I am petrified of the ocean. Being blessed (or cursed depending on the circumstance) with an overactive imagination does not make deep sea swimming a comfortable experience.
While others are enjoying the languid experience of floating in an expansive sprawl of salty water, I am doggy paddling on the inside, trying not to drown under the wave of panic swirling in my stomach while vivid images of being devoured by jaws like Jaws overwhelm me.
Seriously. If I cannot see what is going on underneath me in the water, I am not getting involved. I'll be sitting on the shore in my custom built sandcastle because that's where princesses belong.
So when the Western Australian government implemented a cull in January dictating that any sharks caught over three metres long would be shot and have their carcases disposed of a kilometre offshore, you would think I was finally jumping for joy at the prospect of finally getting to shake that sand out of my bikini bottoms and celebrate by dashing into the water with no reservations.
In actually fact I believe the introduction of this policy is barbaric and inhumane and is an absolute embarrassment to a country that prides itself on its extensive commitment to scientific and environmental research, education and conservation.
You know it's fucking wrong when the mother of a bodyboarder who was taken by a Great White is protesting today against the catch-and-kill abomination. Even as tears were streaming down her face, she recalled how much her 21 year old son loved and respected nature. You know the policy is fucking wrong when even SHE is fighting to protect the animal that was responsible for her son's death.
Yesterday, the Western Australia State government released the following figures:
- 66 sharks have been caught in total since 25 January
- 63 were tiger sharks (in 34 years, only one tiger shark attack has occured in WA)
- Two were mako sharks
- One was a black tip reef shark
- A further nine sharks have been pulled up dead after becoming caught in the drum lines
And yet not one single Great White has been caught. And that makes me happy.
What right do we have to take the life of an instinctual animal exisiting in its own natural territory? Absolutely none.
Unlike sharks, we have the option to exercise free will, consider the facts and make rational judgements accordingly. If you want to minimise your risk of being a victim...don't go bloody swimming/snorkelling/surfing/scuba diving in bodies of water that are prone to shark sightings or attacks.
And when/if you do venture into the ocean, whether its waist deep or 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, accept that you have consciously or unconsciously acknowledged you have entered into a world that is not yours to control in which the onus is on you should there be undesirable consequences.
Ocean ecosystems are incredibly complex and fragile. To eliminate part of that dynamic chain, no matter what the scale or scope, is to do damage. Often times, irreversibly.
Sharks are beautiful and mysterious creatures that stimulate both fear and intrigue simultaneously.
In my opinion, to actively capture them, hold a gun to them and put a bullet in their brain simply for existing and being what they are makes us the hunters. It makes us the killers. It makes us the murderers.
I am petrified of the ocean. But I am more petrified of what we are doing to it.
