They Are Not Monsters: The Stigmas Harming Shark Populations
- Chipco Preserve
- Jul 23
- 5 min read
Maeve Kiley
The Perfect Predator
Sleek, thick skin cruises through the deep with waves of cool waters stroking the millions of dermal denticles coating its skin. The black, button eyes of this great cartilaginous fish scan the waters, darting side-to-side in search of movement.
Contrary to popular belief, this animal is incredibly intelligent. Its complex behavior mostly orients around its hunt, with frequent adaptation and memory retention. Sucking in water through its nares, its snout is alerted to the smell of blood. Its body quickly turns—centuries of evolutionary programming clicking perfectly into place. For this is the perfect predator. This is a shark.
With over 500 known shark species, the only thing that exceeds the number of shark species is the amount of human entertainment focusing on sharks—or rather, the horror surrounding sharks.
From iconic movies to thrilling graphic novels, sharks have tormented the minds of human horror fans for decades. Sensationalized reports accompany these fictional tales, with media coverage of real-life shark attacks being exaggerated or misreported. These pieces have given sharks many names. From “bloodthirsty predators” to “indiscriminate killers,” the fictional world surrounding sharks starkly contrasts with real sharks.
Of course, consuming these deep-sea dramatics is not inherently bad. However, there should be an acknowledgement that real-life sharks are not like the villains from our favorite books and movies. Nature is not villainous. Nature is simply nature.
No one can deny that sharks are predators, but why should that be bad? Why are predators immediately seen as ‘monsters’ and ‘evil’? Why can’t sharks be acknowledged as simply an important cog in an incredibly intricate web of life beneath the waves, playing a vital role in maintaining the balance of marine ecosystems?
Sea Dogs Maintaining the Balance
Sharks’ reputation as “perfect predators” has long been misunderstood. Too often, they’re portrayed as mindless killers lurking beneath the surface, ready to devour anything in their path.
But in reality, sharks serve a far more essential—and honorable—purpose. Like all elements of nature, sharks play a critical role in maintaining balance. They regulate marine populations, support ecosystem health, and even help shape habitats. In many ways, sharks are the ocean’s janitors—quietly cleaning up and keeping things in order.
On average, sharks eat 0.5 to 3% of their body weight per meal, with variations based on shark type, but they do not eat every day. Many space out their meals as if they were intermittent fasting. These large meals consist of prey that protects and promotes coral reefs.
When there is too much prey and not enough predators, the prey population overgrazes the reefs and decimates the algae populations. Many coral reefs have succumbed to unintentional destruction by prey that were not managed by predators. This unfortunate phenomenon was seen in the Caribbean coral reefs, where overfishing of predators led to prey taking over. According to the UNC Global Affairs notes, 90% of predatory fish are gone from the Caribbean coral reefs due to overfishing, and thus, the reefs have been dying at horrifyingly fast rates.
The ocean needs a middle manager, and that manager is sharks. Sharks eat prey, which controls their numbers and, thus, the reefs.
Tiny Friends Who Depend
In the eyes of humans, sharks are heartless, but they do have fish friends.
Remoras, also sometimes called ‘suckerfish,’ are close friends of sharks. They have a long-standing symbiotic relationship, with their special suction cups on their heads latching onto the shark’s lower bodies. Any food that falls off the sharks is gobbled up by the suctioned buddies. Remoras pay for this friendship by removing parasites from the shark's body to keep the friendship from becoming too one-sided.
The remoras ride passenger princess on the sharks’ ocean cruises with snacks included! It was such a good deal that the pilot fish joined, but without the suctioned attachment. The remoras and pilot fish enjoy the protection that sharks provide, for no predator would dare attack them when they are with their big, scary friend.
However, not all sharks are looking for friendship. Lemon sharks can get aggressive towards remoras and pilot fish looking for a ride-along, preferring solo swims.
The entire ocean depends on sharks, but stigmas and a demand for flesh prevent sharks from doing their job.
Hunting the Ecosystem’s Hunters
The main threat to sharks is humans.
