Shark Attacks

Shark Attacks

by Russell Dey

Over the last century, shark attacks have become one of the most common fears around the world. These attacks are exciting and scary, two qualities that people love to hear and talk about. While people have been catching sharks' attention for who knows how long, just recently has the hysteria reached the point where it is now. One of the most dramatic times of increase in reported shark attacks was during W.W.II, when pilots would get shot down, land in the ocean, and get attacked. Since then an increasing amount of people have started to participate in activities such as swimming at the beach, surfing, snorkeling, scuba diving, water skiing, and wind surfing. One hundred years ago, shark attacks were virtually never heard of. The explanation for this is not that sharks have all of a sudden become more hungry, its because people have made themselves more vulnerable by spending more time in and around the water. The media has also done its fair share in publicizing these events. Riveting newspaper accounts, along with Hollywood films such as Jaws, and Deep Blue Sea, have brought sharks to center stage.

Last year, there were three fatal shark attacks over the span of three months in Australia. The first two happened on back to back days, where surfers on the south coast, one a 15 year old boy, and the other a newlywed, were stolen from their boards, never to be seen again. Six weeks later, Ken Crew, 48, and a father of three was swimming in the shallow surf off of Cottesloe Beach in Perth. Out of nowhere, a16 foot Great White shark relieved him of his left leg. He was dragged to the shore by friends, but doctors were unable to save him in time.

The fact is, you're more likely to get hit by pieces of an airplane falling out of the sky while on your way to the mailbox, then you are getting bit by a shark. If you don't have a mailbox, then here's another one; you are more likely to get struck by lightening or drown in the bath tub, then you are getting attacked by a shark.

Out of 350 species of sharks, there are only a handful that have actually been know to attack people. They include the Great White, Maco, Tiger, Bull, Dusky Brown, Lemon, and Nurse Sharks.

The most popular belief behind why sharks attack people is that it is a case of mistaken identity. Sharks often mistake the silhouettes of surf boards, wet suits, and kayaks, for animals like seals. Most of the time, a shark will only bite a person once before they realize they have made a mistake. Also, sharks are attracted to bright flashes, so things like jewelry, and the bottom of feet, contrasted with the light coming from the sun, are very tempting to sharks. One of the sharks' favorite things to attack, is a fish in distress. They can hear the splashing of such a fish from over 200 yards away. Sharks often confuse swimmers with these distressed fish. Another thing that attracts sharks, is any small amount of fluid such as blood, or fish juice. Their keen sense of smell can detect a drop of blood over hundreds of yards away.

Millions of dollars are being spent every year around the world in hopes of finding a sufficient prevention system against shark attacks. Some beaches have tried placing weighted gill nets at overlapping intervals parallel to the beach. These have helped, however their drawback has been that they've caught to many innocent fish along with the sharks. The same is true for electrical fences. Electrical fences that omit shocks when fish run into them have also been used to protect beaches from sharks. These fences have been effective, yet they're still bad for all of the other fish. The "Johnson Shark Screen" has been one of the most successful ideas. This is a plastic ball shaped apparatus which one can climb into. This "screen" makes it impossible for sharks to detect any movements, odors, sounds, electric fields, and visual shapes of the person inside. The United States Navy has something similar; it is a five foot long plastic bag which hosts a person in a life jacket. This bag blocks any smell emitted from a person that would attract a shark. Australia is working on a million dollar sonar system which will deter sharks from swimming along the beaches. The only problem they have come across so far, is trying to find a sound wave that will work against more than one specie of sharks. As of now, no one has been able to come up with a shark repellent that works well against all sharks, and isn't hazardous to humans and other fish. However, some scientists are experimenting with the fluid sea cucumbers secrete when being threatened by predators. These people are trying to figure out how to manufacture this substance, in hopes that it will some day help prevent shark attacks.

Before you go off and boycott the beach altogether, keep in mind the words of Edward O. Wilson, a sociobiologist at Harvard University. He claims, "We're not just afraid of predators, we're transfixed by them, prone to weave stories and chatter endlessly about them, because fascination creates preparedness, and preparedness, survival. In a deeply tribal sense, we love our monsters."

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