im sorry but this thread is complete bull based on paranoia and fear without rational thinking.
As KS says, more people die from malaria from mosquitos every day than sharks kill in a year, and rabies infections from stray dogs kill more each year than sharks, does that mean your going to go and slaughter every dog without a collar on because theres a small possibility it may kill someone? whilst you are at it, go kill every african lion because they kill 70 people a year, 55-65 more than sharks each year, or every elephant, as they kill 500 people a year, 480-495 a year more than sharks
more sharks are killed every year by humans than humans by sharks Each year there are about 50 to 70 confirmed shark attacks and 5 to 15 shark-attack fatalities around the world. Between 20 and 100 million sharks die each year due to fishing activity, according to data from the Florida Museum of Natural History's International Shark Attack File.
and if you are talking about cruelty to animals for human consumtion, what about the sharks that have their fins cut off and are just thrown back in the water to drown after their "useful" parts are removed
sharks have been given such a bad reputation through piss poor portrails in movies, hollywood and the media. As a Dive instructor, ive been up close with many different types of shark, including 4 of the top 5 most dangerous sharks, the bull, hammerhead, tiger and lemon, and have no injuries, no close calls, no near death experiences...sure a couple of hairy moments but more likely my over active imagination than and actual aggresive action by the shark.
if you choose to play in the ocean, you accept the risk of drowning, hitting reef, getting taken out by the rips, jelly fish stings and shark attacks, if you dont want any of these risks, move to an area without them or dont go in the water, its all part and parcel of being a surfer. deal with it.
sharks are a big part of the ecosystem and desrve to be protected, beach nets dont work and end up killing all kinds of marine life like turtles, dolphins, seals etc....and cost thousands to maintain, and any surf spot that they then put shark nets up around would A: possibly ruin the wave, by adding posts and fences that trap sand and alter bottom topography B: turn all protected surf spots into a swimmers paradise because of the feeling of safety C: kill all the local wildlife
i would also like
www.surfing-waves.com administrators to rename the title of this thread, as its pro animal cruelty and against the nature of 90% of the surfers out there.