In 1975, Steven Spielberg brought Jaws, Peter Benchley’s best selling, to the big screen. Who wasn’t afraid to go back into the water after that? I saw Jaws when I was eleven years old and, like many, have not entered the ocean comfortably since. Jaws didn’t just impact kids, now baby boomers (some of whom developed real aqua-phobias). To sharks, otherwise known as man-eaters, Jaws marked the beginning of their demise.
Shark phobias developed across the Nation post-Jaws, especially in New Jersey. The story of Jaws was based on was the Jersey shore shark attacks of 1916 that resulted four deaths. The scene was set when an intense heat wave drove massive numbers of people to the ocean (pre-air conditioner days) that also attracted a great number of sharks. Experts never agreed on whether the attacks were from one shark, or multiple sharks; though, they did agree that the species was most likely Great White and/or Bull Shark(s). As frightening as it all sounds, it was a fluke.
In 2007, there were zero fatalities in the US from shark attacks. In 2004, 2005 and 2006, there were four shark deaths per year across the US. Given the hundreds of thousands of people visiting the ocean each day of summer, the likelihood of an individual shark attack really is slim to none. The looming possibility of a shark attack continues to keep people out of the water is sad. The very real slaughter of sharks, by man, is a tragedy.
Shark hunting, which escalated after the 1916 attacks and exploded after Jaws, has had a negative impact on shark populations. In the last fifteen years, shark populations have declined by 80%. Their existence has graduated from “near threatened” to “vulnerable to extinction”.
For sport, some fisher persons (being inclusive here) who like to feed their machismo, do so by catching sharks. Often times, the sharks die while hanging upside down for a photo-op.
In commercial fishing, “finning” (the process of cutting off a shark’s fins) supplies the main ingredient of the long enjoyed Asian delicacy of shark fin soup. The law of supply and demand has caused the value of the main ingredient to rise, which makes shark finning even more profitable. Sharks, with their long reproductive cycle are unable to maintain their populations; and as such, are in essence a non-renewable resource. What’s worse, is that only 5% of the resource is consumable. Unlike man, sharks do not hunt for sport, and they are efficient in their processes and they consume their entire catch. For this reason, I will refer to shark-attack as an “oops”.
When a shark makes an “oops” upon a person, most of the time they immediately release and move on (perhaps embarrassed by their faux pas). For the only reason that a shark would ever happen to consider a human for a tasty dish, would be if the shark mistakes the human for a struggling fish, like when swimming on a surfboard, arms and legs a-flailing.
Environmentally, sharks matter a great deal to our ecosystem. As the oceanic clean-up crew, sharks have an important job in removing the sick and dying so that the rest of the ocean’s creatures can continue to thrive. Sharks migrate all over the world and have been maintaining the balance of the oceanic food-chain for millions of years. According to marine biologists, in approximately forty years (if commercial fishing goes unchecked), our oceans may be void of sharks. The implications at present are unknown; however, it is certain that the delicate balance of our ecosystem will be irreversibly disrupted.
What can humans do?
Support the efforts of organizations such as National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Due to the diligence of the NOAA, new rules to ban the practice of finning sharks at sea have been set, and limits on catching sandbar and other shark species were put into effect on July 24, 2008.
"By banning shark-finning, improving conservation plans and reducing shark by-catch we can protect the future of the ocean's apex predator. In 40 or more years, marine biologists believe that without sharks, world fisheries and the ecological balance of the sea will deteriorate due to over fishing." Michael Herrmann, Researcher, SharkDefense LLC
Be thoughtful when you go for a visit in the ocean, for you are the guest. Be polite. Here are some pointers:
• Do not swim at twilight, or at night.
• Do not enter the water while bleeding (including menstruation).
• Do not wear shiny objects.
• Do not swim in murky water.
• Stay near other swimmers.
• Avoid drop-offs around sand bars.
• Do not swim with dogs, for their excessive splashing mimics an injured fish.
• Do not swim when there are flocks of birds or porpoises sightings.
Now, have fun at the beach…it is safe to go back in the water.
