How Afraid are you of Sharks?

[highlandfarmwv]

I was terrified of sharks until I dived with them at Hatteras, NC (lots of sand tigers). Now I feel cheated if I don't see one.

 

[Oxy]

Am I afraid of sharks h%#* no, I'm afraid of getting bit by one.
HOWEVER!
I had lost the desire to scuba dive many many, many many years ago. Until recently when I found this tooth, aint it a beaut? Thousands of years out there somewhere, till one day it washed up right here in So. Cal. and I found it. Until I can dive I can only imagine what hasn't washed up that i can find.
ps, what does a hungry shark look like?

 

[paradicio]

Where is the "We need to protect them more than we need to be protected from them" option?

 

[Jim Ernst]

I love Sharks.....

But I really fear the Humboldt squid.

Really..... I am not joking.

The reports show the squid have really started to invade Monterey bay, And they do kill Divers.

 

[ScooterBlenny]

I agree with Jim

 

[jva]

I've been told several times that Bull Sharks have the highest concentration of testosterone in any animal on earth, including human men.

Testosterone is 'just' another hormone and comparing average concentrations between species doesn't necessarily tell you anything about their aggressiveness (a hormone is simply a chemical messenger and its message may differ for different species).

With that out of the way, I just did a quick search on the Web of Science and I did not find any comparative study to back this claim, so I’m fairly skeptical.

 

[Saltwater Junky]

Afriad of sharks...No

Afraid of being bitten...Yes....The thought of dying is not attractive.

 

[Saltwater Junky]

"The bull shark ranks third in its number of unprovoked attacks on humans. The combination of its big size and its habitat — which includes populous tropical areas as well as freshwater bodies — makes it more of a potential threat than either white or tiger sharks."
from Shark Week : Discovery Channel : "Most Dangerous" Sharks

Discovery also reports great white and tiger sharksare ahead in the number of unprovoked attacks on humans respectively.

They only mention surfers and swimmers as being attacked. So we divers have a high percentage of not being attacked.

 

[RikRaeder]

Where is the "We need to protect them more than we need to be protected from them" option?

That one's just kind of assumed under the "How Cute" option.

 

[leapfrog]

Where is the "We need to protect them more than we need to be protected from them" option?

Please excuse me for taking your post to add some general comments related to other posts here.

Sharks do not have to be protected from divers. Divers need to protect themselves from GWS, Tigers and Bull Sharks. Sharks need to be protected from fishermen who either catch them for their fins which they cut off and then push back into the ocean or for other reasons. Abusive fishing is destroying the ocean and is doing as much damage as global warming. When we eat beef, pork, lamb or chicken we are used to doing so from farm animals. However when people eat fish or seafood they still want "fresh" product, not that which comes from fish farms. We need to boycott products from countries whose fishing fleets create the mass destruction of the seabed and is making many species disappear. Only by boycotting products made in those countries will we force a change in the the way those countries fish or their culinary habits, such as eating shark fin soup.

To talk about Man invading their habitat is a short sighted view of Man's capabilities and the reality of our planet. We will continue to be able to operate in the sea, in the air and on land. We are not restricted to being a land mammal. As divers we will continue to invade their habitat, if that is what we are doing. IMHO, the recreational and scientific diving communities are the ones that are helping to do something about the situation. If there was no diving, I doubt we would be as aware as we are of the problem. Diving may not make any of us here on the Board rich but it brings huge economic advantages to certain areas of the world, with the Maldives (30% of GDP) being perhaps one of the most notable cases along with the Red Sea. No surprise, they take good care of their sharks.

I don't know where the President got his idea for these large marine reserves to be his environmental legacy but I suspect that it has come from people related to NOAA and other oceanographic and diving institutions.

Sharks are predators. So is Man. The GWS is warm blooded making it a formidable predator even in colder waters. Sharks are also cannibals (and Man?). So our primal fears come into play. The idea of being "eaten" by a shark, having a limb bitten off, being in the JAWS of such a creature, etc is one of our greatest fears embodied in our psychological make up.

National Geographic, the AWARE project and a whole host of other bodies are doing their best to protect sharks.

This thread is about being afraid of sharks. Those of us who have seen victims of shark attacks are not usually very hunky dory about them. As stated by knowledgeable marine biologists in other threads we certainly should be careful with sharks, especially GWS, Tigers and Bull sharks.

OK. I'm done. NOW WATCH THE REAL PREDATORS COME OUT.............