Shark Porn-(noun) Creative activity (writing or pictures or films) of no literary or artistic value other than to stimulate an intense fear of all species of sharks.While the industry gets behind yet another protest of Discovery Channel Networks, circulating a petition demanding an end to Shark Porn programming - this blog is asking industry members to take a hard look at ourselves.
It is our industry who have become the enablers of Shark Porn and that has to end. Organically, a few operators have made a stand by turning away productions, but this is the exception not the rule.
We would like to propose the following to combat Shark Porn and industry involvement in productions that show sharks in an ultimately unrealistic and negative light.
The Contract For Sharks
1. The identification of what constitutes Shark Porn. Written guidelines for better programming for operators and production companies.
2. A "Contract For Sharks" signed by participating commercial shark operations that openly declares participating operators will not enable Shark Porn productions via their dive sites.
3. A logo for websites with a small educational component for the public and certification of the same.
4. Public awareness and outreach via participating operators emails lists and press releases.
Shark Week programming does not have to be what it has become. Lack of imagination and a complacent shark diving industry has made it so. The changes start with us, those that profess to care about sharks, those that are involved in shark conservation.
The "Contract For Sharks" does not stop participating operators from working with film crews or conducting business with Discovery Networks. It does allow participating operators to conduct better business with a strong industry leadership...for the benefit of sharks.
Anyone interested?
10 comments:
What a wonderful initiative! I hope that these ideas catch on and are used to the benefit of sharks by all of us who feel they deserve fair treatment. Please feel free to use the Year of the Shark logo in connection with it if you like.
Great idea! Let's get started. We need to be the voices for the animals.
This is a great initiative. You should consider joining the YEAR OF THE SHARK 2009 http://www.year-of-the-shark-2009.org
We need people like you.
Also you should advertise our Manifesto http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Boycott-Shark-Week.
We got your back.
We fully support this, great idea!
What should be added are some simple procedural rules for the operators, e.g.:
- minimum due diligence requirements (e.g. find out who's the producer/cinematographer, what is his filmography, what's the script etc)
- minimum diving skills of anybody involved
- minimum diving protocols (e.g. always retain full control of your dive site in terms of what happens there at any time, don't change established protocols, take charge of all safety aspects etc)
- make sure u have a say/look @ the finished product
I could probably come up with some more but you get the gist - just common sense stuff any responsible operator should observe anyway.
Great job in making sure shark week is about attacks.
If you don't want to take them on your boats they will just do some more re-creations of attacks.
After all that's what the public wants to see attacks, attacks, attacks.
Fantastic idea. Let's let people see what sharks are really like (the ones that are left).
Thanks to all who have emailed us off line and called us as well!
This has legs so we'll be going next steps. Expect a first draft "Contract" this week and as always taking calls and suggestions.
Although Shark Week has become boring with repetition i cant really say that you can go without discussing attacks in general. Part of the attraction to shark news, stories, etc is the attacks themselves. Can they be over dramatic? Sure. But in the end thats what people want to see and hear about because that is what is interesting to them.
What about the constant ads during shark week that tell the statistics about how much death of sharks man has caused. Apparently they're still for shark fishing?
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