[MUSIC PLAYING]
Somewhere in the vast oceans
beginning more than 300
million years ago, primitive
sharks first appeared.
They continued to evolve when
dinosaurs ruled the Earth, as
the first birds fluttered
against the wind, when the
first mammals suckled
its young.
Now, in the time of man, the
shark's domain is invaded more
and more often by an ungainly
biped seeking recreation.
And the shark is seen as a
living symbol of terror.
The nightmare is reenacted
time and time again, the
remorseless killer, the
helpless victim.
[SCREAMING]
In fact, the remorseless
killer is most often
ourselves, the shark,
the victim.
Millions upon millions have
been killed and exploited,
even as we have extolled
the shark's ferocity.
More and more, we are invading
the domain of sharks.
And by accident and
by design, we are
encountering them eye to eye.
It is a meeting fraught with
both fear and fascination.
To know these creatures is to go
where few have gone before,
to do what few have dared.
We invite you to join our
exploration of a forbidden
domain, the undersea world
of the sharks.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Consider a shark at one
with its element.
It is a fish, but differs from
others largely in its lack of
a bony skeleton.
Out of the water, it is an
ungainly, delicate creature
that may be crushed to death
by its own weight.
But here, it moves with supreme
assurance and grace.
For the most part, sharks live
and die in a shadowy world
beyond human understanding
or compassion.
In popular conception, all
are man-eaters and
all deserve to die.
Anal fin, the tail fin,
and the two dorsal
fins are medium fins.
There's just one--
The remarkable Dr. Eugenie
Clark is a professor of
zoology at the University
of Maryland.
From childhood, Dr. Clark has
been fascinated by undersea
life, and sharks
in particular.
--fishes called
[? chondrexes, ?]
the cartilaginous fishes.
As her studies have progressed,
she has sought to
popularize her view that
sharks are a greatly
exaggerated menace to man.
Once I had all four of my
children, when they were quite
young, in the water, and
somebody yelled, shark, shark.
And I couldn't see the shark.
I had no idea how
large it was.
I just wanted to gather the
children together and get out
of the water.
And then suddenly, we saw this
big hammerhead shark.
And just all of us looked.
And we were just amazed.
It was so beautiful.
And it circled us once.
And then turned and went away.
And we were so disappointed
to see it go.
With growing confidence, Eugenie
Clark and a handful of
other scientists are seeking
out sharks in the wild,
observing their ways
in intimate detail.
When the shark comes right up
to my face and looks right
into my eyes, and I look at it,
I just feel that I'm with
one of the most significant
creatures in the world.
Divers who dive with sharks a
lot, I think, all have the
same feeling that these animals
are not the vicious,
terrible things that people
built them up to be.
We're invading their ecological
environment.
And if we behave, they'll
behave too.
In the very jaws of a shark,
scientists find beauty and
efficiency.
For instance, most sharks
are highly streamlined.
It would seem they could only
bite something directly
underneath them.
But at the crucial instant, the
whole shape of the shark's
head can change.
The jaw is thrust forward and
the teeth extended outward.
It's a swift and fascinating
transformation.
During its attack, the shark's
eye may seem vulnerable, too
close to the flailing
victim in its jaws.
But many species have a special
protective membrane
that can snap closed
in an instant.
The notorious jaws of
a great white, the
largest predatory shark.
The prominent teeth
will cut paper as
cleanly as a razor blade.
This awesome weapon
never wears out.
Most sharks shed their
teeth frequently.
They'll grow and replace
thousands
of them in a lifetime.
There are nearly 350
species of sharks.
Most are harmless to man and
very different from our common
idea of them.
In their sheer variety, sharks
are wondrous animals indeed.
A basket shark, weighing
over 6 tons.
Like great whales, this
extraordinary creature strains
plankton from the sea,
swimming with
its huge jaws agape.
More than 1,600 tons of water
an hour pass through the
cavernous mouth, day after
day, year after year.
The biggest fish in the world,
the whale shark, may attain
more than 40 feet in
length and 13 tons.
It too is a plankton feeder,
docile and generally harmless.
Underwater encounters with the
whale shark are very rare and
highly exhilarating.
The cruising giant may
accommodate passengers,
sometimes carrying
divers for miles.
