From Guppy to Great White: How Shark Week Has Evolved Over the Years

Written by Erin Stacey

Thumbnail Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash

The Discovery Channel is a beloved classic to many, even serving as inspiration for numerous students now attending university and college. The channel has had many memorable classics over the years from shows like How It's Made to Mythbusters, but the Discovery Channel is undoubtedly most famous for its week-long annual special, Shark Week. 

Shark Week first premiered on July 17th, 1988, providing content related to the research and conservation of sharks worldwide. The original goal of Shark Week was to change the widely-held view of sharks as dangerous man-eating predators by helping people understand them as a species instead. Some of the misconceptions about sharks can be traced back to the cult classic film Jaws. Jaws, a film directed by Steven Spielberg, first premiered on June 20th, 1975, and quickly became a huge hit. With the movie’s depiction of a man-eating shark, soon everyone began to fear the ocean and its waters. Although the great white shark took the majority of the blame, as it was the species used in the film, all sharks soon adopted the reputation of being killers. Fishers set out to catch sharks as trophies with the support of the public due to the mindset encouraged by the film. 

Dr. Julia Baum, a biologist from the University of Victoria, conducts research to determine the effects of shark hunting on the populations of sharks in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean. Dr. Baum focuses her research on marine ecology and conservation, coral reefs, climate change, sharks, and macroecology. Published in 2003, Collapse and Conservation of Shark Populations in the Northwest Atlantic by Dr. Baum and colleagues found that between 1986 and 2000, the hammerhead shark population declined by 89%, the great white shark population declined by 79%, and the tiger shark population declined by 65%. Sportfishing, the act of targeting a species of animals to catch for the thrill and enjoyment of it, is not solely responsible for these sharp declines. Commercial fishing and the common practice of making shark fin soup in Asia are also a significant influence on declining shark populations. 

Shark Week was created to promote shark conservation efforts and correct the misconceptions about sharks that media like Jaws had promoted. Many programs aired with the aim of changing the cultural stigma surrounding sharks. Some of these shows included African Shark Safari, Sharks on the Brink of Extinction, The Man Who Loves Sharks, Sharks: Hunters of the Ocean, The World of Sharks, Barracuda and Sharks of Polynesia. If you are interested in learning about shark migration patterns, feeding, and other habits, be sure to check out these programs!

By the 1990s, Shark Week was extremely popular, leading the Discovery Channel to invest more resources into the week-long programming block. The best documentarians, photographers, and videographers were assigned to Shark Week, tasked with creating the best content possible. This investment into Shark Week also included an upgrade of the equipment used to film its programs. In 2001, Discovery Channel aired the program Air Jaws, which used a high-speed camera that could capture footage at 1000 frames per second, called the Phantom camera. The Phantom camera is a slow-motion camera that is mainly used to capture fast-paced moments, making it perfect to use for natural events and sports. The Phantom camera continues to dominate in its field as one of the best and most advanced slo-mo cameras, yet it is just one example of the many pieces of advanced equipment used by the Shark Week crew. Due to this advanced equipment, Shark Week's programs have been the best source for footage of sharks in their natural habitats, which has helped scientists learn more about their feeding habits, mating, and general behaviour. 

Despite the advancements that Shark Week has contributed to within the field of research pertaining to sharks, Shark Week is still shrouded in controversies. As is no surprise, over its 33-year span, there have been many changes made to the week-long special. Most shockingly, in the 2010s, the program began to shift from focusing on science and conservation to focusing purely on entertainment. Specifically, in 2013, a docu-fiction called Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives was aired as a part of Shark Week. The special was about the possibility of the extinct megalodon reappearing in our oceans today. Although there was a brief disclaimer at the beginning of the special that it was fiction and had no scientific background, many people believed it to be real. The Discovery Channel is presumed to be educational, and to air a special that is fiction proved to be a mistake on their part. Scientists were furious at the network for confusing viewers and fear-mongering, as it had previously been their mission to correct negative misconceptions about sharks. 

In 2015, executives from the Discovery Channel announced that Shark Week would return to focus more on the science and research of sharks rather than fictitious specials. Furthermore, to prove they are genuine in their plan to redirect the show's focus back to its roots, they aired a third installment of the Megalodon series, called Megalodon: Fact vs. Fiction. This special aimed to fact-check and analyze the information from the original special. In 2018, the Discovery Channel’s Vice-President of Development and Production, Joseph Schneier, addressed the controversy head-on, stating that the special aimed to highlight an extinct shark in an effort to encourage further conservation of the species of shark still alive today. Schneier is quoted with saying this powerful statement regarding the megalodon controversy: "If we get anyone interested in the science of the prehistoric fish, the hope is that we lead them to investigating more about their own natural world, and in turn, learn more about why we need to preserve the natural world." 

So what does Shark Week look like now? This year, the program ran from July 11th to July 18th, 2021. In "Your Guide to Shark Week 2021," posted by the Discovery Channel, they provided an overview of both the science and the entertainment aspects of the special. First, in terms of entertainment, they promoted the celebrities that will be shown alongside sharks, including household names like William Shatner, Tiffany Haddish, Brad Paisley, and even the cast of Jackass. Next, they touched on the science aspect of the program, speaking about their nearly two dozen expert marine biologists and brand-new innovative shark research. 

It would appear that the Discovery Channel is taking steps in the right direction to bring Shark Week back to its roots. The Discovery Channel’s biggest challenge thus far has been balancing the scales between keeping the program scientific and educational yet still entertaining. Having celebrities be featured talking to scientists and learning about sharks is an excellent way to balance the two elements while keeping audiences engaged. One of the celebrity programs this year was Tiffany Haddish Does Shark Week, which included the actress and comedian meeting up with some of the world's top shark experts and then swimming with sharks. 

For those less interested in learning about the science and research of sharks, there was a special called Jackass Shark Week, which involved the cast of Jackass reuniting after ten years to perform stunts and pranks alongside sharks. Here are some other highlights from this year's Shark Week! 

With SMU being so close to the Atlantic Ocean, it is no surprise that many people interested in sharks may dream of going to SMU. SMU has many courses that may suit aspiring young marine biologists, like conservation biology, animal athletic performance, and diversity and ecology of fishes. For those who want to delve even further into the science of marine life, Dalhousie has an entire undergraduate program dedicated to marine biology. 

Despite the controversies this 33 year-long program has undergone, they have managed to continue being the longest-running program in cable TV history. This comes as no surprise, from their educational programs about sharks to the footage of sharks in their natural habitat used by scientists, Shark Week has been influential in the overall research of many shark species, which is one of the many reasons they are so successful. However, Shark Week’s controversies remind us that not everything we see on TV or the internet can be trusted and taken at face value. Critical thinking is a vital asset in remaining curious but critical of the information we receive. Although the programs on Shark Week seem to strive towards promoting the conservation of sharks and clearing the species’ name, even some of the most famous educational programs can spread misinformation. 

Claire Keenan