Page 25 - World of Animals - Book of Sharks & Ocean Predators

50 facts about sharks
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INTERVIEW

Richard Peirce

How It Works spoke to Richard Peirce,
chairman of the Shark Trust, about
sharks, their behaviour around humans
and how many species are becoming
increasingly endangered.
What activities out, diving along a reef,
46 does the Shark that is completely different
Trust undertake? from being with a shark in
The Trust was founded in a baited situation where its
WHAT’S IN A NAME 1997 and it was set up to feeding senses have been
The tiger shark is named a er advance the profile of all stimulated. So if you are

the sand-coloured stripes families of sharks through chumming for sharks – a
on the sides of juvenile tiger
sharks, which fade over time. awareness, education, process where you put an
legislation and policy. attractant into the water to
In recent years we have generate a scent corridor
become accepted as the – and in a cage then they
first stop for government behave very differently.

departments wanting to
look at fi sheries legislation. What is cage
49 diving about?
Which sharks Cage diving is a fantastic
47 are native to way to see sharks… The
the UK and are media cage has a hinged top that
claims of danger rests on the surface of
overblown? the water. So the human
My book, Sharks In British jumps over the side of the
Seas, lists the 30 or so boat and into the cage…
species that inhabit our They then proceed to
native waters. There are move to the bottom of the
many top-of-the-range cage, which is commonly
and iconic species close about nine feet in depth.
to home. For example, the So the top of their head is
hammerhead is a British usually only about three
species; the same can be feet below the surface of
said for threshers, makos the water… There is a rope
and blue sharks. A favourite out with some bait on it
of mine is also native: and the shark is drawn to
the porbeagle, which is a that. The bait line is then
genuine mini great white… drawn towards the cage
and often mistaken as one. and the shark will follow
On the area of danger to it. The boat’s operator will
the public… there has never then say something like
been a single recorded ‘coming in from the left’,
shark attack in British and the cage’s occupant
waters in the conventional will then take a big draw
sense. There have been of breath and submerge
shark-caused deaths themselves for ten seconds
and incidents, but there or so, viewing the shark as
has been nothing like we it passes.
have tragically seen in the
Seychelles recently, despite Where is the
TALKING TRASH us having some sharks that 50 best place to
The tiger shark is a potty mouth people would consider go cage diving?
in the sense that it will eat almost
anything, earning him the nickname dangerous to man. I would say South Africa. It
“wastebasket of the sea”. isn’t necessarily the place
Does a shark with the clearest waters,
48 behave but it is affordable and it is
differently in the pretty commercialised, with
presence of humans? companies running multiple
“Often sharks pursue a hit-an-run It differs mainly from dives a day. You can do it
species to species and off Britain, though; I helped
technique, taking a single bite out of circumstance. If you are a set up Atlantic Divers in
Newquay, Cornwall..
diver on air and just chilling
a prey and letting it bleed to death” © Thinkstock

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