“Some People Took JAWS As A License To Kill”: 50 Years On, Can We Turn Fear To Fascination?

Fifty years ago, a film hit the cinemas that would change the way movie-goers saw the ocean. Author Peter Benchley’s creation, JAWS, was brought to the silver screen by (a relatively unknown, in 1975) Steven Spielberg and, helped along by a killer score from John Williams, they created a supervillain unlike any Hollywood had ever seen before. You see, this one was a big fish.

The Big Fish In The Room

Carcharodon carcharias, the great white shark, remains one of the ocean’s most impressive predators. With some giants on record stretching over 6 meters (20 feet), they can be absolute units, but more typically the average female is closer to 4.5 meters (15 feet), while the males are a little smaller.

There was this uptick in shark tournaments, but there was also a huge increase in interest in sharks and in shark research.

Wendy Benchley

You might think the mind behind JAWS saw little more of them than their teeth, but in truth, both Benchley and his wife, activist Wendy Benchley, were keen ocean advocates, as she explains in National Geographic’s new film JAWS @ 50, which premieres on July 10.

“We learned with the rest of the world in the '60s and '70s how important it was that we begin to think about the world and the environment and the marine environment,” Wendy Benchley told IFLScience. “I had always been involved in environmental issues in New Jersey, so with the power of the movie, we decided that we really needed to dig deep into environmental issues.”

“Part of the impetus was that some people took JAWS as a license to kill sharks. There was this uptick in shark tournaments, but there was also a huge increase in interest in sharks and in shark research. There was a 30 percent increase in people who applied to marine science at the Rosenstiel School in Miami, and I know that happened in other institutions also.”

An Unexpected Success (With Unexpected Consequences)

Despite Peter Benchley’s conviction that “nobody reads a debut,” his book JAWS (that, had his father had a say in it, could’ve ended up being called “What’s that noshing on my leg?”) was picked up by a young Spielberg. What happened next led to the highest-grossing movie ever made at the time, and it introduced the world to a predator that many people might otherwise have never seen.

We need to let sharks survive in the ocean, because sharks are one of the main species that keep the balance in the ocean.

Wendy Benchley

Unfortunately, for some, it inspired bloodthirst. Spielberg has spoken openly about his regret over how the 1975 movie impacted shark populations. When asked in an episode of Desert Island Discs how he would feel to find himself surrounded by shark-infested waters, he said, “That’s one of the things I still fear – not to get eaten by a shark, but that sharks are somehow mad at me for the feeding frenzy of crazy sport fishermen that happened after 1975. I truly, and to this day, regret the decimation of the shark population because of the book and the film.”

That initial hunting frenzy eventually plateaued, but not before North America saw a drop off in large sharks of around 50 percent. That said, a far greater threat to sharks has been affecting them since long before JAWS was even written.

The Shark Trust says that overfishing is the biggest threat to sharks, affecting 100 percent of them. A study last year revealed that humans kill an estimated 80 million sharks a year from fishing. In fact, for 67 percent of sharks and rays, it’s their only threat. Writing for Princeton University Press, Director of the Pacific Shark Research David Ebert said that, “From my perspective, Peter Benchley’s real legacy is having brought the plight of sharks out of the shadows and to the forefront of public attention. Without his timely book and an exceptionally well-made blockbuster movie, shark management and conservation may never have come to light, and the vast majority of sharks would still remain lost from the public’s conscience, with many suffering dire consequences!”

Sharks: An Uncertain Future

In the face of overfishing and climate change, much of ocean life is currently under threat, but we find ourselves in a slightly different position from before JAWS hit the cinemas. We are more aware than ever of how dire the situation has grown, but we are also more prepared with the science-backed interventions needed to turn the tide on the crisis.

We have destroyed 90 percent of the sharks in the ocean over the last 40 to 50, years, which is just tragic.

Wendy Benchley

“Here we are, 50 years [on from JAWS], and I would say that for the last 20 years, there has been big progress in the ocean,” said Benchley. “We've done a lot of research. We know what we need to do to get the ocean healthy again, and we need a lot of marine protected areas. We also need to cut down the number of fish that we catch, and we need to let sharks survive in the ocean, because sharks are one of the main species that keep the balance in the ocean.”

“We have destroyed 90 percent of the sharks in the ocean over the last 40 to 50 years, which is just tragic. Can you think of it, that we only have 10 percent left of the sharks that Peter and I saw 50 years ago? That was a major impetus for us to get out there and do what we could to raise awareness of the environmental issues of the ocean.”

What We Can Do About It

If JAWS inspired fear, it seems that over time, it is turning to fascination. As we continue to learn more about great whites, including their previously unrecognized intelligence and highly inquisitive nature, it becomes easier to think of them as something other than their teeth.

Where attitudes towards these species need to change is at government level, when decisions are made to prioritise and protect endangered and threatened species.

Dr Lydia Koehler

“I think the public attitude towards sharks has already changed in the past decades, from seeing them as movie monsters to seeking shark encounters and public outcries for their protection,” Dr Lydia Koehler tells IFLScience. “This change is largely a result of good advocacy and knowledge sharing done by scientists and non-governmental organisations.”

“Kids are now taught in school about the importance of marine biodiversity, including sharks and rays, and the threats they are facing. These are great developments. However, where attitudes towards these species need to change is at government level, when decisions are made to prioritise and protect endangered and threatened species. Sharks and their relatives need to take on a more central, dedicated role in decision-making both for conservation efforts and fisheries management.”

At the 2025 UN Ocean Conference in France, many nations stated their intentions to fulfill promises made (on paper, at least) to achieve 30 by 30: protecting at least one-third of the ocean before 2030. If these plans come to fruition, it could provide the ocean the respite it needs to bounce back, something that Papahānaumokuākea has shown can happen faster than we ever imagined possible, but it requires one key first step: governments have to actually act.

We need better national laws and policies that integrate elasmobranchs and lay down a clear pathway to recovery for the most vulnerable, endangered species.

Dr Lydia Koehler

“One of the key obstacles is the political will to prioritise these species for sustainable management and protection at national level and within the respective regional fisheries bodies,” added Koehler. 

“We have enough knowledge to establish and implement well-designed and effective management and conservation measures; we just need to allocate resources and capacity to do so and generate political commitment for it. With this, we need better national laws and policies that integrate elasmobranchs and lay down a clear pathway to recovery for the most vulnerable, endangered species.”

Fifty years on, JAWS remains (in this writer’s opinion), an unrivalled shark movie. What better way to celebrate than to continue Benchley’s real legacy and keep the shark conservation conversation alive. Speak to friends, speak to relatives, and – most of all – speak to government representatives. If we’re going to save the ocean, its life, and – in turn – ourselves, we’re gonna need a bigger boat.