The study of sharks is an
exciting frontier for
enthusiasts like artist
Richard Ellis.
In 1976, it fell to Ellis to
do the first drawings of a
giant species of shark
previously unknown to science.
14 feet long with enormous
gaping jaws, the new shark is
known informally, but aptly,
as mega mouth.
The only known specimen was
entangled in a sea anchor and
brought aboard a Navy
research vessel.
It is possible, perhaps likely,
that other equally
species of sharks still
lurk undiscovered
in the ocean deep.
These eerie pictures were
captured by an automatic
camera at depths over
6,000 feet.
Exotic types of sharks were
filmed coming in for bait.
Some have never been
photographed alive before.
Very little is known about how
these deep sea sharks survive
in the eternal dark and cold
of the oceanic abyss.
Off the eastern coast of Mexico
in the early 1970s, a
discovery was made that
contradicted longstanding
misconceptions about the
behavior of sharks.
An intrepid free diving
fisherman was exploring
underwater caves in
search of prey.
He found sharks.
They were apparently healthy,
but lethargic, showing little
inclination to attack or flee.
Reports of their remarkable
behavior would soon filter
back to Eugenie Clark.
Well, everyone thought that that
type of shark just kept
swimming all the time, and had
to in order to survive.
But here we found this
interesting phenomenon of at
least one species of shark,
streamlined shark, that had
adapted itself to going into a
cave and stopping for long
periods of time, perhaps several
hours, according to
[? Valvolo ?], one of the divers
who repeatedly went
into the cave.
So the question was, why were
they going in there?
First to verify and then to
explain the so-called sleeping
sharks, Eugenie Clark
leads a series of
expeditions to Mexico.
The first explorations
are marked by both
skepticism and tension.
If the sharks are in the
caves, it will be very
surprising.
And if they are found, no one
can be sure how they will
behave when confronted in
confined corners of the cave.
It is true and baffling.
These sharks belong to species
always thought to be perpetual
swimmers and highly
dangerous to man.
Most of the sleeping sharks are
being cleaned by remoras,
fish commonly found in
company with sharks.
They meticulously
remove parasites
from the shark's body.
For the first time, the remora's
housekeeping services
to its host can be closely
observed and
filmed in the wild.
Divers ultimately grow so
trusting of the sleeping
sharks, they will dare to
touch and caress them.
The gesture would be considered
madness under
normal circumstances.
It's a heart stopping moment
when a large tiger shark
suddenly becomes alarmed
and must choose
between attack and escape.
Eugenie Clark discovered that
sea water here is mixed with
fresh water seeping from
the sea bottom.
This can loosen the grip of
parasites that afflict sharks
and allow the remoras to
work most effectively.
The sleeping behavior may be
prompted by the unusually high
oxygen content of these waters,
making it easier for
sharks to breathe without
swimming, and perhaps having a
narcotic effect that
sharks enjoy.
The phenomenon of sleeping
sharks remains
a fascinating mystery.
It's possible that many sharks
sometimes behave this way,
lying in huge underwater
dormitories that are yet to be
discovered.
World War II at sea.
There had never been such a far
flung human conflict, or
such widespread fear
of shark attack.
Correctly or not, the deaths
of hundreds were
attributed to sharks.
Very few facts were known.
But the US Navy mustered of all
the reassurance it could,
the product of too hasty
research and pure hearsay.
Yes, there are sharks in the
South Seas, and barracuda, and
other dangerous fish.
But some of us have been close
enough to touch them and
didn't lose anything
more than about 10
years pleasant dreams.
Very few sharks are
man-eaters.
Brown skinned natives of the
South Seas readily swim in
waters where sharks
are plentiful.
Yet, they are almost
never attacked.
There are many cases on record
of our fliers swimming fully
clothed near sharks without
being attacked.
Maybe in their work uniform,
they didn't
look like good eating.
A lot more likely, they
were not seen.
Sharks have very poor eyesight
and rely mostly on their sense
of smell for guidance.
They also great cowards and can
be easily frightened away.
There have been many instances
where one or more men in the
water scared off approaching
sharks by simply
thrashing the water.
And believe me brother, when you
see a shark heading your
way, you can really thrash.
