The chances of getting attacked a shark are extraordinarily low. So low, in fact, that it’s not even worth thinking about–which is often much easier said than done.
It makes a bit of sense, though. They are, after all, perfectly evolved for killing, which is why they’ve been so successful as a species. They’ve been around much longer than we have. The crazy thing is that we’re (not s0) slowly pushing them towards the brink of extinction. Think about that: a species that’s been around for 400 million years, and in just a few generations, we’re on the road to wiping them out.
There are a few people around that are pretty bent on letting the general public know that sharks, while shrouded in mystery and fear, aren’t the monsters we commonly think of them as.
One of those people is Bryce Rohrer, a shark diver from Jupiter, Florida. “I guess I just never fell for the mainstream hype on sharks, you know what I mean?” Rohrer told Huck Magazine. “Being out on the water you start seeing sharks for what they are, and it just becomes pretty natural to get in the water with them. All that fear and anxiety just kind of evaporates as soon as you see that shark.”
Where Rohrer operates, the most common sharks are hammerheads, tiger sharks, and bull sharks, and although tigers and bulls are generally thought of as dangerous, the shark diver begs to differ. “You’re dealing with a wild animal, a wild environment, so you have to understand you’re in their terrain, you’re in their environment, and it’s all about respect,” he said. “If you respect that animal, and you know that animal, and you feel like you can understand their behaviors, you can share space with them.”
Contrary to popular belief, sharks aren’t desperate for human flesh. They are predators, though, and prey is prey–meaning, of course, that acting like prey might make you prey. “If you start to act like potential prey, then you may be in trouble,” said Yannis Papastamatiou, a shark expert. “People who know how to deal with them – they always remain calm, they don’t let the shark get behind them. Key things like that, which they have learned, means that the shark treats them in a different way.”
None of this is to say that anyone should just jump off a boat into a feeding frenzy. But with the right guide–one with the knowledge to understand the sharks’ body language and the experience to remain calm–diving with sharks isn’t necessarily dangerous. Rohrer is doing important work. The best way to combat ignorance is with knowledge, and he’s teaching people that the way they’ve been trained to think of sharks may not be the right way. He hopes that he might help eventually change the common perception and save the dwindling species. “You’ve got to exude confidence in the water,” Rohrer explained. “A lot of these sharks make a living honing in on weakness so they can literally read your heart rate and things like that. If you’re confident in the water you can handle them, then you’re going to be in a situation where they’re going to be acting aggressive towards you… It brings me clarity and purpose. I think as much as we’re helping sharks by making them visible, the sharks are helping people, too.”
It seems to be working, at least according to Rohrer. “I think ecotourism is one of the best ways to conserve and protect a species,” he said. “Nearly everyone that leaves my boat after a trip is pro-shark and is much more likely to sign a petition against shark finning, pressure their lawmakers to protect sharks, and go on shark tours again that at some point will show local governments how important sharks are.”
In the end, the value of a living shark should be higher than the value of a dead one.
