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Jeanne pictured here nose-to-nose with a shark. She is a certified shark feeder.

What do lemons, salmon and cookie cutters all have in common?

No, they aren’t 3 things found in your kitchen. Well, maybe, but in this case they are all varieties of sharks.

Most people hear the word “shark” and the theme from “Jaws” starts to play in their heads, conjuring up images of huge teeth dripping human blood. It’s a sad image and largely fiction at its most damaging. So here are some of the real (and much more interesting) facts.

Sharks have been in existence for more than 400 million years – more than 200 million years before dinosaurs. What a tribute to the endurance and adaptability of an animal!

There are more than 400 species! They range in size from the tiny 6 inch dwarf shark to the gorgeous 40 foot Whale shark. Body forms raised from torpedo shaped to something reminiscent of a fringed throw rug.

Sharks have some of the most highly developed sensory systems of any animal. They are able to detect electrical currents as tiny as 1 billionth of a volt. They are also able to detect one part per million of blood in seawater.

Sharks have an unlimited supply of teeth and may use more 20,000 during a lifetime.

Shark cartilage has not been proven useful to anyone other than the shark. It does, however, sell for as much as $40 a bottle.

Sharks don’t reproduce by the thousands or more every year as many fish do. They do not reach reproductive age until they are at least 6 years old, some must be as much as 30. While a few will lay as many as 100 eggs, most are live born and in numbers much smaller. Some litters may be as small as two. Gestation varies from 5 months to 2 years. These reproductive facts have resulted in rapidly declining populations due to extreme over fishing.
When I do classes on sharks the subject of shark attacks is always the first thing to come up. Here are the things to remember.

Of the 400+ species, only 4 have ever been considered to be a significant threat to humans – the Great White, the Tiger, The Bull and the Oceanic Whitetip (not to be confused with the Whitetip Reef). While the Great White is still considered by most to be the most dangerous there is a shifting thought that it may be the Bull Shark? Why? Because they tend to be more aggressive than most and have the unique ability to live in fresh water. They’ve been found as much as 2000 miles upriver, putting them in places where people don’t expect to find them. The shark attack capitol of the world is Volusia County, FL.

Shark attacks are highly publicized, making them seem much more common than they are. The average number of shark attacks world wide every year is 50 – 75 with an average of 10 fatalities. Considering that there are around 260 MILLION people in the ocean waters in the United States alone (according to counts on patrolled beaches), this is an extremely low number of attacks. There are however, an average of 4000 deaths from drowning every year in the U.S. alone.

On the flip side, even conservative numbers indicate that humans kill approximately 73 MILLION sharks every year. About half of those are killed for their fins which are tasteless and have no significant nutritional value. Considered to be used by those that have or to appear to have high status because the price of shark fin soup may be as high as $200 per bowl. Many of the live sharks have their fins cut off, and then are thrown overboard to die a prolonged, painful and useless death.

Now you have the facts. It is my hope that this will bring you to a greater interest in, and understanding of one of our most important apex predators. Sharks are beautiful, majestic and critical to the health of our planet. More than 60 species have been “red-lined” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as threatened or endangered species. PLEASE – respect and conserve them.

Jeanne is a resident of the Woodlands and lives in Section three with her husband Gary and their daughter Katie. Jeanne is a certified shark feeder and has taught shark conservation classes to over 3,000 people on two continents. She has been awarded the Project AWARE conservation award.