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Why Sharks Matter: A Deep Dive with the World's Most Misunderstood Predator
Get submerged in the amazing world of sharks! Your expert host, award-winning marine biologist Dr. David Shiffman, will show you how—and why—we should protect these mysterious, misunderstood guardians of the ocean. Sharks are some of the most fascinating, most ecologically important, most threatened, and most misunderstood animals on Earth. More often feared than revered, their role as predators of the deep have earned them a reputation as a major threat to humans. But the truth is that sharks are not a danger to us—they're in danger from us. In Why Sharks Matter , marine conservation biologist Dr. David Shiffman explains why it's crucial that we overcome our misconceptions and rise above cinematic jump scares to embrace sharks as the imperiled and elegant ocean guardians they really are. Sharing his own fascinating experiences working with sharks, Shiffman tells us • why healthy shark populations are a must for supporting ocean ecosystems—and the coastal economies that depend on them
• why we're in danger of losing many shark species forever
• what scientists, conservationists, and readers can do to help save these iconic predators
• why so much of what you've heard about sharks and how to save them is wrong Exploring the core tenets of shark conservation science and policy, Shiffman synthesizes decades of scientific research and policymaking, weaving it into a narrative full of humor and adventure. Touching on everything from Shark Week to shark fin soup, overfishing to marine sanctuaries, Shiffman reveals why sharks are in trouble, why we should care, and how we can save them. Perfect for shark enthusiasts, Why Sharks Matter is an approachable, informative guide to the world of shark conservation and the passionate, fascinating, brilliant people who work to understand and protect our oceans. This fun read will have you looking at sharks with a fresh perspective and an understanding that the survival of sharks is crucial to the survival of another apex predator—ourselves.
• why we're in danger of losing many shark species forever
• what scientists, conservationists, and readers can do to help save these iconic predators
• why so much of what you've heard about sharks and how to save them is wrong Exploring the core tenets of shark conservation science and policy, Shiffman synthesizes decades of scientific research and policymaking, weaving it into a narrative full of humor and adventure. Touching on everything from Shark Week to shark fin soup, overfishing to marine sanctuaries, Shiffman reveals why sharks are in trouble, why we should care, and how we can save them. Perfect for shark enthusiasts, Why Sharks Matter is an approachable, informative guide to the world of shark conservation and the passionate, fascinating, brilliant people who work to understand and protect our oceans. This fun read will have you looking at sharks with a fresh perspective and an understanding that the survival of sharks is crucial to the survival of another apex predator—ourselves.
286 pages, Hardcover
Published May 24, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
June 6, 2022
Heavy science, with some fun sweeteners!
Science-book readers who love digging into in-depth summaries of well-researched, science-based studies, with additional links to the original science papers, will love ‘Why Sharks Matter: A Deep Dive with the World’s Most Misunderstand Predator’. Author David Shiffman also includes reasoned arguments against a number of popular tactics and social media efforts to stop all shark killing. There are color photos, charts and tables which aid viewing the complicated data considerably. I loved the "Meet the Scientist" bios!
Quote: "...this book focuses on science-based shark conservation, including the scientific evidence for why we need to protect sharks and which sharks to prioritize for protection. I also support the data-driven, evidence-based policies that have been shown to be most effective at protecting sharks. There are arguments for protecting sharks that don't have roots in science, and these aren't wrong, they're just not what I'm interested in and not what this book about."
Shiffman is apparently unafraid to champion a viewpoint of moderation when putting policies of conservation into effect, which would help both fishers and sealife. As he points out, many communities around the world require fishing to eat, and earn a living. These communities, and even countries, like the island nations, have no other way to survive at all. As a result, he is a pariah to many animal activists. He does support his views with a lot of science! But while he is excellent in parsing science and scientific studies, he seemingly thinks the complexity of the issues surrounding fishing, pollution, and the interdisciplinary sciences involved should be easy to explain to the public if the bumper-sticker organizations and campaigns, like those that do "Save the sharks!" petitions, would go away. He seems to believe just the dense science-based explanations using hundreds of pages, diagrams, charts and numbers on the hundreds of involved complex issues can be explained to the general public, which will arouse reasoned responses. No. Not. Most people can't balance their checkbooks.
But I do agree people with the credentials and expertise should step up and offer suggestions. What the politicians get though, from many petitioners is a lot of moral and spacy spiritual sermons that are different ways to say "animals have souls and feel pain, so do something." However, we recently saw important judges and congressional members from some states and the federal government sounding like illiterate toddlers on TV in trying to understand how the Internet works. Shiffman is fighting an uphill battle, I suspect.
