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Q: Shades of Jaws! What is the The Peter Benchley Shark
Conservation Award?
A: For inquiring minds: the Peter Benchley Shark Conservation Award
was created by the Shark Research Institute to honor the memory of
the late Peter Benchley, and spotlight those who are working
internationally to protect sharks as valuable ocean resources. The
first of the 2008 Peter Benchley Shark Conservation Awards was
presented by Shark Research Institute President Stan Waterman and
Wendy Benchley, to Matthew T. McDavitt. Among the celebrities
attending the award ceremony were Dr. Sylvia Earle, National
Geographic photographer David Doubilet, and noted marine artist
Wyland.
For more than a decade, McDavitt, an estate lawyer from Virginia,
worked on his own to gather data on the international sawfish trade.
In 2006, his data convinced e-Bay to prohibit sales of small-tooth
sawfish rostra on their website. In 2007, his comprehensive fully-
referenced 40-page overview of the trade enabled the US to
successfully propose sawfishes for protection at the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species.
Sawfish fins are among the most valuable in the shark fin trade. In
US waters, these rays once ranged from New York to Texas. Critically
endangered, their numbers have declined by 99%; today they are only
found in a few marine reserves in Florida. In the 1970s, Benchley's
fictional best-seller, "Jaws", which Steven Spielberg made into a
blockbuster movie, generated a fear of sharks simply because so
little was known about them. By the 1980s, due to the fascination in
sharks that Peter had generated, that fear had gave way to curiosity,
resulting in an unprecedented amount of research on sharks. "(Peter)
was an eloquent advocate for shark conservation," according to
colleague and friend, Stan Waterman.
Source: Shedd Aquarium Volunteer Office.
Conservation Award?
A: For inquiring minds: the Peter Benchley Shark Conservation Award
was created by the Shark Research Institute to honor the memory of
the late Peter Benchley, and spotlight those who are working
internationally to protect sharks as valuable ocean resources. The
first of the 2008 Peter Benchley Shark Conservation Awards was
presented by Shark Research Institute President Stan Waterman and
Wendy Benchley, to Matthew T. McDavitt. Among the celebrities
attending the award ceremony were Dr. Sylvia Earle, National
Geographic photographer David Doubilet, and noted marine artist
Wyland.
For more than a decade, McDavitt, an estate lawyer from Virginia,
worked on his own to gather data on the international sawfish trade.
In 2006, his data convinced e-Bay to prohibit sales of small-tooth
sawfish rostra on their website. In 2007, his comprehensive fully-
referenced 40-page overview of the trade enabled the US to
successfully propose sawfishes for protection at the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species.
Sawfish fins are among the most valuable in the shark fin trade. In
US waters, these rays once ranged from New York to Texas. Critically
endangered, their numbers have declined by 99%; today they are only
found in a few marine reserves in Florida. In the 1970s, Benchley's
fictional best-seller, "Jaws", which Steven Spielberg made into a
blockbuster movie, generated a fear of sharks simply because so
little was known about them. By the 1980s, due to the fascination in
sharks that Peter had generated, that fear had gave way to curiosity,
resulting in an unprecedented amount of research on sharks. "(Peter)
was an eloquent advocate for shark conservation," according to
colleague and friend, Stan Waterman.
Source: Shedd Aquarium Volunteer Office.
