Hello, everyone! I wrote an article for Scientific American a few weeks ago that praised the growth of safe and responsible shark ecotourism, but criticized the disrespectful and dangerous behavior of a few shark divers.
Partially in response, an article appeared this week claiming that scientists shouldn't criticize the behavior of people who love sharks because some scientists harm sharks with our research. This is complete nonsense for many reasons, not the least of which is that scientific research that's absolutely necessary for the effective conservation of threatened species is not the same thing as harassing sharks for fun.
I've written a response on my blog. As always, I welcome feedback from the scientific and conservation community, and in this case in particular, I would strongly encourage those of you who dive with sharks in a safe, responsible and respectful manner to call out this dangerous and disrespectful behavior.
My blog can be found here: