Sharks are mysterious and feared creatures that are hiding in the dark and murky water. Thirsty for the taste of human blood, they circle their unsuspecting victims before they attack. At least, that’s what we’re supposed to think. Jaws and other Hollywood shark films like to portray sharks in a negative light, showing them as villainous creatures who actively hunt humans. Sharks have suffered from this negative propaganda for years, causing many to wrongfully attack or hunt them. Yet sharks are actually a vital part of our ecosystem and don’t actually enjoy having a human snack.

Humans Aren’t on the Menu

Why aren’t sharks the bloodthirsty human eating machines that are shown on television? The answer is shockingly simple: they are too old. Sharks are millions of years older than humans. Since humans only existed after sharks developed their normal diet, they never found a need to evolve to be maneaters. Additionally, humans just aren’t in the water enough for sharks to logistically feed on regularly.
Humans fight back and take up a lot of the shark’s energy to hunt. We also are full of lots of bones and aren’t very nutritious for the shark. So in the end, sometimes sharks will lose more energy catching us then they would get eating us. This makes us a really bad meal. They prefer to feed on smaller fish, invertebrates, seals, sea lions, and other marine mammals.

Sharks are opportunistic hunters, so this means that sometimes a shark will eat a human. This is very rare and will only happen when a shark is really hungry. This normally happens in deep water, where there isn’t a lot of food. Near the coast, sharks have a vast variety of different food to eat, meaning their nutritional needs are almost always met. This means that they won’t actively hunt a human. However, sharks will occasionally attack due to mistaken identity. This is why in most shark attacks, the shark lets go. They taste the gross human and then spit them out. This is why a lot of attacks happen on surfers, they look like seals on their boards.

True Importance of Sharks

Sharks are something known as a keystone species, which is a species that helps define an entire ecosystem. If sharks are removed, the entire ecosystem around them would collapse. They are the apex predator and help control their prey’s population numbers. If they didn’t exist, these prey species would grow unregulated and kill off all of the trophic levels below. Sharks also help keep their prey population healthy, by killing off all the sick and weak members of the population.
Keeping this ecosystem healthy is very important. No one likes going to a beach without any life, and keeping shark species healthy helps ensure that the beach remains healthy.

Sharks on Marco Island

The most common shark species found on Marco island are Blacktip, Atlantic Sharpnose, Spinner, Bull, Hammerhead, Bonnethead, Lemon, and Nurse. Despite all of these different species on Marco Island, no one has ever had a life threatening shark attack on Marco.