Everything You Know about Shark Conservation is Wrong


Despite their fearsome reputation, sharks have more to fear from humans than we do from them. Sharks are some of the most threatened animals in the world, with rapid and alarming population declines driven by unsustainable overfishing. As public concern for their conservation grows, the debate over the best policy solutions to protect sharks has become more heated.

If the problem is overfishing, should regulators aim to make fishing more sustainable, an approach supported overwhelmingly by scientists? Or, if fishing can’t be made more sustainable, should policymakers ban all fishing for sharks and trade in shark products? Further complicating the debate: much of the most widely shared information about sharks and their conservation is flat-out wrong.

Join ASU postdoctoral researcher and marine conservation biologist David Shiffman for a morning of learning ocean conservation policy and myth-busting some of the wrong information you’ve learned about how to protect sharks.

Dr. Shiffman is an award-winning expert in public science engagement whose writings have appeared in the Washington Post, Issues in Science and Technology, Gizmodo, Scientific American, and a monthly column in SCUBA Diving magazine. He’s also one of the most widely followed scientists on social media, and invites you to follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook: @WhySharksMatter.

Date:
March 05, 2020
Run time:
1:04:07
Location:
ASU Barrett and O'Connor Washington Center
Presented by:
Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes