The Meg movie: How accurate is The Meg? Shark expert on real life impact

Fans have been flocking to the cinema to see the new shark thriller starring Jason Statham, inspiring a surge of passion for research for the Megalodon.

While anyone with access to the internet can tell you the mega-shark is no longer alive, there are still more salient details about the species fans are missing out on.

Express.co.uk talked exclusively to Tom Hird, also known as The Blowfish, the only Heavy Metal Marine Biologist.

He said: ”The idea that all sharks are always out to kill humans sells movies, books, tv shows and papers, but it doesn’t matter how crazy the concept is, people often still think a truth lies beneath.

“There are some mad shark style films out there: Sharknado, Ghost Shark, 2 Headed Shark to name a few.

“But regardless of their ridiculous nature, the core concept always seems to be sharks are killers and humans are the targets.”

The Meg certainly perpetuated this stereotype, with the giant shark actively preying on the movie’s characters.

Hird, whose lifelong love of sharks stemmed initially from a fear of them, has spent his life working towards marine conservation after receiving his degree from Bangor University.

Fear of sharks may be commonplace, but it seems relatively unfounded.

“This is just false, sharks are not after humans,” Hird says definitively.

In fact, the USA averages just 19 shark attacks each year and one shark-attack fatality every two years.

“Hippos kill around an estimated 3,000 people a year – would people watch similar films about Hippos?”

Probably not.

But while some may see The Meg as a simple bit of fantasy, the impacts it has on reality can be deadly – for the sharks, not the humans.

“In the case of the Meg, the public’s time, effort and imagination get pulled onto an animal which has been dead for millions of years.

“They should be focussed now on the shark species around the globe which need our help.

“I don’t think films like Meg damage efforts to protect sharks, but they most certainly distract people from the reality of the oceans conservation crisis.”

Perhaps if The Meg had included a disclaimer about the dangers that sharks and our oceans face, a bit of education could come with the entertainment.

“People probably don’t realise that sharks have been around since before trees evolved before even flowers evolved,” Hird said.

“They are the true guardians of the ocean yet and are under serious threat.”

Hird himself is a shark aficionado, and says, had he been in Statham’s position, he would have looked after The Meg. “I probably would have given it a name and fed it tasty snacks,” he admits.

Of course, people don’t go to a movie like The Meg to learn about the devastation to our oceans and its inhabitants, but perhaps a movie like The Meg is exactly the kind of vehicle for this kind of awareness.

“I’d just say that people should enjoy this fantasy film for what it is, a fantasy.

“The real danger in our seas is us, we are smashing the oceans hard and it has to stop.

“I hope people might become inspired to do more for the seas if they become enthralled by the stories that can come from the depths.”