Sharks | PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
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Sharks

Exploiting sharks has little to do with shark attacks and much more to do with humans being an entitled species who see the world as something to make money out of and nothing else. It's a false equivalence, but I'm amused by the outrage that another species kills a few humans ever year given what we do to other species and, in fact, the planet.
This is where I'd like to conduct an amateur psych test and post a couple of photos, asking which one you find more confronting/distressing, and why. No doubt someone would take offence and flag it though.

It's enough to know that there really are plenty of people (other than shark researchers) who place sharks above humans. It's a sign of the times that such freaks must be battled daily.
 
This is where I'd like to conduct an amateur psych test and post a couple of photos, asking which one you find more confronting/distressing, and why. No doubt someone would take offence and flag it though.

It's enough to know that there really are plenty of people (other than shark researchers) who place sharks above humans. It's a sign of the times that such freaks must be battled daily.

Amateur would truly be the word. What would that prove anyway?
 

Shark Infested Golf Course

Yes, you heard that right. Carbrook Golf Club in Queensland, Australia is home to sharks. Not just any sharks either, the lake on the course is home to an estimated 12 bull sharks. Some of these sharks are rumoured to be nearly 10 feet in length. That definitely makes for a terrifying water hazard.

What are Bull Sharks?

Bull sharks are considered one of the most dangerous sharks in the world. There are over 120 confirmed attacks on humans and over 25 fatalities. The movie Jaws is based on a series of attacks by a bull shark in 1916. Able to grow over 13 feet, bull sharks can also reach nearly 700lbs. If that’s not enough, bull sharks are also extremely aggressive and can be territorial. These sharks are not to be messed with.

How do They Live in a Lake?

This is one of the most amazing aspects of bull sharks. Bull sharks can live in freshwater and brackish water. They also like to travel. There have been bull sharks found as far up the Mississipi River as Alton, Illinois. That is over 600 miles away from the coast! They have been known to travel up the Amazon river as far as 2500 miles. While typically not strictly freshwater sharks, bull sharks are capable of surviving in freshwater. Hence, the sharks in the lake are doing just fine. They are actually thriving and reproducing.

floodedcourse.jpg

Flooded Carbrook Golf Course

How Did They Get There?

The sharks are believed to have entered the course during an extreme flood in 1996. As the water dried up, six sharks found themselves trapped inside the course’s 52-acre lake. Since then, the sharks have reproduced and currently, there are believed to be 12 in the lake.

Are They Dangerous?

Despite bull sharks being historically dangerous, the sharks on Carbrook Golf Course pose no serious threat to golfers. Obviously, it is not advised to go swimming in the lake, but bull sharks live alongside humans all over the world. Since a shark is unlikely to directly come into contact with a golfer, the course has continued to let the sharks live there. They have even named a monthly tournament “Shark Lake Challenge”.

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Orcas blamed for disappearance of South Africa great white sharks

Killer whales are suspected to be behind the disappearance of great white sharks off Cape Town's coast over the last few years, according to a report published by South Africa's government on Tuesday.

The vanishing of great whites from the coastal sites False Bay and Gansbaai had previously been blamed on illegal hunting and overfishing, among other causes.

But the results of a study conducted by a government-appointed team of nine local and international experts suggest that orcas could be the culprits, after a pair of killer whales was first sighted in the area in 2015.

The researchers said they "found some evidence for a causative link between the appearances of a pod of orcas that had specialized on preying on white sharks".

The number of great whites in the area is not known, but spotters initially reported steep declines in 2017 -- then an extended absence.

The remains of five great white sharks killed by orcas were discovered in the Gansbaai area in 2017.

Another shark killed in a similar fashion was found on a beach this year, and there could be many more, a marine biologist and one of the researchers, Alison Kock, said during the report presentation.

"Each and every time that this happened, there was an immediate drop and gap in white sharks sighting," Kock said, conceding that "we still don't have all the answers".

Great white sharks are a big tourist attraction in South Africa -- they are viewed from boats or from cages lowered into the water.
 
This is where I'd like to conduct an amateur psych test and post a couple of photos, asking which one you find more confronting/distressing, and why. No doubt someone would take offence and flag it though.

