It’s another winter’s day and I’m on the beach. Regular beach walks are my thing at the moment. I think to myself how often we walk on the beach and take it for granted, not really stopping to reflect on the landscape and our relationship with it. When I am in any environment, I like to immerse myself in it, be at one with it if you will. When I am out in nature I suppose I feel whole. And I guess being by the ocean makes you feel like you are home.
I wonder what it feels like to be a shark in the ocean, travelling vast distances.
There has never been a subject that has instilled more fear than the shark. Despite the fact that these prehistoric creatures have roamed the seas for over 400 million years (way before the dinosaurs) humans still have nightmares over these ‘alien’ fishes. But just what is it about sharks that instills such a primal fear?
I suppose on a physiological level, they are so easy to ‘other’; their features are so different to that of our best friends: dogs. Dogs seem more ‘human’ so they are less othered; their physical features are soft and cuddly, the stuff that dreams are made of. Sharks’ features are often seen as terrifying; making them the perfect subject for the monster horror movie. They are seen as a formidable opponent; some lurking in the murky depths, others in the shallows or on the bottom of the sea floor. The ocean environment itself that sharks swim in is still so foreign to us; it represents the unknown. Some have a fear of open water or can’t swim at all. And there is still a lot we don’t know about the ocean. That in itself is terrifying. It’s all a perfect mix of unfamiliarity and a fear of what lurks beneath the surface.
Now, I told myself if I could get through this post without mentioning Jaws, I would get to eat a vegan Health Lab mudcake bar. But alas, here I am. Since the movie came out in 1975, sharks have been painted as ‘blood-thirsty killers‘ by the media, leading to massive public outcry and widespread persecution of sharks via culling. The movie itself can be (partly) blamed as Steven Spielberg has said himself he regrets the persecution and worldwide culling of sharks on a mass scale from it. But the media is mostly to blame. There is no subject that is more over-sensationalised – and the media has been profiting off the over-sensationalist headlines for decades. They have blood on their hands by creating an alarmist and entirely false fear-based narrative. And they deliberately use the right language to push it. The media sharks are blood-thirsty.
It was only just recently in the Daily Telegraph, that I came across an opinion piece by far-right wing journalist, James Morrow. I’m not usually one to spout hate or name- call (animals are my achilles heel), but I must say he is morally repugnant and well… just a vile man.
James Morrow fuels the over-sensationalist and fear-mongering rhetoric by stating: “Unless of course we think cold-blooded killers are more important than people” – inciting a call to action from the public. He then continues to put further fuel in the fire by stating his opinions on nets: “While any collateral damage caused by the nets may be unfortunate, there is only one form of life we should be most concerned about in this or any other debate: human life” – what utter nonsense. His aim is clear: continue to villainize sharks at all costs. “Consider a cull of these killers, by eliminating those close to shore, reintroducing commercial shark fishing or both.” He then pushes the call to action from the public, by perpetuating the fear-based narrative. “This is a threat that is real, growing and must be confronted at all costs.” James Morrow would love nothing more than to see these magnificent creatures continued to be culled by the billions.
Not only is James insistent on pushing this false narrative of the ‘monster’ in the ocean, but he is spreading misinformation. To suggest that you can simply eliminate sharks that easily, based on those coming into shore, is ridiculous. Because anyone with just a fraction of knowledge knows that sharks are migratory, they don’t just stay in the shallows; they travel vast distances. Some species, like whites, are known to follow whale migrations. James also pushes the claim that shark numbers are increasing. “This is 100% correct” he says, emphatically. Well Mr Morrow. I would love to see the data to back up that claim. But could it be Mr Morrow, that rather than more sharks who have probably always been there, there is just more technology recording them? I mean, since Sydney beaches have rolled out the daily drone program, there has been reported shark sightings every day. So what does that tell you?
After the recent shark attack at Coogee Beach, I may have mentioned the fact to a family member that we slaughter over 100 million sharks per year. In comparison, sharks kill on average 5-6 people per year. “It’s not a competition” the family member said. Oh, boy, it comes nowhere close to a competition. But I think the scale is just a tiny bit important , don’t you? That doesn’t mean are hearts don’t go out to the victim of the shark attack. But this false narrative that sharks are monsters needs to end. Sadly, I don’t see that happening. Because the media profits off it unfortunately. So, I ask again: Who is really the blood-thirsty killer?
