• Shark Blog
    • Watching Humans Blog
  • About
    • Monsters - Project Overview
  • White Shark Cafe
  • Education / Events
    • Guadalupe Shark Trip 2020
    • Presentations
    • Upcoming Events >
      • SHARK-O-WEEN 2018
    • Bookings
    • Feedback
    • Past Events >
      • Shark Night
      • Sharktoberfest 2018
      • Surfrider Sharktober 2018
      • Surfrider Foundation (San Mateo Chapter)
      • Night Life 2013 "Killer Personalities"
      • 7 Teepees
      • Great White Lies San Francisco Premiere
      • SF March Against the Cull
      • Great White Night 2012
      • Night Life 2011
      • Gentlemen's Club
      • Scuba Squad Divers
      • Sharks and Beer
      • Launch Party / Fundraiser
      • Of Whale and Man
    • FALSE CONSERVATION >
      • OCEARCH >
        • OCEARCH OVERVIEW
        • Internal Damage
        • Fin Damage >
          • Frodo's Fin Damage Timeline
        • OCEARCH's Pregnant Shark Not Pregnant
        • Science...without the Science
        • OCEARCH Videos >
          • Sinking Away
          • Not Stressed
          • Charlie Rose 1
          • Dorsal Fin Damage
          • PAT tags VS. SPOT tags
          • Tagging Options
          • Message to Australia
  • Videos
    • Stupid Things People Say About Sharks
    • Racism and Sharks
    • Connection
    • 360s Drones and Sharks
    • Footage Licensing
    • Tiger Shark Vs. Turtle
    • Guadalupe Cage Dive Guide
    • minioncam
    • Guadalupe White Sharks 2018
    • Product Reviews
    • Interviews >
      • Guadalupe 2018 Interview
      • Andre Rerekuru
      • RodneyFox
      • Chris Neff >
        • Cape Cod Cull
      • WalterBernardis
    • SharkMinutes
    • Kid Friendly >
      • Blueprint
    • Feature Films >
      • Monsters >
        • Enterprise Documentary Fund
      • Great White Lies >
        • Film Festivals >
          • Dropbox Links Great White Lies
    • Short Films >
      • Victory Over Sharks
      • Mothers and Children
      • Sentience
      • Elasmo
      • Shark Rescue
      • Balance
      • Shark Affection
      • Purpose
      • To Touch a Killer
      • Swimming In Shark Alley
      • White Shark Behavior: Part 1
      • Connection
      • Farallon Islands
      • Sustainable
      • Fear
    • Quick Bites >
      • Nurse Shark Barbels in Slow Motion
      • Do Sharks Get Cancer?
      • Sydney Harbor Video of White Shark is Fake
      • White Shark Swallows Tuna in One Bite
      • Gentle Biting and Ram Ventilation
      • Hammerhead Love
      • Seal Swims Leisurely Around White Sharks
      • Great White High Five
      • Petting a Nurse Shark
      • White Shark Tail Narrowly Misses Woman
      • Shark Shart ( Great White takes a shit )
      • WSV Preview
    • Elasmo >
      • Elasmo 0
      • Elasmo 1 and 2
      • Elasmo 3
      • Elasmo 3 Short Version
      • Elasmo 4 (Blue Sharks)
      • Elasmo 5 - Great hammerheads
      • White Dream (short)
    • Surf >
      • Surfing With Sharks - Wayne Lynch
      • California >
        • Jetty, Half Moon Bay, 2/16/14
    • The Price of Existence >
      • Criminalizing Natural Behavior
      • Price of Existence Excerpts with Chris Fallows
      • Dr. Neil Hammerschlag Explains Responsible Drum Lining
      • Price of Existence Trailer
      • Global Opposition to the Cull
      • Daniel Wolfe Interview Exerpt
    • Outtakes >
      • Surfer Interview Outtake
      • Avoiding Gansbaai
      • The Bag Boy
    • Samples
    • Videos from Others >
      • Good Vids >
        • White Shark Research in New Zealand
        • The Shark Man (60 Minutes)
        • Baby White Shark Caught
      • Bad Vids >
        • All that is wrong with Discovery wrapped up in one vid
  • Get Involved
    • Guadalupe 2020
    • Recurring Donation
    • Donations
    • Join the Team
    • News Letter Sign Up
  White Shark Video
