02-22-2006, 08:34 PM
Lisa, I am not an expert, but I dove with the sharks at the Shedd Aquarium for over a decade. Most shark attacks are single bite encounters, and in almost every shark bite at an captured encounter (i.e. the Aquarium) the shark has backed down immediately (I got a small cut from one of our juvenile nurse sharks, and the shark swam rapidly away, mouth open, wagging its head to & fro... kinda like YUCK human! This same reaction has been noted & documented in quite a few captive species.)
Recent reports have noted a sharp decrease worldwide in shark attacks (which are beyond rare anyhow, on 9/11/01 the Chicago Tribune had an article on the dangers of sharks, you are more likely to be killed by your toilet, but I'm still gonna use one)(it is also very interesting to note the date of the article....). 2 common theories on the decrease are 1) people are fighting back, smacking the fish as they are approached, not something I would ever advise, esp. since every wild encounter I have had has been awesome, brief, and I would hate to get one of those guys pissed at me. The second theory is that the shark population has been so dissimated by overfishing that there are fewer sharks to attack....some fishery experts feel that popular eating shark species have been decreased by over 90% in the last 20 years....
2 good shark info web sites,
for world wide shark conservation:
http://www.sharks.org
for shark attack information:
http://www.sharkresearchcommittee.com
Hope all of this helps calm your 'shark nerves....I just fear those big honkin waves, they can slam you into lava!
Aloha, Carey
Recent reports have noted a sharp decrease worldwide in shark attacks (which are beyond rare anyhow, on 9/11/01 the Chicago Tribune had an article on the dangers of sharks, you are more likely to be killed by your toilet, but I'm still gonna use one)(it is also very interesting to note the date of the article....). 2 common theories on the decrease are 1) people are fighting back, smacking the fish as they are approached, not something I would ever advise, esp. since every wild encounter I have had has been awesome, brief, and I would hate to get one of those guys pissed at me. The second theory is that the shark population has been so dissimated by overfishing that there are fewer sharks to attack....some fishery experts feel that popular eating shark species have been decreased by over 90% in the last 20 years....
2 good shark info web sites,
for world wide shark conservation:
http://www.sharks.org
for shark attack information:
http://www.sharkresearchcommittee.com
Hope all of this helps calm your 'shark nerves....I just fear those big honkin waves, they can slam you into lava!
Aloha, Carey