ABW June 2018

around with little respect for our wellbeing and yet
when we go to the beach, shark attack is always on
our mind. The fact is that in 2017 there were 88
confirmed cases of unprovoked shark attacks on
human’s worldwide with around 20 deaths against a
global road death toll of more than 1.25 million, and
we fear death by shark attack above all else?
There are around 8,500 killed on Filipino roads a
year and 52% of those are on motor cycles with an
average of 66 motor cycle accidents recorded a day
in Metro Manila alone. Why do we fear sharks so
much and don’t even exhibit a healthy respect for
far more dangerous adversaries. You might say that
there are many more people on the roads than those
entertaining water sports each day. That may be so
but the figures still do not add up to being more
fearful of sharks.
It is estimated that somewhere between 26 and
73 million sharks are killed yearly by humans. Who
should fear who?
We should revere the shark as one of our magnificent,
majestic and relatively harmless creatures and
transfer our fears and more than healthy respect to
the world’s real killers. Mosquitos (725,000 a year),
humans (475,000 a year), snakes (50,000 a year),
domestic dogs (20,000 a year), snails, yes snails
(10,000 a year), fast food, motor vehicles and of
course coconuts.
According to the “International Shark Attack File”,
statistically you have a 1 in 3,748,067 chance of
dying at the hands, or fins, of a shark and yet you
have a 1 in 5 chance of dying of a heart attack. You
have a 1 in 7 chance of dying from cancer and a 1 in
84 chance of dying in a motor accident.
Killer cone snail
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