Shark Talk

It's been so long since I (Susan Dabritz) have blogged, or even had something to blog about! Boat excursions have been few, and those we've had were uneventful. Fortunately, I got mail from a student in France, Océane Beaufort, with some great questions about sharks, so here's my deux centimes on that topic ...

Q. I would like to know how you reacted the first time you saw a shark.

I learned to dive off the coast of Long Island and New England, where the water is very murky. Fortunately, I never saw a shark there; if I had, it would have been right in my face! I was already an experienced diver when I first saw a shark in the tropical waters of Malaysia. It was a whitetip reef shark, Triaenodon obesus, a very docile, non-threatening shark, and one of the most common sharks seen by divers. They are not scary by any means, and while I don't remember exactly, I was probably happy to finally see a shark.

Q. Why did you choose to work with sharks?

Many of the professional photographers who market marine life pictures with SeaPics.com are eager to dive with sharks because sharks are exciting to watch and they are extremely photogenic with their sleek, fuselage form, large teeth and penetrating eyes. High quality shark photos are also among the most marketable stock images, as the public is fascinated with sharks and people are always eager to see an in-your-face shot of a large open mouthed shark.

Pictures of great white sharks, Carcharodon carcharias, tiger sharks, Galeocerdo cuvier, scalloped hammerhead sharks, Sphyrna lewini, great hammerhead shark, Sphyrna mokarran, and bull sharks, Carcharhinus leucas, are among the most sought after by the media and the general public because they are potentially dangerous to humans and one of those sharks is typically responsible for attacks on humans. In addition, it is most difficult and challenging for marine wildlife photographers to take such exciting pictures of those sharks due simply to their massive size and aggressive nature.

Q. Were you afraid of sharks when you first started diving and working with them? If yes why, by which type of shark, and in which place of the globe?

There are so many species of shark in the ocean, and most of them are not particularly dangerous, so speaking for myself and others in the marine wildlife stock photography business, I would say we are eager to observe most species of shark, and they aren't scarier than any other animal we encounter in the ocean. That being said, I would personally never swim with a great white shark without a cage, though there are some extreme risk takers out there who are doing just that! Other large species of shark, such as hammerheads, bull sharks and tiger sharks, should always be treated with caution, but they are not overly dangerous in controlled situations, such as areas where the environment is healthy and the sharks have plenty of their natural prey, and the water visibility is good so the sharks do not mistake a moving body part for a fish.

One of the best great white shark viewing areas today is South Africa. There are cage dives and popular boat trips where you may be able to observe a great white shark breaching completely out of the water as they attempt to catch a cape fur seal, Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus, on its daily foraging trip across False Bay.

Here in Hawaii, we often encounter oceanic whitetip sharks, Carcharhinus longimanus, because we typically go offshore for tuna fishing at FAD (fish aggregation device) and the sharks like to hang out there to snatch some fisherman's catches for easy meals. Oceanic whitetip sharks are known to attack humans, and they may be responsible for many of the horror stories of over-board victims or offshore airplain wreck victims. They are persistent scavengers like many other sharks, and they often swim with pods of short-finned pilot whales, Globicephala macrorhynchus for their feces and whatever they leave behind during hunting (see previous blog post: The Strange Dietary Preferences of Oceanic Whitetip Sharks). Pictures of these large oceanic whitetip sharks are particularly impressive, as they do not afraid of humans and readily approach us to inspect us for edibility. Cute, pilotfish frequently swim alongside the sharks, making for a nice image of symbiosis, too.

Q. Does man have every reason to be afraid of sharks? At what instant can they be the most aggressive?

In general, scuba divers need not fear sharks, and dives in controlled situations with sharks rarely end in injury. There are almost no deaths on organized shark dives (though I do know of one in a recent well-publicized event in the Bahamas). People swimming in the ocean, either from shore or from a boat, tend to worry about what lurks below unseen, so their fear becomes magnified. Considering the number of people in the ocean and the few recorded shark attacks, the fear is far out of proportion to the actual risk. It is a well-publicized fact that there are many more deaths from dog bites or lightning strikes than there are from shark attacks.

Nevertheless, the few shark attacks that occur are always reported on TV and in the newspapers, which increases people's anxiety and amplifies their perception of the risk. Most shark attacks do not end in death, as a shark bite is most often an exploratory bite to determine the nature of the prey. When the shark realizes that the swimmer is not the prey it was expecting, they swim away and the victim has an opportunity to escape. Sharks most often mistake humans for prey in murky water, when a flash of leg or hand can be mistaken for a fish. Researchers also believe a surfer lying on a surfboard bears a resemblance to a sea turtle or seal when viewed from below by large sharks that prey on those animals.