  • Shark Blog
    • Watching Humans Blog
  • About
    • Monsters - Project Overview
  • White Shark Cafe
  • Education / Events
    • Guadalupe Shark Trip 2020
    • Presentations
    • Upcoming Events >
      • SHARK-O-WEEN 2018
    • Bookings
    • Feedback
    • Past Events >
      • Shark Night
      • Sharktoberfest 2018
      • Surfrider Sharktober 2018
      • Surfrider Foundation (San Mateo Chapter)
      • Night Life 2013 "Killer Personalities"
      • 7 Teepees
      • Great White Lies San Francisco Premiere
      • SF March Against the Cull
      • Great White Night 2012
      • Night Life 2011
      • Gentlemen's Club
      • Scuba Squad Divers
      • Sharks and Beer
      • Launch Party / Fundraiser
      • Of Whale and Man
    • FALSE CONSERVATION >
      • OCEARCH >
        • OCEARCH OVERVIEW
        • Internal Damage
        • Fin Damage >
          • Frodo's Fin Damage Timeline
        • OCEARCH's Pregnant Shark Not Pregnant
        • Science...without the Science
        • OCEARCH Videos >
          • Sinking Away
          • Not Stressed
          • Charlie Rose 1
          • Dorsal Fin Damage
          • PAT tags VS. SPOT tags
          • Tagging Options
          • Message to Australia
  • Videos
    • Stupid Things People Say About Sharks
    • Racism and Sharks
    • Connection
    • 360s Drones and Sharks
    • Footage Licensing
    • Tiger Shark Vs. Turtle
    • Guadalupe Cage Dive Guide
    • minioncam
    • Guadalupe White Sharks 2018
    • Product Reviews
    • Interviews >
      • Guadalupe 2018 Interview
      • Andre Rerekuru
      • RodneyFox
      • Chris Neff >
        • Cape Cod Cull
      • WalterBernardis
    • SharkMinutes
    • Kid Friendly >
      • Blueprint
    • Feature Films >
      • Monsters >
        • Enterprise Documentary Fund
      • Great White Lies >
        • Film Festivals >
          • Dropbox Links Great White Lies
    • Short Films >
      • Victory Over Sharks
      • Mothers and Children
      • Sentience
      • Elasmo
      • Shark Rescue
      • Balance
      • Shark Affection
      • Purpose
      • To Touch a Killer
      • Swimming In Shark Alley
      • White Shark Behavior: Part 1
      • Connection
      • Farallon Islands
      • Sustainable
      • Fear
    • Quick Bites >
      • Nurse Shark Barbels in Slow Motion
      • Do Sharks Get Cancer?
      • Sydney Harbor Video of White Shark is Fake
      • White Shark Swallows Tuna in One Bite
      • Gentle Biting and Ram Ventilation
      • Hammerhead Love
      • Seal Swims Leisurely Around White Sharks
      • Great White High Five
      • Petting a Nurse Shark
      • White Shark Tail Narrowly Misses Woman
      • Shark Shart ( Great White takes a shit )
      • WSV Preview
    • Elasmo >
      • Elasmo 0
      • Elasmo 1 and 2
      • Elasmo 3
      • Elasmo 3 Short Version
      • Elasmo 4 (Blue Sharks)
      • Elasmo 5 - Great hammerheads
      • White Dream (short)
    • Surf >
      • Surfing With Sharks - Wayne Lynch
      • California >
        • Jetty, Half Moon Bay, 2/16/14
    • The Price of Existence >
      • Criminalizing Natural Behavior
      • Price of Existence Excerpts with Chris Fallows
      • Dr. Neil Hammerschlag Explains Responsible Drum Lining
      • Price of Existence Trailer
      • Global Opposition to the Cull
      • Daniel Wolfe Interview Exerpt
    • Outtakes >
      • Surfer Interview Outtake
      • Avoiding Gansbaai
      • The Bag Boy
    • Samples
    • Videos from Others >
      • Good Vids >
        • White Shark Research in New Zealand
        • The Shark Man (60 Minutes)
        • Baby White Shark Caught
      • Bad Vids >
        • All that is wrong with Discovery wrapped up in one vid
  • Get Involved
    • Guadalupe 2020
    • Recurring Donation
    • Donations
    • Join the Team
    • News Letter Sign Up
SHOP
WATCH
SUPPORT
FOLLOW