Overfishing and bycatch have decimated shark populations. The demand for shark fins, meat, liver, and other organs is high worldwide. Shark fin soup is a delicacy in many countries, and shark oil is used for cosmetic and medicinal products.
According to reports by Greenpeace International, 80 to 101 million sharks are killed each year. Additionally, in the last 50 years, 70% of sharks and rays have been snatched from the sea. This is particularly dangerous for shark populations due to their slow reproduction rates, with most sharks not reaching sexual maturity until at least a decade of life. Greenland sharks are incredibly vulnerable because they do not reach maturity until 150 years of age.
Killing sharks is also viewed as a great triumph. In most U.S. states, it is legal to hunt large marine predators for sport, and the same laws apply to most of the world. Shark hunting tournaments happen around the world, with many hunters wishing to replicate the glories of their favorite movie heroes and achieve the honor of ‘killing man’s enemy.’
However, shark research centers, such as the Shark Research Institute and Shark Angels, argue that these tournaments celebrate the massacre of threatened species. Even if shark hunting targets non-threatened species, they still promote the mindset that sharks are monsters and must be eradicated.
Even though a person has about a 1 in 3.7 million chance of being killed by a shark, the fear of them remains. Many people can justify the killing of sharks with the idea that they “would have killed us too.” This is not a fact-based argument, nor is it a good justification to doom coral reefs and fish populations because of a misplaced fear.
Conservation & Education
The best way to battle hatred is education. Dispelling myths and battling ignorance is how you turn shark hatred into shark appreciation.
Many shark conservation groups fight to protect sharks and end the stigma against them. Gettysburg College, Oceanbites, NOAA Fisheries, Save Our Seas Foundation, The Shark Research Group, Shark Angels, Shark Stewards, and many other groups release public articles, videos, and announcements to inform the general population of the truth behind sharks.
“Sharks are beautiful animals, and if you’re lucky enough to see lots of them, that means that you’re in a healthy ocean.” Sylvia Earle, American marine biologist and oceanographer, emphasized the importance of the cartilaginous carnivores. “You should be afraid if you are in the ocean and don’t see sharks!”
Sharks are not pets or fiends. They are members of a delicate balance that keeps the circle of life moving. By protecting sharks, we protect the ocean.
Works Cited
How sharks keep the Ocean Healthy. NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. (n.d.). https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/2025/how-sharks-keep-the-ocean-healthy.html
Florida International University - Digital Communications. (n.d.). Ecological importance of sharks. FIU Institute of Environment. https://environment.fiu.edu/what-we-study/projects/ecological-role-of-sharks/#:~:text=Sharks%20in%20Action,and%20changing%20behavior%20of%20prey
Florida International University - Digital Communications. (n.d.). Ecological importance of sharks. FIU Institute of Environment. https://environment.fiu.edu/what-we-study/projects/ecological-role-of-sharks/#:~:text=Sharks%20in%20Action,and%20changing%20behavior%20of%20prey
Sylvia Earle, Ocean Conservationist. Shark Research Institute. (n.d.-b). https://www.sharks.org/sylvia-earle
Shark | species | WWF. (n.d.-d). https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/shark
Shark species. Shark Research Institute. (n.d.). https://www.sharks.org/species
Issues facing sharks. SHARK ANGELS. (2025, April 25). https://sharkangels.org/issues-facing-sharks/
Pan, W. M. & W. (n.d.). 100 million dead sharks – it’s not all about Shark Fin Soup. Greenpeace International. https://www.greenpeace.org/international/story/46967/100-million-dead-sharks-its-not-all-about-shark-fin-soup/#:~:text=Sharks%20are%20killed%20for%20a%20number%20of,are%20worth%20almost%20$1%20billion%20per%20year.
North Shore Shark Adventures. (2024, July 24). The shark and the remora fish – a unique relationship! https://sharktourshawaii.com/blog/shark-remora-fish-unique-relationship/#:~:text=The%20host%20shark%20is%20also,for%20the%20next%20million%20years!
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