Sharks are most dangerous if the swimmer can be easily mistaken for their natural prey, if there is blood in the water, or if a person puts a hand or foot near their mouth. Sharks brought into boats by fishermen will lunge and snap at any hand that comes near their head.

There is information by researchers about threat displays by sharks, where they lower their pectoral fins and arch their bodies in preparation for an attack. Personally, though, I don't believe your average swimmer or diver is apt to witness such a display as a prelude to an attack, so the usefulness of this information is minimal, except perhaps, for shark researchers!

Q. What kind of shark is the most impressive for you? Why?

The most impressive shark for me is the whale shark, Rhincodon typus, which sometimes comes to the coast of Hawaii where I live. They are the largest fish in the ocean, but among the most gentle. They have a beautiful, spotted pattern and divers and snorkelers can swim alongside them without fear. They are plankton feeders and have no teeth, so they are no threat to the swimmer or photographer. The most impressive predator shark is the great white shark, the largest predator fish on earth. Millions of years of evolution have made them extraordinary predators, but they are currently under great stress by humans the world over. They are listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List, and I an fearful for their future.

Q. Did your opinion of sharks change in the course of time?

Because I have encountered many sharks while diving, and the photographers at SeaPics.com have photographed many more, I react to sharks with respect but not fear. Like many environmentally conscious people today, I've learned that sharks have more to fear from humans than we do from them. I am concerned about the rapid depletion of sharks from our oceans, and I abhor the practice of shark finning. Over time, I have come to view sharks as magnificent animals deserving of our protection rather than animals to be feared or hated. I hope the photos available at SeaPics.com generate interest in sharks and lead to more protection for all species of sharks. They really need it, as they are not prolific breeders and many species are severely threatened by the international shark trade.

Q. Do you think that it's possible for people to get used to sharks so there is less prejudice towards them (as the "killer of the sea ")? Can they become animals that are accepted by mankind?

I have seen a change in people's attitudes over time, and more people around the world are interested in protecting sharks. However, this concern for sharks is more than offset by the increased efficiency of factory fishing vessels and the increase in international trade in the fishing industry. It will be a difficult battle, as sharks are not cute and cuddly, and they can't be preserved in zoos like tigers or pandas.

Q. How do you feel about the massacre that sharks are subjected to at present? How can it be put right?

As I've said, shark finning is a repulsive practice and should be outlawed. Even if that happens, though, it will always be difficult to have enforcement around the world, especially when people's livelihoods are affected. The recent rise of China as an economic superpower will put ever increasing pressure on shark stocks, as shark fin soup is so popular in East Asia, as is shark cartilage medicine. I lived in Singapore and know and respect the Chinese, but it will take an extraordinary effort, and may well be impossible, to get them to lessen demand for these items. Still, the Chinese have embraced the panda and have made an effort to save other endemic species (though they had little luck with the baiji, aka Yangtze River Dolphin, Lipotes vexillifer), so it's possible some dramatic initiative will resonate with the Chinese people. In any case, we must publicize the plight of sharks and stimulate interest in preserving them around the globe. Marine sanctuaries should be created wherever possible, and find a way to successfully and sustainably cultivate sharks for consumption so that the value for wild shark fins and cartiliage drop significantly. And eventually ban the shark fishing in the wild thoughout the world.

Q. Marine tourism is increasing, and there are many publicized dives with sharks that claim to be safe. Do you think this tourism will become a problem or change shark behavior in the future?

This is a complex and difficult issue. Judging by past experience with animal conservation, it has usually been the case that ecotourism has provided a livelihood for local people, and their personal interest changes from wanting to kill an animal to wanting to protect it. You can kill an animal once for food or a trophy, but if the live animal can attract the tourist dollar, it has value longer and for a much larger payoff. Tourists in an ecotour area support not only the tour guides, but also local restaurants, hotels and shops, so the benefit to the community is multiplied. Additionally, as more tourists are able to encounter rare and exciting animals, they are more likely to contribute money to animal conservation causes. From this point of view, shark dives can be considered a positive development.

Unfortunately, there is a downside with respect to shark dives as a tourist attraction, as these excursions tend to habituate sharks to humans. Most shark dives rely on either chumming (putting buckets of bloody fish into the water to attract the sharks) or actual feeding of fish to the sharks by the dive operator. The result is that sharks begin to associate boats and people with a meal, where they may have tried to avoid both in the past. This may potentially increase the number of shark attacks on humans, and it may attract sharks to charter fishing boats. Most fishermen I know will not tolerate sharks grabbing fish they've hooked, so I can only imagine the increased risk to sharks in encounters of this type.

On balance, I would say a limited number of shark dive excursions, with strict controls, is probably a good thing.

Merci for your questions, Océane!

Susan Dabritz