Another Fatal Shark Attack at Reunion Island

It might be time to change the name of Reunion Island to Amity Island. A French surfer was fatally attacked by a shark there on Wednesday, the third shark-related fatality at Reunion in the last two years. Attacks at the island have increased significantly over the last few years, and two attacks that occurred within days of one another last summer had the government there ready to hire shark hunters to cull the shark population in local waters, though the order was eventually revoked.

This is a difficult situation, because we're talking about the safety of humans here, but we're also talking about the merciless hunting of a fish that is already being killed at an alarming rate on a yearly basis (mostly for the shark fun soup industry). Despite the dangers to humans, I could not possible condone the killing of sharks. Sharks are vital to the oceanic ecosystem, and their population is already astounding low. This predator lives in the ocean, and we need to remember that we're the ones invading their home when we go into the ocean and that the peril is a result of that, not the result of some bloodthirsty monster that the shark has been repeatedly portrayed as throughout history.

There is a great documentary on the plight of sharks call "Sharkwater."  I highly recommend it; you can find the web site here, and the trailer below: