Disturbing Great White Shark Video?

"Shredder" picture by Cary Humphries

An article in the Herald Sun (Australia) described a video that shows a Great White Shark, eating a blue shark hooked by a fisherman,as:

"A Disturbing Video"

What I find disturbing  is the fact that a newspaper describes the natural behavior of a wild animal in this manner.

Of course a shark will not refuse an easy meal but there is hardly anything disturbing about it.

In 10 years of observing Great White Sharks at Isla Guadalupe, I have learned that sharks are actually more attracted to a hooked fish than any chum that cage diving operators are using. One day in 2005 there was a time we had great difficulty attracting the sharks, while a tuna fishing boat, less than 1/2 mile away, complained that most the tuna they were catching, were being eaten by the very sharks we were waiting to see.

Sharks will be sharks. The mainstream media will describe incidents like this as “disturbing” and will try to get you to buy into it. You can believe the unsubstantiated nonsense or you can be amazed by the truth about sharks. If you are truly interested in sharks and their behavior and/or if you are an enthusiastic shark observer as I am, take time to find reliable sources and get to know the facts.

Cheers,

Martin Graf
Dive Operations Manager
Shark Diver/Horizon
Isla Guadalupe, Mexico


About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.