"Blood in the Water" A look at ill informed shark media

Why Current TV decided in 2007 to run with the Blood in the Water expose is beyond anyone's guess, suffice to say they stepped into an long standing global industry issue with a somewhat biased look at the industry in Hawaii.

Unfortunately this entire video expose falls flat when you realize this is a classic media hit piece designed to instill fear of sharks and commercial shark diving. From the choice of music, fun upbeat surfer music, to dark and sinister shark music, to the actual quotes by locals it is evident that Hawaii has a long way to go when it comes to understanding the global commercial shark diving industry.

Can we have a honest and open debate about our industry minus the sand box level of shark fright, moronic factoids devoid of in depth analysis, and video clips that serve no real purpose but to instill fear?

Research Note: Research data from the Farallones and tagged white sharks in that region off the California coast have shown up at Hawaii's North Shore exactly where Hawaii Shark Encounters ran into a much larger female several years ago. Where uniformed locals come to believe operators attract animals like these, research exposes the real story of generations long Pacific migratory patterns that are just now being discovered.

Blood in the Water is another in a series of ill timed, ill informed and hysteric anti-shark diving media pushes that fail to deliver substantive facts, data, and information to a public that needs it.

A Solution to Shark Nets - Dorsal Fin Blog

A viable solution to shark nets and drumlines is being tested in Australia this year by the West Australian Department of Fisheries.

The good folks over at the Dorsal Fin Blog have the complete story.

Suffice to say what is being tested in Perth might just save 10,000 breeding aged sharks off coasts from Australia to South Africa in the coming years.

Here's a link to the program with full spec shark geek info. Naturally, we read the whole thing.

Saying farewell to a decade of "shark awareness" and hello to a new decade of "shark action."

Let the conservation science begin!

Shark Diver