NEGATIVE ENCOUNTERS OF THE SHARK KIND

Some officials in Australia are hoping the renaming of shark attacks in their reporting will help improve the image of sharks.

Where an event was previously recorded as an attack it will now be recorded as "interactions" or "negative encounters", all in an effort to help change the public perception of sharks as killers just waiting for man to enter the water. To quote Matt Hooper in Jaws, it wasn't Jack the Ripper.

The use of the terms attack and bite helps foster a culture of fear around the endangered species, who should be more frightened by man than we are of it. Last year there were 57 recorded unprovoked attacks by shark - we culled an estimated 100 million sharks: International Shark Attack File 2020 Shows Encounters Down But Fatalities Up

Ignoring the figures for a second, yes shark attacks do happen and they are a terrible accident, but we have knowingly entered into their domain.

That doesn't mean we were asking for it, but it is a risk you have to weigh up, just like when you decide to cross the road, get into a car or step onto a plane.

Still worried? Here's how you can help keep yourself shark safe in the water: How To Stay Shark Safe

So far, this positive change for sharks has been made in New South Wales, but has yet to be adopted elsewhere in Australia.

It's also been pointed out that the use of the term shark attack is used whenever there is an encounter with man, such as brushing against a person or taking an exploratory bite on a surfboard or boat. It's clearly not an attack.

The Daily Jaws explored the inflammatory use of words by the media when talking about human and shark encounters here: Media's Feeding Frenzy on Shark Attacks

Sharks and Jaws are forever entwined, with the live action sequences for the film shot in South Australia. The amazing images of the shark attacking the cage was captured by Ron and Valerie Taylor.

Valerie, who has just had a documentary made about her amazing life underwater, spoke about how sharks are misrepresented in our recent Zoom interview with her. You can see the full interview with this living legend, here:

Words by Dean Newman

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