He does not extensively talk about shark behaviors and biology, but there is a lot of interesting tidbits, here and there. When he does, it's fascinating. The Greenland shark, for example, reaches sexual maturity at age 150. It lives to over 400 years old!
The variety of shapes and sizes and environments of sharks is incredible. They find critters to eat by sensing the electricity in their prey's bodies. Smelling blood is a secondary skill. Some sharks don't eat meat. The risk of dying by shark is miniscule, although people do get bit. Most sharks don't like people meat. They have trouble recognizing when that interesting seal is actually a person, though.
Shiffman writes a lot of ink on the shark fin controversy. He doesn't think banning shark fins should happen, but he's against shark finning. A lot of communities cut off the fins of caught sharks because there is a market for them. But the main reason the shark was caught was for its meat, not the fin. Interesting sidenote - the fin is full of pollutants that are carcinogenic. He says shark-finning - killing a shark only for its fin - doesn't happen on the same scale as fishers who cut off the fins from a shark that has been killed for its meat. Shiffman is completely in on sustainable fishing. He receives death threats for his views.
Some of the 'why' for Shiffman's views are that there are 536 types of recognized sharks, and many of them are doing well. A lot of sharks are not on any endangered lists, or they shouldn't be listed. He thinks environmental destruction is not a real issue for sharks. This may cause people to believe Shiffman is a stooge for the politically-extreme Right, but he has science to back him up. He believes overfishing is the main threat of extinction. He is a man who does science nuances, parsing the data into rational elements and exact numbers and proven science data. Complete bans on fishing are utter nonsense to Shiffman because he has been to those communities where if they don't fish, they die. They won't obey any bans if the starvation death of themselves and their kids result. He explains it's better to get everyone on the same page about conservation.
Some of the barriers to shark conservation are multiple and complex. There are overlapping agencies and legal entities regulating fishing and the creation of sanctuaries. Some environmental agencies tasked with the responsibility of monitoring fisheries might only regulate a town, or a city, or a state, or one country. The United Nations agencies do not have any law or legal force. Some sharks migrate. Some live near the coasts, others in the middle of the ocean. Fishing vessels are difficult to monitor if they are in international waters or are fishing in a poor country's 200-mile zone (Florida has a 9-mile zone). Bycatch issues require upgraded nets and hooks that can be astronomically expensive for many fishers. NGO's and muli-national agencies cover this part of the world or that, with different agreed upon articles of conservation measures. Shiffman has all of them listed, with addresses, and maps. Like, WOW. It's more like the Tower of Babel, not a unified effort!
He has many chapters explaining what could be done, but his recommendations are a complex web of monitoring nuances and legal 'if-then-else' dense regulations to me. I can't see how an ordinary fishing family will understand the rules he believes should be in place. Gentle reader, if you read this book, perhaps you will believe I am underestimating ordinary people's ability to obey the thousands of regulations Shiffman and others are recommending, as well as the expensive means of monitoring fishing vessels that return to port or are boarded at sea and watched by satellite. Idk.
There are big Bibliography and Index sections.
And then, there is this:
https://youtu.be/XqZsoesa55w
Science-book readers who love digging into in-depth summaries of well-researched, science-based studies, with additional links to the original science papers, will love ‘Why Sharks Matter: A Deep Dive with the World’s Most Misunderstand Predator’. Author David Shiffman also includes reasoned arguments against a number of popular tactics and social media efforts to stop all shark killing. There are color photos, charts and tables which aid viewing the complicated data considerably. I loved the "Meet the Scientist" bios!
Quote: "...this book focuses on science-based shark conservation, including the scientific evidence for why we need to protect sharks and which sharks to prioritize for protection. I also support the data-driven, evidence-based policies that have been shown to be most effective at protecting sharks. There are arguments for protecting sharks that don't have roots in science, and these aren't wrong, they're just not what I'm interested in and not what this book about."
