It never ceases to amaze me how scientists, government-created wildlife agencies and eco-fund-raising heads of NGO’s, etc, author such irrational explanations to “re-educate” and calm a gullible public when it comes to shark attacks.
The nature of sharks certainly isn’t rocket science. All species of them, large and small, are predators of something. They kill, then eat, and make baby sharks.
Public safety, when entering the oceans, clearly is in direct conflict with those who hold shark conservation as their priority (sharks more important than people). There are solutions to protect people but shark conservationists and/or those who gain financially from shark protection agencies will vehemently oppose these solutions.
Conservationists slant data on shark-human encounters to support their theory that humans, not sharks, provoke attacks: swimmers don’t belong where sharks feed; surfers present themselves as food (they look like seals); divers provoke attacks by offering food. Their data always concludes that shark bites are accidental or mistaken identity. In their minds, it’s not conceivable that sharks are simply doing what comes natural to them, which is killing and eating something.
These conservationists and their ilk continue to admonish the “uneducated” and “uninformed” (fishermen maybe?) for saying that sharks are dangerous predators. They slam authors, movie-makers and the press for sensationalizing attacks by the “myths” they print and even attempt to sooth the public’s “irrational fears” by comparing a shark attack to being hit on the head with a coconut. All the while ignoring history: sharks have been attacking humans for centuries.
The politics of shark conservation has led to anti-fishing propaganda worldwide. This eco-agenda has been financially supported by the petroleum industry to misdirect the public’s perception of actual eco-pollution like oil spills onto shark finning and over fishing as the big bad guy ruining our planet. Fishermen have lost their jobs and now the protection of great whites has resulted in a huge increase in shark attacks by this species in Australia and South Africa. Divers, swimmers and tourists have been killed in horrific attacks creating economic hardship due to declining tourism. Public confidence in the government’ ability to implement solutions has deteriorated.
Now, to the solutions: anti-shark nets and baited hooks to capture and remove larger rogue sharks from designated bathing and surfing areas would not only reduce the local (as in, off the beach) shark populations, but will also restore public confidence in returning to the water.
But these solutions infuriate animal rights activists and, as usual, they will produce charts and reports to refute into ad nauseam the harm these efforts would have on eco-systems.
The business of shark feeding and eco-tourism is a recognized practice in both Australia and South Africa. Such operations for photographing white sharks from underwater cages is an ill-conceived profit operation with dire consequences. I’ve maintained for years that feeding these predators alters the sharks’ natural fear of humans (if they have any) and only makes them more dangerous. Common sense says you don’t feed wild predators. Tagging and photo-documentation has proved that these handfed sharks migrate and become a threat elsewhere once feeding time ends. Does anyone consider who may be at risk from these sharks? I’m sure the conservation extremists don’t care if we lose a few more human lives.
Yours truly,
Captain bill Goldschmitt
P.S. I was the first charter captain to offer cage diving in Florida in 1970. But I killed the shark after the pictures were taken. I know now as I knew then sharks are predators and the public doesn’t need to be “re-educated.”
2014 correspondence with a shark attack victim:
Yea im a survivor in Australia, when my attack happened the council lifeguards had seen the shark hours before but said nothing as I paddled way out the back by myself. They put the marine stinger sign up. So after I was attacked they put the shark sign up.
The local council the very next day while I was being stabilised in hospital, contacted their insurer. Not once did they ever contact me to this day 3 years on. I am the 3rd in our banned zone. I was attacked in an Aquatic Reserve WITHIN a Marine Park!! Crazy eh!! Thanks Pew and shark.org friends.
Glen Folkard. SAS 2012′
As far back as 1968, tree-huggers (enviros) have been telling me that I was “overfishing” sharks. Nearly 50 years they’ve pushed the “protect sharks” agenda.
Today, they claim a 90% decline in shark species. A hoax! A lie! There is no credible evidence to prove this. But how have they succeeded in persuading governments to protect sharks using ridiculous anti-fishing laws? They didn’t! Shark protection didn’t gain momentum until the Oil Industry decided to misdirect public opinion away from offshore drilling as the biggest danger to the world’s oceans, and place it on “overfishing.” Oil companies (Sunoco) created the environmental foundation PEW — pumping billions of dollars into this foundation to create a new crisis — shark finning, and a new villain — the Asian shark fin soup industry. “100 million sharks killed each year,” is their bogus mantra. C’mon, you might as well believe in the tooth fairy. But it worked! Nobody talks about oil exploration any more; not even the BP oil spill gets press the way killing sharks does! And they’ve done a good job re-education young people: tell them the sky is green year after year and they eventually believe it.
Sharks are now protected globally and so are now overpopulated. this is why shark attacks are increasing. Unfortunately you are a victim of world-wide brain-washing. Some day a shark attack victim will take legal action against government shark protection. I can’t wait to see who pays.
Sharks don’t need protection, people do!
Take care,
Captain Bill Goldschmitt
the following is an excerpt from Glens’ response email 9-13-2014:
Thanks for the prompt reply, I thought very serious about a lawsuit against the local council who’s MP was ‘granted’ 20 million to make our lake an AR, I was attacked in an Aquatic Reserve within a Marine Park…did I already say that before?? My friend Tangui in Reunion in a Marine Park. 70% here are in Marine Parks.
Yea im a survivor in Australia, when my attack happened the council lifeguards had seen the shark hours before but said nothing as I paddled way out the back by myself. They put the marine stinger sign up. So after I was attacked they put the shark sign up.
The local council the very next day while I was being stabilised in hospital, contacted their insurer. Not once did they ever contact me to this day 3 years on. I am the 3rd in our banned zone. I was attacked in an Aquatic Reserve WITHIN a Marine Park!! Crazy eh!! Thanks Pew and shark.org friends.
Glen Folkard. SAS 2012′
As far back as 1968, tree-huggers (enviros) have been telling me that I was “overfishing” sharks. Nearly 50 years they’ve pushed the “protect sharks” agenda.
Today, they claim a 90% decline in shark species. A hoax! A lie! There is no credible evidence to prove this. But how have they succeeded in persuading governments to protect sharks using ridiculous anti-fishing laws? They didn’t! Shark protection didn’t gain momentum until the Oil Industry decided to misdirect public opinion away from offshore drilling as the biggest danger to the world’s oceans, and place it on “overfishing.” Oil companies (Sunoco) created the environmental foundation PEW — pumping billions of dollars into this foundation to create a new crisis — shark finning, and a new villain — the Asian shark fin soup industry. “100 million sharks killed each year,” is their bogus mantra. C’mon, you might as well believe in the tooth fairy. But it worked! Nobody talks about oil exploration any more; not even the BP oil spill gets press the way killing sharks does! And they’ve done a good job re-education young people: tell them the sky is green year after year and they eventually believe it.
Sharks are now protected globally and so are now overpopulated. this is why shark attacks are increasing. Unfortunately you are a victim of world-wide brain-washing. Some day a shark attack victim will take legal action against government shark protection. I can’t wait to see who pays.
Sharks don’t need protection, people do!
Take care,
Captain Bill Goldschmitt