I am a regular reader of Outside Online, and noted with interest an article about Chris Fischer and his Ocearch project that was published earlier this year.
Local shark afficionados (sounds pompous – sorry) may recall that Ocearch assisted most of the who’s who of South African shark science with a massive research effort in early 2012 that will hopefully bear fruit for years to come. We listened to project leader Ryan Johnson speak about it at Save Our Seas in late 2012, giving a detailed and reflective perspective from one of the project participants. On the other side of the coin, some anti-science sectors of the community made a lot of noise about issues that they had invented for themselves (you may recall, for example, the hysterical “five tons of chum” warnings in the press).
The Outside article is remarkably even handed and nuanced, giving Fischer his due without blindly drinking the kool aid of white shark sport fishing and the adrenaline-fuelled machismo that manifests itself on the deck of MV Ocearch. I recommend it (and am in good company). It is an excellent read, particularly if you aren’t up to speed on the topic. It’s one that is still highly contentious (the drama just moves around the world with MV Ocearch – the current hot spot is Australia).
Read the full article here.
