Don’t call them “shark attacks” anymore

Two Australian states, Queensland and New South Wales, have softened their tone on the language used to report shark attacks. This is a decision that scientists welcome and find long-term delays.

Authorities in Queensland and New South Wales recently announced a change in the interpretation of shark-human encounters. Henceforth, as we said above, it will no longer be a question of “attacks”, but a question of “meetings” or “bites” in the event of any injury.

If this seems trivial, this change in vocabulary may well serve sharks that have transgressed themselves and suffered even more notoriety. “[Cela] Sharks help to dispel the assumptions of monsters that eat turbulent and stupid man“, Said recently Sydney Morning Herald Leonardo Guida of the Australian Maritime Safety Association.

Rare encounters

This “bite”, it will be remembered, is very rare, and the intrinsic deaths at these encounters are even greater. Sharks really are Ten people will be killed worldwide in 2020. In comparison, mosquitoes cause 800,000 deaths a year, 25,000 dogs a year, and crocodiles 2,000 deaths. Jellyfish kill even more people: Fifty each year.

With the exception of the tiger shark, let’s say humans are not on the shark menu, which has earned the nickname “Dustpin of the Oceans”. Affection of dark water, this breed is not really very careful about what it eats. For others, often, the bite is actually caused by curiosity or misdiagnosed.

From 1990 to 2005, there are recorded appointments Ten species are involved : Large white shark (over 400), tiger shark (141), bulldog shark (103), grass shark (76), sleeper shark (47), mago shark (45), shark porte (40), blue shark (36) ), Lemon Shark (27) and Reef Shark (26).

In this model, Three species have been subjected to deadly encounters For humans: Big White (63 deaths), Tiger Shark (28 deaths) and Bulldog Shark (22 deaths).

Don’t get me wrong about predators

For some researchers, such as Christopher Pepin-Nef, a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney, the language can create a one-dimensional sense of these phenomena, making it very difficult to protect endangered species. “After all, why worry about an animal that wants to eat us?“, He wrote in an article since 2011.

The bad name of sharks can actually reduce awareness of the dangerous fall of some species, especially in international waters. The main reason for this Population decline Paddle fishing is practiced, which involves capturing sharks before they cut their paddles and throwing their oars into the sea. If the lack of data on this type of practice is felt too much, it is evaluated More than 70 million sharks Fish are caught every year for this purpose.