It’s been over 50 years since Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws” took to the big screen and stirred up public fear and panic about Great White sharks.
Granted, that probably wasn’t Spielberg’s goal, but there are several studies that show the movie impacted public perception of sharks overall.
Plus, those ignorant perceptions are making it harder for conservationists to protect sharks and their place in the marine ecosystem.
With our murky Gulf water, I get the fear and hyper vigilance when the water warms and people fill local beaches.
No one wants to be attacked by a shark and plenty of fishermen and women reel in their own apex predators in various sizes as the weather holds and the fish keep biting.
However, since 1970, the abundance of oceanic sharks and rays has declined by more than 70% as a result of an 18-fold increase in fishing pressure, according to a study conducted in 2022.
It’s worth noting that as a result of the depletion, the risk for global extinction now impacts three-quarters of shark and ray species.
You might think to call me a “Shark Lover” or some other nonsense name, but I’ve always been partial to leaving wild animals alone unless there is a true need for self-defense, defending another person, or proper conservation.
That’s the same lesson my mom imparted on all of her children, too.
And when it comes to sharks, I’m aware that by playing at the beach or in open water then I’m invading their territory and really should tread carefully.
When the urge to swim strikes, I stick to pools rather than risking a riptide dragging me out to sea or some random possible injury – including shark attacks.
So, when mom showed me an obviously AI-generated map supposedly showing two tagged sharks headed for Corpus Christ and Galveston, I immediately cried foul.
The post was only shared by a random social media page and not a verified news station or source.
And a quick Google search provided several links to longstanding articles and data from as recent as 2025 on the actual tagged sharks that frequented the Gulf.
The graphic is accompanied by a poorly written blurb saying that the sharks tagged as “Alyssa” and “Kara” were in the Gulf and pulling up those real tags shows the sharks are actually in the Pacific Ocean at this time.
I don’t know about you, but sharks don’t walk on land and to get to the Gulf they’d have to find a canal or swim all the way around South America to get here.
Scientific journals and pages have long debunked the chances of that and are almost all in agreement that Atlantic Great Whites end up in the Gulf rather than taking the long trek around a continent.
What’s even more interesting is that the majority of Great White population tags are focused on Florida more than any other location!
It took me less than five minutes to Google the facts up and disprove the AI-generated nonsense that’s spreading across Facebook as we speak.
While I don’t care too much about AI being used to create advertisements and entertainment ethically and correctly - I despise it being used to stir people up over nothing!
AI nonsense only creates more work for journalists at large and is dangerously being chosen over facts because they seem to fit people’s perceptions of the world easier than challenging them to think critically for more than two minutes.
Taking AI-generated trash as gospel makes believers look foolish and ignorant once they’re disproven – it also shows just how gullible someone can be.
If you’re that worried about Great Whites in the Gulf, then check out the “Gulf Great White Shark Society."
