IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/marpol/v56y2015icp43-47.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Increased knowledge about sharks increases public concern about their conservation

Author

Listed:
  • O’Bryhim, Jason R.
  • Parsons, E.C.M.

Abstract

Gaining support for shark conservation has been extremely difficult due to the negative preconceived notions the general public holds toward sharks. In order to achieve public support for conservation initiatives the factors that will change an individual’s attitude and behavior toward sharks must first be determined. Using structured questionnaire interviews (n=186), indices were created that rated an individual’s knowledge, attitude, and potential behavior toward sharks and shark conservation. Generally public knowledge levels about sharks were low. However, people with more knowledge pertaining specifically about sharks had potential behaviors more supportive of their conservation. Therefore, it would seem that increases in public knowledge on sharks would help gain support for shark conservation. Males, members of environmental groups, and viewers of shark documentaries and “Shark Week” all showed significantly higher levels of knowledge about sharks. The media (such as “Shark Week” ) can play a significant role in promoting conservation, but unfortunately media coverage of sharks has been controversial recently with the airing of several non-factual, fake documentaries. To promote shark conservation the media’s message has to be unbiased, non-sensationalized, and accurate to ensure people are receiving the information necessary to build strong pro-shark conservation behaviors.

Suggested Citation

  • O’Bryhim, Jason R. & Parsons, E.C.M., 2015. "Increased knowledge about sharks increases public concern about their conservation," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 43-47.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:marpol:v:56:y:2015:i:c:p:43-47
    DOI: 10.1016/j.marpol.2015.02.007
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X15000421
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.marpol.2015.02.007?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Friedrich, Laura A. & Jefferson, Rebecca & Glegg, Gillian, 2014. "Public perceptions of sharks: Gathering support for shark conservation," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 1-7.
    2. Christopher Neff & Robert Hueter, 2013. "Science, policy, and the public discourse of shark “attack”: a proposal for reclassifying human–shark interactions," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 3(1), pages 65-73, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. McCagh, Christine & Sneddon, Joanne & Blache, Dominque, 2015. "Killing sharks: The media’s role in public and political response to fatal human–shark interactions," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 271-278.
    2. Gibbs, Leah & Warren, Andrew, 2015. "Transforming shark hazard policy: Learning from ocean-users and shark encounter in Western Australia," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 116-124.
    3. J. C. Ryan & S. Mellish & B. R. Busque & C. A. Litchfield, 2019. "Enhancing the impact of conservation marketing using psychology: a research agenda," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 9(4), pages 442-448, December.
    4. Zanoli, Raffaele & Carlesi, Lorenzo & Danovaro, Roberto & Mandolesi, Serena & Naspetti, Simona, 2015. "Valuing unfamiliar Mediterranean deep-sea ecosystems using visual Q-methodology," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 227-236.
    5. Ila France Porcher & Brian W. Darvell, 2022. "Shark Fishing vs. Conservation: Analysis and Synthesis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-33, August.
    6. Garla, Ricardo C. & Freitas, Renato H.A. & Calado, Janaina F. & Paterno, Gustavo B.C. & Carvalho, Adriana R., 2015. "Public awareness of the economic potential and threats to sharks of a tropical oceanic archipelago in the western South Atlantic," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 128-133.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:marpol:v:56:y:2015:i:c:p:43-47. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/marpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.