Sharks
CuriousOyster
Steve & Trish Brown
Sat 1 May 2010 21:46
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Jaws has a lot to answer for when it comes to mans
reaction to sharks. With hundreds of thousands killed each year, either in spite
or to satisfy some bizarre craving for shark fins, their numbers are falling
dramatically and positive action is necessary to halt their
decline.
Despite reading and being told that more people are
killed each year by falling coconuts than are killed by sharks, we continue to
be extremely nervous whenever there is a possibility that sharks are about. I
must confess that diving into the warm blue waters off the back of the boat here
in the shark filled Pacifc is a lot more thought provoking than it was
in the Caribbean. It does not help when you motor quietly into a beautiful,
peacefully idyllic anchorage only to disturb a large shark basking on the
surface as you prepare to drop anchor. So you go back to the books to read that
there a NO sharks that will trouble you, just swim towards them and they will
swim away.....are you SURE? If so why do the authors write "can occassionally be
aggressive"
What DO they mean?
A little bolshie?
May ask you to leave there domain?
Take a bite out of your leg?
EAT YOU?
 Trish and I were snorkeling quietly around a large
coral head that swept up from 20m to just below the surface and attracted lots
of different types of fish to feed and gave good light for Trish's photography.
As we slowly swam around the surface of the coral a large black tipped reef
shark swam around the corner, startling both it and us. More clenched buttocks.
(us....not sure about the sharks). We were between it and open water! would it
get bolshoi and eat us?
It quietly swam past us not more than 18 inches
away and headed off in search of fishier food.
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