Despite the fact that nature’s most awesome predators continue to fascinate researchers and scholars worldwide, there are almost no large sharks in captivity available for study. One of the main problems associated with large predatory captive shark studies is that they are so difficult and dangerous to capture. Sharks are large and strong creatures, and when in hunting mode they can be quite aggressive and difficult to handle without harming them.

Once a shark has been caught, it can be very difficult to transport safely. Sharks are sensitive to any nearby electromagnetic signals and all vehicles and equipment used to transport them must be electronically neutral so that they do not interfere with their receptive signals. Moving a shark from the ocean to a tank is another tough job. Sharks don’t have a skeleton to support their weight out of water and they can crush their own internal organs under the weight of their bodies during transit. If they can be transferred safely to an aquarium, providing adequate space for the shark to hunt and travel around in can be another big and expensive challenge. It is all too common for captive sharks to be placed into small and unsuitable tanks where they will not survive for long.

Today, the most successful commercial and home shark aquariums will usually contain only smaller species of sharks that can hunt for small fish and crustaceans under the ocean bed and do not require vast territories to swim and feed. The most common species of captive sharks found in aquariums today are the Hornshark, Leopard Shark and Catshark.

Unfortunately, the most popular shark in the world today is the Great White Shark, a creature that is totally unsuitable for aquarium life. The Great White is also one of the most prolific sharks in the world, making them easy to locate and capture when young. A captive Great White is almost sure to die prematurely due to several factors including the fact that they must keep moving and cannot be restrained for any significant period of time. Great whites are also highly susceptible to stress due to lack of movement during transport. Great Whites also need to be kept in very large tanks because they are big creatures that cannot make sharp turns. They need huge tanks that are free of obstacles and free of electromagnetic stimuli like electric cables and pumping equipment that can constantly irritate the shark’s senses.

As time passes and the technology improves, shark researchers will undoubtedly gain a greater understanding of the physical requirements of the different shark species and how to care for them. Improved technology for the capture and transportation of sharks will also improve the chances of keeping big sharks in captivity. Until then however, your chances of seeing a Great White up close in captivity are not very good.

The tiger shark is considered to be one of the three most dangerous sharks in the world and is second only to the great white on the list of largest number of recorded attacks on humans. Tiger sharks are large macro predators that often attain lengths well over 15 ft. and are usually found in warmer ocean waters, especially in the Pacific. The tiger shark’s name comes from the easily recognized dark stripes running down the sides of its body that resemble a tiger’s stripes.

Like most predatory sharks, the tiger is mostly a solitary night-time hunter. Its natural diet involves a wide range of prey, including fish, seals, birds, smaller sharks, squid, turtles, sea snakes, and dolphins. Much like its larger cousin the great white, tiger sharks have extremely well-developed sensory capabilities. Tigers are equipped with receptors known as Ampullae of Lorenzini that allow them to detect faint electrical fields and locate their prey without having to actually see it with their eyes. The tiger shark’s eyesight is very good too though, and they can detect sounds and smells from distances of up to two miles depending on the water conditions.

The tiger shark tends to stay in deep waters that line reefs but also moves into shallow harbors and canals, which creates the potential for unintended encounters with humans. With its broad jaws, huge mouth, and serrated teeth, the tiger shark is built to take on large prey like sea turtles and marine mammals. The tiger shark’s extra sensory abilities allow it to hunt with confidence at night and usually attacks by eating its prey whole. These aggressive feeding tactics and lack of target discrimination have given the tiger shark a reputation as the “Ocean’s Garbage Can.” Tiger sharks will eat almost anything and often consume inedible objects like automobile license plates, oil cans, tires, and baseballs. A tiger shark caught in the Red Sea contained two empty cans, a plastic bottle, two burlap sacks, a squid, and one 8-inch fish, and all sorts of other human garbage has been recovered from the stomachs of tiger sharks caught in harbors and river inlets.

Although people are not really a natural food item for sharks, the tiger is responsible for a large percentage of fatal attacks, and is regarded as the second most dangerous shark species in the world between the great white and the bull shark. Tiger sharks prefer shallow waters near shorelines and they also frequent river estuaries and harbors where human encounters are likely. Tigers are considered the most dangerous sharks in Hawaiian waters where about 4 (usually non-fatal) attacks occur each year. The frequency of tiger shark attacks is surprisingly low considering that there are thousands of people in Hawaiian waters every day. Despite the low number of attacks, tiger sharks are a hot topic in Hawaii. In the 60’s and 70’s Hawaii implemented several shark control programs that culled over 4,000 large sharks from the waters around the islands, but no measurable decreases in shark populations were ever detected and the programs were eventually abandoned. Today it is illegal to feed sharks in all Hawaiian waters.

