Great white sharks. They are aggressive dangerous sharks that strike fear into those that have ever met one, or at least the myths left by the generations of fishermen say so. Today, I found myself wondering about these creepy myths, and with my curiosity growing ever larger, I had to get to the bottom of them these myths.

First, I had to do some research, and no better place to do so than the internet. I hunched back in my seat as I scrolled around the net for hours. I had been somewhat of a fisherman before, and had thought about maybe going on a nice fishing boat near one of the sightings to look for a shark. day ended with me looking over fishing volunteer applications.

I was on a fishing boat with some local fishermen off the coast of the Eastern Peninsula. It was a sunny day out, and the air was as salty as the sea. The boat was a nice small and white one, not over some eighteen feet long. In my previous/recent research, I found evidence of great white sharks sightings here, albeit scarce. I had been going out to sea helping the local fishermen in hopes of meeting one myself.

As I found myself trailing off into a sea of thoughts, a couple of fishermen found themselves with a catch. Then there were conversations, a lot of them. It was drowning out my own thoughts, so I decided to go over. I saw a great white shark laying on the boat’s floor. It wasn’t any regular great white shark. It was a juvenile.

The shark just simply laid there showing its grayish back and white underside. I had seen countless pictures online while studying the subject yet seeing it in person felt different. This was great news because it showed that despite scarce sightings throughout the centuries, great white sharks had never fully disappeared from Mediterranean waters. It was even better that it was a juvenile, which because it is a sign that sharks were still reproducing in the area. After this encounter, I promptly left the area to go back to my cozy home in London. (Good job improving on this transition) I had to take my many notes and assess what I had found. But also because I had only booked a hotel for two months and did not want to go over my budget.

I pieced together what I had observed with my previous research. Now, I can finally give my opinion and statement on the subject. Although sharks being scary is a fact that cannot be changed for most people, great white sharks aren’t very dangerous. Many “great white shark attacks” are indeed bull shark attacks, and a great white shark will only attack a human when it feels endangered or is actively starving. There are some exceptions, but not enough to mark them as a true danger to humans.

Human’s most enduring fear is the unknown. Fear is also one of the oldest and strongest forms of emotions a human can experience. When myths started popping up about these scary creatures in the Mediterranean waters with genuine eye-witnesses, it isn’t hard to start fearing them too. Despite these creatures being so popular, there exists too many unknowns / are too many unknowns about them. Because there are many things unknown about the species, despite their notoriety being so well known, there exists many fears.