Sammy's Natural World: The Sharks Are Nice, Really!

Not a killer, but a beauty <3 A great white shark, photo credit to Mark Carwardine (I would
happily do anything to see a great white in all its glory!)

SHARKS IN THE WATER!

But that's a VERY GOOD thing!

Okay, close your eyes for a second and think of "shark". Think long and hard, really focus. Now, what do you see?

I see a beautiful predatory fish here! Sand tiger shark at
the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth (May 2015)

Now, I don't want to guess, but I guarantee that a heck of a lot of you conjure up an image that is truly terrifying. You've probably imagined the famous great white shark, with its rows and rows of razor-sharp teeth gleaming in the dark water as its black eyes turn towards an unsuspecting swimmer. The shark then takes a bite out of its favourite prey, amidst a flurry of desperately waving arms and legs, blood-curdling screams, teeth, fins and a pool of blood.

This is the stereotypical vision of a shark. And I'm here to tell you now, that this vision couldn't be further from the truth. Sharks are hugely demonised, misunderstood, and deliberately betrayed as "deadly, bloodthirsty maneaters" by the press, After all, what could be a "better scoop" than to scare the crap out of people who don't even encounter sharks in their lives (although, that could be said for a lot of things, but as this post is about sharks, I will keep my political views to myself and leave it by saying that what makes a "good scoop" is definitely debatable here!). The truth is, everyone needs sharks. And the sharks need us. There are a lot of myths here to be dispelled, and a lot of beauty behind the "beast".

What Is A Shark?

Not just great whites, bulls and tigers...

A nurse shark in the National Marine Aquarium (May 2015)
Really not a killer!

If you've seen from my previous posts, the National Marine Aquarium on the Barbican in Plymouth is one of my favourite places. In fact, I went again just today with a couple of friends (13th September- God love the annual passes!) and as always it was fantastic. Of course, the star animals are the two sand tiger sharks and the adorable loggerhead turtle (Snorkel). However, there are several species of shark to be found in this beautiful building. There's even a shark nursery here, displaying mermaids purses (the egg cases of certain species of shark and ray) where you can see the little developing sharks squirming around inside, alongside newly hatched sharks and rays. In the main tanks with the more grown-up sharks, you can find small spotted catshark (a.k.a the lesser spotted dogfish, although the former name is more scientifically accurate), smooth hounds, bonnetheads, bull huss (a type of catshark), nurse sharks and thornback, sting, spotted and blonde rays to name but a few.

To class as a shark, skate, or ray, you must be a fish with a skeleton made of cartilage rather than bones, and have no swim bladder. As you've seen from the introduction, the stereotypical image of a shark is the great white shark, or a similar one like the bull or tiger shark. You'd be forgiven for thinking that these represent the entire shark and ray family, but in fact, there are well over 300 species of shark and 600 types of ray, and as the photos in this article show, they come in an astonishing range of shapes, sizes and variance.

Bull huss in the National Marine Aquarium (September 2015- taken
today in fact!)

Small spotted catshark in the National Marine Aquarium (February 2015)

Small-eyed ray in the National Marine Aquarium (today)

In fact, the UK has a pretty rich diversity of sharks and rays: you can find over 30 species here, including some of the largest and rarest. In these waters, the following can be found:

- Blue shark
- Shortfin mako shark
- Basking shark (the world's second largest fish and is as gentle as anything)
- Thresher shark
- Tope
- Smooth hound
- Porbeagle
- Small spotted catshark
- Bull huss
- Small-eyed ray
- Thornback ray
- Common stingray
- Blonde ray

You can even infrequently find smooth hammerheads here, too, as rare vagrants.

Shark Attacks

The Truth

It's true that occasionally, someone will be bitten by a shark, and a small minority of these are fatal.

However, it's of vital importance to note that we are not prey, and that a lot of these "attacks" are purely a case of mistaken identity and the unfortunate way in which sharks "test" what's in front of them. You're far more likely to die from a lightning strike, a vending machine falling on you, a bee sting or even from falling off your bed than you are from a shark attack!

To a shark lurking the depths, anyone splashing around at the surface against the sun on a surfboard

The mermaid's purse of a small spotted catshark.
You can see the developing embryo- it's the orange
shape at the top of the case. NMA,
February 2015

will look like a seal (and it really doesn't help that the surfer splashes, which further makes the shark think that the victim is a seal), the main prey to great whites. The truth is, we're not fatty enough for sharks, so we're really not number one prey.

In addition to this, sharks "test" what is in front of them using their mighty teeth, as they obviously lack hands to reach out and wonder "hmmm, I wonder what this is!" and it's most unfortunate that, in humans, this results in an injury that can sometimes be fatal.

Only around 20 species of shark will attack you out of the well over 300 species, but even these attacks are extremely rare. Three types of shark- the bull, tiger and great white- are responsible for most of the attacks, but again, these incidences are rare!

Why Do Sharks Matter?

The short version...

IN 2014, SHARKS KILLED THREE PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD. EVERY YEAR, WE KILL IN EXCESS OF 100 MILLION SHARKS

As keystone species and apex predators, sharks are of utmost importance to the worldwide oceanic ecosystems. This means that they keep the ecosystem in perfect proportions, from the little corals and polyps to the fish and marine mammals to even themselves. Therefore, if we are to keep oceans healthy (and therefore, our very own existence!) then keeping the sharks in place is crucial. In places where sharks are all but gone, new predators are replacing them, with untold damage, as this video (Last Chance To See, 2009) shows.

As I have discussed in other articles, coral reefs are hugely important. As the shark numbers continue to plummet, there are coral reefs that are thought to be suffering as the number of coral-eating predators has increased due to lack of predation by sharks.

In addition to this, sharks can bring economic benefits, as there are people who will travel to areas where sharks can be found in high numbers in order to swim or cage dive with them (and I vow to do so at least once in my life!). These experiences can bring in huge amounts of money to local economies, so of course removing sharks would make them would have devastating affects to these economies.

Sharks have been patrolling our waters since before the dinosaurs even evolved.

How Can I Help Sharks?

And what's happening to them?

- First of all, it'll really help to reiterate: Sharks are not bloodthirsty maneaters. Spread the word.

- Next, don't buy shark meat! It's legal in the UK to do so, as well as several other nations around the world. Not only is it bad for the poor shark, but it's not healthy for you, either; as sharks are top predators, they have bio-accumulated a heck of a lot of mercury. Warn others, too!

- Be very careful if you eat fish. Only buy sustainably caught fish (see the MCS guide here), as a significant portion of sharks that die every year are killed through bycatch and "ghost fishing". This also helps other animals such as dolphins, turtles and sea birds.

- Never eat shark fin soup. Tens of millions of sharks are killed just for their fins every year, often alive (so the poor animal dies a slow, painful death as they're thrown back into the sea), to turn into soup. This is very wasteful, and has had devastating affects on shark populations in Asia.

- There are also more ways to help here

PLEASE HELP TO SAVE THESE BEAUTIFUL FISH BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!