When “Jaws” debuted in U.S. theaters 50 years ago today, it helped launch a new era in American movies. Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster about a bloodthirsty great white terrorizing a beach town also stoked fear and fascination, exacting a toll on sharks.

More people are bitten by humans in New York than by sharks in the entire world. Sharks’ perception as bloodthirsty monsters, a product of their portrayal in Jaws, has driven their population to the b

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