Last week SDX bought a national newspaper to read about the latest “UK Shark sighting story” with both excitement and in negative anticipation. The news was that an oceanic White tip, a shark mostly found in warmer tropical waters had been sighted in the South Coast of England off St Ives. The story that the newspaper ran was that “jaws” has just turned up and the likelihood was that a British holiday maker was about to become lunch!Lets be honest,this is nothing new. Each year the British tabloids will come up with some sort of skeptical evidence that large predatory sharks are “lurking” off our coast line and it is only a matter of time before a swimmer gets munched!
It all started in 2000 when a group of anglers “claimed” to have seen a Great White one afternoon while fishing off the south coast. There was no evidence (no picture, no sample, no bite marks!) however it did cause a hysteria of both excitement and fear. Since then, every year “something” will get reported from bite marks on washed up porpoises to amateur video footage of fins in the surf! The sharks in question have been mostly the Great White, one year it all being about a Mako (a species that is known to live in these waters anyway!) but all of a sudden they might just become serious threat to the safety of our beach goers! More often than not.....the shark in question turns out to be either a porbeagle or the magnificent Basking shark.
This latest sighting/article was just another classic example of the misunderstanding of an incredible animal, mixed with journalism intent on bending sentences and facts to create a farce of a story. We have to be honest when we read the article we found ourselves hugely entertained by the comedy side of the report but after reading it and reflecting on how many people may not read it in the same way we did , made us feel both sick and very sad indeed.
Shark diving Xperts are in the middle of putting together a trip to Cocos which will be coming soon and have spent the last few months researching the destination and the sharks intensely. We have been simply drooling over this destination and have spoken to so many people all over the world who are desperate to jump in the water with sharks and see them for what they are...a beautifully evolved animal that demands respect but if given that, can be viewed and enjoyed just like every single other animal in the world.
So what if an Oceanic White Tip shark is swimming off St Ives? If it was true then that would be a fantastic thing and everyone should be proud to say that it is the first of its kind. Unfortunately the continued story is that fishermen have been out to hunt and catch the shark. What is all that about!? Money is the answer, if the shark in question does get caught it is estimated to have become prized in the region of £25,000!
No doubt this will not be the last of the shark stories this summer, as we all have become aware.....sharks sell newspapers but when are these reports going to become so farcical that people stop becoming interested in them? Thankfully the response that SDX have had with regards to this story is a positive one. People ARE starting to read between the lines and read these articles for what they are. Since the article was written funnily enough, no one has been eaten off the coast of England and life has gone on with , lets be honest, more important things to worry about than that of getting bitten by a large predatory fish when taking an early morning dip in the Irish sea!
The Oceanic White Tip shark is a shark that demands respect when being dived with, they can be found in Hawaii, the Bahamas, South Africa, and are seen with good regularity in the Red Sea. However, unfortunately there are numerous places that used to see many of these magnificent sharks and now due to their decline in numbers, only see a few with any frequency. As often quoted....these sharks have more to fear from us than we do of them and if the sharks had a national newspaper the main headline everyday would be that of how many thousand sharks where killed today. Puts it in perspective a little doesn't it?
If you have any opinions on this matter or want to get in touch with regards to this story or for further information on where to see this incredible species of shark please just get in touch. info@sharkdivingxperts.com
Thanks SDX
