Spielberg says he regrets the ‘decimation of the shark population’ following the success of his 1975 film ‘Jaws’

Following the popularity of his 1975 picture ‘Jaws,’ director Steven Spielberg expressed his sincere concern for the ‘decimation of the shark population.’

The scenario of a man-eating great white shark attacking a US beach community was told in Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-winning movie, which led to an increase in sports fishing around the country.

‘I truly and to this day regret the decimation of the shark population because of the book and the film. I really, truly regret that,’ Spielberg, 75, told BBC Radio’s Desert Island Discs programme.

According to a research published in Nature the previous year, overfishing has caused a 71% decline in oceanic shark populations worldwide since the 1970s.

The Shark Conservation Fund, meanwhile, says 36 per cent of the world’s 1,250 shark and ray species are currently threatened with extinction.

Researchers have blamed films such as ‘Jaws’ for playing a role in the public’s perception of sharks, driving support for killing them.

Others, however, argue that this attributes too much significance to the influence of Hollywood.