Narrator: SHARKS HAVE BEEN
AROUND FOR 400 MILLION YEARS.
THEY DESERVE OUR RESPECT.
THEY KILL LESS THAN 10 HUMANS
A YEAR WORLDWIDE,
YET WE KILL UP TO 100 MILLION
OF THESE ANIMALS.
Man: IF PEOPLE WERE KILLED
AT THE SAME RATE,
EVERY SINGLE MAN, WOMAN,
AND CHILD IN THE UNITED STATES
WOULD BE GONE IN THREE YEARS
AND THREE MONTHS.
SHARK WEEK HAS AN INCREDIBLY
IMPORTANT PLACE,
AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED,
FOR THESE ANIMALS
AND FOR ENSURING THAT,
YOU KNOW, HUMANS RESPECT SHARKS,
AND THAT WE DO AS MUCH AS WE
POSSIBLY CAN TO IMPROVE
THEIR CONSERVATION
AND TO ENSURE THAT THEIR
POPULATIONS ARE RECOVERING,
AND TO ENSURE THAT EVERYONE
RESPECTS THEIR PLACE
IN THE MARINE ECOSYSTEM.
Daly-Engel:
SHARK WEEK HAS GIVEN PEOPLE
FRONT-ROW ACCESS
TO THE WORLD OF SHARKS,
WHICH HAS LED TO
A GREATER UNDERSTANDING
OF THE IMPORTANCE
OF SHARK CONSERVATION.
Hueter: THIS AREA IS LIKE
GOING BACK INTO TIME.
BUT BECAUSE THIS AREA'S
BEEN PROTECTED FOR A LONG TIME,
IT'S PRISTINE.
IT'S BEAUTIFUL.
IT'S LIKE THE FLORIDA KEYS
WAS 80, 100 YEARS AGO,
BEFORE ALL THE PEOPLE,
FRANKLY.
IT DEFINITELY NEEDS
TO BE PROTECTED.
SHARKS ARE THE APEX PREDATOR
OF THEIR ECOSYSTEM.
THEY ARE AT THE VERY,
VERY TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN.
♪♪
IT'S JUST THE ULTIMATE
AMBUSH PREDATOR.
Daly-Engel: THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE
FOR PICKING OUT THE DISEASED,
THE OLD, THE SLOW,
THE MEMBERS OF THEIR PREY
THAT PROBABLY WOULDN'T
SURVIVE ANYWAY.
AND THEN, WHEN THEY DO THAT,
THEY ACTUALLY CAN HELP
KEEP THOSE POPULATIONS OF
ALL THE OTHER ANIMALS HEALTHY,
AND THOSE HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS
PASS THEIR GENES DOWN
TO THE NEXT GENERATION,
AND THAT IS SURVIVAL
OF THE FITTEST.
THE WORLD DESERVES
TO HAVE PREDATORS.
IT NEEDS PREDATORS,
AND HOPEFULLY THROUGH SHARK WEEK
AND OTHER
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS,
THESE ANIMALS WILL BE THERE
FOR MANY GENERATIONS TO COME.
WHITE SHARKS ARE
RETURNING TO OUR WATERS,
BUT I DON'T THINK
THAT'S ANY CAUSE FOR CONCERN.
IF ANYTHING,
WE SHOULD EMBRACE IT.
THESE SHARKS CAN COMPLETELY
REGULATE AN ENTIRE ECOSYSTEM,
SO SEEING SHARKS
IS A GOOD THING.
WE WANT THEM HERE.
Daly-Engel: SHARK WEEK HAS
CONSISTENTLY EXPLAINED
THE VERY CRUCIAL ROLE OF
A PREDATOR WITHIN AN ECOSYSTEM.
IF THE PREDATORS ARE THERE,
THEN THAT HABITAT IS DOING WELL.
AND IF THERE'S AN IMPACT,
IF THERE'S OVERFISHING
OR POLLUTION IN THE ENVIRONMENT,
THE SHARKS AND OTHER PREDATORS
ARE THE FIRST ONES TO DISAPPEAR.
