Previously respected as a fact-based broadcasting channel, the Discovery Channel has enraged both scientists and fans with their recent deception during Shark Week. As a previously avid Shark Week viewer and life-long shark lover, I was excited when Shark Week came around on August 10th. Shark Week formerly featured programs such as: How Jaws Changed the World, Prehistoric Sharks, and American Shark. Focusing on the behavior of sharks, these programs both intrigued and taught the audience about the creatures of the week. However, the programs have slowly become less about how sharks behave in their environment and more about sharks attacking humans.
Some of the titles from this year’s Shark Week include: Jaws Strikes Back, Monster Hammerhead, and Sharkageddon. While I understand that titles should be striking and intriguing, a line should be drawn, and Discovery Channel has crossed that line. Not only have the titles villainized sharks, but the content of the show itself has become progressively more malicious towards sharks. The peak of this atrocity was during a program called Shark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine.
This “documentary” explored the legend of a 35-foot Great White Shark (Submarine) living off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa. The two-hour feature followed the story of a whale-watching boat, which crashed in waters populated with Great Whites. Leading the audience to believe the story was true, the show introduced survivors and witnesses. The so-called amateur footage showed victims falling off the boat after the crash, with sharks circling in the water below them. Later on, the footage shows two people being killed by the rumored Submarine. While one of the attacks was obviously fabricated with computer-generated imagery (CGI), the other one was underwater, leading unsuspecting viewers to believe the footage. Shark Week fans were outraged by the deceit. While there were countless Tweets, posts, and other contributions, they all had the same message: Discovery Channel should not be faking shark attacks for viewership.
Actual shark scientist (@WhySharksMatter) watches Shark Week, yells at TV in exasperation. http://t.co/FLG8B05D8T — Sean Carroll (@seanmcarroll) August 25, 2014
I don’t understand why #SharkWeek couldn’t just talk about the actual super-interesting work these scientists are doing. — David Shiffman (@WhySharksMatter) August 23, 2014
“Some events dramatized” apparently means “we made the whole thing up to scare viewers who come to us for education” #SharkWeek — David Shiffman (@WhySharksMatter) August 24, 2014
Not only was the footage obviously counterfeited, but the comments by supposed scientists also had an intense change in tone from previous shows. One of the supposed scientists stated that Submarine “has an insatiable appetite for human blood.” This statement shocked me greatly because in my own research from the past, I have always found that humans are too bony and taste bad to sharks. So why would this presumed scientist be making such a strong claim contradicting so many legitimate scientists? Well, it turns out he was not a scientist but just an actor. Oh, and those “survivors” and “witnesses” were also just actors paid to criminalize sharks.
As a response to fans’ backlash, Discovery Channel claimed that they had a sufficient disclaimer in the beginning of the show to excuse their misrepresentation. The disclaimer stated: “Submarine is a legendary shark first sighted off the coast of South Africa in 1970. Eyewitness accounts say it is over 35 feet long. Its existence is highly controversial. Events have been dramatized, but many believe Submarine exists to this day.” This disclaimer does not justify what Discovery Channel did. — Staging a boat sinking, shark attacks, and lives being lost are not merely parts of a dramatization – they are pure fabrications.
Whether you have watched Shark Week your whole life or you haven’t watched a single episode, the most important topic is how much danger sharks are in. Compared to the average 10 people who are killed by sharks every year, humans kill an estimated 100,000,000 sharks per year. [pullquote]Assuming you have been reading this article for about four minutes, over 700 sharks have been killed by humans since you started reading.[/pullquote] So the problem is really much bigger than Discovery Channel; they are just one piece in the puzzle now adding to the death count of sharks around the world. It is unfortunate that Discovery Channel has lowered themselves this far, but it’s important to understand the danger that sharks are in. Hopefully this article has made you fear sharks a little less because it’s obvious from the numbers that they should be more afraid of us than we are of them. Below are some conservation projects to help save our sharks.