Shark Baiting: Chumming in South Africa

Intro:

There are many environmental issues currently flowing through the media into society and raising some strong opinions and arguments. South Africa, being one of the world’s most diverse natural ecosystems, has come under the spotlight with regards to many issues such as the Karoo Fracking debacle and the Rhino Horn Poaching crisis. Unfortunately these issues are not represented only by the parties directly involved but rather by ‘gate keepers’, as we shall call them, who determine how the issue is framed and represented to the masses. The media has the ability to warp perspective and portray our role in the issue as they see fit. The debate about human’s place in nature is still one that creates many waves, and the media has a ‘knack’ for choosing sides. Should humans be allowed to control their environment in such a way that they exploit it purely for their own benefit rather than nurturing and caring for it as if it were a gift? This links to the theory of supremacy over animals which has been very controversial.

The issue that will be discussed hereafter is the debate about baiting for sharks using a method called chumming for a variety of purposes. “[It] is the practice of luring animals, usually fish such as sharks, by throwing ‘chum’ into the water. Chum often consists of fish parts and blood, which attract fish, particularly sharks owing to their keen sense of smell. Chumming is illegal in some parts of the world, such as Alabama, because of the danger it can pose by conditioning sharks to associating feeding with the presence of humans.” (Wikipedia, 2014).

Chumming is primarily used to attract sharks for the recreational purpose of shark cage diving but has been masked by the fact that it is also being used to lure ...

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... Great White Sharks

Revkin, A. C.

Chumming Around With Great White Sharks

In-text: (Revkin, 2014)

Bibliography: Revkin, A. C. 2014. Chumming Around With Great White Sharks. [online] Available at: http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/17/chumming-around-with-great-white-sharks/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0 [Accessed: 5 Apr 2014].

White Shark Diving Company | Shark Cage Diving | Scuba Diving

Sharkcagediving.

White Shark Diving Company | Shark Cage Diving | Scuba Diving

In-text: (Sharkcagediving, 2014)

Bibliography: Sharkcagediving. 2014. White Shark Diving Company | Shark Cage Diving | Scuba Diving. [online] Available at: http://www.sharkcagediving.co.za/dive.php [Accessed: 5 Apr 2014].

Chumming

Wikipedia.

Chumming

In-text: (Wikipedia, 2014)

Bibliography: Wikipedia. 2014. Chumming. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chumming [Accessed: 5 Apr 2014].