{"id":13418,"date":"2013-01-30T05:52:56","date_gmt":"2013-01-30T05:52:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saveourseas.com\/sosf-shark-education-centre\/new-study-calls-for-society-to-change-the-way-we-refer-to-shark-behavior\/"},"modified":"2016-10-27T08:13:36","modified_gmt":"2016-10-27T07:13:36","slug":"new-study-calls-for-society-to-change-the-way-we-refer-to-shark-behavior","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saveourseas.com\/sosf-shark-education-centre\/new-study-calls-for-society-to-change-the-way-we-refer-to-shark-behavior\/","title":{"rendered":"New Study Calls for Society to Change the Way We Refer to Shark Behavior"},"content":{"rendered":"

Researchers Say Use of Term \u201cShark Attack\u201d Leads to Misperceptions, Inaccurate Risk Reporting<\/em><\/p>\n

The term \u201cshark attack\u201d is typically used by the media, government officials, researchers and the public to describe almost any kind of human-shark interaction \u2014 even those where no contact or injury occurs between humans and sharks.<\/p>\n

Now, Christopher Neff of the University of Sydney, Australia, and Dr. Robert Hueter, leader of Mote Marine Laboratory\u2019s Center for Shark Research in Sarasota, Fla. \u2014 the only Congressionally designated national research center in the U.S. focused on sharks \u2014 propose a new system of classification to support more accurate scientific reporting about shark interactions, along with more accurate public discussion about shark risk to swimmers and divers.<\/p>\n

The international study, funded in-part by the Save Our Seas Foundation and published this week in the peer-reviewed Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, is titled, \u201cScience, policy, and the public discourse of shark \u2018attack\u2019: a proposal for reclassifying human\u2013shark interactions.\u201d A free download of the article is available at: http:\/\/rd.springer.com\/article\/10.1007%2Fs13412-013-0107-2<\/a><\/p>\n

In the study, the authors analyzed shark statistics from around the world and found the term \u201cshark attack\u201d misleading in many cases. For instance, a 2009 government report from New South Wales, Australia, documented 200 shark attacks \u2014 but 38 of those involved no injuries to people. In Florida, often called the \u201cShark Attack Capital of the World\u201dbecause of the number of reported shark attacks, only 11 fatal bites have been recorded over the past 129 years \u2014 a lower number than several other locations in the world, and vastly lower than deaths from other types of natural events such as drowning or lightning.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot all shark \u2018attacks\u2019 are created equal, and we certainly shouldn’t call bites on kayaks and bites on people the same thing," says Neff, a doctoral candidate conducting the first study on policy responses to shark bites at the University of Sydney. <\/p>\n

Dr. Hueter adds: \u201cNor should we equate the single bite of a 2-foot shark on a surfer\u2019s toe with the fatal bite of a 15-foot shark on a swimmer, but that\u2019s how the current language treats these incidents.\u201d<\/p>\n

To support more accurate reporting and discussion of shark incidents, the Neff-Hueter study groups them into four categories based on outcomes that can be clearly documented, rather than speculation over what the sharks\u2019 motives and intentions were. These include:<\/p>\n

Shark sightings: Sightings of sharks in the water in proximity to people with no physical contact.
\nShark encounters: No bite takes place and no humans are injured, but physical contact occurs with a person or an inanimate object holding a person, such as a surfboard or boat. A shark might also bump a swimmer and its rough skin might cause a minor abrasion.<\/p>\n

Shark bites: Bites by small or large sharks that result in minor to moderate injuries.
\nFatal shark bites: One or more bites causing fatal injuries. The authors caution against using the term \u201cshark attack\u201d unless the motivation and intent of the shark are clearly established by experts, which is rarely possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese new categories provide better information to the public so they can judge their levels of risk based on local shark activity,\u201d Neff said. \u201cIf \u2018sightings\u2019 of sharks are increasing, or if\u2018encounters\u2019 with kayaks are decreasing these are important pieces of information. There simply is no value in using \u2018attack\u2019 language. It is time to move past Jaws.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur contemporary scientific understanding of sharks paints a very different picture than that current public discourse and even early research,\u201d says Hueter, who is known worldwide for his expertise in shark biology, behavior and ecology. \u201cFew sharks look like the large great whites you might see on the movie screen; of about 500 shark species on earth, most grow to less than 3 feet long. In addition, most shark species rarely, if ever, come into contact with humans. When they do, serious bites are the extremely rare exception rather than the rule.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite these facts, the term \u201cshark attack\u201d has dominated the language due to outdated historical perceptions of sharks, the researchers say.<\/p>\n

