Sharks have a bad reputation as blood thirsty killers, but only a few are dangerous. Attacks on people are very rare. For example in the last thirty-two years there were only forty-two great white shark attacks and only four were fatal. That is one death in eight years. Road accident kill thousands, but they don't exterminate the car. People are more likely to die in a car accident or drown in the ocean .
             Surfers are more at risk. Attacks on surfers happen near seal or sea lion breeding colonies. When surfers dangle their arms and legs over the edge of their surfboards, the sharks think that they look like seals because of their similar shapes from below .
             Mesh nets are used to protect beaches. Trapped sharks suffocate. When a shark can't swim it can't keep water flowing through its gills. Over 1,400 sharks are caught each year. Many of these sharks are harmless. The nets also catch and kill dolphins, sea lions, birds, turtles and rays. After three weeks they need to be replaced. With seaweed and other marine growth, they are easily seen and avoided by sharks.
             They also use interlocking chain nets, but they are so expensive that they are only used to protect small areas. Chemical repellents have also been tried but don't work well because they get washed away .Test are being done to see if electrical barriers can be used . Sharks are very sensitive to electric current.
             The seals in the breeding colonies usually stick together. When they do that the sharks usually leave them alone. There are thousands of baby seals born each year and hundreds die of starvation and diseases. The mothers go out to find food and leave the babies by themselves for days at a time. Sometimes the babies get swept into the sea or wander away from the "seal raft" (which is when all the seals swim together). It is then that the baby
             seals get attacked. It is survival of the fittest a...