This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on July 24, 2017

Discovery Channel’s cult favourite Shark Week comes back for its 29th season

Fish may be food for many of us, but they are also our friends — and to no fish does this apply as well as it does to the mighty shark. These majestic creatures rule the oceans, and being at the top of the marine food chain signifies the shark’s pivotal role  in ensuring balance in the ecosystem. 

Many would like to think that sharks are violent and deadly creatures due to their extensive carnivorous diet. It may be true to some degree, but studies have shown that it is more likely for the average person to be struck by lightning than attacked by a shark. But if you are looking for something that is both thrilling and electrifying — and if you find the old Jaws movies just too cheesy and unbelievable — prepare yourselves for a jaw-dropping experience because Shark Week is back, and better than ever. 

Television’s longest-running and eagerly awaited summer event returns to the Discovery Channel for its 29th instalment this month. And swimming alongside these high-speed predators is the most decorated Olympian of all time, Michael Phelps. Making a splash with the most interesting race in his career, the expert gets schooled on “everything shark” at the Bimini Shark Lab. Chris North also joins in on the Shark Week action as he narrates Sharks and The City: New York. The actor delivers all-new groundbreaking shark stories following the great white and how a future with these magnificent creatures in the Big Apple will look like.

Shark Week will take you on trips all around the world from the Northern Territory of Australia for a showdown between sharks and crocodiles to the waters of southern New England where the smartest and most competitive sharks are found annually. Experts and scientists explain the systems of the sea and what brings these ocean hunters together.

The average Malaysians’ interaction with sharks mostly extend to either the other side of the reinforced glass of an aquarium or served in a bowl as shark’s fin soup. What many people are unaware of is that there are a number of unique shark species swimming in our waters. However, out of 63 of these species, only the whale shark is protected under the Fisheries Act 1985. When sharks are eliminated, the marine ecosystem not only loses its balance, but the sharks’ role in regulating the behaviour of prey species, keeping their populations healthy, ensuring the blooming of the seagrass bed and protecting other vital habitats becomes untended. 

All around the world, sharks are being killed for their fins. This delicacy has assumed great cultural value and is served at special occasions such as weddings and banquets, becoming a symbol of prosperity and luxury. Shark finning has caused a steep decline in shark populations and they are now a threatened species. For this reason, the prospect of a food chain minus its apex predators may mean the end of the line for many more species and important foods that are key to our survival.

Shark Week not only showcases the exceptional behaviour and anatomy of popular shark species, but is also informative of their nature and how the shark is surrounded by a series of myths and misconceptions. The shows will reveal compelling insights into some of the most unique shark species in the world, some of which are facing extinction.

In celebration of its 29th edition, this is the first time in the franchise’s history that Shark Week will sync around the world, airing during the same week on Discovery Channel in more than 220 countries and territories. 

Catch two episodes back-to-back on Discovery Channel (Astro Channel 551), starting on July 24 to July 28 at 9pm.