Shark Awareness Day: Celebrating Ocean Titans

Every year on July 14th, we celebrate Shark Awareness Day, a chance to learn about these magnificent creatures and the threats they face. Sharks are often portrayed as mindless killing machines, but this couldn't be further from the truth. These apex predators have cruised the oceans for over 400 million years, playing a vital role in keeping marine ecosystems healthy.

Here's why sharks deserve our respect and protection:

• Ocean Guardians:  Sharks maintain balance in the ocean by preying on sick and weak fish, preventing overpopulation and promoting healthy fish populations.

• Misunderstood Marvels:  Many shark species are crucial to coral reef health by controlling populations of herbivores that could damage the reefs.

• Evolutionary Elegance: Sharks possess incredible adaptations, like electroreception to sense prey and a keen sense of smell that allows them to navigate vast distances.

Sharks are among the oldest living creature in the ocean, with fossil records dating back at least 420 million years ago. Modern-day sharks have been around for about 100 million years, predating the dinosaurs and even surviving them in the last major extinction event in the Miocene.

But, sadly a third of shark species is facing extinction! Films like Jaws and more modern popular programming inspire fear and perpetuate the myth that sharks are vicious cold-blooded killers. Of course few things are more awe inspiring than a great white shark in full predation mode, and we are fascinated by the thought of Megalodon, the world’s largest ever predatory fish that consumed swimming dinosaurs and whales, and which may have reached a whopping 60 feet long!

Many native societies, such as the Hawaiian culture who today offer sharks complete protection, have long revered and respected these magnificent marine predators. Unfortunately, our new cultural depictions of sharks on social media and in programs contribute to the fear and stigma surrounding them, and often reinforce a disregard for their importance and the threats facing them. Over the past 50 years shark numbers have declined by more than 70%, with an associated loss to the biodiversity and ocean ecosystems.

Shark Awareness Day aims to both dispel the fear, stigma, and misinformation surrounding sharks and also raise awareness of this creature’s plight, inspiring people all over the world to take action in their defense.