Photo: Robert Caplin for The New York Times

Ok it's quite obvious this is not a living shark in an absolutely unsuitable tank.... infact it is an unconventional piece of art by Damien Hirst, currently on display at the Metropolitan Museum (until 2010).
Its name is "The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living”... long but effective.
This is a REAL shark not a model, preserved in formaldehyde in a vitrine. Due to deterioration of the original 14-foot (4.3 m) tiger shark, it was replaced with a new specimen in 2006. This is smaller but much more fierce.

If you want more info, read on in this New York Times Article


Photo: Robert Caplin for The New York Times