Shiffman is apparently unafraid to champion a viewpoint of moderation when putting policies of conservation into effect, which would help both fishers and sealife. As he points out, many communities around the world require fishing to eat, and earn a living. These communities, and even countries, like the island nations, have no other way to survive at all. As a result, he is a pariah to many animal activists. He does support his views with a lot of science! But while he is excellent in parsing science and scientific studies, he seemingly thinks the complexity of the issues surrounding fishing, pollution, and the interdisciplinary sciences involved should be easy to explain to the public if the bumper-sticker organizations and campaigns, like those that do "Save the sharks!" petitions, would go away. He seems to believe just the dense science-based explanations using hundreds of pages, diagrams, charts and numbers on the hundreds of involved complex issues can be explained to the general public, which will arouse reasoned responses. No. Not. Most people can't balance their checkbooks.
But I do agree people with the credentials and expertise should step up and offer suggestions. What the politicians get though, from many petitioners is a lot of moral and spacy spiritual sermons that are different ways to say "animals have souls and feel pain, so do something." However, we recently saw important judges and congressional members from some states and the federal government sounding like illiterate toddlers on TV in trying to understand how the Internet works. Shiffman is fighting an uphill battle, I suspect.
He does not extensively talk about shark behaviors and biology, but there is a lot of interesting tidbits, here and there. When he does, it's fascinating. The Greenland shark, for example, reaches sexual maturity at age 150. It lives to over 400 years old!
The variety of shapes and sizes and environments of sharks is incredible. They find critters to eat by sensing the electricity in their prey's bodies. Smelling blood is a secondary skill. Some sharks don't eat meat. The risk of dying by shark is miniscule, although people do get bit. Most sharks don't like people meat. They have trouble recognizing when that interesting seal is actually a person, though.
Shiffman writes a lot of ink on the shark fin controversy. He doesn't think banning shark fins should happen, but he's against shark finning. A lot of communities cut off the fins of caught sharks because there is a market for them. But the main reason the shark was caught was for its meat, not the fin. Interesting sidenote - the fin is full of pollutants that are carcinogenic. He says shark-finning - killing a shark only for its fin - doesn't happen on the same scale as fishers who cut off the fins from a shark that has been killed for its meat. Shiffman is completely in on sustainable fishing. He receives death threats for his views.
Some of the 'why' for Shiffman's views are that there are 536 types of recognized sharks, and many of them are doing well. A lot of sharks are not on any endangered lists, or they shouldn't be listed. He thinks environmental destruction is not a real issue for sharks. This may cause people to believe Shiffman is a stooge for the politically-extreme Right, but he has science to back him up. He believes overfishing is the main threat of extinction. He is a man who does science nuances, parsing the data into rational elements and exact numbers and proven science data. Complete bans on fishing are utter nonsense to Shiffman because he has been to those communities where if they don't fish, they die. They won't obey any bans if the starvation death of themselves and their kids result. He explains it's better to get everyone on the same page about conservation.
Some of the barriers to shark conservation are multiple and complex. There are overlapping agencies and legal entities regulating fishing and the creation of sanctuaries. Some environmental agencies tasked with the responsibility of monitoring fisheries might only regulate a town, or a city, or a state, or one country. The United Nations agencies do not have any law or legal force. Some sharks migrate. Some live near the coasts, others in the middle of the ocean. Fishing vessels are difficult to monitor if they are in international waters or are fishing in a poor country's 200-mile zone (Florida has a 9-mile zone). Bycatch issues require upgraded nets and hooks that can be astronomically expensive for many fishers. NGO's and muli-national agencies cover this part of the world or that, with different agreed upon articles of conservation measures. Shiffman has all of them listed, with addresses, and maps. Like, WOW. It's more like the Tower of Babel, not a unified effort!
He has many chapters explaining what could be done, but his recommendations are a complex web of monitoring nuances and legal 'if-then-else' dense regulations to me. I can't see how an ordinary fishing family will understand the rules he believes should be in place. Gentle reader, if you read this book, perhaps you will believe I am underestimating ordinary people's ability to obey the thousands of regulations Shiffman and others are recommending, as well as the expensive means of monitoring fishing vessels that return to port or are boarded at sea and watched by satellite. Idk.
There are big Bibliography and Index sections.
And then, there is this:
https://youtu.be/XqZsoesa55w
February 2, 2024
Somewhat informative and a quick breezy read. At the same time, it’s an odd book. The author is clearly very knowledgeable and interested in sharks as species. However, he has a particular kind of nerdy condescension toward people who might care about them and a complete indifference toward individual sharks. There’s no awe or reverence for the animal. More of the book is spent nitpicking factual inaccuracies of shark fan Facebook pages or his Twitter mentions than sharing information about sharks. That’s all in the first few pages. We get nothing about cultural or indigenous beliefs and practices around sharks. Instead he refers the reader to watch Moana to understand them.
