Hawaii Shark Attack Essay

Shark Attacks in Hawaii
Sharks are one of the most feared carnivores in the ocean. Most of them eat live fish, including other sharks. Sharks have the record of attacking human beings. But fewer than 100 shark attacks a year are reported throughout the world. The Hawaii state government genuinely want to protect ocean users, but at the same time they are well aware that there is no “magic bullet” to prevent shark attacks in Hawaii. The Hawaii State Government will not be able to prevent shark attacks in Hawaii.
The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources posted a website about Hawaii sharks. An incident graph showed the amount of non-fatal and fatal incidents that has happened in 1980-2014. In the couple of years the graph increased up to 2 times more non-fatal incidents. (Incident graphs) Sharks frequently attacks humans for numerous reasons. First of all, there are forty species of sharks found in the waters of Hawaii. This is their natural environment. Of the following eight species are sometimes seen near shore, including the sandbar, reef whitetip, scalloped hammerhead and the tiger shark. The waters of Hawaii are home to many of the prey of various shark species, such as sea turtles, monk seals and baby humpback whales. Human beings are not a usual prey of sharks. It is most likely that when a
shark attack occurs, the human is mistaken for another prey. (Facts behind shark)
In the most latest shark bite fatality in last week, there have been several calls for a cull of large sharks to protect ocean users.
The meaning of cull is to reduce the population of a wild animal by selective slaughter. (Dictionary) So often the argument in favor of a cull comes down to the emotional question of who is more important: a human or a shark. We need to ask the question, will culling sharks actually reduce the risk of an attack? The answer is no. When shark culling was carried out in Hawaii, between 1959 to 1976, over 4,500 sharks were killed and yet there was no significant decrease in the number of shark bites recorded. (The
conversation)
The Honolulu Department of Fisheries recently released a report on how to decrease your personal risk of being attacked by a shark. (The conversation) We should try our best to keep out of the water if sharks have been sighted in the area, stay close to shore (within 30m of the water’s edge), don’t go in the water alone (stay in groups), avoid water temperatures lower than 22C, evade water depths of greater than 5m when swimming or surfing, avoid swimming after heavy storms, or in low light conditions (dusk and dawn), and avoid swimming if there are seals, dolphins, whales or baitfish nearby. Sharks play an important role in the ocean in ways other fish do not. Sharks are at the top of the food chain in every part of every ocean. In their role, they keep populations of other fish healthy and in a proper amount for their ecosystem. The sharks tend to eat efficiently, going after more older and sluggish fish. “Sharks groom many populations of marine life to the right size so that those prey species don’t cause harm to the ecosystem by becoming too populous” (Shark’s role in the oceans). If the Hawaii State government plans to cull more sharks then the ocean’s will be disorganized.
The Hawaii State Government will not be able to prevent shark attacks in Hawaii because humans are not the natural prey of sharks. Sharks are most likely to injure other than eat them. Humans chose to enter the sharks territory. Culling sharks won’t work because the decreased amount of shark attacks didn’t change. We need sharks in our ocean because sharks keep populations of other fish healthy and in proper proportions for their ecosystem. We can reduce our attacks by being smart and follow the reasons when not to enter the water.