It's enough to know that there really are plenty of people (other than shark researchers) who place sharks above humans. It's a sign of the times that such freaks must be battled daily.
 

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, but I'm amused by the outrage that another species kills a few humans ever year given what we do to other species and, in fact, the planet.

As an occasional surfer I hope I don't get eaten by a shark but I'm ok to take that risk when I enter the water.
Is it outrage or just awareness? I don't begrudge a shark who attacks - it's their water. I know the risks when I go in but I also like the idea of making beaches safer (in a humane way).
 
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More than 300 species of shark and ray threatened with extinction​


Mark Evans
By Mark Evans
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Modified date: 8 hours ago

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New assessments by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) released yesterday show 316 chondrichthyan species – sharks, rays and skates, and chimaeras – are now threatened with extinction.

The Red List updates include over 420 assessments of shark and ray species, of which 154 species are classified as ‘threatened’, or at risk of extinction in the wild. Among them are four hammerhead shark species (Sphyrna family) and four species of angel shark (Squatina family) that are endangered or critically endangered, making them some of the most-threatened shark families, as well as the giant manta ray (Mobula birostris), which is now facing a very high risk of extinction.

“These findings are sadly predictable,” said Dr Andy Cornish, Leader of Sharks: Restoring the Balance, WWF’s global shark and ray conservation programme. “As IUCN’s Shark Specialist Group continues to pull the curtain back on the state of sharks and rays, the crisis should be triggering alarm bells for anyone who cares about the health of our ocean. Twenty years have passed since the international community recognised the threat of overfishing through the International Plan of Action for Sharks. Yet, obviously, not nearly enough has been done to halt the overfishing that is pushing these animals to the brink of extinction.”

The IUCN update grimly notes that the first shark or ray species may already have gone extinct. The lost shark (Carcharhinus obsoletus) was classified as critically endangered (possibly extinct), meaning there is a chance it is already extinct in the wild, but more surveys are needed to prove that. As its ominous name suggests, this species was only described from museum specimens in 2019, so has been lost since the moment it was found.

Of around 200 previously data deficient species, meaning the available information was not sufficient to evaluate their conservation status, 57 are now threatened. Together with the case of the lost shark, this reveals an alarming trend when newly described species or those we do not know enough about are already in peril. This highlights the importance of species-specific information – particularly species-specific shark and ray fishing data – to allow for effective conservation.

Since the last global Red List update for sharks and rays was conducted in 2014, these marine fishes are fast becoming one of the most threatened groups of vertebrates on the planet.

“Governments must take measures that reduce the overfishing of sharks and rays as a matter of urgency,” Dr Cornish said. “We also desperately need to scale up efforts to recover populations of the most threatened species. Failure to do so will inevitably result in a wave of extinctions happening on our watch. We must seize the moment to stop that from happening.

We already have the solutions required in most cases. Management strategies effective in recovering populations are typically a combination of well-enforced catch limits or prohibitions on catching the species, together with protection of critical habitats. A nice example is the Barndoor skate (Dipturus laevis) which has recovered sufficiently to no longer be threatened with extinction.

Our ocean is in crisis due to pollution, climate change and overexploitation of marine life on a massive scale. Sharks and rays, which have evolved over 400 million years ago, are among the worst affected by overfishing. Populations continue to decline, and yet over 1,000 shark and ray species play various key roles in marine ecosystems, making them intertwined with the health of our ocean and the people who depend on it.
 
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More than 300 species of shark and ray threatened with extinction
Interesting that the great white shark is on the list while the best scientific estimate can only put numbers on Australia's east coast at "between 3000 and 13000".

Given their widespread distribution, that is potentially a lot of sharks.

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We should, that's a crime and needlessly cruel as well - they cut the fins off and dump the still living shark into the water to bleed to death. And its not just the chinese, its whoever can sell fins to the chinese of course.

Exploiting sharks has little to do with shark attacks and much more to do with humans being an entitled species who see the world as something to make money out of and nothing else. It's a false equivalence, but I'm amused by the outrage that another species kills a few humans ever year given what we do to other species and, in fact, the planet.

As an occasional surfer I hope I don't get eaten by a shark but I'm ok to take that risk when I enter the water.
Fortunately Australians only eat food that is cruelty free.
 
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