Closing

This is my blog coming to an end. I hope ya'll enjoyed it. It was a delightful experience for me. I feel that I did the best I could with a hard topic choice. If I could go back and do it again, I definitely would of picked a topic that had more information out there for me. My topic was pretty much all opinions so it was hard to find good research. I did my best with what I had. In the mean time, ill see ya out in the water. Hopefully shark free. Thanks again -Trent Glover

Solution

Scientists and researches need to come up with some clear evidence that the attacks on humans have any relation to the shark feeding itself. Until this happens, It shouldn’t be banned. Fatalities from shark attacks aren’t that common, but I believe more people care about this issue because people fear sharks. In 2007 dogs killed 33 people in the United States as appose to sharks kill an average of 3 people, but most individuals don’t think twice about owning dogs. The public image of these creatures has a bad reputation and that is why this is such a big issue. Research and statistics need to be provided before this proposal is banned. That is the best way to deal with the ordeal.

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No Link Proven

There is no true link between shark baiting and shark attacks on humans. Since people can't prove it, it shouldn't be banned. It helps our economy by bringing in money and teaches people about the true power of sharks. You can't go wrong with that! The feeding should not be banned for our livelihood. There sharks are in the water no matter what. Millions of people swim in the ocean everyday around the world, so yes a few people will get attacked on occasion. But you cant freak out about it and start pointing fingers. We are swimming in there territory and they are going to defend it. It is like when something is in your house you don't want in there, like a spider or something. You kill it or remove it because you want to defend your territory. There isn't much of a difference of what we are doing compared to what some of the sharks are doing.

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Business

Diver operators rely heavily on there job to provide for their families. No one likes their job getting taken away. Especially for no reason at all. The operators have proven that the sharks don't follow the boats back to shore. They feed the sharks little amounts of food that wouldn't even be enough for them to survive if they didn't hunt for food on their own. And the particular sharks they are feeding arn't even the ones that are attacking humans most often. So you can't technically accuse them until facts are proven. This business educates people about sharks and the pure power they posses. It makes them respect these animals and not want to kill them, which in the long run helps the environment. Who wouldn't want that? This business is more beneficial than harmful. People need to stop freaking out and pointing fingers.

It Doesn't Make Sense

If the baiting and feeding of sharks is so terribly bad, then how come all the local fisherman legally get to chum the shallow waters that bathers swim near every single day? Maybe that is why sharks are attacking us. It just doesn't add up. If you tried to tell people they couldn't fish on the piers, they would raise hell. Today it is one of the fastest growing types of fishing.I go surfing all the time and get to see first hand bait getting thrown out just fifty yards from where im surfing. If that is not the best way to attrack sharks and bring them close to swimmers, I dont know what is?

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Taking Sides

Environmentalists, fishermen, and some of the public believe that baiting is directly linked to shark attacks. They are putting there foot down and trying to make change. Bob Dimond, president of the Marine Safety Group (MSG), one of the first environmental organizations to label shark diving unsafe. Dimond says feeding sharks makes them associate humans with food, and therefore makes them more likely to attack. Bob Dimond has stating strictly his own opinion. He has no evidence to back up his theory, so how can we believe exactly what he says and ban the issue. It just doesn’t make sense. Individuals who take his side are strictly scared of being bitten by sharks and want to make sure all is done to avoid it.

However, many shark experts believe that the feeding dives aren’t bad for sharks, aren’t responsible for attacks, and educate the public about the animal’s importance to the environment. Clive James, of the British conservation group Shark Trust, says shark-feeding operations have hosted thousands of bite-free dives, and Sam Gruber, a lemon shark expert at the University of Miami, has been feeding sharks for research purposes for 20 years without incident. Gruber also says that after decades of feeding, his sharks still behave normally and mate every summer. If there was conclusive evidence that sharks behave differently when they are fed, I could see banning shark feeding being appropriate. It is obvious that the behavior of the sharks hasn’t changed since these operations have been going on for so long without harm. Until such research is proven, I am gonna have to take sides with the dive operators.

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Progress

I feel like im starting to get the hang of this whole blog thing. I have an outline that im kind of going by. There isn't a lot of proven information out there for me to use, but I can make points and counter points using the information provided. Look for progress in my blog from here on out.