Shark Men

[Porkfried]

What do you guys think of these guys? I've seen some episodes but not all of em. Some people I know like these guys and see them as dedicated conservationists, some others see them as incompetent "stunt men" trying to make money off of sensationalism.

Other then the deep-hooking incident, they seem okay to me. They seem to care about sharks and they seemed sorry about hurting the deep hooked shark.

I do however think that they overplay the drama just a wee bit too much using phrases like "our biggest challenge yet!" or "putting it all on the line".

A show exclusively about great whites is also going too much on sensationalism since while those who know nothing about sharks see great whites as the coolest (not that great whites aren't cool.)

The shark men also have a clear lack of experience which is pathetic.

I don't know, what do you guys think about the show?

[fire_diver]

From the couple of shows I've seen, it seems like they are really trying to do something important and beneficial. I like thier platform and that they seem to truly care about the welfare of the animals they catch.

It's hard to find a show on TV anymore thats not filled with overhyped, made up drama, but the level of it on this show seems pretty low so far.

[drbill]

I haven't seen any of these episodes, but assume this is the National Geographic show with Dr. Michael Domeier. If correct, I do NOT like the methods employed in their capture of the animals and raising them out of the water to draw blood and attach the tag. Bringing these animals above water causes the shark's mass to press down on the internal organs and must certainly cause a degree of trauma (not to mention the use of the hook and the fight to tire them out). I was with Domeier in a 2005 trip to Guadalupe in which he used a "lance" to attach satellite tags and that was much less invasive.

[smellzlikefish]

I've worked up sharks by immobilizing them at boatside and don't see the advantage of this elevator lift-gate. We got the same data and nobody got hurt-including the shark. I like Dr. Bill's lance method even more.

I remember years ago watching Chris Fischer on another television show about spearfishing and thinking he was one of those people who really like their face in the camera. Now we see him again somehow reborn as a shark expert. The real question, though, is are we being critical or just jealous that we aren't paid to catch big sharks, contribute to science, and be the star of our own television show?

[drbill]

I like thier platform and that they seem to truly care about the welfare of the animals they catch.

It is my opinion that the platform itself creates a situation that causes significant stress to the animal. A 6' blue shark can be brought up on a platform or swim step without doing too much damage to it. However a massive GWS weighing substantially more will have the weight of its body pressing down on its internal organs. That, added to the stress of being hooked and "played" until the GWS is worn out and can be "reeled" in seems a bit much to me.

I had no problem with Domeier's earlier tagging using the lances. I also understand his rational for using the current approach since the tags darted into the GWS' body did not last as long as these are supposed to.

[fire_diver]

I would have to take your word for it since I don't know that much about shark physiology. Seemed like a good idea to me, but I guess laymen are thier target audience.

[AfterDark]

I've worked up sharks by immobilizing them at boatside and don't see the advantage of this elevator lift-gate. We got the same data and nobody got hurt-including the shark. I like Dr. Bill's lance method even more.

I remember years ago watching Chris Fischer on another television show about spearfishing and thinking he was one of those people who really like their face in the camera. Now we see him again somehow reborn as a shark expert. The real question, though, is are we being critical or just jealous that we aren't paid to catch big sharks, contribute to science, and be the star of our own television show?

I don't know Fischer but I think he and his crew are there as an expert blue water anglers not as shark experts. You got to draw blood from large female GW's and sperm samples from males GW's boatside? WOW!

[Thiad]

I am not a fan of the drama and I fear the repercussions. I've watched a few episodes, and as I said in another post, it reminds me of something created for MTV - bad music, quick cut camera angles, high tension. Last week, with the crew off the coast of San Onofre and Malibu, at least one guy muttered that he couldn't believe how people were in the water within a few hundred yards of the sharks. Beyond that, watching a shark almost drown because it got tangled up in their fishing line made me sick. That's the second shark (we know of as viewers) that had issues.

Maybe I'm going out on a limb here, but even though these guys do talk about conservation and finding out more about the species, I worry about general public perception and how the media distorts anything having to do with sharks. I can almost hear the collective air-gulp of people who go to the beach and are now terrified they may be some shark's next meal. Rarely does the media seem to put sharks in the correct context instead falling back on the dramatic ("killer shark" and "menacing killer" come to mind). And, it tends to be that dramatic bent that creates an uproar - the "off with their heads" mentality that lessen's the public's desire to protect the species and brings out the crazies with pitchforks.

Beyond the possibility of creating another "Jaws" scenario, I see NatGeo trying to compete with other shows ("Shark Week", "The Deadliest Catch", etc), but with the guise of "good science" to keep with their reputation. If that's the case, then show us the good science. Bring on a panel of other experts to challenge Dr. Domeir and prove the work he's doing is valuable and essential. Subject the work to peer review and prove the findings are worth the physical danger to the sharks. If it's all good, then great - continue with the show. But please, enough with the "it could bite your arm off" dramatics.

[smellzlikefish]

I worked up some large tigers, but not GWS. Sorry for the misconception, Afterdark.

[HiQPen]

It is my opinion that the platform itself creates a situation that causes significant stress to the animal. A 6' blue shark can be brought up on a platform or swim step without doing too much damage to it. However a massive GWS weighing substantially more will have the weight of its body pressing down on its internal organs. That, added to the stress of being hooked and "played" until the GWS is worn out and can be "reeled" in seems a bit much to me.

I had no problem with Domeier's earlier tagging using the lances. I also understand his rational for using the current approach since the tags darted into the GWS' body did not last as long as these are supposed to.

Yeah, I am a little uncomfortable with their methodology, as well, although I have no professional knowledge of such things. However, people have been tagging GWS for decades and still don't know that much about them, while these guys have reportedly found a GWS nursery/birthing area already. If it is true, that this method of tagging is better, both in quality and quantity of data retrieved, then I would be more accepting of their methods.

Maybe if they were to forgo the blood/semen sampling, then they could do away with the lift and do it from a boat? Or is that too tall of an order with a large GWS?