And you may be sure that
somewhere ships are scouring
the sea looking for you.
Much of this wartime
wisdom did not
stand up to later research.
Shark Chaser, a supposed
repellent issued in great
quantities during the war, was
shown to be inadequate.
It did repel some sharks, but
others treated it with totally
indifference.
The number of shark species
considered potentially
dangerous to man has decreased
with continuing research.
Sharks prove much more
sophisticated than the simple,
stupid eating machines they
were once thought to be.
It has long been known
that sharks'
sense of smell is keen.
But what about their
vision and hearing?
What sounds would repel
or attract them?
Advising swimmers to thrash the
water in order to frighten
sharks away may have been
extremely unwise.
The best evidence now suggests
that such irregularly pulsed,
low frequency sounds tend to
attract, rather than repel
many species of shark.
A University of Miami team
conducts an eye examination on
a tiger shark captured
in the wild.
Amazingly, this shark submitted
quietly to the
examination, conducted in an
improvised undersea laboratory
off the Bahamas.
A few stitches prevent the
protective membrane from
closing over the eye.
They myth that sharks have poor
eyesight is being dispelled.
Sharks studied thus far appear
to see quite well, although
some are far-sighted.
The shark's sensitivity to light
is superior to humans.
And they are especially good
at detecting movement.
If man and shark meet, what
provokes an attack?
It is clear that no shark
species normally feeds on man,
in an effort to understand the
special circumstances that
trigger an attack, dummy human
forms are offered to the
aggressive great white shark.
The great white does feed on sea
mammals and shows little,
if any, fear of man.
It has undoubtedly attacked
and killed humans and was
living inspiration for Jaws.
Do certain colors
prompt attack?
No definite answers are known.
But available evidence tends
to suggest that the bright,
highly reflective hues commonly
used for life saving
equipment do nothing
to discourage
an aggressive shark.
One expert, only half joking,
suggested that sharks may be
attracted to life vests when
they are the color he morbidly
terms, Yum Yum Yellow.
The beaches of Eastern Australia
and South Africa
have, until recently,
been the most
notorious for shark attacks.
The Queensland coast of
Australia was shocked into
action by two fatalities
in December, 1961.
Life guards and surf rescue
patrols keep an eye out for
sharks and give the alarm if
any are seen near bathers.
Offshore, an array of nets
keeps the local shark
populations down.
[INAUDIBLE].
The netted and patrolled
beaches have
been safe for 20 years.
But anti-shark measures
are expensive.
And nets take a great toll of
inoffensive creatures, as well
as the few species of
dangerous sharks.
Whenever shark attacks have
occurred, reprisals had been
harsh and indiscriminate.
Despite its fearsome expression,
the gray nurse
shark is placid and
harmless to man.
Massing in groups, young and old
together, a gray nurse was
common shark in Australian
waters until disaster struck
in the late 1950s.
The gray nurse looked like
a ma-neater, and
yet, was easy to kill.
Even for divers who knew better,
the opportunity to
appear a hero was often
irresistible.
So the gray nurse shark was
swept from many areas by human
ignorance and bravado.
Nearing dangerous reef off the
coast of South Australia, a
party of scientists and
filmmakers come to study the
great white shark.
Although the great white is
found in many parts of the
world, he has been most
easily studied here.
Blood and large quantities of
horse meat and tuna are used
to attract the great white.
Dr. John McCosker of San
Franciso's Steinhart Aquarium
has a variety of experiments
planned.
Australian Rodney Fox will also
dive with his young son.
Especially since the publication
of Jaws, many
photographers, scientists, and
adventurers have sought to get
close to the great
white shark.
The fascination with ferocious
sharks is out of all
proportion to the
damage they do.
Worldwide, perhaps only
50 attacks are
documented each year.
About 10 are fatal.
Rodney Fox was attacked by
a great white in 1963.
He suffered a terrible wound,
which required 462 stitches.
Undaunted, he now introduces his
son to the creature that
so nearly ended his life.
Dr. McCosker remembers.
We spent so much time in the
water, with adrenaline levels
so high, that it was hard
to really understand
what we were seeing.
But we did observe a very
curious behavior.
That is the shark would attempt
to bite the prey item,
in this case, horse meat.
