“Jaws” No More!

A big reason most people are afraid of sharks is the movie “Jaws.” Before the movie was released 47 years ago, people who went to the beach to swim didn’t really think about sharks, but this movie changed that thinking and the world, and not in a good way for the ocean, according to Dr. David Shiffman at a seminar delivered at the NC Maritime Museum in Beaufort, NC.

H2O Captain Eco-Tour Private Boat Excursions' Master Captain Mark gives tours of the beautiful waterways around The Crystal Coast / The Southern Outer Banks of North Carolina around Shackleford Banks, home to the wild horses and great shelling, as well as to the Cape Lookout Lighthouse. There were at least 2 occasions this season where Master Captain Mark has been in the water where a shark has passed him.  One, a nurse shark, approximately 18 inches away, and the other, a hammerhead, approximately 6 feet away. “At neither time were any species in any danger,” says Captain Mark. “And why would they? Both species are fed very well, and neither species is food for the other,” continues Captain Mark.

“On the majority of our excursions, we see the Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins. They are much easier to spot as they need to come up for air every few minutes. I am quite positive that there are always sharks around, but we generally do not see them as they are not required to come up to the surface to breathe,” declares the Captain.

That said, we can all learn so much more about sharks, and all marine animals, which is why H2O Captain is a Donor to Bonehenge Whale Center, and, a member of the Friends of the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort, NC.

In this seminar at the Museum, Captain Mark heard Dr. David Shiffman and was able to speak one on one with him, regarding sharks. Dr. Shiffman recently wrote yet another book on this fascinating marine animal, entitled, Why Sharks Matter.

This book is different from other books on this subject as his book features detailed descriptions of dozens of different conservation policies and management regulations that can be used to help protect sharks, including a description of what policies work in what situations and how people can help.

There are 536 known species of shark. And, according to Shiffman, “there’s a new species discovered somewhere in the world every two weeks and that’s been true for the last 12 years!”

On a related subject matter, Pepin-Neff released a new study in the journal Biology on how The New York Times is changing its coverage of shark encounters. Data shows that between 32–38% of reported shark “attacks” have no injury at all.

Photos:  Top, Dr. David Shiffman (c) flanked by Dr. Keith Rittmaster (l) Executive Director Bonehenge Whale Center, and Captain Mark (r)
Bottom, Dr. David Shiffman’s inscription to Captain Mark