The Dorsal Fin

According to Time.com, Jacques Perrin’s sea-life documentary, Océans, opened to a warm reception in French movie theaters last week. Océans drew in 105,000 viewers in the first 48 hours, in France.

The film which will be released internationally in the coming months, took 2 years of planning and 4 years of filming to complete. Advanced underwater-breathing equipment which allowed divers to film without expelling air bubbles into the water and new underwater filming technology were employed throughout the filming of the documentary which hopes to set a new standard for nature films. The film features marine life of all kinds, including footage of cage-less human and white shark interaction. Oceans also features footage of several other species of sharks including some great whale shark footage and some amazing schooling hammerhead footage.

Disney Nature will be bringing Oceans to the big screen in the U.S. on April 22, 2010.

Along with stumbling across Blue Sphere Media’s shark finning video, I also checked out some of their other shark footage. For a more positive themed shark video, check out their Realm of the Shark footage from Cocos Island (Costa Rica) and Malpelo Island (Colombia), which includes some great footage of schooling hammerheads.

Oceanfootage.com has posted a "highlight reel" which features a compilation of clips from some of their available stock footage. The video showcases some wonderful footage of a wide variety of shark species (including the great white shark, scalloped hammerhead shark, bull shark, basking shark, and sand tiger shark to name a few).

YouTube user Jero Prieto recently posted 91 seconds of some excellent shark footage. According to the YouTube info, it was shot last month in the Galapagos. The footage features schooling hammerheads being closely followed by a whale shark. The camera angle as the whale shark passes by really makes for some fantastic footage. Take note that at no point in the video do the divers decide to hitch a ride on, stand on, or have a party with 14 of their closest friends on the whale shark.

Sharks lure a crowd, according to a recent article from the Pensacola News Journal about the “Outcast Mega Shark Tournament.” The article states that about a thousand “shark-crazed” fans attend the tournament to “see big sharks” among other reasons. Tournament director, Terry Holmes, says it’s the mystique associated with sharks that brings in the spectators…

“They’re dangerous. They eat people, and people like that.”

I’m hoping the part about people liking that sharks “eat people” was a misquote. It’s incredibly rare for a shark to eat a person. Even in the rare event of a shark attack on a human, a shark typically does not eat a person, nor would I expect other people to “like that” if they did.

The article also featured quotes from spectators who were there to see sharks “up close.” One spectator who witnessed the weigh-in of 399 lbs hammerhead was quoted as saying…

You know they’re out there in the waters, but you don’t ever really get to see them. They’re so magnificent, and you’re seeing ‘em up close.”

Now, just imagine if you saw them up-close…and they were still alive. They really do look much more magnificent when they’re swimming around, than they do when their carcass is hoisted up in the air by its tail. The reality of it is that it’s simply not easy for most people to witness sharks in their natural environment, and many people have underlying fears of snorkeling, diving, or swimming with sharks. Unfortunately, the most readily-accessible option for some “shark fans” to see sharks is at a shark-fishing tournament.