Sharks in Singapore waters
I was at bugis last night catching up with 2 of my closest friends. Switching between the indian coffeeshop to the wantan mee and back again (opposite bugis junction’s MOS burger).
We went on till 6plus in the morning from 8pm, switching to the minced-meat noodles stall for supper and S-11 at Upper Cross street. Another friend turned up past midnight for supper with us. It sometimes strikes me how amazing a few friends can chat for hours without feeling tired.
Among the marathon chatter, one conversation stood out as the most interesting – My friend spotting a shark in Singapore waters.
The conversation went something like this:
Ming: “I spotted a shark in Singapore waters.”
Hao: “That isn’t suprising, we have dolphins here as well.”
Me: “Ya, but that was just an accident. It probably got seperated from the group and lost its way. The shark however, probably nestles around here quite commonly.”
Ming: “I saw it! I did!”
Keong: “You saw it jumping out of the water?”
Me: (Laughing out) “No lar! He’s talking about the shark, not the dolphin…”
Keong: “Oh. That’s not suprising, my friend fished up a shark about this big (putting his hands apart describing the size – roughly about a metre or more) and I caught one slightly smaller as well!”
Me: “Yeah… Small sharks do roam around Singapore’s coast, but they don’t attack humans. They are mostly smaller breeds anyway.”
Ming: “Mine was big (obviously not able to demonstrate its size, maybe due to his short hands or maybe just because it was too big?).
Keong: “You probably saw a catfish…”
Ming: “No! I know what I saw, it had a black tip on its fin.”
Me: “You probably saw the Loch Ness Monster then…”
Ming: “Seems like the same response I’m getting when I initially saw it. When I first saw it, my friend asked me what I was so staring at and I told him I saw a shark. He immediately told me he just came from the back and saw Godzilla on the way…”
Me: “Haha! Jokes aside, I believe it’s plausible though. Nothing odd about that.”
It went on to pink dolphins and other animals we had knowledge of from Animal Planet or Discovery Channel.
It may sound worrying for some, but rest assured that they don’t swim to the beaches we swim in, and even if they do, they won’t bite you. Unless you smell like fish or squid. Better worry about the jellyfishes instead. It’s probably more painful being stung by a jellyfish than being bitten by a shark.
The general public have been fearful at any mention of a shark. It has somehow become a phobia everyone has to live with at any point of their lives or for the rest of their lives for that matter. The phobia arising from the movie icon – Jaws. But in case you are one of the billions of people in this world easily bought by shows you see, Peter Benchley (he creator of Jaws) himself has been trying to allay those fears. He probably sleeps well at night though, as a bed of money from Jaws sure feels comfortable.
Out of more than the 360 shark species, only four are dangerous to humans – The Great White, The Tiger, The Bull and The Oceanic Whitetip. All of these four however, have been filmed by unprotected divers. And as sharks have poor eyesight, a surfer paddling away on his surf board looks pretty much like a seal (the shark’s favourite food). Proof of this is proven by the fact that surfers experiencing shark attacks are let go immediately after a bite. As sharks are predators, they need to feed, but since they do not have hands or good eyesight, they take a bite, just to “see” if you are palatable. This is why majority of humans survive shark attacks.
In recent years, shark attacks have been averaging around 60 annually, with an average of 4-5 being fatal. (Majority, happening in the United States.) More people die drowning or crossing the road a year. Elephants and Hippopotamus, being the cute creatures they are, are responsible for the most human deaths by animals annually – Hippos taking the top spot. (Mosquitos are at the top though, if insects are included). Both are responsible for more than 200 deaths (each) annually. If the reason for your lack of sympathy for the endangered sharks are due to attacks, you should probably be chewing on some elephant tusks and hippo teeth or better, swat some mosquitos and have your fill.
On the other hand, humans are responsible for as much as 100 million shark deaths a year. Mostly attributed to the high demand for shark’s fin in Asia.
Why on Earth do people claim they like to eat shark’s fin? I may be Chinese, that doesn’t mean I’m ignorant. What I had tasted and loved so much about a bowl of shark’s fin serve at weddings when I was a kid was the broth, scallops, etc. Shark’s fin has no taste! Neither value!
Wild Aid has tested shark’s fin and found high levels of mercury in it - 42 times more than the safe limit for humans. If you have been attending many weddings recently, prepare to experience how the The First Emperor of China – Qin Shi Huangdi died. Slow poisoning, hallucinations, headaches and death. If you have been seeing ghost recently, stop the wedding attendance and visit a hospital instead.
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