Farallones' Sharks Need Reasonable Safeguards

December 5, 2008

Release from: Marin Independent Journal (California)

People are curious about sharks. One TV network boasts a week-long focus on the mysterious and threatening fish and many more tour boats are offering long boat rides to the Farallon Islands for an up-close and personal look at these predators.

Regulations that seek to protect the great white sharks in these sanctuary waters are catching up with the recent growth of tours.

Reasonable protections of shark habitat from commercial enterprises make sense, but they aren't going to be implemented without a skirmish.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is pressing for regulations that would make it illegal for tour boats to approach within 50 yards of a shark in the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. Boats also would be banned from using decoys to lure sharks closer to their customers.

NOAA's proposed rules, which are scheduled to take effect in mid-March, are in reaction to concerns voiced by researchers who worry such practices may be altering sharks' behavior at the Farallones, where the beasts stop and feed as part of their migration patterns.

Tour operators aren't happy about the rules and are worried that they could hurt their businesses and make it harder for people to learn more about sharks and their natural environment.

But the protections proposed by NOAA side with preserving a natural balance and making sure man doesn't tip it one way or another.

Similar protections already are in place for whale watching. When people go to see a whale, there is no guarantee they are going to see a whale.

That's nature.

A 20-foot long great white may not be man's best friend. But man also is a threat to the ferocious fish, thanks to over fishing and pollution. Protection of sharks is prudent, especially within an ocean sanctuary.