“One of America’s great summer television pastimes” (VIDEO)

Shark Week on Discovery Channel US reached a stunning 27 million viewers (31 million in 2010) and 750,000 tweets in 2011. This year, with tweets being televised from 9 p.m.-10 p.m. nightly, Discovery hopes to far surpass that number. Besides that this Discovery is pulling out all the digital stops to make it’s 25th anniversary even more memorable: an audio-synced viewing experience, Shark Week Plus, with behind-the-scenes information, photos, info-graphics, quizzes, polls and additional companion material for five Shark Week 2012 premieres, which includes the stunning Air Jaws Apocalypse, a show using a Phantom High-Speed Camera to show great whites jumping out of the water to attack their prey, and How ‘Jaws’ Changed the World. Contrary to what you’ve learned from a movie like “Jaws,” sharks may be less scary to us than we are to them. Of the hundreds of shark species, only 20 actually snack on humans. And in 2011, only 12 deaths occurred from unprovoked shark attacks, says the International Shark Attack File. Still we’re killing 30 to 70 million sharks per year in fisheries. Unfortunately, these kings of the sea need our help. According to advocacy group Oceana, (PDF) “Of the 307 shark species assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 50 are listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered.” But only the white, whale and basking sharks are protected internationally under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Sharks now represent the greatest percentage of threatened marine species on the IUCN Red List of threatened species.” Finning, bycatching and fishing pressure are the main threats to sharks.” SHARK WEEK 2012 started on Sunday, August 12, 2012 at 9PM e/p on Discovery and will go on till Thursday August 16th. Besides all the fear footage you can also learn more about how you can help these endangered species, check out this Discovery Channel’s video. Or visit Sea Shepherd website! Besides that I highly recommend watching Rob Stewart’s (TEDxYouth) visually stunning and eye-opening 2006 Documentary SharkWater, the truth will surface! (1-9)