He’s strangely dismissive of threats and cruelty toward animals that don’t pose population level risks. As a matter of directing conservation energy, sure focus on overfishing as it is plainly the largest part of the problem. But I don’t see why that necessitates dismissing other threats (like climate change destroying coral reefs where many sharks find food sources).
This is also wildly repetitive for such a short book. If you took out the variations of “well regulated, sustainable shark fisheries are possible” you’d lose about 1/3 of the page count. Also the caveat that such fisheries account for less than 10% of shark fisheries gets repeated much less frequently.
Finally, he tries really hard to be funny with mixed results. He references Branson Reese which is cool! But then he also quotes Michael Scott. In 2022?
I really wanted to like this and think I agree with him about most of what’s covered in the book but found the format, focus of the book, and authorial voice to be really frustrating.
He’s strangely dismissive of threats and cruelty toward animals that don’t pose population level risks. As a matter of directing conservation energy, sure focus on overfishing as it is plainly the largest part of the problem. But I don’t see why that necessitates dismissing other threats (like climate change destroying coral reefs where many sharks find food sources).
This is also wildly repetitive for such a short book. If you took out the variations of “well regulated, sustainable shark fisheries are possible” you’d lose about 1/3 of the page count. Also the caveat that such fisheries account for less than 10% of shark fisheries gets repeated much less frequently.
Finally, he tries really hard to be funny with mixed results. He references Branson Reese which is cool! But then he also quotes Michael Scott. In 2022?
I really wanted to like this and think I agree with him about most of what’s covered in the book but found the format, focus of the book, and authorial voice to be really frustrating.
June 8, 2022
Learned a lot. Written to be accessible. The critique of the "ban shark finning" arguments were persuasive, as were the analysis of the limits of environmental tourism, and the author is working hard to address the cultural epistemological limitations of being a white male author on an issue that impacts a wide variety of communities worldwide. I knock him for his very simplistic advocacy advice of "shut up and trust the experts". While for a very technical, scientific issue like fisheries management this makes some sense, the author should at least acknowledge the larger limits of elite management, the need to engage in larger political-economic changes so folks don't have to depend on fish meat, and the damage this mentality does when cross applies to issues of human social science. Also, regular people can develop a degree of expertise with work and effort, a reality the author does not acknowledge or does not believe in. Talking about global agricultural policy, the way in which protein is distributed, as well as economic opportunity is tied to global capitalism might be relevant to protecting sharks, but this would exceed the technocratic managerial politics of the author, so it's just kinda glossed over.
December 27, 2022
I love this book because it covers the reality of the situation with sharks and Dr. Shiffman makes it easy to read which allows it to be for anyone who is willing to learn!
June 12, 2022
An accessible book about various aspects of biodiversity, conservation and ecology that illustrates the highly complex issues on hand and the conflicting interests at play. As a bonus, we get to learn much about sharks, a 400 million year old super-fish, at the top of the cool charts.
June 6, 2022
An absolutely FANTASTIC book! Dr. Shiffman takes complex environmental and population concerns and makes it easy for the layman to understand. I'm particularly impressed by his ability to explain how scientific experiments, results, and conclusions work (what made me specifically think of this is pgs 77-78), since it is easy to misunderstand academic writing if you have no background in it. I cannot recommend this book enough; it is both incredibly informative and humorous. If you are interested in sharks AT ALL, get this book!
January 15, 2023
This has everything you could want to learn about the current state of shark conservation policy and more. While the biology/physiology section at the beginning and the actionable items at the end were my highlights (sorry, I'm just NOT a policy girl), every section was really important. If you want to do some learnin', this is for you.
July 2, 2023
Great book! Super informative
July 25, 2025
I liked it. Fun read and contained lots of science. Author had some interesting points of view. Go canes 🙌
May 22, 2023
A manifesto for good practice in conservation efforts. The reasoning is great and there are enough jokes and stories throughout to remain entertaining. I would've liked to learn more about shark lifestyles, but it makes sense that this book only focuses on lifestyle or sensing aspects when it matters for conservation decisions.