If I Die, Don't Blame the Sharks

10/8/2013

Comments

 
Picture

As more and more images of people swimming with sharks appear on the web, many speculate that disaster is only a matter of time away.  Along with this disaster is the potential crackdown of all shark diving operations in order to “protect us from ourselves.”  But is that what should really happen?

Yes, the media would have a field day.  The term “shark attack” still sells papers like nothing else, so if a diver should happen to be killed by the same animal he/she was an advocate for; I imagine the irony would leave the press drooling.

Actually this sort of disaster already occurred once in Bahamian waters when a bull shark bit a recreational shark diver who did not survive the incident. Perhaps there are other similar incidents that I’m unaware of, but I haven’t heard about them. It seems unlikely that the media wouldn’t have run such a story for a month straight so I feel fairly confident that no more incidences have occurred, but to be safe, let’s go ahead and tack on a couple more.  Three bites, total, in decades of diving with sharks globally, an industry whose latest estimates claim to have brought in 3 million dollars worldwide.

By contrast let’s look at how many people die during recreational diving from equipment malfunction, drowning, jellyfish stings, etc. and we’ll see that these numbers dwarf the incidents in which something has gone awry while swimming with animals DESIGNED TO KILL.  Think about that for a minute.  The perfect predator, equipped in every way to dispatch from existence at a moment’s notice, yet we get away with swimming with them all the time.  That’s not a credit to us, that’s a credit to the shark.  It’s almost baffling how tolerant these animals are of our presence, which makes them that much more intriguing.  We forgive each other all the time for mistakes, mistakes we make often, but when we intentionally and repeatedly go into the domain of an animal legendary for its killing ability we can’t find it in ourselves to forgive it for a handful of mistakes.  How many people reading right now have ever tasted something you regretted?  Heck, how many of you have even bitten another person in anger?  Now imagine being hunted and condemned for such a mistake.

Picture
Anyway, my point is that I love sharks and I love being around them.  I enjoy watching them and watching them watch me back.  It is humbling and fascinating, and weird as it may be, being in the wild with these magnificent animals makes me happy.  First dove with Caribbean reef sharks,  then snorkeled in Shark Alley, followed by a season filming at the Farallon Islands where I would leave the cage from time to time, followed finally by hanging out of open faced cages in Guadalupe.  I’ll go ahead and say that the Shark Alley move was pretty dumb and I probably wouldn’t do that again.  However, I have every intention of swimming / diving with sharks as often as I can.  Whether a cage dive operator is taking me to a remote location or whether I wander into the ocean solo from a beach, I welcome a shark encounter.  The ecotourism operator isn’t responsible for my decision and the shark isn’t responsible either.  I am responsible.  I made the decision to take the risk.  Contrary to how many people approach the planet, it is NOT OUR RIGHT to be wherever we want whenever we want without accepting the possibility of encountering another predator.  Furthermore, if such an encounter occurs we should not retaliate by killing every animal of that species in the area.  If we decide to swim, surf, kayak, or paddle-board in the ocean, we are essentially deciding that the experience of that recreation is worth the risk of being “investigated” by a larger predator than ourselves.  And why is it so tragic anyway if one of us perishes?  There are 7 some billion people left to fill the void, whereas 90% of all pelagic species of shark are now threatened or near threatened with extinction.

Until we fund a full time fleet of ships and planes patrolling areas known to be congregation sites of white sharks, I think ecotourism operators serve a very important role in providing a watchful eye against poachers.  Also to the credit of ecotourism, I have yet to hear anyone, I mean ANYONE, who has seen a shark in the wild for the first time not be blown away with admiration while losing all previous misconceptions about the animal.  That’s powerful!

Thanks for reading!

Videos related to this blog:

Swimming in Shark Alley, my first shark film ever, filmed in 2004 in South Africa.  Swimming around on the surface with cape fur seals, even if I was somewhat close to the rocks, was simply stupid.  I blame Lalo Saidy for taking me out there after an evening of drinking absinthe.  Just kidding, Lalo.

Elasmo 3 (Free diving with whale sharks).  When all 35 feet of these animals passed under me multiple times, I was very tempted to grab the dorsal fin and go for a ride, but out of respect I did not.  I doubt the massive animal would have noticed me much, but rumor has it that our contact rubs off an important protective layer covering their skin.

Hammerhead Love.  As soon as I sat at the bottom of this aquarium, a beautiful scalloped hammerhead became brave enough to come in and take a closer look at me…again, and again, and again.

The Farallon Islands (2006). 

Petting a nurse shark.  I swear this shark wanted some affection.  

Comments
    DONATE
    SHOP
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Debra Canabal of Epic Diving in the WSV hoodie. Get yours!

    CAN SHARKS SHOW APPRECIATION?  SHARK RESCUECan sharks show appreciation? Watch this rescue and decide yourself

    Daning Into Extinction, New Shark Shirts from White Shark Video
    Shark Shirts - Order Today!
    Donate Today
    Picture
    About the Author
    Skyler Thomas is the primary blog contributor, cinematographer, and lead editor at White Shark Video.

    Archives

    June 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    November 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    May 2010

    Categories

    All
    1000 Ways To Die
    Baby Great White
    Beach Safety
    Chris Fallows
    Chris Fischer Lies
    Colin Barnett
    Corruption
    David Mcguire
    Deforestation
    Dusky Shark
    Epic Diving
    Extinction Soup
    Fear
    Finning
    Graeme Pateman
    Great Barrier Reef Dumping
    Great White
    Great White Lies
    Great Whites
    Great White Shark
    Great White Sharks
    Kelly Slater
    Legislation
    Lions
    Nicole
    Noaa
    Obama Administration
    Oceanic White Tip
    Ocearch Kills Sharks
    Ocearch Lies
    Oil Spills
    Patagonia
    Pat Tags
    Phil Waller
    Price Of Existence
    Profiting Behind The Mask Of Science
    Public Safety
    Rescue
    Sea Stewards
    Shark
    Shark Attack
    Shark Attacks
    Shark Cull
    Shark Culling
    Shark Humor
    Shark Rescue
    Sharks
    Skyler
    Skyler Thomas
    Spot Tags
    Surfers
    Wayne Lynch
    Western Australia
    What's Wrong With Discovery Channel
    White Shark
    White Shark Cafe
    White Sharks
    White Shark Video
    WSV

