The Truth About Jaws (or In Defence of Sharks)

Last month, there were 2 fatal shark attacks in Australia; 1 in Western Australia, and 1 in New South Wales. As usual, the media hype surrounding the attacks has been sensational, and reignited calls for shark culls, and other acts of brutality against sharks.

Shark attacks are a rare event in Australia, and worldwide, at that. In fact, statistically, you’re more likely to be killed by a pig than a shark, but do you think twice before visiting a farm? If we bring it closer to home, on average, 121 people drown at Australian beaches every year, while, in the same time period, there is only 1 fatal shark attack. 2 attacks in one month is rare, and, in this case, the attacks were unrelated, with the Western Australian shark being a great white, and the one in New South Wales a tiger shark.

Great White Shark

But, why are shark attacks so named? Because, many of us would answer, the shark ‘attacks’ the person in question. Do they? ‘Attack’ is defined by the dictionary as ‘to set upon in a forceful, violent, hostile, or aggressive way.’ I would argue that a shark does none of these things, that they are not forceful, violent, hostile or aggressive, but rather, in many cases, are simply curious. Unlike us, sharks have no hands, with which to explore curious objects in their domain, so they must use their mouths which, unfortunately for the person or animal involved, are full of razor sharp teeth. In the majority of cases where a shark bites a human, they release the person when they discover that they are not a seal, or other prey. In the 220 years that shark attacks have been being recorded in Australia, there have been only 42 cases where a body was never found, and presumed eaten.

After a fatal shark encounter, a common public response is to call for the shark in question to be killed. Considering sharks are able to swim hundreds in kilometers a day, this is an unreasonable demand. In the wake of the latest two fatal encounters, however, there has been increasing demand for a shark cull to be carried out by the department of fisheries. Colin Barnett, Premier of Western Australia (where the first victim was killed), is among those in support of a cull. He justifies his position by saying that “the public is demanding that sharks, where they stay in popular swimming or surfing areas, should be destroyed.” While Mr. Barnett may be expressing the views of a largely uninformed public, he also states that this is his personal view - “I’m in that camp.” - at the end of the article.

Tiger Shark

The interesting thing about the calls for a cull, is that those demanding the department of fishers take this brutal step, are not likely to be found in the water in the first place. People who regularly use the ocean for recreation, such as swimmers, surfers, and kayakers, often profess a great love and respect for the sea, and all its creatures, including sharks. In fact, many surfers who survive an encounter with a shark say that they want to “get back on the board”. But, if I may return to Mr. Barnett’s comment for a moment, in particular, the part where he talks about sharks “staying” in “popular swimming [and] surfing areas”. It may come as a surprise to Mr. Barnett and his like, but sharks evolved to live in the ocean, and have more right to be there than any of us do. They live, eat, sleep, breed and die in the ocean, and are not able to come on land and survive there. Humans, like many land going mammals, have the ability to swim, however we are not amphibious, and have not evolved to live for long periods of time in the water. In short, Mr. Barnett is suggesting that sharks be killed simply because they happen to be swimming in their ocean when we want to use it.

Any large animal, on the land or in the sea, can pose a risk to humans. An adult, male Red Kangaroo, which can grow up to two meters in height, has sharp claws that can leave deep wounds, and packs a kick that can break a person’s ribs and/or fatally injure them. However, most of us do not think of Red Kangaroos as dangerous, rather, we respect them, and keep our distance if we encounter one in the wild. Sharks, on the other hand, and immediately lumped into the ‘dangerous’ category, and I’m not saying that this is wrong. Sharks are dangerous, and encounters between sharks and humans often involve serious injury, however, sharks, like the majestic Red Kangaroo, deserve our respect. In a climate like Australia, where summer temperatures can climb to more that forty degree celsius (104 degrees fahrenheit), its natural to want to cool off in the ocean after a hot’s days work. However, we don’t belong there, just like we don’t belong on the grasslands with the Red Kangaroo. Once we go into the ocean, we enter the territory of the shark, and must accept the risk, low as it is (1 in 292, 525), that we may have an encounter with a shark.

Hammerhead Sharks

There is still much we don’t know about sharks, but, one thing we have conclusively proven, is that sharks do not regularly prey on humans. Fatal shark encounters, like any death, leave holes in the lives of the victim’s friends, family and community, and it’s easy to blame the shark. But the shark did not deliberately attack that person, in all likelihood, they were investigating a strange, unfamiliar object in their territory. As tragic as it is when someone dies as the result of a shark encounter, I think it would be equally tragic to launch an offensive against the shark population, already in decline because of overfishing, simply for doing what they do in their ocean. It is time for people like Mr. Barnett to come down from their cloud, and acknowledge that a shark cull would only see these majestic and mysterious animals disappear from our oceans, which could have catastrophic long-term consequences for our marine life. As the apex predator, sharks regulate and control life in the ocean, ensuring that sea-life can continue on just as nature intended it, and they have been doing this for millions of years.

While these two recent fatalities, and the ones that have come before them, are tragedies, both men who were killed entered the water at their own risk. They did not deserve to have a fatal encounter with a shark, but nor do the sharks of Australia need to die. They have done nothing wrong. The only time shark hunting and culling should ever be condoned is when the sharks grow legs, and start to invade our natural habitat. Fortunately, I don’t see this happening in the near future and, until it does, there is no excuse for killing the sharks, in their own ocean, simply because we fear them.

(Taronga Conservation Society Australia, 2013, Taronga Zoo, viewed 29 November 2013, <http://taronga.org.au/animals-conservation/conservation-science/australian-shark-attack-file/australian-shark-attack-file>)