This is an informative piece written by a conservationist who has spent his life researching sharks as a result of Jaws.  The article effectively addresses both the positives and negatives that came from the film.  While the author is clearly biased as a conservationist, he raises many interesting points.  For starters he notes the huge increase in brutality against sharks that stemmed most certainly from the movie.  The movie regarded great white sharks as “sea-going homicidal maniacs lurking just out of sight off your local beach, ready to shred your very own personal body into strips of bloody flesh or to simply gobble you whole.”  Because of the film’s power in portraying this idea, many vigilantes made it their own mission to get revenge.  In this sense, Spielberg’s portrayal of sharks was disastrous for the shark population.  The author claims, “JAWS has been strongly condemned as the impetus for the shark slaughtering obscenities of the past and the disconcerting scarcity of White Sharks in the present.”  This is not supported with data, however, many would agree with these claims as Jaws brought sharks into the spotlight.  With that being said, the article still concludes with a pro-Jaws stance, claiming that shark research has taken great strides since 1975 mostly as the result of Jaws.  By drawing so much attention to sharks, many wanted to learn more.  As a result, individuals such as the author took up learning about sharks as their lifetime goal.  The increased attention and funding would lead to a much greater understanding of sharks, in which scientists have been able to discover that sharks aren’t out to harm humans.  So although the immediate consequences were harmful to many species of sharks, years later the film has helped us to better understand sharks and learn that we shouldn’t be so scared.