When the film was shot, whale sharks were not protected in India’s waters under the Wildlife Act of 1972, allowing the slaughter of the animals to go unregulated. While the film does feature footage that might be difficult for some to watch, it had such an impact that the government of India introduced legislature protecting the whale shark in 2001. Aware that legislation protecting whale sharks would have a detrimental financial impact on the fishermen who hunted them, Pandey also explored ways that the fishermen could earn a living as guides for whale shark tourism targeted toward tourists and divers interested in seeing the animals in their natural habitat.

The big thing that jumps out at me about this documentary is that, while Pandey clearly is against the hunting of whale sharks, he does touch on the livelihood of the fishermen who hunt them and does not turn a blind eye to their need to sustain themselves and their families. Pandey points out that the fishermen, who actually expose themselves to the risky whale shark hunts, actually do not make a lot of money off of their kills, while exporters reap about 40x as much financial gain as the fishermen in the southeast Asian markets. Pandey is not so one-sided that he is only concerned about the welfare of the whale sharks while ignore the welfare of those who make a living off hunting them. His ideas of preserving the whale sharks and turning Gujarat into a whale shark tourism site is a win-win situation for the fishermen and the sharks.

For more information about the film visit Shores of Silence – Green Oscar winner at Wildscreen at UnderwaterChannel.tv.

The Orlando Sentinel also featured a brief opinion piece on “Getting over Jaws.” The article mentions possible tougher restrictions on killing certain shark species in Florida and also mentions the shark attack survivors lobbying for a ban on finning.

A transcript of the interview portion of the segment can be found at CNN’s AM Fix blog. The interview portion of the segment was well done. Unfortunately, as soon as the attack survivors were off camera, CNN anchor John Roberts started in saying how it was “hard to swallow” that shark attack survivors would be lobbying for the protection of sharks. Robert’s co-anchor, whose name escapes me (Kiran Chentry was not on during the segment) then stated that she doesn’t go in the ocean due to her “unnatural” fear of being attacked by a shark. Roberts then brought up Jaws and how he was afraid to swim even in a lake after seeing the film.

If nothing else, at least another story exposing the finning industry is appearing in the main stream media.

A full press release from the Pew Environmental Group on the subject is available at Pew Brings Survivors to Congress to Seek Protections for Sharks That Attacked Them from PR Newswire.

According to these segments, the deep-water open-ocean sharks are the most threatened (great white, great hammerhead, scalloped hammerhead, and mako are specifically mentioned in the report). The report identifies over-fishing, inadvertent netting of sharks, and illegal finning as reasons for the decline in shark numbers. Both segments make a point of informing the viewer that without sharks as a top-predator, entire marine ecosystems can die off. Both segments feature Phil Keating reporting from New Smyrna Beach, which seems a bit overplayed, considering that New Smyrna has been dubbed the “Shark Attack Capital of the World.” However, the overall theme of the segments does seem to be headed in the right direction when it comes to informing the audience about the serious threat to shark populations and the effect these losses can have on ocean life, in general.

The Final Fin does feature a couple of, “Did she really just say that?” moments from anchor, Megyn Kelly. The segment opens with Kelly saying that due to the decline in shark numbers people who fear shark attacks can “fear a little bit less this summer.” Kelly also states later in the segment that, “it’s tough to be a shark fan.” Kelly does, however, express that finning “just seems wrong.” Despite Kelly’s somewhat off-beat comments at times, reporter Phil Keating does a good job of keeping the report focused on shark conservation and the importance of sharks in the ecosystem. He also expresses that a unification of countries and individuals supporting shark conservation might help turn the tide in the battle against over-fishing and finning.

Predators in danger This segment features a lot of the same information from “Final Fin” but focuses more on shark research being conducted by the Mote Marine Laboratories. Again, the overall theme in this segment does tend to focus on declining shark numbers and remains fairly objective and conservation-minded. A “Sharks Threatened” banner appears throughout a large portion of the segment. The report even goes so far as to say while sharks “may scare you, they serve a critical purpose.” This is followed by Dr. Robert Heuter, Mote Shark Research Director, discussing the impacts of removing sharks from the ecosystem. Keating finishes the segment offering that it could be more beneficial to protect sharks rather than fear them.

“…I think the desirable number of great white sharks is zero.”

and

“Sharks are the ocean’s Nazis, indiscriminate murderers with black eyes and no souls.”

While Mr. Clarke is entitled to his opinions, classifying sharks as “indiscriminate murderers” is a fairly baseless accusation. Considering that the general accepted definition of murder is the unlawful killing of another human being, I think it’s safe to say that Mr. Clarke is giving a vast majority of the world’s sharks a bum rap. I won’t get into the theological implications of sharks having “no souls.” However, I am quite certain that not all sharks have “black eyes,” despite what Quint might have told Brody and Hooper in Jaws.  Lemon sharks and reef sharks come to mind, right off the bat, as having light-colored eyes. In fact, even great white sharks have a blue iris to break the “black eye” stereotype.

Great White Shark Eye

The author also goes on to make light of the finning industry and likens conservation efforts to wasteful spending.

The entire article can be found at the Examiner.com.