Is what experts say about sharks true?     

Have you ever seen the movie Jaws? When that terrifying, large shark goes up the New England coast and kills a bunch of beach goers. We all know it’s just a movie but that movie is getting closer and closer to reality as the years go by. According to the International Shark Attack File in 2015 there were a whopping 98 unprovoked shark attacks in the world. Six of those 98 resulted in death. Most people blame sharks for all of these horrific incidents. Heck, who wouldn’t. I mean their scary, huge, and have hundreds of extremely sharp teeth. But in this case they’re not the culprits. There are a number of reasons why these sharks have been most active recently than before. 2015 had set numerous records for the temperature of ocean waters. El Nino had made the water temperatures rise making the water in many parts of the world warmer than usual. This attracts many sharks including tiger sharks and bull sharks which are some of the most aggressive sharks there are. There have also been a lack in severe storms which lets most sharks swim near the surface and by the coast where most shark attacks occur. The economy has also been strong lately which brings more people to the beach during their vacation.
    

This doesn’t mean you should forget about the beach and get galeophobia(phobia of sharks). Experts say you shouldn’t panic about sharks, yet. “There were more car fatalities in 2015 than in 1950, but that doesn’t mean cars are now more dangerous. It means there are a lot more out there.” George Burgess of Florida Museum of Natural History points out about shark attacks. A study in 2014 by Tulane University says only one in eight million die in a shark attack. But even though the odds of you dying is quite low you are still at risk of a shark swimming up and taking a chomp out of your body. Scientists are now coming up with many methods on how to prevent people from shark attacks.
    

A very popular and easy shark repellant that you can get your hands on is Sharkbanz. Sharkbanz is a bracelet or anklet that you put on when you go into shark infested waters. The way it works is it uses magnetic technology and gets in the way of the shark’s senses turning it away from you if it was about to bite. They also have a surfboard leash for surfers with the same magnetic technology. Surfers are even more at risk than normal beach goers anyway.
    

Since surfers have the big surfboard with them it doesn’t make them look like a person from a shark’s perspective. Not to mention most of the surfers were black wetsuits that make them look like seals, a key prey of sharks. But one of the only sea creatures that sharks can’t cope with most are sea snakes. Scientists have created wetsuits with the same black and white stripes a sea snake has so sharks will stay away.

Surfers can also put this black and white pattern on the bottom of their board as well for maximum security.
    

Most people hate sharks. I don’t. Even though they are one of the most scariest sea creatures out there I love them dearly. Without sharks our whole ecosystem would be totally messed up and it wouldn’t even work. I know it sounds crazy but without sharks it would be really hard for humans to stay afloat on earth too. Sharks are very important and as the years go by we are learning more and more on how to co-exist with them.