We have all seen Jaws. Really, a pretty good movie, especially considering the impact it had on the ocean communities around the world. It really is scary to think of being eaten alive by a shark, no wait, a GREAT WHITE shark at that. To be honest, being attacked by a shark is my biggest fear, hands down. The crazy thing is, I have been swimming with sharks in the Great Barrier Reef and it didn't bother me TOO much. Needless to say, as we all know, there are instances of sharks and humans getting tangled up. This leads many top researchers, biologists, ocean-goers and even land-locked bystanders to question why sharks see humans as dinner.
Surfers (they're the ones really at risk here!) and biologists around the globe are up in arms with their state and national governments about the shark tourism business. Their main point is simple: feeding sharks causes more shark attacks on humans, period. Their reason for thinking this is also just as simple. Just as everyone has always heard, and I heard as a kid when I would go to Yellowstone, "DON'T feed the wild animals"! What don't people understand about this? When you feed a wild animal, it then associates food with humans. This makes the line between wild animal and humans more obscure. Sharks are just as wild as the buffalo and bears I've seen in Yellowstone, and are clearly just as dangerous. So why are they still fed? $$$$$$
Cyber Diver News Network, a group dedicated to scuba diving and the issues surrounding the activity, reports on all of the news surrounding shark tourism. The shark tourism industry is a multi-million dollar operation, and is gaining more and more popularity. Governments are doing little to stop them. Hawaii, Florida and the Cayman Islands have all banned tourist shark feeding off of their waters because of an outcry of its overall affect. Many outfitters still get away with it, so Hawaii now changed the law to include federal waters off of its coasts to try to curb those still proceeding with the tours. Unfortunately, it still takes place.
Where's the justice? Then I read an article about a group of fisherman who almost "chummed themselves to death" after trying to lure sharks to their boat, meanwhile the boat capsized, sending them into their own chum trail for the sharks to have at. Yes, they all survived, but not before they were scared sh*tless while sharks circled them until help arrived. It is definitely a scary situation (even though they put themselves in the situation), and I think these kinds of operations are making it dicier for those looking to enjoy a nice day in the water. Surfers in South Africa have tried again and again to get their government to stop chumming practices, but to no avail. If you didn't know, South Africa is one of the best places in the world to see Great Whites. Obviously, the government doesn't want to shut down this tourism industry that brings in lots of revenue, even though it is potentially risking the lives of those beach and ocean-goers who want little to do with the shark.
Researchers should be the only ones allowed to encounter these wild animals. Joe Shmoe from Brooklyn has no business in a cage face to face with a shark. Watching them, without provocation, is how the industry should conduct itself. Whales are given this respect, now its time to give sharks the same kind of admiration. Some shark populations are dwindling because of poaching, so lets leave these sharks alone and maybe in return they'll leave us alone. This would hopefully keep them away from the poachers that just want their fins. The only way to deal with this problem is to completely ban tourist-based chumming and feeding. Eventhough their isn't an absolute science to "why sharks attack", this will hopefully keep both sides a little bit safer.