Education and Resources for Educators

There are many shark-enthusiasts out there that have a great degree of self-taught knowledge about sharks.

But on average, most children, or most people for that matter, don’t know much about sharks except that they have lots of sharp teeth. Few people are aware of the fact that there are 350 types of sharks, and that most of them either can’t bite a human or live at such depths where they will never even meet a human.

Most of what we learn about sharks comes from television programs.
The 6-10 most popular species are usually shown because they are the easier ones to film, or because of their "man-eating" status and their incredible abilities to hunt. It can give a somewhat distorted view of what “all” sharks are like, but grant it, they are most fascinating to see.

Interest in sharks is growing and it’s time to show a more realistic picture of these fascinating animals. Maintaining the image of the man-hunting monster is detrimental to shark conservation, because it only gives reasons to hate them.

The knowledge of why sharks are in the ocean, how they hunt and behave and why they hunt in certain areas, will give people a better understanding of why they need to be respected, but not feared.

It is an ambitious but necessary goal to improve "ocean education" in schools.
More information will lead to a greater understanding and less unreasonable fear.

Maybe then shark horror movies can be seen for what they are – FICTION.
And maybe then documentaries can return to a more complete and realistic portrayal of the magnificent animals sharks really are.

See our section on ACTION ITEMS or CURRENT PROJECTS  

Resources for Educators

 For now we can highly recommend Mote Marine Laboratory’s Education Division for Distance Learning, School and Public Programs, Intern Programs and Resources.
http://www.mote.org

Also, check out our links pages for shark information of every kind.