Indeed, and now another 24 fins to add to that 1.5 million. (4 per shark)
This is an emotional subject for me. I grew up in nature learning the Native American ways, and giving thanks to the animals I killed to put meat on the family table. My reverence for nature is part of my reason for becoming vegetarian, and for being a sailor versus a power boater.
One of the US Navy planes that I flew in crashed in the Pacific. The life rafts failed to deploy and 26 men were in the water, most of them young boys just fulfilling their mandatory military service. Sharks feasted on them. I flew with some of the survivors and heard the stories first hand. Does a species deserve protection when it is a predator on humans? Sharks and crocodiles are dinosaurs, and no one laments the passing of the dinosaurs.
As a sailor, the terror of being eaten alive, or seeing someone else being eaten alive often crosses my mind, as does the wish that big sharks would just go away. We had a child attacked by a shark on Galveston beach just last month. Luckily, it was a small shark. Big sharks don't like our shallow waters. But when I sail the Pacific and live in HK?
Last edited by ouwen; 04-11-2013 at 11:01 AM.