MEDIA COMMUNICATION POLICY

1. The St. Lawrence Shark Observatory does not participate in live, recorded, telephone, or on-camera media interviews. As an independent volunteer-run scientific organisation, we communicate with the media primarily through press releases, written statements, and background documents in order to ensure accuracy, context, and consistency.
2. Because shark-related subjects can involve public safety, legal liability, and sensitive conservation issues, we favour carefully reviewed written communication over spontaneous interviews or commentary that may be abbreviated, taken out of context, oversimplified, or interpreted in ways that do not accurately reflect our position or the scientific nuance involved. Beyond contributing to misinformation and unnecessary sensationalism, such distortions may also carry potential legal and ethical implications in matters relating to public safety. Written communication therefore remains the only format through which ORS is prepared to address these subjects publicly.
3. In some cases, and subject to availability, we may respond to specific media questions in writing when no existing press release or public statement addresses the subject adequately.
4. We do not comment on shark stories or incidents occurring outside Canada, on matters not directly related to our research in the St. Lawrence, or on traumatic incidents involving sharks.