August 19, 2025
An insightful bridge into the world of shark conservation policy and advocacy with a troublingly condescending tone. It’s written very informally so it’s easy to read, but even as a marine biology student with significant prior knowledge, I felt a little like I was being shamed for misconceptions on niche subjects I was reading the book to learn more about. Author repeatedly referenced prior interactions with real people with distaste as examples of what not to do, which to me came off as… questionable? Almost like he was sharing embarrassing stories conspiratorially with readers to make fun of people that could have shared their same misunderstandings about the significance of certain conservation strategies. I knew coming into this book that Shiffman writes like this from reading some of his other blogs posts on Southern Fried Science, and while it was at times very funny, it honestly probably offended a lot of the audience that could’ve benefited from this book. The information itself was GREAT. I learned lots and lots about sustainable fisheries for sharks, current threats, target-based vs limit-based policy and legal protection frameworks in general. He also had a great section spotlighting several different prominent scientists and environmentalists to share how they were contributing to the field. Shiffman gave a thoroughhh explanation of why policies preventing shark fin trade in the US are actually wasteful and unlikely to benefit shark populations, but again, he did it in a way that felt like “duhhhh you didn’t already think exactly like I do?” so it’s hard to take on new information when you feel a little like a fraud of a scientist or something. Overall he did a great job discussing lots of misconceptions and misinformation about shark conservation but I think the way he framed it made a lot of his target audience (unclear who that was?) feel dumb af.
December 15, 2022
4.5 Stars
First of all I have to say that I listened to this on audiobook so some information may have been given but I can't look it up since I don't own/have access to a physical copy. So read this review with this in mind.
"Why Sharks Matter" is a great book to give an overview about the importance of sharks for the ocean. It is very accessible and easy to understand.
Sometimes I would have liked a step back from the American position to a more worldwide viewpoint. Some arguments that were made felt a little easy in their context especially the ones about finning. That gave me the impression that the author sees the problem but undersold it based on his americanized viewpoint. I had the impression that it was mostly the American POV or an Asian one (what about the EU?). So the authors argumentation left an incomplete impression on me.
Also I'm not entirely sure when this was written. It's published 2022 but most data and examples given are ca. 2013. (Again the reminder I listened to this book, so I can't look this up!)
Overall I really enjoyed this book but would recommend to read up more on the worldwide situation of sharks.
First of all I have to say that I listened to this on audiobook so some information may have been given but I can't look it up since I don't own/have access to a physical copy. So read this review with this in mind.
"Why Sharks Matter" is a great book to give an overview about the importance of sharks for the ocean. It is very accessible and easy to understand.
Sometimes I would have liked a step back from the American position to a more worldwide viewpoint. Some arguments that were made felt a little easy in their context especially the ones about finning. That gave me the impression that the author sees the problem but undersold it based on his americanized viewpoint. I had the impression that it was mostly the American POV or an Asian one (what about the EU?). So the authors argumentation left an incomplete impression on me.
Also I'm not entirely sure when this was written. It's published 2022 but most data and examples given are ca. 2013. (Again the reminder I listened to this book, so I can't look this up!)
Overall I really enjoyed this book but would recommend to read up more on the worldwide situation of sharks.
April 10, 2024
I picked this up looking to learn about sharks, and instead I got page after page of the author rehashing his old twitter arguments, rambling about his personal life/opinions, and plugging his social media, website, and talks. Stylistically, the book is an ugly mess, reading like a nearly 300 page long twitter thread (the author uses hashtags, quotes from tweets, and gives shoutouts to his mutuals). In terms of content, at least half of the book is just Shiffman ranting about all the "activists" he doesn't like and telling unfunny jokes. Even when staying on topic, the book can't gain any momentum because its author feels the need to insert semi-relevant tangents, switch topics at random, and abandon points without ever actually developing them (read the section on the film 'Jaws' to see a model for the structure of the whole book). Shiffman doesn't respect his readers' time, and the constant self-congratulating comes across as narcissistic (he begins the final chapter by quoting his own tweet). This book is an embarrassment. There is no good reason to read it.