Sharks were labeled \u201cman-eaters\u201d two centuries ago by scientists who had a limited understanding of shark behavior and biology, and a researcher in the 1950s wrongly suggested sharks could go\u201crogue,\u201d developing a taste for human flesh.<\/p>\n

These concepts inflamed public concern and resulting government responses. Multiple nations have used shark hunts and intensive commercial fishing targeting sharks \u2014 and even deployed naval depth charges \u2014 to kill supposed \u201crogue\u201d sharks and protect the public.<\/p>\n

Popular culture \u2014 especially the novel and film Jaws in the 1970s \u2014 has strengthened rogue shark legends. News media reports also have contributed to misperceptions of human-shark interactions. The current study reviewed Associated Press articles in Florida during 2001 \u2014 known as the \u201cSummer of the Shark\u201d because of shark incidents ranging from minor to severe \u2014 and found that 79 percent of these stories used \u201cattack\u201d in the headline, even in the case of non-serious injuries.<\/p>\n

Indiscriminate use of the term shark attack\u201ccan create a perception of a premeditated crime, lowering the public\u2019s threshold for accepting shark bite incidents as random acts of nature. The narrative establishes villains and victims, cause and effect, perceptions of public risk, and a problem to be solved,\u201d the authors say in the study.<\/p>\n

In contrast, the Neff-Hueter naming system would provide an accurate and balanced way to describe shark risks, significantly adjusting reported statistics, the authors say:<\/p>\n

In the government report from New South Wales, Australia, the new naming system would reclassify 200 shark \u201cattacks\u201d between 1900 and 2009 as: 56 fatal shark bites, 106 shark bites, 37 shark encounters and 1 shark sighting.<\/p>\n

In Florida, the 637 confirmed cases of unprovoked shark \u201cattacks\u201d since 1882 would be reclassified as 11 fatal bites and 626 other interactions including bites, encounters, and a small fraction of sightings. (Shark incident data from the International Shark Attack File.)<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen public discussion centers on the idea that sharks are out there attacking humans, it doesn\u2019t reflect the reality of what we have learned over the past 40 years about shark behavior and biology \u2014sharks are not man-eaters, and in fact, many shark species are threatened by humans who overfish them. Using the \u2018attack\u2019 language really hinders public discourse about the need to protect shark species, especially those vulnerable to depletion or even extinction,\u201d says Dr. Hueter.<\/p>\n

The authors write: \u201cIn short, this is a call to scientists, public officials, and the media to reconsider their discourse on the subject of sharks and to improve the accuracy of information provided to the public.\u201d<\/p>\n

Contacts:<\/strong>
\nRobert Hueter\/Mote Marine Laboratory (Sarasota, FL)
\nHayley Rutger, 941-374-0081
\nhrutger@mote.org<\/a><\/p>\n

Christopher Neff\/University of Sydney (Sydney, Aus)
\nRachel Gleeson, 02 9351 2261
\nchristopher.neff@sydney.edu.au<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Researchers Say Use of Term \u201cShark Attack\u201d Leads to Misperceptions, Inaccurate Risk Reporting The term \u201cshark attack\u201d is typically used by the media, government officials, researchers and the public to describe almost any kind of human-shark interaction \u2014 even those where no contact or injury occurs between humans and sharks. Now, Christopher Neff of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNew Study Calls for Society to Change the Way We Refer to Shark Behavior - SOSF Shark Education Centre<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/saveourseas.com\/sosf-shark-education-centre\/new-study-calls-for-society-to-change-the-way-we-refer-to-shark-behavior\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Study Calls for Society to Change the Way We Refer to Shark Behavior\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Researchers Say Use of Term \u201cShark Attack\u201d Leads to Misperceptions, Inaccurate Risk Reporting The term \u201cshark attack\u201d is typically used by the media, government officials, researchers and the public to describe almost any kind of human-shark interaction \u2014 even those where no contact or injury occurs between humans and sharks. 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