And the last moment, as it
turned its snout up, could not
see the prey item, would
then grab the cage
and shake the cage.
Occasionally, the shark would
ignore the cage, and us, and
the horse meat.
It would bite the propeller or
even would bite the magnesium
plates on the underside
of the boat.
And, of course, we just thought
like everyone else
that these stupid sharks
will bite anything.
The great white often seems
unable to locate the bait in
the last seconds
of this attack.
It has been recently discovered
that many sharks
have an acute sensitivity to
electric fields, detected
through pores on the head.
They can sense even the very
minute bioelectric fields
generated by other animals, a
kind of invisible electrical
aura that surrounds all
living creatures.
Seeking to explain the great
white's strange behavior,
McCosker reasons that the shark
is using his vision as
he approaches the bait.
But usually, the shark relies
on his electric sense in the
final seconds before striking.
As he extends his jaws, his
eyes roll back in order to
protect them.
For an instant, he is
virtually blind.
At this moment, the shark
may become confused.
Metal objects nearby emit an
overwhelming electric field,
overriding that of the bate.
Lunging for the cage or the
boat, the great white is
making a basic mistake, just as
eyewitnesses do when they
assume that the shark will
stop at nothing to
take a bite of them.
Watch your foot.
Watch your foot.
Like a whale.
A lot of meat, isn't it?
The shark behavior outside of
the human element is probably
quite simple.
But when we complicate the
environment that the shark is
swimming through by adding all
of these electrical fields,
the curious electrical fields in
its evolution it has had no
cognizance of, it will then
respond in very strange ways.
We then feel this is
a stupid, maniacal,
ferocious, crazy shark.
But in fact, it's only
responding to those sensory
stimuli that it's developed
over hundreds
of millions of years.
In the Red Sea, at the tip of
the Sinai Peninsula, there are
underwater reefs of
rare ecological
richness and diversity.
And that big Napolean fish, do
you think that's still here?
Eugenie Clark calls this area,
my laboratory and my favorite
place on earth.
With her Israeli colleague,
David Friedman, she has dived
here at Ras Mohammed many
times over the years.
OK.
Let's go.
Each thing I study under water
leads to something else, or 10
of the things.
And you go out with the aim
of studying one particular
behavior, and maybe the fish
won't behave the way you
expected to.
But it'll do three other things
that you wonder, well,
why is it doing that?
And suddenly, you have
more things to study.
And it goes on endlessly.
And I could keep coming
back to just one
spot in the Red Sea.
And I'd never finish in several
lifetimes all the
things that I'd want to study.
Here, Eugenie Clark made her
best known discovery, the
remarkable qualities of
a little known fish.
So I was looking over
in some sandy areas.
And I saw this thing
that looked like
a sole in the sand.
And I went over and I thought,
well, I could never catch it
with my hands, because
you just can't pick
up fish that way.
And I made a grab for
it and I caught it.
And it was so unusual.
I thought, why is it such
a slow swimmer.
And I didn't recognize
the species.
So I pressed it flat.
And as I pressed it, this white
milk came out of pores
at the bases of the dorsal and
anal fins, not where anybody
ever heard of excretion coming
out of a sole before.
And then I felt my hands.
And they were kind
of astringent.
And I thought, gee, this
must be a poison.
And I'd like to study
this sole.
In a series of tests, Eugenie
Clark set out lines baited
with live specimens of the
fish she had found,
Pardachirus marmoratus,
or the Moses sole.
Also on the lines were chunks
of tuna and other attractive
morsels, which were soon
devoured by local sharks.
But almost always, the Moses
sole survived unharmed.
In laboratory tests, sharks can
be tempted to attack, but
usually think better of it when
they get a whiff of the
sole's poison.
Eugenie Clark hopes that Moses
sole toxin may someday be used
to protect humans.
Many problems remain, but the
humble Moses sole may now be
hailed as the originator of the
best known shark repellent
that really works.
many parts of the world,
basic research on
sharks is going forward.
Here in California, a team from
the State University at
Long Beach has perfected a
compact sonic transmitter and
a way to attach it
to angel sharks.
She's been out of the water
about two minutes.
Let's try not to wait
more than one more.
The transmitter is relatively
inexpensive and can operate
for up to four months.