August 21, 2022
This was super informative in a topic about sharks that I haven't read much about yet! Enjoyable read, casual yet practical writing style with plenty of facts and information. The first couple of chapters were a little too easy for someone who has a foundation in sharks/shark science already BUT would be great for new readers of the genre or anyone who wants to know more about sharks. I loved reading about the conservationism and the different facets of it all, which I have not yet encountered in other books in such depth. Having been published in 2022, I found all the up-to-date and modern information and writing style to be refreshing. Shiffman had plenty of fun tidbits and funny lines in the midst of what could be dense to some readers. Highly recommend for anyone interested in sharks or ocean conservationism, or looking for a nice nonfiction read. However I would potentially challenge the claim that Sandbar sharks are the #BestSharks lol :)
December 11, 2023
This book is (mostly) informative and genuinely funny. It was gratifying to know that when I stopped watching Shark Week in disgust as it turned from informational to pathetic infotainment, I was in the very good company of marine biologists everywhere. Definitely recommend, especially if you need a little deprogramming from dumb, sensationalist media portrayals of these amazing and increasingly endangered animals. In a world where barbaric people fin them alive in the tens of millions every year, crashing some populations by 98%, humans are FAR scarier.
My quibble with this book is that, like many of us, he does not have a great understanding of professional areas outside his own, and thus he is naive and dismissive about criminal organizations' roles in poaching sharks at scale. He may hate when people misrepresent science, and I equally hate when someone says "oh, a law was passed against finning so that takes care of that!" The ignorance of lack of enforcement, the role of corruption... it makes me seethe.
And if you're still defending shark fin soup as "cultural", may you be thrown into the ocean to die after your arms and legs have been removed.
My quibble with this book is that, like many of us, he does not have a great understanding of professional areas outside his own, and thus he is naive and dismissive about criminal organizations' roles in poaching sharks at scale. He may hate when people misrepresent science, and I equally hate when someone says "oh, a law was passed against finning so that takes care of that!" The ignorance of lack of enforcement, the role of corruption... it makes me seethe.
And if you're still defending shark fin soup as "cultural", may you be thrown into the ocean to die after your arms and legs have been removed.
February 16, 2025
This is a very unpretentious, empathetic book based on hard, scientific facts that also recognizes the importance of understanding socioeconomic pressures that impact conservation efforts. I really appreciated the author’s expansive, global, and anti-colonial approach to conservation. It was also easy to read while being extremely informative. My only qualm is that there were some instances of repeating the same thing multiple times throughout which I found unnecessary.
I was honestly surprised to read some of the reviews that said that the tone was “narcissistic” and lacking in humility. I found the author to be extremely honest, which is very refreshing. He presented the information in an accessible way while not flinching away from difficult truths that many non-conservation professionals are afraid to hear. If you’re upset about him calling out certain ideas and practices for being harmful, then perhaps you are the exact person that this book is trying desperately to reach.
I was honestly surprised to read some of the reviews that said that the tone was “narcissistic” and lacking in humility. I found the author to be extremely honest, which is very refreshing. He presented the information in an accessible way while not flinching away from difficult truths that many non-conservation professionals are afraid to hear. If you’re upset about him calling out certain ideas and practices for being harmful, then perhaps you are the exact person that this book is trying desperately to reach.
April 1, 2023
It started so well. Really engaging, relatively light hearted and interesting. I think it has a lot of useful information and is a good intro to conservation.
It did however become arrogant and a little petty at times. We all encounter idiots on social media, and people who disagree with us. Recounting twitter arguments however, does not make for a good book. Continuing to put down and mock non marine biologists for shark advocacy was also disappointing. You need whole communities on board for successful conservation and very few people are going to have an acceptable ocean science degree. The author is clearly not particularly interested in fish sentience or individual worth, so I can understand why he clashes with animal activists.
I’ll give it 4 stars as there’s lots of useful stuff. But a good edit and a more humble tone would have made it a better book.
It did however become arrogant and a little petty at times. We all encounter idiots on social media, and people who disagree with us. Recounting twitter arguments however, does not make for a good book. Continuing to put down and mock non marine biologists for shark advocacy was also disappointing. You need whole communities on board for successful conservation and very few people are going to have an acceptable ocean science degree. The author is clearly not particularly interested in fish sentience or individual worth, so I can understand why he clashes with animal activists.
I’ll give it 4 stars as there’s lots of useful stuff. But a good edit and a more humble tone would have made it a better book.
October 8, 2022
This is a really fascinating book. The first section focuses on introducing sharks and the author's background in studying sharks, while the later chapters explore policies issues around shark conservation. At one level, the policy discussions all basically suggest that it's better to follow and support the scientific experts than to share popular pseudo-information on social media. Shiffman goes into a lot of additional detail, though, about why different policies may or may not work. The text does get a bit dry in some of these discussions, but overall, it's a good read both for learning about sharks and for getting a clearer picture of conservation research and how it works.
