In the movies, sharks are relentless killers who must be tracked down and slaughtered to make the water safe for human beings. In reality, it sharks that are being pushed to the brink of extinction by relentless overfishing.

Now, after several years of litigation by environmental groups, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries has issued new regulations intended to protect large coastal sharks such as the nurse, lemon, bull, tiger, hammerhead and sandbar varieties. Among other things, recreational fishermen will be limited to taking one large shark per vessel per trip, with minimum size limits established. And sharks may be taken only with the use of hook-and-line gear.

"Now we can get these muchneeded regulations in place to strengthen our rebuilding plan for large coastal sharks and manage all Atlantic sharks for the longterm benefit of the species and the nation," NOAA Fisheries Director Bill Hogarth said recently. The new restrictions are welcome; contrary to popular belief, sharks have more to fear from human predators than the other way around.