With this equipment, scientists
have their first
real opportunity to track
the movements of
sharks in the open city.
Beautiful.
Alright.
Preliminary results show
unexpected extremes in the
angel shark's behavior.
It may lie dormant on the sea
bottom for several weeks.
At other times, it's remarkably
active, traveling
as much as four miles
overnight.
Alright Jeff, let's
try it here.
[TICKING SOUND]
That's pretty close, Jeff.
Some sharks disappear
mysteriously at certain times
of the year.
Others are known to migrate
over great distances.
Baby sharks of some species
are hardly ever found.
And sharks of one sex may be
abundant, while the other is
entirely absent in
a given area.
Such research may eventually
help to explain these
mysterious phenomena.
One of the more puzzling sharks
is the hammerhead.
No one can explain the strange
and spectacular hammerhead
schools that are found
in Mexican waters.
Possibly, this associated
with hammerhead mating.
But the mating act itself has
rarely been observed among
large sharks in the
open ocean.
The courtship of gray nurse
sharks has been seen and
photographed in an Australian
aquarium.
This may be the only existing
film of such
reproductive behavior.
It's a violent affair.
The male repeatedly bites the
female in a tender gesture
only sharks would understand.
The females of some shark
speeches have skins twice the
thickness of the males, possibly
to prevent serious
injury at times like this.
Every few years in coastal
waters of the eastern Pacific,
a spectacular assembly begins.
Millions upon millions of squid
mysteriously appear to
mate and lay their eggs.
The male squid frantically
pursue the females, sometimes
two or more clasping a female
in the mating embrace.
The squid's normal defensive
instincts are totally suspended.
For fishermen, the squid
run brings long
nights of hard labor.
The squid are attracted
instinctively to the bright
lights at the surface.
Up to 10 tons of them maybe
taken in a single evening.
Here, the shark is considered a
hated rival, to be shot and
killed on sight.
[GUN SHOTS]
For a few daring scientists,
this is a rare opportunity to
get close to feeding sharks.
Zoologist Bob Johnson
is one of them.
It was very disorienting.
At night, you didn't know
which way was up always.
If you were balanced out
correctly underwater, up
wasn't always up.
And because of the squid
situation, they maybe thick
above you or they may
be thick below you.
And everything was oriented
towards the light, rather than
towards the surface.
So it was very awkward
at times.
You'd see the sharks
coming underneath.
And you'd finally
try and get in.
And, of course, the instant you
get in, your blinded and
you can't see them anywhere.
And when you do see them,
they're right in
front of you all over.
They'd be racing past you
eating gulps of squid.
They'd come out of the
corner of your eyes.
You're turning and watching for
these animals, because you
couldn't keep in
one direction.
You had to consistently turn in
the water to watch in all
directions.
And they weren't attempting
to bite us.
They were attempting only
to feed on the squid.
But if you got your arms or your
legs or your body in the
wrong place at the wrong time,
you'd very easily get bit.
Simply to observe how sharks
feed, Johnson and his
companions must risk becoming a
meal for sharks themselves.
Recent experiments off the
California coast have
addressed the problem
of getting close
to sharks in safety.
Australian filmmakers, Valerie
Taylor and her husband Ron,
may know as much about shark
attack as anyone alive.
I've been bitten twice
by sharks.
And once, it was quite nasty.
And it happened out here, off
San Diego, in a similar
situation to what
we are today.
But, it was basically
my fault.
I was swimming around in
a lot of bait, a lot of
chum was in the water.
And the shark came up.
He was looking for
something to eat.
I didn't see him.
And it's important
to see the shark.
And I didn't see him.
I was looking at two other
sharks, because there were 30
or 40 in the water.
And you can't watch
them all the time.
And he simply but me.
There's no great drama.
Nothing.
He just bit me.
I grabbed him.
I wouldn't allow him to take a
piece out, which he probably
would have done.
And I beat him off.
And the teeth, of course, it
had gone through a quarter
inch wetsuit and inch and
a half into my leg.
The mesh suit's got to stop
all that sort of thing.
I'm not going to get
bitten again.
The Taylors don stainless steel
suits, reminiscent of
medieval armor.
Meanwhile, the waters around
are baited with hundreds of
pounds of fish.
