THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 18, 1996 TAG: 9609200828
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: 83 lines
LOOKING AT the bloody water surrounding the shark attacks in his photo presentation is enough to make Dr. Guido Dingerkus sick.
``How could any human do that?'' he asked. One of the world's leading shark experts, he is revolted at the wanton killing of sharks by bullets or harpoons.
Dingerkus is lecturing on sharks on Friday night and Saturday morning in the IMAX Theater in the Virginia Marine Science Museum and he is appalled at the numbers of them slaughtered each year, just for the hell of it. Perhaps millions, he said.
Media hype and the movie ``Jaws'' are responsible for most of the shark killing, he believes.
``Your chance of getting bitten by a great white shark such as the one shown in the film `Jaws' is about a billion to one,'' he said. ``You are much more likely to be hit by lightning.''
Dingerkus, who lives in Goshen, N.Y., is a former president of the American Elasmobranch (sharks) Society, the author of ``The Shark Watchers' Guide,'' an adviser to large corporations on undersea projects and has served as head of international conferences dealing with fish.
Sharks are entitled to much more respect than they are getting, says Dingerkus.
``You have about 30 species of sharks living off Virginia Beach,'' he said. ``And some of species are older than the dinosaurs.''
An example, he said, is the frilled shark. The frilled shark lives about 2,000 feet below the ocean's surface. Since it rarely is seen on the surface, it is relatively unknown to most of us. It's a small shark, weighing 30 or 40 pounds and measuring only 3 or 4 feet long, with tricuspid teeth.
Contrary to popular belief, the average length of a shark is only 3 feet. To comprehend the extraordinary variety of sharks, Dingerkus says to imagine the number of breeds of dogs, then multiply by 300. That gives you an idea of the scope of shark diversity.
Few know the shark's personality better than Dingerkus. If handled properly they are simply ``big pussycats,'' he claims.
The New Yorker recalled his experience as curator of The New York Aquarium when a collection of 10-foot-long sand tiger sharks was transferred to a new tank.
Equipped with scuba gear and a wet suit, he dived into the tank to feed the sharks. ``They had never seen a black-suited person with tanks on,'' he recalled. The sharks panicked. ``They were so frightened I was afraid they'd jump out of the tank,'' he said.
``Sand tiger sharks are common off Virginia and most swimmers or divers off your coast have come within 10 feet of one,'' Dingerkus said. ``Yet there is no evidence of a sand tiger shark ever attacking a human.''
Sharks are valuable in many ways. Cornea transplants and cornea surgery on sharks were done experimentally at the New York Aquarium long before it became standard practice on humans, he said. And the blood and cartilage of sharks are medically important because they contain components that are anti-cancer agents, he noted.
Sharks can also be a nuisance. Sharks have a remarkable sensory apparatus which enable them to smell even a drop of blood from three miles away. They rely more on smell than vision at great distances. But at very close range, they usually rely on bioelectricity from their prey to guide them.
About 10 years ago Dingerkus was an adviser to Bell Labs and AT&T when trans-Atlantic fiber-optic cables were being laid under the ocean. Sharks were attacking the cables, tearing them to pieces.
Bell and AT&T executives wanted to know why was it happening and what could be done about it.
Dingerkus told them that sharks switch off their vision and smell when about to reach their prey. Instead they home in on the bioelectricity. The cables were giving off an electrical current so the sharks attacked them.
He advised thicker insulation to cut down on the electrical noise coming from the cables or simply strengthening the cables so the sharks couldn't bite through them.
``Sharks have been off the Virginia coast for over 300 million years and humans have been around for 10,000 to 15,000 years,'' he noted.
He believes we should learn to live with them. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
WANT TO GO?
What: Dr. Guido Dingerkus will speak about sharks that live
along the U.S. coast
Where: Virginia Marine Science Museum IMAX Theater, 717 General
Booth Blvd., Virginia Beach
When: 8 p.m. Friday and 9:30 a.m. Saturday
How much: $5 for museum members; $7 for non-members
Call: 437-6003. Reservations are required. by CNB