The Dorsal Fin

The question of why the ocean (and the planet, for that matter) needs sharks is one that I see pop up quite often on message boards, blog comments, and video comments. I came across the video below from abc Green Forum, while browsing through Oceanic Defense’s website. It’s a nicely produced video that walks through the potential consequences of wiping out species, including sharks, through over-fishing.

A state medical examiner from North Carolina is seeking the opinion of George Burgess in the death of Richard Sneed. Sneed was reported missing on September 13 after he did not return from a late night swim. His body was found on the shore of Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, according to NBC-2. The autopsy report listed shark attack as the cause of death for Sneed. However, News Channel WTKR, the medical examiner has requested Burgess’ opinion on the cause of death. Burgess expressed that it might be difficult to determine whether the shark bites Sneed sustained were the cause of death or had occurred post mortem, due to the fact that Sneed’s body had been in the water for several days.

The loss of Richard Sneed is a tragedy regardless of the cause of death. My condolences and sympathy go out to the friends and family of Mr. Sneed.

And the winner (or is it loser?) is…ContactMusic." Why is Contact Music reporting a story about sharks in the first place?" you might ask. Well, it’s Steven Spielberg related news, of course. He directed that shark movie back in ’75. What was it called again? Oh yes, “Jaws.” That’s the one. Hence, any story regarding great white sharks should automatically be associated with Spielberg (in the eyes of some media outlets, at least).

Real-life great white sharks, like this one and the ones recently spotted near Chatham, are often times confused with the large, fake, mechanical shark featured in the movie, Jaws, by some media outlets.

ContactMusic’s article, “Jaws sightings close Massachusetts Beaches,” is about as utterly ridiculous as they come. Just to clarify the headline, multiple sightings of great white sharks near the coastline are what prompted the closing of several Chatham beaches, not sightings of the movie Jaws. The article goes so far as to say that the recent white shark sightings near Chatham, Massachusetts are "terrifying residents of nearby Martha’s Vineyard" (where Jaws was filmed). Say what? Was there any reporting done to substantiate the terror has fallen upon the residents of Martha’s Vineyard? It seems that the good people of Martha’s Vineyard wouldn’t be too fazed by white shark sightings, considering that there have been white sharks reported around the Vineyard repeatedly in recent years. I guess the white sharks around Chatham are more fear-inducing than the ones that were in closer proximity to Martha’s Vineyard in the past.

Thanks for spreading unnecessary fear, ContactMusic. Now, back to reality.

According to ABC, a swimming ban was put into effect at multiple Chatham beaches after multiple great white shark sightings were confirmed in the area. According to WCBV-TV three white sharks were spotted Saturday evening. Chatham officials have placed the no-swimming ban in effect until at least mid-week for all east-side beaches. The good news is that researchers were able to tag two of the sharks, one of which was tagged within 75 yards of the coastline.

Two great white sharks have been tagged with satellite tracking devices off of Cape Cod

Greg Skomal of the Massachusetts’ Division of Marine Wildlife, along with a team of fishermen, were able to tag two of the great white sharks with satellite tracking devices. Skomal described the tagging of the two white sharks as being “fantastic,” from a scientific perspective.The event marked the first time that great white sharks had been tagged in the Atlantic, according to a WCBV video feature. Update: Multiple news sources are now saying that this weekend’s taggings of two great white sharks mark the second and third time white sharks have been tagged in the Atlantic.

It is also worth pointing out that the WCBV video feature makes note that at least one aspect of tourism in the area has received a bit of boost, due to the shark sightings. An interest in excursions to attempt to view the great whites has increased business for at least one excursion operator who typically runs trips to view seals.

Both the ABC report and the WCBV-TV reports managed to do a decent job of objectively reporting the story, without throwing in the typical hype. Hopefully, the tagging of the sharks will provide information that will help lead to a better understanding of a species that is often misrepresented and misunderstood.

Five shark sightings near Monomy Island have drawn media attention to the Chatham, Massachusetts area once again. (Possible white shark sightings near Chatham drew media attention last month, as well.) According to NECN, at least one of the sharks spotted was confirmed as a great white shark. Greg Skomal of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries says that seal populations are the likely cause of the presence of sharks. While Skomal encourages beach-goers to pay attention whenever they enter the ocean, when asked if it was safe to go back in the water, he said, “I’d go swimming.” As common sense would dictate, swimmers are being warned to avoid areas with large seal congregations, since seals are a natural food source for large sharks.

The video footage above is not without its share of cliche sensationalism and comes complete with the obligatory Jaws reference, a ridiculously facetious “fish story,” and a reporter suggesting to a child that being in the water with sharks might result in the child being eaten. While white sharks are not uncommon in the New England area, particularly around this time of year, the last recorded fatal shark attack in Massachusetts waters occurred in 1936.