Dealing with sharks 'humanely' in Recife, Brazil

[Guillermo]

So basically, in Recife (which is a coastal city located in northeastern Brazil that is notorious for its shark attacks) there have been 56 shark attacks in the last 20 years and 21 of these attacks have been fatal. A local group called ProPesca is concerned about the safety of beach-goers and has made up a solution: pay local fisherman to "humanely" kill sharks. As of now, fishermen along Recife have already begun catching sharks.

There has been a divide among citizens who live in Recife. Some say that they are in favor of this solution because it seemingly makes going out in the ocean more safe. Others, such as scientists, criticize this approach and proclaim that it is the fault of human interference that there are so many shark attacks due to industries being made close to the ocean. However, this doesn't provide a sufficient solution as the concerned local group has made. The government in Recife has also stated that they would like to install shark nets. Yet, shark nets also have their own detrimental environmental effects.

Here's the video where I got this info: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-21378008

So, do you think that this really is a humane way to deal with this situation? By paying fisherman to kill sharks in order to hopefully better protect beach-goers? If not, how would you deal with this ordeal?

Also, what do you think about shark nets? Do you think they do more harm than good?

[Lost in the Echo]

Kinda sad they have to resort to this, but they have to try their best to prevent shark attacks, and keep everyone safe.

[IAMWILL]

I'd prefer the shark net option. I don't think its right to just go and kill all the sharks because of the attacks. I grew up 100 feet from the Pacific Ocean and was inside the "red triangle", which is the area with the highest concentration of sharks and shark attacks in the world. We've never set up nets and definitely do not hunt the sharks. I mean I've been on the beach when attacks have happened. My cousin was next to a guy who got attacked. And I've seen great whites larger than my boat when I'm out fishing. But thats just part of life out here.

[Guillermo]

Kinda sad they have to resort to this, but they have to try their best to prevent shark attacks, and keep everyone safe.

It's not they must do this to better prevent shark attacks; it's just that this is currently the only viable solution (seemingly). But that doesn't mean that there aren't other solutions. There are always other answers to a question.

I'd prefer the shark net option. I don't think its right to just go and kill all the sharks because of the attacks.

I'll agree with you that the best solution shouldn't be to kill sharks. This has obvious consequences like messing up the ecosystem in the long run due to sharks being over-fished. A shark net sounds like it would be a great solution to keep sharks out of swimming areas. However, the truth is that shark nets do not keep all sharks out. Sharks can still swim around or even jump over the net. Shark nets also pose problems for all sea life but most notably sharks, dolphins and turtles. These animals have the potential to get caught in them, which really hardly makes it any better than going out to kill sharks because you're potentially killing sharks and many other types of animals in the process. Also, I've read from this source (http://www.saveoursharks.com.au/Save_Our_Sharks_-_Shark_Nets.html) that shark nets were originally created in the 1930's and the idea has stayed since then. Who's to say that no one could possibly create a more efficient and less deadly shark net?

I grew up 100 feet from the Pacific Ocean and was inside the "red triangle", which is the area with the highest concentration of sharks and shark attacks in the world. We've never set up nets and definitely do not hunt the sharks. I mean I've been on the beach when attacks have happened. My cousin was next to a guy who got attacked. And I've seen great whites larger than my boat when I'm out fishing. But thats just part of life out here.

Ah, I've seen plenty of documentaries on the "red triangle" during Shark Week. It definitely has the highest concentration of great white sharks in the world but I'm not sure if it's the area where the most shark attacks occur. But I'm fairly certain it is for great white sharks, but probably not all sharks in general. If I remember from the documentaries, most people were attacked while they were diving or surfing. And when humans do these activities, they probably seem to look like one of the great white shark's favorite meals - seals.

Overall, the way I see it is that the ocean is the shark's environment. When you step in the ocean, you're basically consenting that there always is an extremely slight chance that you will be attacked and an even more slight chance that you'll be killed. I think the best solution for this situation is to educate people more about sharks. Also, maybe more life guards during the high season/summer months.

[Cicero]

Well I sure hope those sharks are being put to good use, like for meat, teeth, etc.

I hate when people kill animals yet waste the animal. If you kill an animal, you should use as much of that animal as you possibly can. Like the cow :) I like cows :) lol

[Human]

well of course they have a duty to keep everyone safe.... even if i don't agree with it

[ImCoolBeans]

Well I sure hope those sharks are being put to good use, like for meat, teeth, etc.

I hate when people kill animals yet waste the animal. If you kill an animal, you should use as much of that animal as you possibly can. Like the cow :) I like cows :) lol

There were 29 reported shark attacks in the US in 2011, 11 were fatal. There were 31 fatal dog attacks with an innumerable amount of attacks/unreported attacks. Does that mean that we should start killing dogs for their pelts and teeth?

Why should we go out and hunt these creatures because of human error? We go swimming out into their waters. Sharks are instinctive, territorial animals and those waters belong to them -- not us. In my opinion killing sharks because humans go venturing out into their territory and get themselves attacked by splashing around violently and attracting them in the first place is pretty disgusting.

[Fractured Silhouette]

They're both completely wrong. We shouldn't destroy a beautiful animal's population and habitat just because they occasional lash out at humans for being in their territory. This honestly makes me sick, I hope they get a giant super shark like jaws that eats them all the selfish cunt-buckets.

[Twilly F. Sniper]

We should just not bother them.

[Guillermo]

This honestly makes me sick, I hope they get a giant super shark like jaws that eats them all the selfish cunt-buckets.

While I understand your anger towards the actions that this group has made, what you're suggesting would be no better. Really, the group and all of its supporters are just concerned about human's safety. Humans caring about humans (how typical, huh?). Unfortunately, not many people understand about the environment and how everything is linked together. You'd be surprised at all the people who still think that sharks are man-hunters that will kill anything. The movie Jaws did nothing to help this, either. Soon after Jaws premiered, more shark fishing competitions started to pop up and thousands of sharks were subsequently killed. Correlation, or no?

Also, having a 'giant super shark' would only want to make humans hunt sharks more, in order to make the oceans 'safe' for everyone. Again, I understand your vent, but it is important to take a step back and look at the viewpoints of the people who want to make the beaches seemingly safer by means of killing sharks. What can you do when the general public is uneducated about sharks? Educate them. Unfortunately, that is easier said than done.

We should just not bother them.

Idealistically, this would be better; but in reality, this wouldn't work. Humans aren't just going to stop entering the oceans. And when we swim or practice water sports, we basically indirectly "bother" them by just being in the ocean.