Sharks are mysterious, mostly invisible and under-researched compared to top predators on land, but in July they fall under the spotlight in Sharkfest on National Geographic Wild — in more than 80 hours of shows, lit by breathtaking cinematography.
A popular event in its ninth year, Sharkfest explores many of the unknowns about shark behaviour, including how they socialise and hunt.
The balance appears to tilt towards the hunting side, with its six-part series Shark Attack Files and new episodes of When Sharks Attack. But Sharkfest is not an attack on sharks. On the contrary, it promotes a greater understanding of one of the ocean’s most misunderstood — and endangered — creatures, through the voices of advocates and scientists.
Many people still perceive sharks negatively, but in reality sharks have much more to fear from humans who are overfishing sharks globally pushing many species to the edge of extinction.
— Wildlife Conservation Society’s Luke Warwick
For example, the premiere of Shark Beach With Chris Hemsworth celebrates the movie star’s mission “to live more harmoniously with sharks”.
Shark attack survivor Paige Winter investigates attacks in her story, ultimately supporting the protection of sharks and marine life.
The softer side of sharks, down to young lemon sharks seemingly “holding fins” while they hang out together, gets revealed through researchers. The excitement of one pair when they find a gang of the agile, yellowish sharks, who had been displaced by a hurricane, is infectious.
Shark Gangs also delves into whether sharks join forces to chase mullet off the US coast, as dolphins are proven to do in the SA sardine run.
Rogue Shark? looks at why shark attacks occur off holiday islands on the Barrier Reef. The dramatisation of real events, with open shark jaws filling the screen and bloodstained seas, felt overly dramatic, despite the heartfelt testimony of the survivors who give the scenes authenticity.
The narration also veered between that of a reality drama — think National Geographic’s gripping Snakes in the City — and a scientific documentary but, in every episode viewed, the footage of sharks in their own environment was mesmerising.
Given the dearth of hard facts about sharks, speculation is inevitable and, occasionally, SA featured in these plots. For example, why was a severed Nile crocodile head found on the beach in St Lucia? Croc That Ate Jaws tracks the clashes and territories between these apex predators, raising as many questions as answers.
The biggest Sharkfest yet raises fascinating questions about sharks — and can’t answer all of them — but the shows at least provoke curiosity.
“Shark scientists and oceanic experts have pulled out all the stops for this year’s Sharkfest, revealing new discoveries, shocking revelations and bizarre shark behaviour never seen before. It’s going to be jaw-some!” says Janet Vissering, a senior vice-president at National Geographic Partners.
More than 20 hours of the line-up is original programming, accompanying 60 hours of enhanced content.
Only 46 species out of more than 1,000 sharks and their close ray relatives are protected, despite the serious threat that overfishing and slow reproduction pose to their survival.
As Shark Week kicks off on Saturday July 11, Wildlife Conservation Society’s Luke Warwick, the director of its Sharks and Rays programme, said there is good news too: “There is a growing global movement that recognises that sharks are vulnerable and their fisheries need to be managed in a sustainable way.”
SA, Gabon and Mozambique are among the countries with laws to protect specific sharks, for example, white sharks or whale sharks.
Warwick said: “Many people still perceive sharks negatively, but in reality sharks have much more to fear from humans who are overfishing sharks globally pushing many species to the edge of extinction.”
What’s common across all of the Sharkfest shows is a sense of wonder at the magnificent predators who rule our oceans, for now.
Watch Sharkfest on National Geographic Wild, on DStv: Channel 182, every Saturday and Sunday in July.
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