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Shark Blog
    • Watching Humans Blog
  • About
    • Monsters - Project Overview
  • White Shark Cafe
  • Education / Events
    • Guadalupe Shark Trip 2020
    • Presentations
    • Upcoming Events >
      • SHARK-O-WEEN 2018
    • Bookings
    • Feedback
    • Past Events >
      • Shark Night
      • Sharktoberfest 2018
      • Surfrider Sharktober 2018
      • Surfrider Foundation (San Mateo Chapter)
      • Night Life 2013 "Killer Personalities"
      • 7 Teepees
      • Great White Lies San Francisco Premiere
      • SF March Against the Cull
      • Great White Night 2012
      • Night Life 2011
      • Gentlemen's Club
      • Scuba Squad Divers
      • Sharks and Beer
      • Launch Party / Fundraiser
      • Of Whale and Man
    • FALSE CONSERVATION >
      • OCEARCH >
        • OCEARCH OVERVIEW
        • Internal Damage
        • Fin Damage >
          • Frodo's Fin Damage Timeline
        • OCEARCH's Pregnant Shark Not Pregnant
        • Science...without the Science
        • OCEARCH Videos >
          • Sinking Away
          • Not Stressed
          • Charlie Rose 1
          • Dorsal Fin Damage
          • PAT tags VS. SPOT tags
          • Tagging Options
          • Message to Australia
  • Videos
    • Stupid Things People Say About Sharks
    • Racism and Sharks
    • Connection
    • 360s Drones and Sharks
    • Footage Licensing
    • Tiger Shark Vs. Turtle
    • Guadalupe Cage Dive Guide
    • minioncam
    • Guadalupe White Sharks 2018
    • Product Reviews
    • Interviews >
      • Guadalupe 2018 Interview
      • Andre Rerekuru
      • RodneyFox
      • Chris Neff >
        • Cape Cod Cull
      • WalterBernardis
    • SharkMinutes
    • Kid Friendly >
      • Blueprint
    • Feature Films >
      • Monsters >
        • Enterprise Documentary Fund
      • Great White Lies >
        • Film Festivals >
          • Dropbox Links Great White Lies
    • Short Films >
      • Victory Over Sharks
      • Mothers and Children
      • Sentience
      • Elasmo
      • Shark Rescue
      • Balance
      • Shark Affection
      • Purpose
      • To Touch a Killer
      • Swimming In Shark Alley
      • White Shark Behavior: Part 1
      • Connection
      • Farallon Islands
      • Sustainable
      • Fear
    • Quick Bites >
      • Nurse Shark Barbels in Slow Motion
      • Do Sharks Get Cancer?
      • Sydney Harbor Video of White Shark is Fake
      • White Shark Swallows Tuna in One Bite
      • Gentle Biting and Ram Ventilation
      • Hammerhead Love
      • Seal Swims Leisurely Around White Sharks
      • Great White High Five
      • Petting a Nurse Shark
      • White Shark Tail Narrowly Misses Woman
      • Shark Shart ( Great White takes a shit )
      • WSV Preview
    • Elasmo >
      • Elasmo 0
      • Elasmo 1 and 2
      • Elasmo 3
      • Elasmo 3 Short Version
      • Elasmo 4 (Blue Sharks)
      • Elasmo 5 - Great hammerheads
      • White Dream (short)
    • Surf >
      • Surfing With Sharks - Wayne Lynch
      • California >
        • Jetty, Half Moon Bay, 2/16/14
    • The Price of Existence >
      • Criminalizing Natural Behavior
      • Price of Existence Excerpts with Chris Fallows
      • Dr. Neil Hammerschlag Explains Responsible Drum Lining
      • Price of Existence Trailer
      • Global Opposition to the Cull
      • Daniel Wolfe Interview Exerpt
    • Outtakes >
      • Surfer Interview Outtake
      • Avoiding Gansbaai
      • The Bag Boy
    • Samples
    • Videos from Others >
      • Good Vids >
        • White Shark Research in New Zealand
        • The Shark Man (60 Minutes)
        • Baby White Shark Caught
      • Bad Vids >
        • All that is wrong with Discovery wrapped up in one vid
  • Get Involved
    • Guadalupe 2020
    • Recurring Donation
    • Donations
    • Join the Team
    • News Letter Sign Up