The Dorsal Fin

A video game based on the popular Steven Spielberg horror film “Jaws” is now available for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. While the trailer for the game might make some shark conservationists cringe with its “mindless eating machine” mentality, others might argue that it’s a harmless video game. “Jaws” the game certainly isn’t doing anything to dispel many of the largely unwarranted fears about sharks, but as a video game based on a fictitious horror movie, I have to wonder if anybody would really expect anything different.

If the game were billed as an educational app about sharks, I would certainly have no trouble crying foul. However, “Jaws” is a horror movie about a 25′ rogue great white shark who hunts down humans mercilessly. When you see the name “Jaws” attached to a video game, you pretty much know what you’re getting into.

“Jaws” (the film and its video game incarnations) catches a lot of flak for creating the mindset that sharks are mindless killers, but is the movie itself really the problem? For whatever reason, “Jaws” is simply very effective at scaring people, and the fear associated with the movie gets carried over into the real-world for many people. I would argue that the the inability to discern reality from fiction is far more to blame for misconceptions about sharks than a movie or a video game.

MyFoxNY.com has reported that conflicting accounts of “small” or “baby” sharks seen around Rockaway Beach resulted in lifeguards clearing the water for about an hour on Saturday. Accounts of the shark sightings ranged from one to three sharks being spotted. One witness told NY1 that a shark was tugging on the leg strap of a female surfer and that two more sharks were “circling her.” The scare resulted in swimmers and surfers evacuating the water, but they were allowed to return after an hour. No other subsequent incidents were reported after beach goers were allowed to return to the water.

New York Aquarium‘s Jon Dohlin was quick to point out to the news anchor in the clip above that the sharks are always out there, and the ones that are being reportedly sighted do not pose a real threat to swimmers and surfers. Despite the fact that the sharks being reported are considered to be generally harmless, it hasn’t slowed other media outlets from over-hyping the animals. The New York Post referred to the sharks as “finned fiends” and “toothy terrors,” while the New York Daily News ran with a headline referring to the sharks as “deadly fish.”

I really like the second half of the video clip above from NatGeo Wild. It’s actually rich with information about how sharks locate meals. It also educates the audience about ampullae of Lorenzini, and the hammerhead shark’s unique head shape.

Unfortunately, the first half of the video contains ominous warnings about humans and hammerheads being on a “collision course,” because they happen to occupy the same body of water. This is followed by some relatively graphic “attack” footage that seems to be forced into the segment, as it really has nothing to do with the narrator’s discussion of the hammerhead shark. In fact, not long after the second instance of faux shark attack footage, the narrator asserts that the scalloped hammerhead sharks in question “don’t appear to look upon humans as a potential meal.”

The video does go on to redeem itself after the unnecessary “attack” footage, but it makes me wonder why the clip has scenes of panicking victims and bloody water, in the first place. I also question why the information describing the video refers to the hammerhead as a “vicious shark” who “never lets a human get between it and a tasty meal,” when the main theme of the video speaks to the contrary.

I’ve enjoyed National Geographic’s offerings ever since I can remember, and it was a National Geographic feature on white sharks that first piqued my interest in sharks when I was barely old enough to read. It makes me wonder if a young child were watching this clip whether they would be more likely to remember the worthwhile information in the second half of the clip or the scenes of an implied shark attack.

As a quick follow-up to today’s earlier story about the great white shark attack that wasn’t, here’s a brief interview with Paul Welsh, the man who was bitten by a wobbegong shark. Interestingly enough, this footage was shot between the time that Welsh was bitten by the wobbegong and the time that he was “rushed” to the hospital, as some media outlets reported. Despite several reports from various media outlets yesterday regarding a white shark attack, at no point does Welsh mention a great white shark, and it almost sounds as if his son mentions something about a “stingray” in the background, which a wobbegong could understandably be confused with (unlike confusing a great white shark with a wobbegong). Cheers to Mr. Welsh for his positive attitude, and here’s to a speedy recovery from his injuries.

After scores of media outlets reported a supposed “great white shark attack” yesterday, just north of Syndey’s Mona Vale Basin, a scientist has ruled out the claims that a white shark was involved and has identified the species involved as a wobbegong (a type of bottom-dwelling carpet shark), according to Australia’s ABC News. Wobbegongs are generally considered harmless toward humans, unless stepped on or antagonized. Paul Welsh was bitten by the wobbegong yesterday. He was treated for lacerations and then discharged from the hospital. A tooth fragment was recovered from his wounds at the hospital, which allowed for the positive identification of the species to be made.

While it doesn’t appear that the victim ever claimed to have been attacked by great white shark, at least one witness, Michael Brown (a “shark spotter”), made the rounds with the media suggesting that a 2m (6.5′) juvenile great white could have attacked the man. According to ABC News, Brown claimed that “the animal that bit Mr Welsh appeared to be a two-metre great white, by the look of its tail.” Brown also told the Herald Sun that Welsh grabbed a rock, he “was hanging on to the rock for grim death.” ABC News reports that Brown has a history of stirring up fears about sharks in Sydney and has accused the NSW Government of ignoring warning signs that shark populations were increasing in the area.

Steve Whan, NSW Primary Industries Minister, has called Brown’s integrity into question regarding his account of the incident and commented that one would not have to know much about sharks to distinguish a wobbegong from a great white.

By the way, this is wobbegong shark…

and this is a great white shark…