Cage Goes In The Water

In the novel the shark cage comes ready assembled. Its dimensions ("over six feet tall and six feet wide and four feet deep") mean that Hooper - at "an inch over six feet" - is able to fit snugly inside. The cage is fitted with two buoyancy tanks on the top and has a control panel inside, the purpose of which is never demonstrated. Made of aluminium (or, as the original American edition of the novel  has it, "aluminum"), it's lightweight and easy to slide over the gunwale and into the water. It floats a few feet below the surface "rising and falling slowly in the swells" and is attached to the boat by two coils of rope secured to cleats aft and amidships.

In the movie the cage comes as a flatpack and has to be screwed and bolted together like a piece of  Ikea furniture - a task which, thanks to a lively scherzo from John Williams and some nimble editing from Verna Fields, is completed swiftly and efficiently (unlike the assembly of a piece of Ikea furniture). The cage is then lowered into the water using a block and tackle.

In the wake of the Jaws phenomenon shark watching from cages became a popular tourist attraction and it remains so to this day. Although it undoubtedly provides the curious with an up close and personal encounter with the ocean's predators, there are those who view the practice as ecologically unethical. One concern is that the chumming that is necessary to attract the sharks to the cage can affect their behaviour which ultimately could lead to an increase in attacks on humans. Anyone thinking of trying the experience would do well to watch this clip before going in the water.