Mako shark showed up on the beach. How this
particular shark found its' way to the beach is a
bit of a mystery and it is curious just how much
interest and emotion the shark arrival has created.
For some surfers there were the initial unsettling
feelings. "I've surfed that break since I was a kid
and never really thought about a big shark being there,
kinda freaks me out" one said. "I saw the shark and
got an uneasy feeling in my stomach" said one of
the 40 something surf girls who has, in fact,
only recently overcome a fear of the ocean.
For other folks the shark mystery brought on
feelings of sadness and anger. Mako sharks don't
usually live in 43 degree water. How did this one
get here. The shark had its' fin, jaw and teeth intact but
had been gutted. Who would do such a thing to a shark?
Some blame the death on commercial fisherman, their
large nets and their propensity to kill fish in a thoughtless
way. The ocean, according to many experts, has lost 90%
of it's large species. It is rapidly being depleted as a food
source thanks to thoughtless fishing and human abuse.
So many thoughts and feelings from a single shark. Each day,
as it rots on the beach, it becomes more of a symbol. For most
the fear is gone replaced by questions and stark realities about
what we have done to the oceans, the planet, and to ourselves. It
is now more a symbol of sadness and a different kind of fear.
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