shark attack increase ?

[Peter_C]

As the internet grows, so does it's power. What once would have been written by a reporter and printed into a news paper the following day is now posted immediately by someone on a cell phone at the scene. In other words we now have more information available from the internet. Plus in more and more "remote" places too.

[farsidefan1]

Call it the aftershock of shark week.

[InTheDrink]

As the internet grows, so does it's power. What once would have been written by a reporter and printed into a news paper the following day is now posted immediately by someone on a cell phone at the scene. In other words we now have more information available from the internet. Plus in more and more "remote" places too.

Your point is clearly true - we have more and instant reporting these days, no doubt about it.

Yet on my trip to the red sea in '09 the Austrian guide who has worked the same place for 12 years said she'd never seen the sharks behave the way they were that year. She was getting bumped by the longimanus a LOT. Anecdotal? For sure. Worth discounting? I'm less sure. It's hardly a secret that we're screwing our seas and oceans. I'd not be particularly surprised with any side effect.

So yes definitely improved reporting is increasing our awareness. But I for one am keeping an open mind on whether its just that.

Thanks,
John

[KarolinaKid]

Extreme Climate Change is the problem. The warmer climate are driving the sharks mad.

Yea and Al Gore is the mad'est of all the sharks about it...you never know when he's going to attack again.

[drrich2]

Actually the cause has practical implications. If it turns out to be fish stock depletion, that could have a bearing on shark conservation efforts, since increasing predator numbers without increasing the prey base could have an impact on human attacks.

Some time back in an older thread on using shark nets to protect beaches, arguments were raised that the shark nets don't keep out all potentially dangerous sharks and do kill scads of creatures, sharks and otherwise. The argument was put forth that shark populations are so depleted that the nets are unnecessary (people argued about the definition of 'necessary,' of course). A counter argument was that if not for the nets, yes, shark populations might rebound to some extent, but that could in theory increase attacks. Which leads off into the 'how many sharks is a human life worth' debate, which seldom if ever leads to closure.

My point is, if it turns out attacks are on the rise, and that trend holds up over time, it would be useful to know what's causing it. But if you do a line graph following the incidence of rare events, the line will jump up and down, as even a couple of 'extra' shark attacks can create a short term peak in your data.

Richard.