‘Jaws’ spawned a brand new technology of shark analysis

No, they didn’t want a much bigger boat. 

The 55-foot customized dive vessel would do exactly high-quality. After all, the group of University of Miami marine science college students had not ventured into the waters of Biscayne Bay on an early Tuesday in late June to battle sharks however to review them. 

“We’ve got drumlines deployed, targeting larger sharks. And we’ve got about 20 high school students onboard to learn about shark research and how it works,” stated Catherine Macdonald, a analysis affiliate professor on the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science and director of the Shark Research and Conservation Program. 

The drumlines to which Macdonald referred are baited fishing hooks hooked up to a weight on the seabed with massive plastic floats on the floor. Once the sharks are safely captured, they’re tagged, measured, and launched, permitting researchers to study extra about their biology and ecology. 

“Any day that I see a shark is a good day,” Macdonald stated. “We’re most likely going to see blacktip and blacknose sharks at the site we’re at today.” 

The work she spearheads will result in a greater understanding of how city habitats affect marine life. “It’s common, especially in places like Miami, to feel like there isn’t any nature left or that what is left is an unimportant remnant. But our data shows that Biscayne Bay is an important reproductive habitat to at least 10 species of sharks and rays. This is a valuable and unusual ecosystem that deserves our attention and protection, and it’s right in our backyard.” 

But 50 years in the past, when the film “Jaws” debuted in theaters throughout the nation, shark analysis didn’t strategy the extent at which it’s now being carried out by marine biologists like Macdonald. 

And whereas director Steven Spielberg’s summer season blockbuster a few bloodthirsty nice white that terrorizes a fictional New England city unfairly vilified sharks as voracious monsters, the film additionally ushered in a brand new period of shark analysis, inspiring a technology of scientists who wished to study extra concerning the creatures. 

Today, researchers have recognized greater than 540 species of sharks and have studied every part from their conduct to their essential position in marine ecosystems. 

How many species of sharks are there? How lengthy do they stay? Where do they reproduce? Do they migrate? Those have been among the many questions they wished to reply.

“They’re older than trees. They’re older than the rings of Saturn,” Macdonald stated of sharks. “They transport vitamins throughout ecosystems as they transfer. They eat one thing in a single system, they poop in a unique system, and people vitamins and the power related to them are transferring throughout seascapes. 

“On average,” she continued, “science has discovered a new species of shark about every two and a half weeks for the last 10 years. So we are constantly expanding our knowledge of marine environments and of sharks.”

Researchers particularly wish to study extra about their breeding conduct and the place they reproduce. And in that regard, Rosenstiel School Ph.D. pupil John Hlavin not too long ago completed a scientific breakthrough, discovering that juvenile nice hammerhead sharks rely closely on the sources of Biscayne Bay as a nursery habitat throughout their earliest and most weak years. 

“We analyzed the feeding and habitat use patterns of 62 great hammerheads sampled between 2018 and 2025,” stated Hlavin, the lead writer of the research and a doctoral pupil within the Department of Environmental Science and Policy. “Our team employed a research technique called multi-tissue stable isotope analysis to track both short and long-term resource use, allowing us to gain new insights into the species’ dietary habits across different life stages.” 

Still, even after a half century since “Jaws,” the veil over sharks hasn’t been utterly lifted. 

What is understood is that sharks are in hassle, with some species getting ready to extinction as a consequence of unsustainable fishing practices. 

“There has been a lot of progress in shark conservation over the last 50 years including better data and more management, including catch limits, shark sanctuaries, and bans on fishing for some of the more at-risk species,” stated Elizabeth Babcock, a professor of marine biology and ecology on the Rosenstiel School who’s an professional on fish inhabitants dynamics. “Populations have stabilized and even recovered a bit in the U.S. and other countries with good shark fishery management. But globally, most shark populations have continued to decline, so that sharks are one of the most threated groups of marine animals.”

Hlavin, who has by no means seen “Jaws” however in the future hopes to look at it, acknowledges that the movement image has impressed future generations of shark scientists. 

“It’s interesting. If I have a conversation about sharks with someone from my parents’ generation, I often find that the movie left a negative impact on their perception of sharks,” he stated. “But when I talk to my peers and other people my age who grew up in this age of shark research post-“Jaws,” they know that sharks are usually not our enemy however that people are literally the best risk to sharks.”