Take Bite Out of Shark Week With These Reads

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Shark Week and I couldn’t be more excited. I am a HUGE shark fan. And when I say huge, I mean HUGE. As in I have a shark shower curtain, sterling silver shark necklace, shark teeth and am doing an independent study on shark conservation. So needless to say, Shark Week is my favorite week of the year (aside from my birthday). That said, I wanted to share two fantastic books to help you get ready for the big event.

The first is Susan Casey’s The Devil’s Teeth: A True Story of Obsession and Survival Among America’s Great White Sharks. This is, quite honestly, the book that set me down the path of obsession. I devoured the book in one sitting and then read it again. Each time Casey took a step down into the abyss that was shark-loving territory, I jumped in head first behind her. At the time that she wrote it, Casey was a journalist interested in the great white sharks that inhabited the Farallon Islands. Next thing you know, she’s out there in the thick of it and experiencing the joys and terrors of studying great whites alongside some of the most well-respected researchers in the world. I was, and am, so jealous.

The next book that I recommend for getting ready for Shark Week is Demon Fish: Travels Through the Hidden World of Sharks by Juliet Eilperin. This is a great book because it delves into the history of sharks and their importance to different cultures around the world. It follows people from all sides of the shark industry, from a shark caller in Papua New Guinea to a fin trader in Hong Kong. More importantly, the book strikes the perfect balance between history and conservation while conceding the realities of economic development and the rising popularity of shark tourism.

So now that you know what my two top Shark Week picks are, I expect you to read them! Of course, no shark post would be complete without a short reminder about their importance to our ecosystem. But instead of telling you about the horrors of shark finning and their dramatically declining numbers, I will let you check out the following links:

And here are some quick facts from Fight Shark Finning:

Over 100,000,000 sharks are killed every year, that’s 190 sharks per minute.
It is estimated that in 10 years the sharks will be extinct.
Shark Finning is a global problem.
Hong Kong is the largest trading centre for shark fins.
27% of Shark fins are from European sources.

And if you REALLY want to get involved, grab yourself one of these awesome $5 car decals at CafePress or adopt a great white from the World Wildlife Fund!