No more shark fin for Mono on the public dime

[Razgovory]

Do sharks perform any ecologically useful function?

I don't think they increase shareholder value, if that's what you mean.

[The Larch]

And some statistics, focused on the US:

http://oceana.org/en/our-work/protect-marine-wildlife/sharks/learn-act/shark-attack-statistics

[Admiral Yi]

I don't think they increase shareholder value, if that's what you mean.

Ground control to Major Tom.

[Eddie Teach]

179 attacks, 3 fatalities. That's pathetic, sharks. 

(Guess that really means we don't taste very good so they nibble then go on their way).

[Admiral Yi]

Where was i reading/hearing about sharks biting humans to see if it's a meat they like to eat?  Was that here?

[The Larch]

179 attacks, 3 fatalities. That's pathetic, sharks. 

(Guess that really means we don't taste very good so they nibble then go on their way).

AFAIK the theory is that once the bite, they realize that it's not one of their usual prey and they let go, unless they feel threatened. Or something like that.

[crazy canuck]

Where was i reading/hearing about sharks biting humans to see if it's a meat they like to eat?  Was that here?

Yeah, that was in the thread talking about why Orca dont attack humans.  Forget what thread though.

[Ideologue]

Either TV/Movies or OTT.

[Jacob]

Where was i reading/hearing about sharks biting humans to see if it's a meat they like to eat?  Was that here?

Not sure... but I read something similar recently, that sharks bite to find out what kind of creature you are and then let go - as Larch says - when they realize you're not their usual prey.

[Jacob]

Yeah, that was in the thread talking about why Orca dont attack humans.  Forget what thread though.

Right!

[The Larch]

Sharks and orcas are slightly different, though. Orcas have much higher brain development than sharks, but sharks have some crazy ways to detect and analyze blood through sensorial means unavailable to other animals. Meaning, thus, that they might not know what you are until they bite you. 

[Ideologue]

Yeah, orcas locate prey differently: they have very sensitive sonar, which is how they manage to identify people as people rather than, say, seals.  We sound very different, and my hypothesis was that we sound so unlike food that their reaction is one of curiosity rather than eating us.

I certainly doubt that they recognize our "kindred spirits" instinctively or through deduction, like hippies tend to aver.  I suppose it's possible that they may understand that boats, with their speed, size, and noise, are the works of humans, and therefore treat us with respect due to our apparent and mysterious power.  But I feel like that's reaching given how little information they have to go on.

In any event, we probably smell different from shark prey, too, but I'd bet it's not as striking as the completely different acoustic profile we have from a blubbered-up seal.  I dunno.  We could throw some Americans into an orca pod and see what happens.

[CountDeMoney]

Where was i reading/hearing about sharks biting humans to see if it's a meat they like to eat?  Was that here?

Yeah, I watched a special on that, too.  We're simply not its preferred food source, and shark bites are theorized to be just a taste, like The Larch says.  Unfortunately, they are samplings that humans have a habit of bleeding out from once the shark says, "mmm, nah". 
They have shitty vision, and their food sources are found on the surface;  that's why you rarely see any attacks on scuba divers or on those fools that go on "swimming with the sharks" tours down on the ocean floor:  that's not where they eat.

[KRonn]

There have been more shark attacks of the coast of Massachusetts which is said to be caused by a larger seal population along the coast in protected areas. The seals attract sharks and humans are therefor under more risk.