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Steven Spielberg feels bad every time many people think of a shark, they think of the massive great white shark from his 1975 movie Jaws and react accordingly. It just wasn't fair to the sharks.
He's worried his movie contributed to the massive downsizing of the global shark population.
Spielberg, 76, revealed in a recent interview with BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs he feels guilty about the declining shark population he views as a result of the huge success of his 1975 film.
Jaws featured a tranquil New York beach village battling a great white shark devouring beachgoers.
“I truly and to this day regret the decimation of the shark population because of the book and the film. I really, truly regret that."
"That’s one of the things I still fear."
"Not to get eaten by a shark, but that sharks are somehow mad at me for the feeding frenzy of crazy sport fishermen that happened after 1975.”
Despite Spielberg's guilty conscience, there remains disagreement among conservationists over the movie's impact.
Despite the fact the world's oceanic shark and ray population has decreased by 71% according to a global survey published in Nature in 2021, various scientists disagree this is because of the book, movie or other factors.
Chief executive of The Shark Trust Paul Cox said the loss in population was for another reason.
“The cases of shark population decline are very clearly fisheries overfishing."
But Jaws and its sequels were popular and live long in people's memories, so reactions to Spielberg's mea culpa were quick to swim on over.
It's a start, some said, but there's more to do.
\u201c@nypost It's a start, there is a long road of healing ahead\u201d— New York Post (@New York Post) 1671455402
Perhaps Spielberg should give up and let Baby Shark do the rest of the outreach work?
\u201c@nypost It wasn't until Baby Shark came along to finally reverse the negative stigma of sharks. Do do do do do do.\u201d— New York Post (@New York Post) 1671455402
Forget the sharks, what about our nightmares?
\u201c@nypost What about the negative impact \u2018Jaws\u2019 had on millions of people who to this day are afraid of swimming in the ocean?\u201d— New York Post (@New York Post) 1671455402
Sharks should be defended from extinction, but that might be easier if they didn't look like that.
\u201c@SkyNews Sharks are amazing creatures & I will always evangelise for them\u2026it doesn\u2019t help that they look like Satan though\u2026\ud83c\udf0a\ud83e\udd88\u201d— Sky News (@Sky News) 1671365567
A worker at an aquarium offered some reality to the commentary.
\u201c@nypost I know a lot of people are being facetious in the comments, but as somebody who worked at an aquarium, I'm telling you right now, there's way too many people who think all sharks are bloodthirsty rage monsters.\u201d— New York Post (@New York Post) 1671455402
Someone joked Spielberg should apologize for the impact on animals from another of his famous films.
\u201c@GFRobot What about the hunting of triceratops? They\u2019re extinct now!\u201d— GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT (@GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT) 1671386701
People pointed out commercial fishing—not sport fishing—was the more obvious culprit in shark depopulation.
\u201c@GFRobot Shark fin soup has had more of an affect than a 1970s film. \ud83d\ude44\u201d— GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT (@GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT) 1671386701
\u201c@GFRobot Some entire countries make & eat shark fin soup, long before a movie. Are they going to issue an apology?\u201d— GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT (@GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT) 1671386701
\u201c@GFRobot Testament of self importance. The shark population has been damaged. It wasn't by vigilante shark hunters who were scared by a movie.\u201d— GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT (@GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT) 1671386701
\u201c@nypost Jaws (one of the greatest movies ever) may have been bad shark PR, but overfishing is the primary reason shark populations have dropped by approx 70% over the past 40 years.\u201d— New York Post (@New York Post) 1671455402
People asked him to put his money where his mouth is.
\u201c@nypost Bet he does not regret the money he made! If he regrets it so much then he should donate the proceeds to marine research.\u201d— New York Post (@New York Post) 1671455402
Or, in short, payment back for the damage he thinks he caused.
\u201c@nypost Shark reparations\u201d— New York Post (@New York Post) 1671455402
While commercial fishing may have had a larger impact, public perception and attitudes about sharks were influenced by the book and film.
The book's author, Peter Benchley, also expressed regret and became a shark conservationist.
But documentaries and highly anticipated events like Shark Week on the Discovery network have done a lot to rehabilitate sharks in the court of public opinion.