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We're gonna need a bigger boat...

#61
Christ... you people and your whining... That shark must go... i hated Jabberjaw... About time someone killed that SOB...












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Die stupid 3stoogies wonna be... you'll never be as cool as scooby no matter how much crack you take... stoners rule!


PS i am pretty sure they will eat it and it will taste good... i would... it taste hella good...
 
#65
Geoff St. Germaine said:
If the shark is being used and if this is sustainable fishing, then I'm all for it. I really hope that the shark is going to be used for food or something and that this is a sustainable sport.
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I am sure someone will eat it... makes no sense not to... acctually i'd say 99% chance that 99% of eatable in that shark will be eaten... If i was there i'd eat 99% of 99% that is 99% eatable from 99% of that shark... all by my self...
 
#66
I have been involved with big gamefishing for more than twice as long as I have been playing bass guitar, so I thought I would give my 'expert' opinion here. First, this style of capture tournament fishing is becoming out-dated. Although many tournaments still have the capture division, most boats fish tag and release in about a 5:1 ratio. Most guys have boats worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and don't like the idea of a 500lb+ fish bleeding and destroying their beloved pride and joy.
What many people don't understand about sharks is that they have incredible resilience. In previous years I have seen sharks at weigh stations with brain spikes in their heads, have been out of water for 5 hours + and fought for hours on the line - and are still alive. So the 'they are too tired to swim away' arguement isn't entirely true if a crew can act properly to ensure the fish's survival. Personally, I have seen about 150 marlin caught over the period of about 15 years and of those fish, only 3 have been kept (2 died during the fight, one kept by the angler). All the rest have been revived back to full health after the fight and released with a scientific research tag in their shoulder. It is a sustainable form of fishing, provided that the commercial fisherman don't continue to decimate our fish stocks. And besides, there are far more desirable and plentiful table fish out on the ocean than big sharks and marlin. So that is a plus for sustainable fishing.

As far as what everyone is saying in regards to large sharks being man-eaters, that couldn't be more false. People like Australian shark 'expert' Vic Hislop (I use that term VERY loosely) feed off of the sensationalized fear that the movie Jaws placed on people. The truth is, sharks are a naturally inquisitive creature and the only way that they can 'touch' something to see what it is, is to bite it. That is why so many surfers who have been attacked by sharks live to tell the tale. After the investigating bite, the shark realises the person isn't a food source and swims away. It is just unfortunate that inquisitive bite can often lead to limb amputation.
However, there is an exception to these rules - and that is the bull shark. Bull sharks have a higher testosterone level than any other shark, thus causing them to be territorial, aggressive and dangerous. Couple that with the fact that they have been found 500 miles inland in completely freshwater, this makes them the only shark I would be afraid of if confronted in the water. They are the only true 'man-eater' shark IMO.

After 15 years of living life on the water doing fishing and diving, it saddens me to see such negative and uneducated opinions on a beautiful and totally misunderstood animal. I have the highest respect for sharks and their role in the aquatic world, they have as much a place on this planet as we do.

Hope this lifts the veil for some people when it comes to their understanding of sharks!!

Cheers,
Jordan
 
#67
Holy old thread resurrection Batman!

jk...

cool post. It is sad how much of an impact Jaws had on the collective perception of sharks. It's very similar to the typical perception of pit bulls and has little to do with the reality of either species.

Sharks, as a species aren't man-eaters and pit bulls aren't a vicious breed. Those are both sensationalized viewpoints based on misinformation. In both cases, irresponsible humans are to blame for the problems and the perceptions. Fortunately, people are being educated more and more about sharks and attitudes are changing (albeit slowly). I can only hope the same will begin to happen for pit bulls.
 
#68
ahh you know what, I just realised i necro'd. Sorry guys!! I was just randomly doing some searchs, saw it and replied. I didn't even look at the date, D'oh!!!

But you are absolutely right, people's perception can be totally manipulated via media and popular culture and it is sad. We believe what we are told to believe without seeking out the actual truth. If only people cared to involve themelves a little more and do their research, they would understand that which is misunderstood!!

Again, sorry for the Necro guys!!

Cheers,
Jordan
 
#69
driver800 said:
Holy old thread resurrection Batman!

jk...

cool post. It is sad how much of an impact Jaws had on the collective perception of sharks. It's very similar to the typical perception of pit bulls and has little to do with the reality of either species.

Sharks, as a species aren't man-eaters and pit bulls aren't a vicious breed. Those are both sensationalized viewpoints based on misinformation. In both cases, irresponsible humans are to blame for the problems and the perceptions. Fortunately, people are being educated more and more about sharks and attitudes are changing (albeit slowly). I can only hope the same will begin to happen for pit bulls.
Click to expand...

While I agree that pit bulls are frequently over-sensationalized by the media, and all too often pit owners perpetuate the sterotype, I'm not so sure I agree about sharks - particularly great whites and tigers.

Last week in California, a young man was bodysurfing and had his leg bitten off by a great white. He died on the beach a few minutes later due to blood loss. True that he probably looked simiar to a seal from the shark's point of view, but the shark's nature is to kill and eat. The shark wasn't being intentionally malicious towards humans, it was just a shark being a shark. It's going to take a lot to convince me otherwise.

Pit bulls are strong and fast, and they have the capability of inflicting a lot of damage when they are aggressive. However, they make wonderfully sweet and mild-tempered family pets in an environment that nurtures that behavior.
 
