“Oh my god, there’s a shark. I can’t wait to get in the water and swim with these animals.” Hearing these words from someone might make you question their level of sanity. However, a few divers from a Colorado Springs-based shark research and conservation organization have sought to dive with sharks to prove to people that they aren’t all what the media and horror movies make them out to be.
With shark attacks reaching all-time highs in recent years, it is easy for the average person to think sharks are man-eating monsters that have no place near our beaches. Conversely, very few take into account that the world’s human population is growing exorbitantly. According to Worldometer.info, human growth rate is about 1.14% per year, or around 80 million per year (Worldometer, 2013). It’s quite simple, actually. More humans equal more interaction with sharks. More interaction with sharks equals a higher likelihood of being attacked. More attacks acknowledged by misinformed people leads to a misconstrued perception of sharks.
This is precisely the sort of message shark conservationists seek to spread. Armed with nothing more than a broomstick, these research and conservationists want to change popular belief and show people that sharks don’t just bite everything they see. They do, however, acknowledge sharks are still predators and they can be very dangerous. The video does not suggest that people should start jumping in shark-infested waters.
“The primary reason that we get out of the cage is really to show the true nature of sharks and how we’re not on their food chain and how they really don’t bother us,” Antoniou said. “Bringing divers with us to experience firsthand the research that we’re involved in goes a long way in educating everyone because then they go back and educate their friends and family and hopefully start to change minds about the true nature of sharks.”
