance that they help maintain would begin to unravel. Without them as a top predator, their prey populations could grow unchecked which would lead to overconsumption of smaller organisms and critical habitats. This type of chain reaction is known as a trophic cascade (shown in the image) and can drastically alter entire ecosystems. For example, an increase in a mid-level predator, such as groupers or snappers, would reduce the populations of herbivorous fish, which are essential for controlling the algal population in coral reefs. As algae spreads, it smothers coral and degrades the coral reef system that supports countless marine species (Klinard et al., 2025). These disruptions show that a loss of sharks would not just affect one part of the food web, but can actually trigger widespread ecological consequences. Ultimately, by removing sharks from the ecosystem, it weakens the stability and reduces the ecosystem's ability to recover from environmental stress. 

The Real Threat: Humans

Although sharks are often portrayed as dangerous, the reality is that it’s not sharks that are dangerous to humans, it’s actually the other way around. Every year, millions of sharks are killed due to the global shark fin trade, overfishing, and bycatch. Many sharks are unintentionally caught in fishing gear that is meant for other species, while others are targeted specifically for their fins. These are  brutal and inhumane ways to kill sharks. They don’t die from the bloodloss, rather they drown as they can’t swim and pump oxygen into their gills without their fins. Since sharks tend to grow slowly and mature late, their populations are especially vulnerable to decline. A major conservation study in Nature shows that over one‑third of shark species are threatened with extinction, driven by overfishing, habitat loss, and insufficient regulation (Temple et al., 2025). This reversal of roles highlights the urgent need to reconsider how we, as a species, interact with and manage shark populations. 

Conservation Success Stories

There have been numerous successes in shark conservation that show recovery is possible. One example is a shark sanctuary in the Bahamas, where they have banned commercial shark fishing. Since these protections were implemented, the shark populations in the region have shown signs of recovery, which shows the effectiveness of strong conservation policies (Pacoureau et al., 2023). Additionally, shark ecotourism has become an economically valuable resource that generates more long-term income than shark fin fishing. These success stories illustrate the fact that protecting sharks not only benefits the marine ecosystems but also supports sustainable economic growth. 

Changing the Narrative Through Science and Education

A critical step in ensuring sharks are protected is changing public perception. Conservationists, educators, and scientists are all working together to replace the fear-based narratives with accurate, research-driven information. There are programs in place that track shark movements (OCEARCH, 2026), documentaries that highlight their behavior (SharkFest), and educational outreach programs that all help people better understand these animals. As more individuals learn that sharks are more important than just mindless predators, the overall attitudes will begin to change from fear to fascination (Casola et al., 2022). A change of perspective will play a key role in building public awareness, support for conservation efforts, and help encourage more responsible interactions with the ocean. 

What You Can Do to Help Sharks

The good news is that there is something you can do, even if you don’t have a degree in biology or marine biology, or in a land-locked state. Protecting sharks requires collective action. An important step for seafood lovers can be using resources like the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch to help avoid products that potentially contribute to overfishing and bycatch. By advocating for stronger ocean conservation policies, including but not limited to marine protected areas and shark fin bans, it can also help protect vulnerable species. Additionally, by sharing accurate information about shark species and challenging fear-based myths, it can help shift public perception and reduce unnecessary harm (Casola et al., 2022). Each individual can help ensure that sharks continue to play their vital role in maintaining healthy ocean ecosystems.

Citations

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