Just when you thought it was safe to turn on your television, Shark Week is back, the annual Discovery Channel tradition devoted to all things shark.
“Tiger Beach,” which will feature the violent mating habits of sharks, kicks off Shark Week on Sunday at 8 p.m.
Sharks get a bad rap, and protecting them by educating the public is a big part of Shark Week.
There are more than 375 species of shark, some species date back to 400 million years ago.
Overfishing is causing a decline in shark populations. Sharks species are being continually added to the list of endangered/threatened animals.
100 million sharks are killed each year for their fins, according to Savingsharks.com. The website also reported that it takes hours, sometimes days, for sharks to die after being finned.
Shark fins are one of the most valuable seafood products, sometimes fetching up to $20,000 for a single trophy fin.
Sharks are vitally important to the ecosystem.
They help keep food webs in balance by preying on sick and weakened fish, sometimes even scavenging the sea floor for dead carcasses. This prevents the spread of disease among fish populations and helps strengthen the populations of certain species.
“Swim with the sharks” in this virtual reality video below.
“The Killing Games” will mark the final episode of the week on July 3. This episode will feature great whites coming out of the ocean to hunt for seals.
Shark Week in 2015 drew in 42 million viewers, that number is expected to grow this year.