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Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2001 00:19:07 -0400
From: Byron Grogan <groganb@ho*.co*>
To: techdiver@aquanaut.com
Subject: Media blames divers for shark attacks
http://www.newsmax.com/showinsidecover.shtml?a=2001/8/19/203119

Sunday, Aug. 19, 2001 9:30 p.m. EDT

            Why the Shark Attacks?

            This summer seems to have hit a high mark for shark
            attacks, particularly off the east and west coasts
            of Florida.

            Could it be a sign, like earthquakes and wars, of
            the Second Coming?

            Perhaps there is a simpler explanation.

            This past Saturday, three men surfing off Daytona
            Beach were attacked by sharks.

            "We saw sharks all morning long," a competition
            offical told the AP. "There were bull sharks 7 to 8
            feet long and 6-foot blacktips."

            The beach was eventually closed, as have been many
            Florida beaches during the past several months.

            "Central Florida, especially the east coast of
            Florida, leads the world every year in shark bites,
            and the greater Daytona area is no exception,"
            Volusia County Beach Patrol official Joe Wooden
            said.

            We know that last month two Americans were struck by
            sharks while in waters off the Bahamas. One lost his
            leg.

            And, of course, 8-year-old Jessie Arbogast had his
            arm severed by a bull shark last month in Pensacola.

            For years, we have been told that the movie "Jaws"
            was fiction. Sharks, for the most part, fear humans
            and have little interest in attacking anyone - so
            the thinking went.

            What has changed?

            One reasonable explanation is the recent activities
            of scuba activists, who have not been content to
            simply go for a dive and look at the coral.

            Now sea adventure firms in Florida and the Caribbean
            have been peddling trips for divers to watch shark
            feeding frenzies.

            The expeditions use large amounts of live bait to
            attract large numbers of sharks - for the amusement
            of the divers.

            Some Floridians believe the feeding trips have
            brought sharks closer to shore and closer to humans
            - making them lose their natural fear of humans.


--
I haven't seen this discussed on CNN or the major news networks yet, but
I expect to see this idea hit them soon, as this seems just plausable
(sp?) enough to the uninformed to have them accept it.

Also,
http://www.cnn.com/POLL/results/1633231.content.html

"In light of the recent shark attacks are you:
Less likely to go in the ocean?  [53%]
More likely to visit ocean resorts? [5%]
Not concerned about the attacks? [42%]"

--
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