Red Sea Shark Attacks - Paper!

The Mako- source.

So there.

My backlog is nearly cleared.

Have you read the post about Collier's demented dog like I suggested?
If not, please do - and then please refresh your memory by reading, in chronological order, this and this post, and links, about those 2010 Shark attacks in the Red Sea.

And now, read this.

Well what can I say.

In general terms, it's probably the worst anti Shark feeding piece of pseudo-scientific rubbish I've read, ever. Considering the caliber of three first authors, this is hardly surprising - but it's a real shame to witness that they've managed to rope in Vincent, a generally smart guy who happens to make a living by taking customers diving with OWTs in baited conditions and regularly hand feeds large predatory Sharks!

Buddy - what the fuck?

But by all means, let's look at that shit.

There is actually one aspect I do like, and that is the evidence collection.
We now dispose of a good time line, good descriptions of the attacks and the injuries, have a good overview of the locality and of possible (albeit not always plausible, see below) factors contributing to the attacks and dispose of credible evidence linking an individual Mako and an individual OWT to the first two pairs of attacks.
But having said that - why does the paper assert that victim 2 was bitten in the buttock when the description of the attack states nothing of the kind? And where, please, is the evidence that the perpetrator of attack 5 is an OWT, let alone the same OWT as in 1 and 2?

And the interpretation?

Generally speaking, nothing I read leads me to differ from what I speculated back then, so no need to elaborate: agree about the contribution of the unique topography and the elevated numbers of water users, and that those were predatory events = attacks; skeptical about the Sheep and the Fish feeding; strongly dispute that the elevated temperature was causing a "need to feed" in the homeothermic Mako - rather the exact contrary! Or not?

But I notice that both the Mako and especially the OWT look emaciated which may be lending some creed to the argument about the overfishing of prey - but then, should the Sheep not have provided sufficient nourishment? Or may those Sharks have been sick?

And I'm still baffled by the fact that both Sharks were not coastal but epipelagic, and that they and at least one more OWT had quasi simultaneously found their way into the Gulf of Aqaba, well north of their usual reported range! Were they following a vessel or more likely, following prey that had been displaced north due to the heat wave?

Leaves Collier's demented dog.

Those folks continue to assert that an OWT that was being fed Fish by divers was thus conditioned to go and eat not divers but snorkelers. And that it bit them in the hands and in the ass because it had been hand fed, and the bait was being kept in a fanny pack. Like Collier's demented family dog!

What a load of crap!

This is what really happened.

Two, possibly three (additional Carcharhinid in attack 4) or even four (Carcharhinid in attack 5) Sharks attacked snorkelers and swimmers = people that emit noise/vibrations and are thus routinely the targets of Shark strikes. All Sharks and not only the hand-fed one struck the extremities (both legs and arms) because the principal vibrations originated there and because the victims used them to fend off the attacks.  The buttocks of victims 1 and 5 were never primary targets - instead, the injuries to the buttocks happened as the Sharks bit the victims in the upper legs and torso.

That simple - even an idiot like me can see it.

Any other interpretation is nothing but unsubstantiated anti-feeding propaganda, totally speculative pseudo-scientific horse shit. After literally thousands upon thousands of hand feeds of numerous species, we observe absolutely nothing of the kind those folks assert and on the contrary, are actually astonished at the continued shyness of the very same animals in un-baited conditions - and this corresponds to what everybody else in the industry is witnessing as well. Again: with the possible exception of SA, there is no geographical correlation between baited Shark dives and Shark strikes! Think Florida, California, WA, Reunion, Recife etc etc - there is no Shark feeding at any of those locations!

Like I said, not surprised,
When it comes to Levine and Collier under the academic leadership of Dr. Hopalot, it just reinforces my contempt for those people and their fake research institute. As per the link above, Collier is somebody who knows something about something and now has taken it upon himself to bloviate about Shark-related topics he hasn't gotten the faintest clue about. Ritter and Levine, barf - but considering that they regularly sell and partake in provisioned Shark dives, this moronic filth is just the pinnacle of hypocrisy.
Fouda was likely their host in Egypt and likely doesn't know better. Special H/T to Jennifer V. Schmidt and to all the other reviewers for their glaring failure in discerning the egregious faults of this stupidity. And finally, congratulations to Burgess, normally an anti hand feeding advocate, for not having partaken in this fiasco - likely more out of distaste for the individuals, but well done none-the less!

And Vincent.

Stop being a sucker - that affiliation will end up biting you in the ass big time!
Pun intended!

Oh and...  oceanic whitetip shark, Carcharinus longimanus (first paragraph). Really. If that doesn't say it all...