Sepik region club.

[David]

Originally Posted by fearn

Hi All,

Little bit about shark biology:

Great white sharks typically go after seals and sea lions. They often spit out humans because we don't have enough body fat.

Tiger sharks and bull sharks think we're yummy and good with ketchup, if they're big enough. They are more common in tropical waters, and the bull shark even gets into fresh water, well up the Mississippi.

Were I in the Sepik, I'd worry far more about tiger sharks and bull sharks than great whites. I'd also worry about crocodiles.

As for the standing paddles, the ones I've seen seem to have smallish blades on the end of long poles. I'm not sure whether any of these really qualify.

My 0.00002 pence,

F

Fearn, Tiger sharks don't think we are tasty at all...they will just eat anything, including a bucket of nails if you throw it their way. Bull shark are a little more discerning, but humans are not on their preferred menu list either. They eat mostly bony fish and other sharks.
Shark attacks on humans are relatively rare anyway, but when they do happen they almost invariably happen in the water, not on a boat. Of coarse a canoe is low to the water and this may have happened occasionally. It would certainly have to happen fairly frequently though if a culture were to develop a new way to paddle and specifically designed new tools because of the occurrence. Still, if a shark were to attack a canoe i can see no reason why it would be less likely to if the occupants were standing. From the water it is the boat it sees, not the human, and if it did attack the boat it would be with the assumption that the boat itself was prey. A standing occupant would then be far more likely to fall into the water where the shark could make quick work of him if it chose to.
I certainly wouldn't want to be in croc infested waters in a low-lying canoe. But i still don't see how standing in the boat would provide any particular protection from a hungry croc that chose to attack.
So from my point of logic there must be some other advantage to standing while paddling that is not being considered here.