Shark Education and Marine Aquaria
Aquarium Sharks Can Educate the Public about Shark Conservation
Sep 19, 2009
Humans have a longstanding love-hate relationship with sharks. Marine aquaria—both public and private—provide an opportunity for people and sharks to come nose to snout, and a growing number of professional and personal aquarists are actively adding sharks to their displays.
Major institutions like the world-renowned Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, California, have even housed what many consider to be the poster child of sharks—the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias). While some aquaria display sharks with little more than ticket sales and shock value in mind, institutions like the Monterey Bay Aquarium are intent on changing public attitudes toward sharks.
What are Sharks?
Sharks are over 400 million years old. Today, Sharks are a diverse group of fishes that share several distinctive, common traits including a cartilaginous skeleton. They can be found in every ocean, and a few can even survive in freshwater. While most live less than 30 years, some sharks can live to be a century old. Once thought relatively unintelligent, scientists today believe that many shark species are actually highly intelligent, social animals.
In many parts of the world, shark populations are declining at an alarming speed. The biggest threats to sharks are over-fishing and habitat loss secondary to habitat degradation and coastal development.
Fishing for Sharks
Sharks are targeted by commercial and recreational fishermen worldwide. They are frequently legally harvested and eaten as both a staple seafood and a delicacy depending on the region and species. In many areas, sharks are illegally poached, especially for the harvest of their fins. Fin meat can fetch more than $300 a pound.
In the United States, health officials recommend that pregnant women not eat shark because of high levels of mercury contained in the animal’s flesh. Most sharks, due to their slow reproductive rates, are not considered a particularly sustainable seafood.
Sharks Attacking Humans
In 2008, the International Shark Attack File (ISAF) investigated 118 alleged incidents of shark-human interaction worldwide. About half of the incidents reviewed represented “confirmed cases of unprovoked shark attack on humans.” Since 2000, when 79 unprovoked attacks were reported, the annual number of unprovoked attacks has been steadily falling. Overall, however, the ISAF reports “the number of unprovoked shark attacks has grown at a steady pace over the past century.” This is likely the result of a growing population and more people spending time in the ocean.
The disproportionate emphasis on unprovoked shark attacks in the media has give people a false perception of the actual threat posed to humans by sharks. From sensationalized movies and so-called documentaries, the risk of shark attack has been greatly exaggerated in an effort to play on people’s fears.
Aquarium Sharks
Keeping sharks in an aquarium, whether public or private, is not easy, but it is also not difficult if the proper environmental conditions are met. The most common types of sharks kept in aquaria are the bottom-dwelling sharks including the catsharks and hornsharks. These sharks, while requiring large tanks, do not require the sort of massive space necessary to keep an ocean-going species like the great white shark.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium has successfully housed a number of great white sharks in their million-gallon Outer Bay exhibit, but few aquaria have the resources or space for such a display. Nonetheless, more and more personal and professional aquarists are keeping sharks than ever before.
Shark Conservation and Aquaria
People interested in shark conservation believe that the myths and stereotypes regarding sharks need to be eradicated. Providing an opportunity for people to have a personal shark encounter via an aquarium is one way to potentially achieve this goal.
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