Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
Sharks are arguably the most feared predators in the world and possibly some of the most fascinating, indispensable, and threatened animals on our planet. In this book, marine conservation biologist David Shiffman explains charmingly, and using many personal anecdotes, why sharks matter. The book is organised into three sections containing ten chapters. Chapters 1–4 explain the biology and ecological importance of sharks and provide an overview of the threats they face. Chapters 5–7 present different ways we can protect sharks. In this section, Shiffman tackles the challenges of sustainable fishery and applies a holistic approach, including conservation associations, jurisdictions, fisheries, and trading regulations. The threat of shark fin trade is well-known, but the book also covers other fishing-related threats and potential solutions to mitigate them. The author claims that “there’s no doubt that sustainable shark fisheries can and do exist, but there is also no doubt that some species can’t withstand any fishing pressure”. Chapters 8–10 inform about how scientists and environmentalists are currently protecting sharks and could help them in the future; for example, through long-term monitoring of shark populations. Black and white pictures, as well as 16 colour plates, make this read more pleasant. Throughout the book, Shiffman communicates his message with great clarity and passion, making this book suitable for marine animal enthusiasts and biology students. However, shark researchers seeking detailed and up-to-date information from the scientific literature will not find it here. The overarching goal of this book is to clarify several misconceptions about this misunderstood group by helping the reader overcome their fears. The outcome is to be praised because, while it accomplishes this function, it makes the reader fall in love with these fantastic animals.
Funding
Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
About this article
Cite this article
Streltsov, R. David Shiffman: Why sharks matter: a deep dive with the world's most misunderstood predator. COMMUNITY ECOLOGY 24, 295 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42974-023-00151-9
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42974-023-00151-9