While most people agree that there is no need to feed tiger sharks, the opposite is not quite so true and people do eat tiger sharks. Tiger sharks are regularly captured and killed for their fins, flesh, and liver. Tigers are caught in both directly targeted fishing operations and as by-catch in non-targeted fisheries. As a result, it is generally thought that tiger shark populations are currently declining, but not to the point of high risk for extinction yet.

Tiger sharks are hunted because their liver oil has a high concentration of vitamin A used in the production of vitamins and the tiger is often killed for its distinct skin by big game fishermen. However, the continued demand for shark fin soup may change that equation in the coming decades as tiger sharks are now listed as a near threatened species due to excessive finning and fishing according to International Union for the Conservation of Nature. The tiger shark was also added to the Greenpeace International seafood “red list” in 2010 because the tiger shark has a very high risk of being sourced from unsustainable fisheries.

A dramatic increase in great white shark sightings has had lifeguards and coastal authorities on high alert at U.S. beaches on both coasts this summer. While sharks do not typically pose a threat to humans and attacks on humans are actually relatively rare, a concentrated mix of tourists and bathers along with the presence of great white sharks is a cause for concern for many people. The sightings are definitely up, but more humans are also at the shores to report them.

The U.S. Coast Guard issued the first shark warning for the Northeast coast this summer after an unusually high number of shark sightings occurred in July. No one was attacked and the Coast Guard quietly rescinded its alert after the agency was accused of overreacting. There has not been a fatal shark attack in the Northeast since 1936 and it seemed local businesses were more concerned about sharks hurting the economy than hurting people.

Over on the opposite side of the country, an increase in great white shark sightings has also been reported along the West Coast. The Shark Research Committee logged six great white shark sightings at Sunset State Beach, San Onofre and La Jolla beaches in one month alone. Summer sightings were also reported at Huntington Beach, Carlsbad and near Santa Barbara. The reports ranged from the waters along the Central Coast to as far north as Oregon. Sightings are not attacks though, and the last fatal great white attack on the West Coast occurred in 2008.

Some shark experts have postulated that more great whites are showing up because there have been more seals than usual this year. Biologists at the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries say the increase in sightings along the East Coast this year is due to two things; an increase in the gray seal population that is drawing sharks closer to the shore, and more people on the beaches to make the reports. According to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, another explanation may be the weather, as water temperatures off the New Jersey coast have been six degrees warmer than average for the summer. Warmer waters attract more fish and more fish attract more sharks.

Great white sharks in Northern California have benefited from the protection regulations included in the Marine Mammal Protection Act that was passed back in 1972, and it has taken two decades for the great white population to return to its prior levels. Today, the great white population on both coasts is growing thanks to government protections, but funding for shark research has dropped off due to the current recession. The situation underscores the importance of population management and the study of the relationships between sharks and their prey in order to determine whether or not humans are over-exploiting the great white’s food species and forcing the sharks to exploit other resources.

Sharks are mysterious creatures and sightings will continue to be in the news because they are still relatively rare, but much of the fascination and fear surrounding shark sightings appears to be media hype and not scientific fact.

Great White Sharks – Few will have found themselves unaware of this majestic creature of the sea. With an average growth of twenty feet in length, the great white shark has become a subject of fear for many, appearing in various movies and stories. But is there more than meets the eye?

Whale Sharks – While larger than its formidable cousin, the great white shark, the whale shark does not pose threats of significance on the human race. They are usually seen in the more tropical areas of the sea, with a diet consisting of microscopic organisms. What more can be learned about them?

Tiger Sharks – No, you won’t find them lurking in the jungle landscapes. Rather, tiger sharks were given such a name because of the trademark stripes that appear on their bodies during their younger years. They are also second to the great white shark in its frequency for attacking humans.

Hammerhead Sharks – These guys are not somebody you would hire to help you pound nails; on the contrary, the hammerhead shark uses its unique eyes in order to find prey easier, and depending on size, can prove a hazard to humans.

Sharks are creatures that few people would deny knowledge of. After all, they show up in the stories we tell quite often, and many think them to be bloodthirsty. But is that all there is to it? Just how much is true? What more can be learned about these inhabitants of our planet?

Shark attacks can be a surfer’s worse nightmare, suddenly finding themselves under the mercy of a large shark. But this panic can happen to regular beach enthusiasts, as well. Knowing what can happen and the steps to take to avoid such an event are very important.

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