Kickstarter

'The Price of Existence' asks the question "Why?" a lot. Why is a protected species not actively being protected by the very laws that are support to save it from poachers and fishermen? When an attack occurs at a beach where sharks are known to inhabit, why are the sharks hunted and nets put up instead of simply choosing not to swim at that beach? Why are TV shows allowed to treat a threatened species like a lab rat when no one else is allowed to touch them? In the case of the white shark, it all comes down to money. 'The Price of Existence' seeks to tell this story of life, death, money, and the white shark through film.

I’ve always found it interesting that the fate of many species depends upon whether or not mankind benefits financially from that animal’s existence. No other animal personifies this theme more than the great white shark.  For the story I want to tell, I’m going to South Africa where the livelihood of the local residents and the lives of the sharks is the most directly interconnected.

White sharks were nearly wiped from the face of this earth by mankind until countries began declaring them a protected species, starting with South Africa in 1991. I acknowledge the positive action such countries have taken, but the reality is that simply declaring an animal as protected is not enough. Being protected on paper is not the same as being protected in reality; actual enforcement and the funding needing for this enforcement are lacking, leaving the fate of the white shark in the hands of those who financially benefit from this animal, whether this means the animal’s best interest is in mind or not.

There are those who blatantly break the law because the payload for landing one shark negates the consequences, while these consequences for being caught seem to exist in theory more than in reality.  

Sometimes the laws seem to bend when television networks are involved, another highly controversial debate.  In this film I'll be interviewing both those in support of and those who are against controversial television programs involving the white shark to tell a balanced story.

The ecotourism industry rakes in hundreds of thousands of dollars annually thanks to the sheer existence of the white shark...in this case the white shark indirectly benefits by incidentally having a watchful set of eyes present to drive away would-be shark assassins.  As long as the sharks are alive they can keep charging tourists to come and see them.  But what about when the ecotourism boats aren’t there? And what if ecotourism and all the associated money went away? Who would be left to watch out for the sharks?

My plan is to interview the local residents, biologists, fishermen, authorities, and ecotourism operators to examine the triangle of life, death, and money that has come to define the white shark’s very existence. I greatly appreciate your support documenting this story.