Red Sea and the Shark "Experts"

I am sure that by now you have all heard about the unfortunate shark incidents in Egypt (Red Sea).  The shark species responsible for the death of a German tourist has yet to be identified and so a team of shark "experts" have been summoned to join forces - think of the fantastic four.

The real conversation needs to be around the operators that are enabling these interactions...

Mike and Patric have been covering the subject in detail - recommend to give their posts a read here and here.

Shark Attack Victim

As per the Fiji Shark Diving blog - great video of a fool that caught a shark and then tried to remove the hook - CNN headlined the video as "Shark Attack Victim" - are you serious? Guy fishing sharks, drags to beach, and because the sharks snaps at him when he is close to mouth they are considering this a shark attack???

I call this a DUMB attack - like most shark attacks...Ocean Smart anyone?

Unfortunate

Another unfortunate incident: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/25/ca.shark.attack/index.html. Wonder if the media will have a field day with this. Thankfully White Sharks are protected in California.

Finally, some good news amidst the 'shark attack' hysteria

Tiger Shark and Lemon Shark in perfect Harmony
Photo: Wolfgang Leander
Click to enlarge

Julie Andersen, Director of the Shark Savers www.sharksavers.org, sent me this "Miami Herald" article today:

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking_news/story/441506.html#recent_comm

We are all very glad to see that the Bahamian government officials have kept their cool despite the misinformation and plain distortion of facts in the press that was fueled by self-styled shark experts such as Neal Watson and George Burgess.

Both gentlemen do not appear to have ever dived with tiger sharks or other 'dangerous' species, and certainly do not know the exact circumstances that led to the lamentable incident. Yet, their statements talking to the press smack of a specialist expertise they do not have. They are the know-it-all types media pros usually resort to not knowing better. I will not waste more words on Watson.

As to Burgess, who believes, and wants to make others believe, to be a "shark attack" expert, let me just quote an internationally renowned shark scientist:

"....... The study of 'shark attack' is an unscientific endeavor. This is because it is impossible with our state of technical knowledge to set up an experiment to test an hypothesis. Any statement as to causality is just mere speculation. This is a plain fact. The scientific method is not available to those who 'study' shark attack."

As much as Burgess wants to be recognized as an authority on "shark attacks", he is not more than a mere statistician who collects data on shark incidents. The conclusions he draws from his data collection are nothing but speculations as he simply cannot claim to do his research as director of the International Shark Attack File in a scientific manner.

Here is what Maris Kazmers had to say on the subject of being a "shark attack" expert:

"Assuming that being a scientist means applying the scientific method to problems/questions, how does one resolve the fact that virtually all shark attack information is anecdotal, that most shark attack information comes from unreliable sources, that even the identity of the shark involved is often in question, etc, etc?"

Enough said?

Media is not helping

Why does the media insist on calling shark incidents, shark attacks. And add a photograph of a white shark (for an "attack" that happened in Florida)???

Last "attack" happened in Orlando, 7 year old was bitten in the leg, not life threatening.

http://cbs4.com/topstories/local_story_091211733.html

JAWS STILL SELLS.

Sharks are always evil in the media...

A man in Australia was bitten by a white shark while diving for abalone. CNN chose the following title: "Shark chomps head of man diving near weeds" Anything to get people to click through. BBC chose the following headline: "Australian escapes shark that grabbed him by the head" seems a bit more civil and forgiving to our friends with fins...

I must say though, what a story to tell the grand kids.