The True Value of Guadalupe Island’s White Sharks

This month marks the beginning of something new that I have been wanting to work on for years. Shark Species Valuations. And here is why this is so exciting. Because I see the potential in how we can build much more effective arguments around protecting sharks when we can show much they are worth ALIVE.

Every time I worked on shark fin legislation, the convincing arguments were not about protecting a species for the sake of having biodiversity, or because they have a right to live. It was never about cruelty or wasting a perfectly good animal to get only it’s fins. What worked was showing the amount of money they contribute to the economy in eco-tourism and the potential income that represents in the future.

We may not like that this is how animal conservation is approached. Sharks should be protected simply because they have a right to live, and because they are extremely important for the health of the ocean. But this point of view requires one to have empathy and a belief in the rights of nature. Most people do not make decisions based on what is good for our planet, or for the ecosystem. And even worse, the conservation of sharks often lies in the hands of decision-makers and authorities who value economics more than sustainability. So we have to be a lot more strategic and look beyond what we feel is right. Looking at the economics should not be a hindrance to shark protection but a central argument. Currently, sharks are only valued as a collection of body parts, chopped up and sold for soup, meat, or cosmetics. That is what we have to change.

We know that sharks keep commercially viable fish species healthy. They are the drivers of dive and eco-tourism and entertainment industries that generate billions of dollars per year, making use of the animals as a renewable resource, providing jobs to thousands, and bringing benefits to whole communities around the world. A shark that is being fished and killed only brings in a one-time profit of a couple of hundred dollars at most, for a few people that catch, import and export, and sell that fish. When we compare the numbers then the killing of sharks and rays becomes blatantly illogical and short-sighted. And slaughtering sharks for fun or for competition seems absolutely insane.

To prove that, it is critical to have real data. There are many published studies that have shown the value of dive tourism and sharks. And those have been extremely helpful in convincing lawmakers to protect sharks. But focusing only on tourism doesn’t tell the whole story. We are undervaluing sharks if we don’t look at all the other industries that benefit directly from sharks.

For example consider this: The Sharknado franchise has grossed over USD 4.5 billion. Millions are invested, paid and made every year during Shark Week (Discovery Channel) and Shark Fest (National Geographic Channel). This income will only grow in the years to come. Add to that books, games, social media, theme parks and other multimedia and entertainment industry activities that benefit specifically from the image and the fear factor of sharks. Sharks also drive social media viewership and the development of social media influencer fame and wealth. For example, the top 10 Instagram influencers have 9.7m followers and, according to Influencer Marketing Hub, have estimated cumulative earnings of USD 30,209 per post. This represents a whole sector of the economy that never comes into the discussion when management decisions are made.

All we needed was a way to tally up the numbers. Creating a valuation of a wild animal species seemed incredibly difficult to do. However, resource valuations for products and markets have been a standard element in investment markets, and more recently this has also been applied to the value of individual species. The experts of this type of analysis are Endangered Wildlife EÜ. They use a combination of recognized environmental, financial, and statistical techniques that are widely accepted and used in the academic and banking sectors. It just hadn’t been done for sharks.

It made sense to begin with the species that are the biggest money makers. What is crazy is the fact that these populations of sharks are incredibly small, and that the number of sharks that regularly interact with the dive industry is even smaller. So millions are made by a handful of sharks.

We calculated the value over 30 years because that is a standard used to represent one generation. And keeping a standard that can be applied to most shark species will allow us to compare populations. The first results are in:

Isla Guadalupe White Sharks – USD 123.1 Million

That is based on 380 individuals that are regularly found in the Isla Guadalupe waters, with 113 sharks regularly interacting with dive boats.

Bahamas Great Hammerhead Sharks – USD 29.4 Million

Based on a hundred individuals that are estimated to visit the area, with 30 of them being tagged. Which

We are working on numbers for Bahamas Tiger sharks, South Africa White Sharks, Florida sharks, and one report focused specifically on the Entertainment industry. So be on the lookout for those in the coming months.

It is our hope that these reports will lead to substantial changes in how we talk about sharks, as a fact-based argument that will call into question how anyone can justify killing sharks for sport? Or fishing them to be sold as low-quality meat? And to call on our policymakers to consider all the stakeholders more equally than they have in the past. The years of fishing and hunting being the sole masters of wildlife management decisions are over. Protecting sharks and the ocean is good for all. It is beneficial for our health, our food security, our economies, and our sanity. It is the only way forward.

To read more about the components of each report and the methods used to determine the values in this blog: Shark Species Valuation Reports – They Why and How. The summaries of each report are under our Valuing Sharks Alive campaign. We currently have two reports finalized. To support the funding of more reports around the globe, shop the limited edition Maya Bleu X Shark Allies Guadalupe Shark Tooth Candle on Shark Cafe’s shop.