April 6, 2023
Why Sharks Matter fills the gap between the All About Sharks books often targeted at junior readers (including one I’ve written), and scientific articles that dive deep into the weeds of shark biology and fisheries (others I’ve written). In addition to its conversational tone, Shiffman’s highly readable effort focuses on how shark fisheries are (or should be) managed to sustain populations. The author’s personal perspective—based on impressive direct experience—delivers a much-needed message of scientifically grounded conservation, without the hype. This is the shark book we’ve been waiting for and deserves to be read widely.
April 9, 2023
This is an interesting and entertaining book about the conservation challenges of sharks written by a shark biologist in a “no nonsense” style. He is not an alarmist, and I was surprised to learn that climate change and plastics are much less of a threat to sharks than I would have imagined. Instead, overfishing—even by recreational anglers—poses the biggest threat. Even so, he believes that sustainable fisheries are the answer—not boycotting fish all together or killing no sharks. He has a great sense of humor so it was an easy read.
August 11, 2024
David Shiffman gives you a real education in shark science, advocacy, conservation, how to help sharks in the digital age, anything else you want to know. Shiffman gives you a rundown on why online petitions are rarely useful and how your efforts would be better spent elsewhere. I was amazed at how much information he packs into this book because he is very concise in 253 pages. I guess that's what sets him apart from other authors on sharks; he talks about the issues currently affecting sharks and what he does in his profession along with a story or what organizations do to help with policies be it local, regional or international.
October 3, 2024
3.5 ⭐️
This is a great introduction into shark conservation and even tho my bachelors degree was in conservation bio I still felt like I learned a lot. As with most nonfiction books it was a slower go for me but Shiffman does a great job of putting humor and fun into it. I also really liked all of the colored photo inserts that were in the book. Only points off were because the book dragged a bit at times but There’s a reason I usually listen to nonfiction books. Still a worthwhile read if you’re curious or interested in marine conservation and shark conservation in particular.
This is a great introduction into shark conservation and even tho my bachelors degree was in conservation bio I still felt like I learned a lot. As with most nonfiction books it was a slower go for me but Shiffman does a great job of putting humor and fun into it. I also really liked all of the colored photo inserts that were in the book. Only points off were because the book dragged a bit at times but There’s a reason I usually listen to nonfiction books. Still a worthwhile read if you’re curious or interested in marine conservation and shark conservation in particular.
November 16, 2025
A great introduction to sharks and shark conservation. I would quibble over the title as most of the book is not about why sharks matter, but the threats they face and the various conservation actions needed to keep their populations healthy. As a wildlife biologist who knows almost nothing about sharks, I found the shark sections very interesting, but some of the sections on conservation approaches offered little new to me. They would be of more interest to a general reader wanting to find out more about conservation. The book is still highly recommended.
July 10, 2022
4.5
I don't like books that have a lot of "I, me, or my," funnily enough. This book does have a lot of that, but ultimately I think it serves to demonstrate just how knowledgeable and passionate the author is about sharks... So knowledgeable that I felt that I was out of my depth with a lot of it, despite it being very readable and "dumbed down."
I don't like books that have a lot of "I, me, or my," funnily enough. This book does have a lot of that, but ultimately I think it serves to demonstrate just how knowledgeable and passionate the author is about sharks... So knowledgeable that I felt that I was out of my depth with a lot of it, despite it being very readable and "dumbed down."
June 12, 2024
Why Sharks Matter is an informed and informative book on shark conservation that tackles misconceptions and explains conflicts between biologists and activists. Read my full review at https://inquisitivebiologist.com/2024...
November 16, 2025
Very informative book about the species as a whole. The author has a sense of humor that is equivalent to my own which is of course funny lol. Discusses a lot about the inaccurate information spread about sharks which is very important for me as a passionate advocate for these incredible animals.
There isn’t much to complain about with this read, it was very educational.
There isn’t much to complain about with this read, it was very educational.
July 30, 2022
Excellent book on shark conservation for the average person! As someone with a marine science background this had all the right angles for introducing sharks, how IUCN Red list works, and so much more while making it enjoyable to read and easily accessible! Loved it!
August 21, 2022
Why Sharks Matter really opens your eyes to shark conservation. Shark Week is great and all, but it's just touching the surface. This book deeply dives into what it'll take to save sharks and how regular people can help.
September 2, 2022
Five stars for the topic and for the science. One star for the writing - I didn't realize that this was going to read like the transcript of a YouTube video, complete with hashtags every other paragraph.
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