ENG 3U: Media Studies

SAVE SHARKS

As part of our Media Studies unit, ENG 3U will be creating a short film, persuading officials to stop the practice of shark finning. Shark finning involves the removal of a shark's fins for the use in Shark Fin Soup -- a popular delicacy in certain parts of the world. Most of these sharks are finned at sea, with their still living bodies dumped back into the ocean to die a slow, painful death

Drawing upon prior knowledge (a unit on speech writing & presentation), the students will each write, film, and digitally edit a short speech imploring the end to the practice of shark finning. The final results of these speeches will be edited into a short film and sent to the United Nations. The documentary Sharkwater (2007) will serve as the basis of our study, as we critically think about how the media has demonized these animals with films like Jaws (1975) and Open Water (2005). 90% of the sharks in the world have been decimated by human beings. It’s time we started thinking critically about what we are doing to these animals and to our ecosystems.

The information on this wiki has been derived from several websites, books, and documentaries on sharks. Please see Works Cited / References for full documentation.

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CONTENTS
Shark Finning
Shark Tourism
Shark Conservation
Sharks in the Media
Works Cited / References

FACTS ABOUT SHARKS

• Sharks have been around for more than 400 million years
• There are 375 shark species
• Sharks are intelligent and can be trained
• 100 million sharks are killed each year for their fins
• The largest shark is the Whale shark, averaging 30 feet in length—the size of a large bus
• Whale sharks are not aggressive. They eat zooplankton, small fish and squid.
• When a shark loses a tooth, a new one grows in its place
• Mako and Blue sharks are the fastest swimming sharks
• Sharks can take hours or even days to die after being finned
• Sharks are a critical part of marine ecosystems

GET INVOLVED - START SAVING SHARKS BY WATCHING SHARKWATER

SHARKWATER is a 2007 Canadian film written and directed by Rob Stewart, who also plays the lead role. The documentary covers the lives of sharks, how the media portrays them, and how they are treated today.

Filmed in high definition video, Sharkwater explores the densest shark populations in the world, exposing the exploitation and corruption surrounding the world's shark populations in the marine reserves of Cocos Island, Costa Rica and the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.

The documentary shows the conflicts between the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and shark poachers in Guatemala, resulting in pirate boat rammings, gunboat chases, mafia espionage, corrupt court systems and attempted murder charges, forcing Stewart and Watson to flee for their lives. Later Stewart miraculously recovers from a flesh-eating disease.

Stewart discovers that sharks have gone from predator to prey, and how despite surviving the earth's history of mass extinctions, they could easily be wiped out within a few years.

Sharkwater is nominated for the Panda Award 2008 which is given at Wildscreen Festival in Bristol at 22 October 2008.