It’s pretty much quaint that people view sharks as our biggest marine threat when “Jaws” hit the cinema in the 1970s. Today, our oceans face many urgent challenges.
Top 3 scary moments in “Jaws”
“Jaws” turns 50 this summer, and USA Today film critic Brian Truitt celebrates with his favorite bloody moment.
When my late husband, Peter Benchley and I celebrated our 40th anniversary, I wanted to go cage diving with the great white sharks. After decades of ocean expeditions, I was often the last one in the water – I made it. This time we wanted to face the importance of the animals we know now to marine health.
June 20th marks the 50th anniversary of “Jaws” – a blockbuster film based on Peter’s bestselling novel – when it first hit the big screen. What began as a fictional thriller about coastal towns became a cultural phenomenon. It pissed the audience. That also scared them.
But it also caused something else: charm and wonder.
A few years after “the jaw,” Peter received thousands of letters from people all over the world. Students, teachers, divers, future marine biologists – they were all interested in sharks and the ocean. Many wanted to be like Matt Hooper, a young ichthyologist played by Richard Dreyfuss in the film.
“The Jaw” helped to promote conservation research
This curiosity opened the doors of sharks and marine conservation research and changed our understanding of the ocean. We joined scientists on ocean expeditions and saw the damage firsthand: shark finning, plastic pollution, dying coral reefs.
We have learned that over 100 million sharks are killed each year to keep up with the demand for shark fin soups across China and Asia. However, the demand for shark fins has been diminished thanks to tireless efforts by conservatories and strong public awareness campaigns.
It’s pretty much quaint that people thought of sharks as our biggest marine threat in the 1970s. Today, the ocean faces many urgent challenges.
Climate change. overfishing. Fishing that is illegal and unregulated. Deep sea mining. plastic. Offshore drilling. Global warming and oxidized oceans. These are not science fiction – they’re happening now.
This country’s Maritime Month, scientists, activists, policymakers, legislators, state, local and federal leaders – we hope that marine enthusiasts everywhere will join this year’s Peter Benchley Ocean Award recipient and step up to help legislate to protect the marine region.
Say no to expanded offshore drilling. Protects special places such as sanctuaries and monuments. Choose sustainable seafood. Donations will be made to conservation organizations. Beach cleanup volunteers. Visit your local aquarium and learn what’s at risk.
We still have a lot to learn about our oceans
The ocean covers about 71% of our planets, but we only explored a small portion of it. Much of this huge blue underworld has yet to be revealed.
Every year, scientists discover new species – recently, for example, new species of guitar sharks. If you don’t act quickly, you may lose the opportunity to make such discoveries.
As police chief Brody (Roy Scheider) famously said in “Jaws” that “we need a bigger boat.”
The “Jaw” brought sharks and the ocean to the public’s imagination. Use this moment to protect yourself.
We need to work together and work together to extract resources using the ocean, to pose a threat to biodiversity and to dodge the interest of using the ocean to sacrifice precious marine life.
Wendy Benchley is an award-winning ocean advocate and scuba diver. She is a co-founder of the Peter Benchley Ocean Awards, serving on the boards of WildAid and Blue Frontiers, and is an advisory councillor for the Environmental Defense Fund.