#70
EricF,

You are right, they are an animal that runs on instinct. However, if that great white wanted to consume the surfer, I guarantee that he would have. The femmoral artery, if severed, can cause somebody to bleed out and die from blood loss which is what I am guessing happened with that surfer. I think much of the problem that exists with surfers getting attacked at beaches is the fact that in-water visibility at a surf beach is very poor, and a shark's eye-sight isn't spectacular to begin with. Although a shark knows that you are there through his other senses, he can't sense exactly what you are. That is where the attack happens, he takes a bite (which can obviously cause you to lose a limb), realises you aren't a food source and he swims away. If you know anything about fishing, it is kind of the same reason why you use lighter and clear line in clear/calm water - so the fish cant see it.

I have swum with tiger, great white, blue and hammerhead sharks in the wild and not once have I ever felt scared for my life. I think the reason I have been comfortable swimming with big sharks is because it has always been out at sea, the water is crystal clear and the shark can see you pretty well, and can usualy tell that you are not food. I had an awesome experience swimming with a tiger shark once - I was snorkelling, and at one point I held my breath and sank down the water column to about 25 feet deep. As I did this, the big female tiger swam over me (about 12 feet long) with her mouth wide open, as if to show me her teeth, a moment I will never forget. I swam with her for about 6-7 minutes and it may sound strange, but I felt almost a bond with her. I didn't once feel threatened and could even swim along side her and give her a pat. It was a truly amazing experience I will never forget!!

You may think I am crazy, but I see these animals for what they really are and have been lucky enough to be able to study enough shark's behaviour that I know when it would be too dangerous to get in the water. For example, you should never get in the water when you are throwing bait/chum over the side, but if you are going to do that, make sure you have shark protective chain-mail on or better yet, go with the pros and get in a cage lol.

Hope this helps shed some more light on a truly misunderstood animal that I dearly love :)

Cheers,
Jordan
 
#71
EricF said:
While I agree that pit bulls are frequently over-sensationalized by the media, and all too often pit owners perpetuate the sterotype, I'm not so sure I agree about sharks - particularly great whites and tigers.

Last week in California, a young man was bodysurfing and had his leg bitten off by a great white. He died on the beach a few minutes later due to blood loss. True that he probably looked simiar to a seal from the shark's point of view, but the shark's nature is to kill and eat. The shark wasn't being intentionally malicious towards humans, it was just a shark being a shark. It's going to take a lot to convnce me otherwise.

Pit bulls are strong and fast, and they have the capability of inflicting a lot of damage when they are aggressive. However, they make wonderfully sweet and mild-tempered family pets in an environment that nurtures that behavior.
Click to expand...

but the point is...it's a shark being a shark. that great white is not a man eater. if he were, he would have taken more than just the leg. I don't mean to be callous about a truly tragic situation, but when we enter their domain, we're subject to their behavior. the same is true with bears, mountain lions, et al. we are not their prey, but if we stumble on them in the wrong situation, we don't fair too well.

and pit bulls (a sore subject for me)...YES, they are sweet, loving animals that want to belong and please their owners. mine is a big baby, BUT... they can be a hand full if you aren't a responsible owner or if you come into my house and attempt to harm me or anyone in my family - you better be prepared because he will protect us. I can't blame him for that because I'd do the same.
 
#75
jordy_on_bass said:
That is where the attack happens, he takes a bite (which can obviously cause you to lose a limb), realises you aren't a food source and he swims away.
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How does the shark realize a person "isn't a food source," but, say, a seal is?
 
#76
Bob,

That I can't answer. But it is obvious to me that since many shark attack victims survive their encounter, the shark does realise this after they take that first inquisitive bite. Whether it be taste, flesh consistency, who knows why they don't come back, but they usually don't. At the end of the day, if a shark saw you as a food source after taking that initial bite, rescuers would not be bringing the majority of a body back to shore after a shark attack, whether that person be dead or alive.

Cheers,
Jordan
 
#77
It could also be that human shark victims often survive or at least are not completely devoured because they are rescued by others after the initial attack, whereas a seal would not be. I don't believe anyone goes out and rescues attacked seals or retrieves partial seal carcasses before they can be completely eaten.

I suspect it's possible that after the shark ingests the first bite, whether the meat is human, fish, pinniped, cetacean, or whatever, it would indeed go back for seconds if it is still hungry and the victim is still vulnerable. We may be human, but we're still flesh.
 
#79
Bob,

The amount of time it takes to rescue that victim would be more than enough time to devour them, so I don't think that would really make a difference in the number of survivals (obviously the speed of getting a person to medical attention helps their survival chances). While Tiger Sharks are basically a garbage disposal and will eat just about anything, thus giving them a more ravenous reputation, attacks on humans by tigers are relatively rare compared to other species. My unforgettable swim with one is evidence of that.

IME, there are 2 sharks that are the prime suspects in 99% of attacks. Great Whites and Bull Sharks. While I do acknowledge that the Bull Shark is practically the only 'man-eater' shark (due to a one-off discovery of human bones in a Bull sharks stomach once), I think the Great White is much smarter than the more aggressive Bull Shark. Twice the size, twice the power and far more agile for it's size, yet many White Shark victims do survive. From the few Bull Shark attacks that I have seen, they have all been pretty devastating.

Sorry if it seems like I need to defend sharks in a thread that has been necro'd when it shouldn't have!! hahaha :hiding:

Cheers,
Jordan
 
#80
jordy_on_bass said:
The amount of time it takes to rescue that victim would be more than enough time to devour them, so I don't think that would really make a difference in the number of survivals
Click to expand...

I suppose it depends on whether the shark is in a hurry to devour what it has attacked. Without immediate competition for the prey at hand, a shark might not feel great urgency.

I doubt that sharks care all that much what kind of meat they're eating. The advantages that humans enjoy over other seals and other potential shark prey include a social network that can effect a rescue, as well as the ability to learn repellant techniques like punching a shark in the nose or eye.
 

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