GLOUCESTER POINT, Va. — Those fishing and swimming in Virginia told News 3 they've seen more than just the usual fish.
"I've seen dolphins but I haven't seen a shark," said Robert Cotman Jr. of Richmond.
While Cotman and other fishermen said they have not had any shark sightings in the area, they agreed sharks are a hot topic of conversation for many.
"Yeah, I like Shark Week," said Cotman, who said his interest in the animals has grown with popular shark-related entertainment. "Some people want to kill sharks, but they're important for the ecosystem, I understand that they're just doing what they naturally do."
Researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science tag and release more than a dozen sharks a month.
They've been studying the apex predators for nearly 50 years as part of the longest-running fishery-independent study of shark populations in the world. Researchers said long-term tracking helps determine how the area's sharks are doing.
"These animals are very slow growing. They live a long time," said Dr. Robert Latour, professor of marine science at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.
Dr. Latour said our population of sharks is not very healthy. They suffered because of over-fishing in years past.
"That folded in with Jaws being released in the 70s changed the public perspective on sharks, and made them more of a 'we want to conquer them, we fear them, we want to remove them' kind of mentality," said Dr. Latour.
He said the animals are slowly rebounding.
"Because they live so long and they're not highly reproductive it takes them a long time to recover," said Dr. Latour.
One benefit of the public's growing interest in shark-related entertainment, he said, is the attention paid to the animals, and the spotlight provided to researchers to bust some myths.
"Obvious one is, 'sharks want to bite me.' In this area that risk is extremely small. I always like to say you have a greater chance of being struck by lightning than being bit by a shark," said Dr. Latour. "Most of the shark species here have no interest in humans. They don't feed on animals we might be mistaken for. There's about ten species we most commonly encounter. The most common one on the larger side is a sandbar shark. In fact, the lower Chesapeake Bay serves as a primary nursery ground. A smaller one is a sharpnose shark, it's harmless. It only gets about three, three and a half feet long."
Almost all the shark species in our area are prohibited for retention, so if you catch one, Dr. Latour added, you should report on any tags and release it back into the water.
