Cannot see the great white shark? Bait for it

摘要

Cage diving to view great white sharks and other iconic marine mega-fauna is a huge part of the marine wildlife tourism industry. But cage diving is considered a double-edged sword. On one hand, it fosters positive conservation ethics in tourists and raises awareness. However, on the other hand, there are concerns about animal welfare, costs to shark fitness and disruption of the natural ecology of habitats, mostly related to the use of bait to attract sharks. In fact, at cage-diving sites that use bait, Lauren Meyer and her colleagues determined that the swimming behaviour and daily activity levels of great white sharks are affected but not their nutrition. However, have just investigated the impact on the other fishes, including rays that are unintentionally fed at these sites, and it turns out, those fishes do experience the effects.