Das Ich(thys): A Shark (dis)Orient-ed Onto-Economy/ A Biopolitics of Shark Ethnography

The meaning of sharkness in the West is coloured by many factors. Phenomenological commoditizations of varied sorts ranging from fiction films and TV, ecotourism and curated educational experiences such as aquariums provide locales of sedimentation of the significance that sharks have for human beings in Western society and also act as arenas for the production and reproduction of Western ideals. With respect to the latter, there is a significant degree of arbitrariness of the assemblages mobilized by and mobilizing Western teloi, having often very little to do with the well-being of sharks or even general consideration for the real substance of ideals such as education. The belief that sharks can simply float around in Western imagination according to infinite desire is extremely harmful generally and for sharks. If Western efforts at conservation of sharks are to prove effective, a strong appreciation of truth, equitability and respect must be established and sustained across all forms of media pertaining to sharks, including fiction, diplomacy and the very meaning of subjectivity.