Kyle Burden. A 21 year old Australian surfer was looking for his next wave near Bunker Bay. He would never catch it. A great white shark attacked him from behind, cutting him in half. Death was quick and instant! Kurt Morris, who witnessed the attack, was visibly shaken. He looked at Kyle’s lifeless remains after other surfers pulled them from the surf. Kyle’s upper torso lay in the sand. Liver, intestines and lower spine strewn in a pool of blood.
Shockingly, Kyle Burden was only one of nearly 60 other shark attacks spanning six months. Attacks that occurred in Africa, Australia, Russia, West Indies, Hawaii, Coastal US, Red Sea, etc… a growing list in 2011. But shark “experts” (protectionists) interviewed by the Media console the public: “You’re more likely to be killed by lightning or die from falling coconuts” (!) Really?
I am sick of this lack of respect for human dignity.
It’s a shame the world press supports only eco-driven “man vs. shark” propaganda. Perhaps they need to question what’s causing a spike in sharks attacking humans the past ten years! I have. I’m Captain Bill Goldschmitt, shark fisherman, author and researcher of shark behavior, with 50 years of experience. I know sharks. Could it be that film makers competing for exposure on the biggest stage (television) could have something to do with the increased attacks? I think so. Shark Week attracts millions of viewers each summer –– it’s done so for nearly 28 years. We’ve watched predator sharks perform like circus animals in episodes like: Air Jaws, White Sharks Uncaged, Shark Week’s Best Bites, Air Jaws of South Africa, Air Jaws II, Ultimate Air Jaws, blah, blah, blah! It’s nauseating! I’m not saying sharks attack humans to get a screen test, the apex predators have been munching on humans for hundreds of years, but in a salacious effort to bring more gore to the screen, film makers are creating an unnatural environment for their folly.
In the early years of Shark Week, they featured informative stories of real people in real attacks. Hell, in one episode kids even learned how to ward off an attacking shark. Helpful stuff. But times have changed. Shark Week’s stories have become a platform for eco-fruits, nuts and producers eager to film sharks doing unnatural things, or humans doing unnatural things with sharks, like the so-called researcher standing in waist-deep water and allowing a bull shark to bite his calf. The results of these shenanigans for us normal people are dangerous. Dumping thousands of pounds of bloody chum, including tuna carcasses, horsemeat, etc., as free meals sharks don’t need to chase does not inspire real shark behavior. These film makers video tape and photograph in high def, infrared, sky cam, shark cam, underwater cam, all of this, they say, in the name of science, and to “better understand” sharks. Who are they kidding? This is Prime Time, costing billions of dollars. And, most importantly, they don’t want their sponsors’ products boycotted by the shark protection lobby. It’s all about money while human safety is ignored. Shark-human interaction induced with feeding is bad news!
The thrill-seeking idiots featured on these programs…swimming over, under and around sharks, touching, tagging, everything short of fornicating, in the name of understanding this misunderstood creature is pure bull shit! When the director yells, “Cut! –– that’s a wrap ––good shot,” is when danger begins. Once the films are edited, Shark Week’s directors and producers don’t give a damn where those white sharks, tiger and bull sharks go to find their next meal, or how they’ll interact with their next human encounter. Thanks to all the free grub, they’ve lost their fear of humans. Those sharks will migrate coast-to-coast searching for a new source of food. Something they don’t need to chase. Most likely a victim like Kyle Burden.
Sharks don’t need protection, people do!