Shark Week Specials the sinister side to Shark Week

Discovery Channel’s Shark Week is a global phenomenon. What started as a week-long series of educational documentaries in 1988, soon after Discovery Channel was launched, now screens in 72 countries and is the longest running cable TV event in history.

It demonstrates just how fascinated we are with all things sharks. A closer look at what the Twittersphere is saying during Shark Week however shows we’ve got a long way to go before this global fascination produces meaningful benefits for sharks and their fight for survival.

A search on Twitter for #SharkWeek reveals large numbers of #savesharks posts by organisations across the world campaigning to protect them. A search for #Sharkweek Specials however show restaurants taking Shark Week in an entirely different direction. Dishes like Mako Tacos at the Wild Goose Tavern in California and Blackened Mako Shark with Mango Salsa at the Boston Beanery in Morgantown are being proudly promoted. To be left in no doubt it’s the real thing, Boston Beanery’s tweet proclaims “it’s actual SHARK! It’s delicious!”

Some have blamed Discovery Channel for not making Shark Week enough about the plight of sharks, whose numbers have plummeted by up to 90 percent globally. However, the increase in demand for shark meat this week can’t be that unexpected considering the reluctance of many governments around the world to give the survival of this, and many other marine species, the attention I’d argue they deserve.

The shortfin mako shark, unfortunately a favourite on forks in many restaurants, is listed as a “vulnerable” species on the IUCN’s ‘red list’ at risk of extinction. So too is the Tiger and the Pygmy Three-toed Sloth. Imagine tiger tacos being served up during Threatened Species Week. Perhaps they would be though any promotion would be sure to say “It’s NOT actual TIGER!”