The Summer of the Shark
I have recently read that there was a second shark attack that ended in a fatality in Mexico on a beach that hasn't had a shark attack in years. There hasn't been any large sharks at this beach due to irresponsible fishing and specifically targeting larger sharks to relieve the fears of tourists that are vital to the community's economy. The resort mentioned is ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO which if it really cared about tourism would promote healthy ecological practices because once the biodiversity has disappeared so goes the attraction of the ocean.
Every year more people are surfing and using the ocean for recreation and every year we kill more and more sharks and their food sources. It's simple math, the more people in the ocean, the less the sharks have to eat, the more attacks there will be on people. Now the dynamics of ecology is more complicated than that but some common sense can be applied whether your a biologist or not. As the top predators of the ocean become extinct an ecological collapse will be inevitable, this type of devastation to the earth's oceans can not be completely predicted but some inferences can be made. Please educate yourself when you buy any products that come from the ocean and please don't fall for the media's scare tactics. I know its trite and everyone has heard this but you really are more likely to die from driving to the beach than you are to die in the beach from a shark attack. More specifically if you are in Mexico you are more likely to die from food poisoning than you are to die from a shark.
Ty Spaulding
Associate degree in Biology.
Biology student with an emphasis in ecology.
Current research assistant for climate change in the Arctic at the University of Alaska.
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I just recently noticed many articles about how declining shark populations are playing havoc on coastal ecosystems around the world. Maybe it would be a good idea to have shark watching expositions as a tourist attraction. If done right, it could be very educational and interesting to actually see sharks in their habitat. Also, in the event that an unsuspecting swimmer or surfer is in the wrong place at the wrong time, the warnings and news blitz that followed would peak the interest of vacationers and promote the industry. This is much better than killing everything that looks like a shark. Is there an NGO that guarantees loans or helps with startup costs for ventures like this? I'm sure the tourist industry would love to hear About it.
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