The toothy villain of “Jaws” terrified audiences in 1975. Offscreen, the hit film — which is celebrating its 50th anniversary — impacted sharks in unexpected ways.

Friday marks 50 years since the movie "Jaws" was released in theaters. The movie transformed cinema. It also had a huge impact on how people view sharks,

After 450 million years of evolutionary history, shark populations are collapsing, and more than a third of shark species and their relatives face extinction. Now scientists are trying to use the lure of “Jaws” to advance shark conservation efforts.