In response, blue sharks
will congregate here
within a few hours.
I'm a bit worried about the
gaps in the gloves, Ron.
Which gaps?
They don't quite come around
on the wrists, I noticed.
Mine are the same.
You just got to be
careful, ey.
Just have to be careful.
Yeah.
Right on the wrists.
I just don't want to
have an artery cut.
There you are.
Alright.
[INAUDIBLE].
Yeah.
That's what they keep to
when they get on it.
That's the noise you hear.
And you really feel it getting
into you because of that
terrible noise, but
it doesn't.
They make these--
Valerie has invited shock attack
numerous times to test
her 12 pound suit.
Each prototype costs
about $2,000.
But the suit's protection could
be invaluable to those
who are impelled to dive with
sharks under dangerous
conditions.
Alright.
Thanks.
There you go, Valerie.
The scent of bait is
heavy in the water.
Yet, Valerie Taylor has to
entice the sharks to feed.
Once they're eating, she'll
draw the bate close to her
body, hoping the sharks will
become confused between her
and the fish.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
The sharks rips off Valerie's
steel glove
and swallows it whole.
[INAUDIBLE].
I'm all right.
Don't drop me.
[INAUDIBLE].
Did he damage your
hand, Valerie?
Yup.
He damaged my hand alright.
He got the glove off and
he continued-- he
wouldn't let go.
[INAUDIBLE]?
I don't know [INAUDIBLE].
The thing that happened was, he
got the glove off somehow.
He just ripped it off.
And this hand, this naked
hand was in his mouth.
So I put that hand in so that he
couldn't crunch down on it.
I did it just like that.
And you can see why I got
the thumb sticking up.
Oh boy.
What a blast.
[INAUDIBLE] swallowing
my glove.
I don't think you ought
to go back in with it
bleeding like that.
Oh, the blood won't make
any difference.
It's a damn $40 glove.
I was screaming and
my throat's sore.
All I wanted was someone to
punch him off, make him let
go, you know, withdraw the
way they withdraw.
But nobody knew that you had
that problem, you see?
Oh well.
And it's no use screaming,
because somebody--
It takes a few seconds
to get over to you.
And the shark can really done a
lot of damage in that time.
Oh.
So you've got to be totally
self-contained.
Well, I figure I did
all right, Ron.
You did very well.
But there's a weakness
in the system.
The gloves have got to be
attached to the arm.
Well, the only way you learn
these things, isn't it, is by
trial and error.
Yeah.
That was an error.
That was an error.
A trial and an error.
To date, the suit has proved
very effective in preventing
injury from attacks by sharks
of average size.
Development and testing
continue.
Japan, a modern technological
culture, much influenced by
the sea and its creatures.
Part Japanese, Eugenie Clark
grew up with traditional folk
tales involving the
sea, perhaps an
inspiration of her career.
On a recent visit, a meal
consisting entirely of shark
delicacies was served
in Eugenie's honor.
[SPEAKING JAPANESE]
In Japan and other countries,
there's a popular prejudice
against eating shark.
And so it's sold under a variety
of euphemistic names.
Much tradition and
ritual surround
shark fishing in Japan.
In a remote village, the shark
fishing season begins with the
blessing of a bottle
of rice wine, sake.
The next day at sea, the
ceremonial sake is sprinkled
over the boat, the lines,
and the bait.
What's left warms the
fishermen and
bolsters their courage.
Pounding on the boat's hull with
a wooden stick is another
ancient ritual to ensure
good luck.
It may have scientific basis.
Such noise could
attract sharks.
9 miles of line will be
dropped over side,
baited with 300 hooks.
No more efficient method of
shark fishing is known.
Sharks are capable of destroying
most kinds of net,
and in any case, are rarely
found in schools.
It's hard labor bringing
in the lines.
And the task takes hours.
On any of the hooks, there may
be a 400 pound shark in
fighting humor.
Today, 15 sharks will be taken,
including a large
hammerhead.
A hammerhead is considered
auspicious, a messenger
bringing a favorable sign
from the god of the sea.
A shark feast celebrates the
opening of the fishing season.
These shark fishing families
appear to be
dying out in Japan.
Those who endure are held
in unusual respect.
