Everything you thought you knew about sharks is wrong!

But really, isn't that just how we are? In general, people don't get upset about the crap people do to predators - we care much more about the cute, cuddly prey.

That said, i completely agree with you - what you describe with the shark fins is cruel in the extreme, and shouldn't be forced on any living animal.

 

Sorta like.....wolves.

 

Even if it were common knowledge sharks weren't a threat, do you think the Chinese would give a damn about them becoming extinct?

Humans are so funny. Look at the middle ages, where they blamed the plague on witches, and killed an uncountable number of cats "because they consort with witches", when in reality the cats would have killed the rats which carried the fleas which caused the plague, and thus if science prevailed over superstition, millions of lives would have been saved. Hey, that sounds familiar.

 

I've watched enough "Shark Week" on the Discovery Channel to know that sharks are not a threat and about finning.

 

This type of sickening harvesting by poachers is a problem for so many species. I remember watching the extras on one of the recent BBC documentaries (might have been Planet Earth) in which the film crew originally wanted to capture the migration of the Saiga Antelope near Mongolia for one of the episodes. When doing preliminary research and filming though they found that herds - which had once been vast - had lost nearly 90% of their population since the early 1970's due to poaching for the antelopes' horns (which are supposedly a prized ingredient in traditional Chinese "medicine"). The crew had to switch to a different species/location altogether for that segment (I think it was reindeer in Northern Canada but I don't remember exactly).

 

Ahem. All fine and good about the finning and all but sharks aren't cuddly.

I live in Fl. People do get eaten by sharks, even more people get chewed up and spit out. It just not always big news.

 

Now will somebody tell them about tigers, rhinos, etc.?

 

True. However reporting of shark attacks in the media is dependent on the news cycle. There was a rash of shark attack coverage in 2004 though total attacks were lower than average.

The ISAF maintains a database of shark attacks worldwide. In 2007 71 people were attacked by sharks and 1 person died.

ISAF Statistics for the Top Ten Worldwide Locations with the Highest Shark Attack Activity Since 1990

All of these thing are more likely to kill you than a shark:

Lighting Strikes (Average 39.7 per year in costal states vs 0.5 shark deaths)
Tornados (In 2007 Tornados killed 21 Floridians, Sharks 0)
Bicycles (In 2007 121 Floridians died riding bicycles)

Collapsing Sand Holes!! From 1990 to 2006 16 people died digging sand holes on the beach while only 11 people were killed by sharks in that period!

Average fatalities by animals in the US:
Deer ------------------ 130
Dogs ------------------- 18
Snakes ---------------- 15
Mountian Lions ------- 0.6
Sharks ---------------- 0.4

 

Logic and facts have a difficult time overcoming primal fear and bad publicity.

Look how long it's taken the wolf people to undermine the brainwashing of Little Red Riding Hood, etc. re: wolves eating people.

And ranchers still put out traps, poison them and....shoot them from helicopters. Despite any science to the contrary, wolves contribute to healthy prey herds and keep the mouse population down. (Anyone want to do a Mowat with a blender? Bleeech.)

I do think the conservationists have it easier with the wolf, since they do look and act so much like dogs.

The shark people have Jaws to contend with.

 

How true what you say about Sharks... the only reason that they have a bad "rep", is because they have killed people, but mostly because they thought it was their natural prey, and because, they are scary looking as all hell, face it, would you want to be close to something that has eyes that look like they are evil and have no soul? It is pure ignorance and fear on most people's part, as they know nothing of this magnificent creature. I will not lie, I personally would not want one of these getting too close to me, but I would not kill it simply because I fear it or dislike it... But, that can be said for a snake or a crocodile as well... I like this thread. I think that it is time that someone actually knows what they are talking about with Sharks and the fear and ignorance of people who know nothing about them.

 

And they probably get eaten, bitten and spit out because the shark thinks that the human is their natural prey... Sharks will spit out a human in most cases once they realize it is not their natural food...I am no longer afraid of this magnificent creature, it is a shame that this species is being wiped out...I wish I could get a chance to swim with them, and yes, I am just about crazy enough to do it too.

 

Were you able to swim with them? What was the experience like? Do you have pictures of this? If you did do this, how lucky you are! Thank you for being concerned about Sharks... just because they look scary, and do bite or kill a human once in awhile, does not mean that they are evil.. they have such a bad reputation because they look scary.... I would love to experience swimming with them... Finning is a horrible practice... I wonder how the people would feel if we took away their ability to stand upright? Thank you again!

 

Personally I prefer my shark blackened, with a nice dredge of Cajun spice on a super HOT cast iron skillet about 2 or 3 minutes per side, and of course a couple of cold beers to wash it down.

Sharks should be eaten by man, not vice versa!!!

73 de Pat KK6PD

 

~~~sadly shakes my head~~~