Sharks are often painted as monsters, while the vast majority are shy and peaceful animals of fundamental importance for the health of the ocean. And the likelihood of being bitten by a shark while swimming or surfing is incredibly low.
Back in 1975, "Jaws" the Steven Spielberg film became one of the most successful films of all time. Leverage the ancestral fear of the people of large predators, one of the main results of this film is to keep millions of people out of the water mark on the public mind the idea that sharks are killers cold blood and kill a shark is not such a bad idea.
This popular sentiment, coupled with the growing demand for shark fin Chinese market for fin soup, have led many shark populations close to extinction.
have a close look at the actual numbers of shark attacks and related injuries, the reality is very different from that perceived. According to the latest International Shark File attack report (ISAF), in 2012 there were 80 unprovoked shark attacks on humans. "Without provocation" are defined as incidents where an attack on a living human occurs in the natural habitat without human provocation of the shark of the animal. So go fishing, shark jumpers and these types of interactions are not included in the "unprovoked"
Most of these episodes occurred in North American waters (42), followed Australia (14), South Africa (4) and Réunion (3). One incident was reported in the Canary Islands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Tonga and Indonesia. Among these attacks, only seven resulted in a fatality (3 in South Africa, two in Australia, one in California and one in Réunion), following the trend of about 7% of deaths since data began to be recorded (about first decade of 100, over 100 years).
Although these figures seem worrying first glance, we will investigate a little. more in detail. I would not explain how dangerous to drive a car in all countries or, worse still, driving a motorcycle in Bali or Jakarta. Remain in the natural world for these examples. In the United States alone, over the past 50 years, about 2,000 people died from a lightning strike, compared to only 26 shark attack deaths. In southern United States, in the same period, 18 people were killed by an alligator attack, and nine only shark bite. In Florida, 125 people died from tornadoes results, compared with six deaths from shark attacks.
If you still think that sharks are terrible killers, you might be interested to know that in the last 10 years in the US, 263 people were killed by a dog attack, and sharks killed only 10 . and only New York, about 8,000 people are bitten by another man (!) and some of them even die.
Have a look at all the data, it is clear that the diffuse "shark fear" is a society of fear induced by the media that a real risk. Some very low level films as "Sharknado" (a shark tornado hit Los Angeles), "Sand Sharks" (sharks swimming under the sand to eat people on the beach) or even "Shark Avalanche" (shark attack skiers swimming below the snow) were produced in the hope to raise these ancestral fears (with little success, I must admit. - watch the trailer on YouTube)
annual risk of death during the life of one. Source: International Shark Attack File
Millions of sharks are killed each year for their fins and meat. Several international scientists have already noted that this deletion "predators" of the oceans can cause irreversible damage to these fragile ecosystems, already endangered by many other factors, including waste disposal and climate change chemical plastic pollution, and overfishing, just to name a few.
In Bali in particular, to find a shark during a dive or a boat has become a very rare experience. Indonesia is one of the main fisheries of sharks and rays in the world, especially in the surrounding waters of Lombok and Bali. Some attempts at creating social awareness about the disappearance of sharks are already working very well. Apparently, the demand for shark fins has declined in recent months, and some organizations in Singapore and Hong Kong to provide strong campaigns against shark fin tradition of soup.
Organizations such as Bali Sharks (www.balisharks.com) and Gili Shark Foundation (facebook.com/ gilisharkfoundation) sensitize tourists and locals on the importance of keeping alive the Indonesian sharks. The UK based Charity-Thai, Shark Guardian (www.sharkguardian.org) has just completed a two-week tour to visit schools and diving centers / resorts in Sanur, the Gili Islands and Nusa Lembongan. The Directors, Brendon Sing and his wife Liz have been educating more than 17,000 people since February this year they are committed to their full-time projects. They visited Hong Kong, Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia at the moment, as well as locations throughout Thailand. Through presentations and educational workshops about sharks and marine life they aim to inspire change and get people involved in shark conservation. shark guards visited Bali Dyatmika International schools and talk to students. They also presented more than 30 women Wise Bali in Nusa Dua, demonstrating how sharks are important to maintaining the benefits of long-term tourism in Bali. Divers and tourists have been targeted by local islands and in total about 500 people saw Brendon and Liz in action during their time in Indonesia.
With the participation and support of all, we can stop the fear of "Jaws" and ensure a better future for our oceans.
0 Komentar