No one fights harder to rest
a living from the sea.
[SINGING IN JAPANESE]
Tokyo's fish market, the
largest in the world.
In four frantic hours, more than
$8 million change hands
here each day.
How many pounds of porbeagle
did they get today?
Eugenie Clark visits the
market with a venerated
colleague, Dr. Tokiharu Abe.
200 pounds.
200.
To marine biologists, this
market is a vast treasure
house of data, an ever changing
census of the sea.
Often, hundreds of sharks can
be examined here before they
are sold at auction.
[SINGING IN JAPANESE]
Japan's shark industry is
diversified and full of
curiosities.
Besides the market for the
meat, many other uses for
sharks have been
exploited here.
Shark skins are removed
for use as leather.
The tanning process is
complicated, laborious, and
something of a trade secret.
The resulting leather goods
are said to be almost
indestructible.
The price is proportionately
high, some $200 for a wallet,
over $1,300 for a
woman's handbag.
Kamaboko is a kind
of fish cake made
from the meat of sharks.
It's packaged to be eaten as
a snack and is popular with
millions of Japanese.
Off the shores of eastern Japan,
fisherman pursue a rare
and little known specialty,
deep sea sharks.
Scientists like Eugenie Clark
and Dr. Abe visit the boats
frequently.
Fisherman are the source of much
of our present knowledge
of deep sea sharks and have
often been responsible for the
discovery of new species.
A creature from another world.
The huge, luminous eyes adapted
to detect what little
light exists over 2,000
feet below.
It may also serve as
a glowing lure to
attract the shark's prey.
In Japan, deep sea sharks have
been put to commercial use.
The market for them began during
World War II, when
there was urgent demand for a
special oil to new lubricate
fighter planes.
Such oil was to be found in
the shark's liver, a very
large organ accounting
for as much as
25% of its body weight.
Today, oil from deep sea shark
livers is in demand as a
medicine and health food.
A capsule a day, it is said,
helps to prevent heart disease
and promotes longevity.
Despite medical skepticism, some
Japanese believe that oil
from deep sea sharks is a
cure-all, effective against
everything from constipation
to cancer.
Applied externally, shark oil is
used by Japanese doctors to
treat burns and minor
aches and pains.
[SPEAKING JAPANESE]
In the United States and most
Western nations, sharks
inspire interest, mostly for
sensational reasons.
Aquariums and oceanariums
draw large
crowds to shark exhibits.
But they try to demonstrate
that not
all sharks are dangerous.
Eugenie Clark is given the
opportunity to dive in the New
England aquarium and meet the
resident nurse sharks, docile
creatures, which tend to rest on
the bottom of the tank for
most of the day.
I want people to understand
that the danger from shark
attack is so slight that they
don't have to worry about it.
People come to me and say, what
do I do if I go in the
water and I see a shark?
You don't have to do anything.
The chances of that shark
coming over to you, and
especially attacking you in any
way, is so remote, it's
just like saying, what should
I do if I see a car driving
down the street?
You don't have to get
off the street.
What's the chances of
that car hitting You.
Occasionally, a car runs off and
hits somebody walking on
the sidewalk.
But you shouldn't waste all your
time preparing for such a
remote accident.
The sea should be enjoyed,
the animals in it.
When you see a shark underwater,
you should say,
how lucky I am to see this
beautiful animal in his
environment.
It may be many years before
Eugenie Clark's attitude
becomes widespread.
For in the minds of men, the
shark provokes a deep seated,
almost instinctive fear.
But even now, there are new
kinds of encounters between
man and shark beneath the sea.
Off the coast of Japan, a diver
photographer recently
chanced upon a shark egg
case attached to a
clump of soft coral.
The case, apparently a lifeless
bit of flotsam,
revealed its secret contents
when illuminated from behind,
a shark embryo, developing
and alive.
Inspired, Japanese divers
returned time and time again
as months passed, until at
last, they were able to
witness and photograph for the
first time in the open sea the
birth of a shark.
For the divers, this was a
deeply thrilling moment.
They felt they had touched an
inner secret of life and
glimpsed a wonderful mystery.
Thus, one hopes, man and shark
may meet in the sea and pause
and pass on, each doing
the other no harm.
[MUSIC PLAYING]