Great whites have a bad name

26.03.2010

THE reputation for being senseless
killers that great white sharks have
is rather undeserved.
So says shark researcher Barry
Bruce, who has studied the animals
for more than 20 years. He said that,
as more research about the species
came to light, it was quite clear they
did not "actively hunt out people".
Mr Bruce, who works for the
CSIRO in Hobart, said it was easy to
find information about great white
sharks in books and the media, but
added: "The information you find
may not be correct."
Mr Bruce visited Sydney Aquarium
last week to talk about his work
with great whites - they are considered
a "vulnerable" species after
years of overfishing and are protected
in Australia - and dispel a few
myths about them.
One of the most common misconceptions
about great whites was
that they lived around seal colonies.
"That couldn't be further from
the truth," he said.
Mr Bruce's research showed
white sharks travelled vast distances.
They might visit seal colonies
to feed but they don't stay there
for more than a couple of weeks.
"We've tagged sharks in NSW and
had them turn up in New Zealand,
and sharks that were tagged in South
Africa have turned up in Australia."
He said another common myth
was that great whites hung around
the shoreline. "That's because we
are on the shore and that is where
we see them."
But he said, generally, great
whites travelled about 10 to 15 kilometres
out to sea.
Port Stephens, north of Newcastle,
was one of the few areas that
juvenile great whites did gather in
Australia. "Those beaches have
never had a shark attack," he said.
Mr Bruce said while shark attacks
could be very tragic events, they
were incredibly rare.
According to the Australian Shark
Attack File, recorded by Taronga
Zoo, there have been 52 fatal shark
attacks in Australia in 50 years.
But Mr Bruce said great white
sharks were potentially dangerous
and should be treated with respect.
It was only in the past five years,
with improved tracking and tagging
technologies, that scientists had
learnt about the great white's movements
and behaviour. he said.