The Jaws Effect: How Peter Benchley Went from Shark Hunter to Protector

When Peter Benchley published Jaws in 1974, he intended to write a gripping thriller about a rogue predator. He had no idea he was about to spark a global movement of fear. Following Steven Spielberg’s 1975 film adaptation—a cultural phenomenon that grossed over $470 million—the public’s relationship with the ocean changed overnight. But for the world’s shark populations, the consequences were catastrophic.

The “Jaws effect” triggered an era of unprecedented carnage. Shark fishing tournaments surged in popularity, with hunters slaughtering thousands of sharks for trophies. Public perception shifted from seeing sharks as vital marine species to viewing them as “sea monsters” that needed to be eliminated. Scientists watched in despair as populations of these ancient predators—creatures that had survived for 400 million years—began a rapid and terrifying nosedive.

By the 1990s, the weight of this legacy became impossible for Benchley to ignore. Estimates suggested that nearly 100 million sharks were being killed annually due to commercial fishing and the lingering stigma his work had amplified. “Knowing what I know now, I could never write that book today,” Benchley frequently admitted in later years. He realized that the shark in his novel was a work of pure fiction, yet it had caused real-world ecological devastation.

In a remarkable act of professional and personal penance, Benchley spent his final decade fighting to undo the damage. He transformed into one of the world’s most prominent shark advocates, working with oceanic research organizations and testifying before governments to push for protection laws. His 2002 book, Shark Trouble, was written specifically to dismantle the myths he had helped create, replacing sensationalism with biological facts.

When Benchley passed away in 2006, he was mourned not just as a novelist, but as a champion of the deep. He proved that it is never too late to correct the narrative, evolving from the man who made the world fear sharks into the man who fought hardest to save them.