What a revelation.

I'm an avid skin and scuba diver who started about 1970. Jaws came out in 1975. Before Jaws, you could count a shark per minute on the way to Santa Cruz Island. They suddenly became rare shortly after the movie. Very rare. I used to frequently meet people swimming up to 3/4 mile off the Malibu (Zuma) including a guy walking on pontoons. I didn't see anyone for 5 years after jaws.

I'm sure that media plays the part you say, but I'm not sure you appreciate the effect of Jaws. To the best of my knowledge, the only thing comparably catastrophic for sharks is shark finning.