“That’s crazy,” is the response most people have upon seeing photographs of sharks bumping their noses against my camera housing. 
Despite my best efforts to assuage their fears, most people aren’t going to easily let go of their image of a big, bad shark. Through no fault of our own, we have developed a deeply ingrained terror of sharks. Through movies graphically depicting aquatic killing machines, and bold-faced news headlines sensationalizing any brush the gray swimming beasts, we have felt a narrative forced upon us which is wholly untrue. Of course, a few sentences aren’t going to change any opinions, and frankly think that’s too lofty a goal. My only mission here is to provide some context for sharks, and hopefully give our sharks a fair shake in your discerning and astute judgment. As you look though my photos of sharks, please keep in mind there is no cage, no barrier, and I am in no danger at all. How is that? Let’s begin with one of my favorite places which is not the ocean; the refrigerator.
Let us imagine for a moment, you are having an open house and a number of strangers are walking about your living room. In your mind, all is good and gravy and there is no reason to be upset. What if I was to walk into your kitchen, open the refrigerator and help myself to a bottle of water? Would you feel differently? Would you come ask me about my strange behavior to understand what was happening? Finally, let us place a tasty lunch in front of you. It’s your favorite food and you’re extremely excited about it. I walk over in your space while you’re eating, and promptly help myself to some of that delicious food. How do you feel then? Are you upset? Might you act in a manner which you otherwise wouldn’t because of my obviously unreasonable actions? Yeah, so would the sharks. Given the similarities, let me explain how it happens for them.
You swim their ocean home all the time. They always see you when you’re there, but you rarely see them. Sharks aren’t upset with your presence in the water because it is not abnormal for a large critter such as yourself to be in the same ocean. It’s a big ocean, they know that and wouldn’t give you a second glance just because you’re in it. They will however, come and investigate a creature doing some strange behavior, such as thrashing around in the water like injured prey. Finally, if you’re in their ocean home and interrupt their lunch, expect a swift and affirmative defensive response, just like you would give me in your own home. Notice I didn’t once use the term, “attack,” I used, “response.” There is a really good reason for that and it has to do with the undeniable fact that sharks, like all animals prefer the safest and easiest route.
The vast majority of shark bites leave the victim with quite a few stiches, but rarely death or loss of limb. Why is this? While spearfishing, I have seen medium sized sharks easily cut huge fish in half. How is it possible an animal capable to devouring fish larger than my leg would most likely leave only bite marks if it were to nibble me? It is a simple explanation. Sharks are curious, and cautious creatures. Just like we will check out something strange like a dude raiding their fridge, a shark will give a tentative investigatory feel with their most sensitive feeling area, its mouth. I’m not saying an exploratory shark bite is nothing to be concerned with, I’m just pointing out there is an obvious difference between an attack and a bite. Since we started off this paper acknowledging the general fear we share for the ferocious and powerful gray monsters, I feel we should ask ourselves an important question. “If sharks really are so ferocious, how is it possible the vast majority of shark bite victims are still alive? If these animals really are blood-thirsty beasts, why aren’t the waters surrounding swimming areas stained red with that blood they’re thirsting for?” Because they’re none of those terrible things. They’re just regular animals, cruising around, trying to survive by not getting injured and having easy meals. Easy meals are most definitely not defined by large unknown mammals. Given then undeniable fact that you’re not an injured fish, here are some ways to decrease your anxiety and increase your safety around sharks.
First, don’t be a fish, most importantly, don’t be an injured fish. Certain behaviors exhibited by prey can trigger a shark to act like the shark you’re scared of, instead of the shark I’m telling you about. Just like a dog will give chase to a running rabbit even though the same rodent would have been otherwise ignored had it remained stationary. So too will the shark chase the fleeing fish. If you act like a big mammal who is not part of shark’s normal diet, they will not treat you as part of their diet. Next, if you see sharks hanging around, either make an effort to avoid the area, or keep a close eye on their attitudes. If they are languidly cruising, they’re relaxed and you’re not bothering them. If they start to be twitchy, rigid, or making specific tracks in your direction, just know they could be unhappy with your presence. Go ahead and move on somewhere else. Finally, if you see fish acting scared, or there is active feeding occurring, leave the area. Sharks can be defensive of their food, and you don’t want that. There is a remarkable video on youtube in which a guy jumps into the water to look at a tiger shark feeding on a turtle. I cringed when I saw this set up. Predictably, the tiger shark gave a stern warning to the unknowing dude by swimming directly at him with her mouth open. She didn’t bite him, she just showed the swimmer who was having turtle for lunch and who wasn’t.
I’m certainly not advocating everyone hops in the water and befriends with these toothy aquatic critters. Hell, I’m not even hoping you’ll give up on your natural instinct to be wary of large predators. My only hope is that we can all let go of the false narrative sharks have received. They’re not mindless killers, or man-eating beasts, they’re just a big, beautiful toothy fish that wants nothing to do with you. And maybe with a little information and a few photos, we can stop the tall tales and focus more on actual shark tales. Let’s stop shark shaming together.
