The Dorsal Fin

Jimmy Kimmel Live’s YouTube Channel has added a clip from a recent episode which offers a new shark topic to help keep the programming fresh. No word on whether or not Discovery will be adding this idea to next year’s “Shark Week” line-up, but I’m guessing not.

NBC Philadelphia is reporting that a boater alerted the Coast Guard that he saw a 12′ great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) off of New Jersey’s Island Beach. The boater reported that the shark was at least 200 yards from the shore, but “not too far” from the bathers at the nearest beach. Lifeguards were alerted after the report, but no beaches were closed as a result. The boater who reported the sighting was the only witness to report seeing the shark.

While some remain skeptical of the reported sighting, due to the fact that white shark sightings in the area are rare, it would not be out of the realm of possibility for a white shark would be in the area this time of year. Tracking data has shown that white sharks migrate up the East Coast as summer approaches and water temperatures rise.

Live Science has an interesting read on how the movie “Jaws,” the Jersey Shore attacks of 1916, and World War II accounts of shark attacks have altered the public perception of sharks over the past century. The article quotes George Burress as saying

“At the turn of the 20th century, there was this perception that sharks had never attacked a human being. There was even a reward offered if someone could prove they were bitten by a shark — money that was never collected.”

The article goes on to note that after “Jaws” was released shark-hunting tournaments began to gain popularity on the East Coast of the U.S. According to Burress, the shark-hunting trend “dramatically reduced nearly all shark species over the following decades.”

The article also goes on to mention an “inadvertent benefit” that came about as a result of declining shark populations. Scientist became more conscious of the need learn more about sharks which resulted in an increase in funding for shark research.

Visit Live Science to see the full article, How ‘Jaws’ Forever Changed Our View of Great White Sharks.