Monday, August 12, 2019
Everything you need to know about sharks. Despite conditioning from Steven Spielberg, shark expert William McKeever says we shouldn’t fear sharks. We’re more of a threat to them and we find out why.
Are you afraid of sharks? Have they kept you out of the ocean this summer? Despite the scary headlines and small handful of tragic cases of shark attacks every year, the chances of being bitten by a shark are incredibly low.
Our guest today says you shouldn’t fear sharks. In fact, we’re more of a threat to them then they are to us. William McKeever, author of Emperors of the Deep: Sharks--The Ocean's Most Mysterious, Most Misunderstood, and Most Important Guardians says sharks account for 4 human fatalities a year, while humans kill 100 million sharks a year.
As this viral Facebook post indicates, sharks occassionally approach unsuspecting swimmers, but our guests say they rarely pose a threat to us.
Sharks play an important role in our oceans and McKeever is out to protect them and dispel some of the misconceptions that have been instilled in us from movies like Jaws. He joins us as along with a North Carolina ecologist who studies the sharks that visit the Carolina coast.
We take a bite out of shark myths and dive into the fascinating world of sharks.
Guests
William McKeever, author of Emperors of the Deep: Sharks--The Ocean's Most Mysterious, Most Misunderstood, and Most Important Guardians
Dr. Joel Fodrie, marine ecologist and associate professor, UNC Chapel Hill Institute of Marine Sciences in Morehead City, NC.
Related event:
William McKeever will be at Park Road Books on Wednesday, August 14 from 7:00-8:30pm. Details.