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#1
12-15-2008, 06:09 AM
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The Plight of Sharks
Watched the movie Sharkwater yesterday - a powerful film about the plight of sharks.....made by a young man dedicated to saving them .. and in doing so - demonstrating how saving the shark is really saving ourselves.
I had no idea before seeing this movie : 1) sharks are endangered. because if the typical insane practices of the Chinese (mostly hong kong) sharkfin is an extremely valuable commodity. Sharks are caught by the 10s of 1000s, killed for the fins and dumped back in the sea dead. 2) sharks are for the most part - not dangerous. they eat fish. they are built to eat fish .. they dont consider people food. most shark attacks are superficial (exploritory bites) there were some crazy statistics - that they account for 5 deaths a year on average (more people get killed by pop machines) this being said - of course there are less people in the water near sharks compared to the opportunitys other killers of the world (elephants and tigers) are provided ... but still ... its a small number and it's tough to argue with underwater footage of divers feeding and petting 6ft long sharks. I think Vod mentioned some time ago the irrisponsible, uneducated behavior as a result of Jaws ... and its still happening. there's some guy in australia who's made it his life work to rid the oceans of the great whites - they're being hunted to extinction. anyway - a tough film - but an extremely important film - i really encourage you to seek it out. like i said in the last seen movie thread - even if only 5 - 10% of the information is true - its terrifying, and maddening. Last edited by urgeok2; 12-15-2008 at 06:16 AM. 
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#2
12-15-2008, 06:13 AM
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I saw a program not too long ago on Nat Geo showing the same stuff just described. To quote the narrator "the most misunderstood of all species known to mankind, especially after their depictions on the visual media."
Sounds very familiar, and interesting. Considering my weakness for anything related to these magnificent animals, I ll see if I can get this from somewhere.
__________________
"If you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche
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#3
12-15-2008, 07:19 AM
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I have a fascination of sharks. They're so elegant and represent the chaotic and unpredictability in life, as they're so alien when put against our day to day lives.
On my recent diving trip to the red sea we were hoping to see sharks, but due to weather conditions we couldn't go far enough south to get to their regular areas. We would have most likely seen them years ago, but the numbers are constantly dropping. It's such a shame because they survived the fall of the Dinosaurs and the 64 million years in between, and it's us who are dooming them. I came close to seeing one. Back in 2005, before I was a diver, on a holiday to America we visited Panama City Beach (not long after the hurricane) where we did a lot of snorkling. There was a helicopter going over head constantly. One week later, the day we got back to England, there was a shark attack there, and another a few days later. But the attacks are rare and the deaths are rarer. It's all about respect. If you see them, don't be scared, but at the same time don't get too friendly with them either. Treat them with admiration and respect. As much as I love the film Jaws, it didn't help the sharks too much. I always watch documentaries about them if I see one on. They're just...fascinating.
__________________
 The Ferrets like it...
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#4
12-15-2008, 08:37 AM
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Quote:
I did, and have gone on the record many times having said I thought peter benchley was a fucktard because he should have known better, he was a marinbe biologist for christ's sake. that being said,none of this is news to me. People are ignorant and afraid, so they couldnt care less if something they are afraid of isbeing killed, as far as they are concerned most predators arent necesarry, they are murders making the world around them a scary place. Statisticly, they should be afraid of White men and mosquitoes.
__________________
Some misguided people decided I was funny enough to pay. See if they're right: http://www.cracked.com/members/Vodstok/ (I tweet pretty hardcore, too)
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#5
12-15-2008, 08:54 AM
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Quote:
too be fair - horror books/movies have been basing their stories on animals (albiet radiated mutated ones) for a long time before and since Jaws. i doubt anyone could have forseen the impact that book would have (and even then - it would be forgotten if it wasnt for the movie) this didnt happen with birds after hitchcocks film, would daphne du maurier deserve shit for it if it had ? i know its a little diferent because birds dont look or act scary - and we know a lot more about them because they live in our environment ... but still ...
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#8
12-15-2008, 10:05 AM
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I think there is often a period in most people's childhoods where your dream is to be a Marine Biologist (along with an Astronaut, Paleontologist, and a Archaeologist).
Sharks were always my favorite and I would read about them constantly. There are over 200 species of sharks and less than 20 of them can be considered "man-eating". Sharks typically feed at twilight, so as long as you are out of the water at that time, you should have nothing to worry about. Sharks are 400 million years old, with modern sharks dating back 100 million years. The largest shark species today is the Whale Shark, which can grow to be 40ft long. The largest man-eating shark is the Great White which only grows to half that size. Poaching has gotten worse over the years with shark-fin soup being a popular asian dish and people selling shark jawbones.
__________________
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#9
12-15-2008, 10:11 AM
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Quote:
Although now that I am looking at his wikipedia page, it says nothing about him being a biologist. So i can hate hime for ripping off his own premise for many of his subsequent books (unoriginal douche), but I may have to take it easy on the shark thing. Plus, he did try to patch things up after the fact.
__________________
Some misguided people decided I was funny enough to pay. See if they're right: http://www.cracked.com/members/Vodstok/ (I tweet pretty hardcore, too)
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#10
12-15-2008, 11:13 AM
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Ah, whale Sharks. Now that would be a sight. One of the couples on my boat in the Red Sea are underwater photographers and had been in Sharm El Sheikh a few weeks before my trip and THREE whale sharks had been there. The woman, Pash, wrote an article and her husband Gareth took the photos. You can see them here. Really clear, all shark lovers will like this!
http://www.divernet.com/cgi-bin/arti...5&sc=2303&ac=d
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