Narrator: POSSIBLY ONE OF
THE MOST DISASTROUS PRACTICES
AFFECTING SHARK POPULATIONS
ISN'T EVEN INTENDED.
BYCATCHING IS THE RESULT
OF OVERFISHING
THAT PLAGUES SHARKS
ALL OVER THE WORLD.
I GREW UP WATCHING SHARKS BEING,
YOU KNOW, ALIVE AND WELL
AND JUMPING OUT OF THE WATER
AND DOING ALL THIS AMAZING
NATURAL PREDATION ACTIVITY,
AND THAT'S WHAT SHARKS ARE.
THEY'RE NOT --
THEY SHOULDN'T BE LYING DEAD
ON THE DECK OF A BOAT.
Gruber: THE SHARKS THAT ARE
CAUGHT ON THE TUNA LINE,
THEY'RE BYCATCH, OR THEY'RE WHAT
WE CALL CRYPTIC MORTALITY.
THE FISHERMAN WILL CUT THOSE
FINS OFF, THROW THE BODY BACK,
AND THEY PUT THOSE UP
IN THE RIG AND DRY THEM,
AND THEY DON'T TAKE ANY ROOM
IN THE FREEZER
FOR ANYTHING BUT BLUEFIN TUNA.
SO THAT'S REALLY
WHAT'S HAPPENING.
WE'VE HEARD THAT THESE GUYS
ARE HAULING IN EVERYTHING,
INCLUDING
SHARKS AS BYCATCH.
SO THE IDEA NOW IS,
MYSELF AND MIKE,
WE'RE GONNA TRY AND JUMP IN
ON THE NETS,
GET SOME FOOTAGE,
AND THEN SEE WHAT WE CAN SEE.
YOU CAN SEE
RIGHT BEHIND ME
THERE'S A LITTLE SQUARE
TRAP DOOR.
THAT'S WHERE THEY SHOVEL OUT
ALL THE BYCATCH.
♪♪
MANY COUNTRIES HAVE MOVED
TO ABOLISH SHARK FINNING.
MANY STATES IN THE U.S.
HAVE MADE SHARK FIN
AN ILLEGAL SUBSTANCE,
SO WE'RE DEFINITELY MOVING
IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, HOWEVER,
WHATEVER THERE'S A COASTLINE,
SHARKS ARE UNDER ATTACK,
AND IT'S VERY DIFFICULT
TO PROTECT THE ENTIRE OCEAN.
Narrator:
APPROXIMATELY 273 MILLION SHARKS
PER YEAR HAVE THEIR FINS CUT OFF
AND ARE THEN THROWN BACK
INTO THE OCEAN,
A PROCESS KNOWN AS "FINNING."
Skomal: IT BRINGS SHARKS
INTO THEIR LIVING ROOM.
IT EDUCATES PEOPLE ABOUT SHARKS,
AND THAT'S CRITICALLY IMPORTANT
'CAUSE THAT'S THE FIRST STEP
TO CONSERVATION.
Fallows: AS PEOPLE BECOME
MORE AWARE OF THESE ANIMALS
SO THEY TAKE MORE ACTION
TO CONSERVE THEM,
SO THE LONGER SHARK WEEK
CARRIES ON
AND THE MORE PEOPLE THAT BECOME
AMBASSADORS FOR SHARKS,
THE BETTER IT IS
FOR BOTH SHARKS
AND PEOPLE WHO ENJOY
SEEING THESE ANIMALS IN ACTION.
♪♪
Shaq: [ Thinking ] MAN,
WHAT DID I GET MYSELF INTO?
I COULD'VE SWORN THE GUY
ON THE PHONE SAID "SHAQ WEEK."
I'M SURE NOBODY SAID ANYTHING
ABOUT SHARK WEEK.
I DON'T DO SHARKS.
Narrator: WATCH SHARK WEEK
ON DISCOVERY GO.
