Vic Hislop - Quote of the week 2009

In case you did not know who Vic Hislop was, he's featured this month in Edit International magazine which poses the question "Are Sharks Targeting Humans?"

Vic Hislop Quote:

"When people put down shark cages for their thrill-seeking clients some of the burley (blood and cut up fish bait and meat) travels up to 40 kilometers away, say Hislop. These people would like you to think they are conservationists because they don’t kill sharks – but they are using thousands of edible fish as shark bait. He adds, Sharks pick up the scent, become aroused and are ready to eat by the time they reach the cage containing a human. If the cages were not strongly made, or fell off to the bottom, those stupid people would be goners in seconds. Meanwhile the sharks are not killed after the event. They are simply being trained to hunt humans.”

Editors Note: It is media quotes like these we are reminded of the commercial shark divers prayer - "Lord protect us from the small minded and the dim."

Conservation Media With Bite

Kudos to PEW Trusts for a whopper of a media stunt this week.

Gathering up a group of well known shark attack survivors to plead the case for shark conservation before congress on Senate bill is S. 850 was a brilliant idea and effective.

The media had a field day and this story got as much one day press as the Sotomayor confirmation hearings.

Unfortunately MSNBC decided to add a well know industry generated cage breach video to their coverage both online and on national television.

This videos appearance on a hot media topic presents, once again, our industry negatively to millions of viewers, policy makers, and the general public.

Shark Week 2009