Since the release of the horror film Jaws (1975), directed by Steven Spielberg, the shark suffers from a bad reputation. “This movie created an irrational fear that did infinite harm to sharks”says renowned oceanology doctor François Sarano to the magazine “1:15 p.m. on Saturday” (replay).
“Every year, there are between 80 and 100 accidents with sharks of all species worldwide, specifies the one who spent thirteen years alongside Commander Jacques-Yves Cousteau as scientific adviser and head of mission, whereas today there are hundreds of millions of people who bathe, surf, dive, play… in the middle of sharks.”
“The real Jaws? But here they are…”
“If these people do not see the sharks, the latter have seen them. They can pass very close to men without worrying about them”adds the founder of the association Longitude 181, which is “the voice of the ocean. So, to rehabilitate the animal, François Sarano achieved a feat: get as close as possible to the great white shark, the iconic man-eating beast of the film that terrorized young and old in all latitudes.
It was for the documentary oceans, by Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud (2009), which invites in particular to protect the oceans against excessive fishing, pollution and global warming. The experienced diver swims quietly, side by side with a huge shark armed with a fearsome jaw: “We say to ourselves that we are going to bring an image which, perhaps, will explode the image of the film Jaws. The real teeth of the sea? But here they are…”
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