Name: ______Class: ______Date: ______

Sharkwater

Shark Myths

  1. Why are sharks so hard to photograph?
  1. What prey defenses have evolved in fish in response to predators like sharks?
  1. What strategies are given for repelling sharks in the black and white film?
  1. According to the documentary, elephants kill more people than sharks. Why then, do people fear sharks so much more?
  1. What conditions around the Galapagos Islands of Darwin and Wolf make them so favorable for the hammerhead sharks?
  1. What two additional senses do hammerhead sharks have that humans do not?
  1. How many humans have been killed by hammerhead sharks?

Long-Line Fishing

  1. List the fish found in the long-line recovered by the film crew.
  1. Explain why sharks are not equipped to tear flesh from animals larger than them. What causes most human deaths from shark attack?
  1. As illustrated by the book Moby Dick, people used to be afraid of whales. How have public perceptions of whales changed since then?
  1. What does Captain Paul Watson and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society do to protect whales and sharks from illegal fishing?
  1. The Sea Shepherd caught the Varadero I, an illegal shark fishing boat. Why didn’t the fishermen stop on orders from the ship? What are shark fins used for?
  1. What is the basis for the belief that shark fins have medicinal properties?
  1. How did the Varadero I eventually escape? Why was the crew of the Sea Shepherd arrested?
  1. Upon their return to the Galapagos Islands, the crew comes across fishermen hunting sea cucumbers. One of them was badly afflicted with the bends. What causes this sickness? Why weren’t they returning to shore for treatment?
  1. Why did fishermen want long-line fishing legalized on the Galapagos Islands?
  1. Overall shark population is estimated to have declined by ______.
  1. Explain how a decline in top predators like sharks can affect producers like plankton.
  1. As Rob Stewart returns to Cocos Island in Costa Rica, he was concerned about being arrested or caught by the mafia. What did he discover was happening there instead? What change was brought about in part because of public pressure?

Further Research

  1. The documentary Sharkwater centers mainly around three species of sharks:
  • Whale Shark, Rhincodon typus
  • Scalloped hammerhead shark, Sphyrna lewini
  • Oceanic Whitetip Shark, Carcharhinus longimanus

For each species, look up its status on the IUCN Red List website. ( If the shark is threatened or endangered, read the “justification” section and give one specific reason why.

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