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Both sides of the shark feeding controversy do have a well-developed argument on the shark feeding issue. Both argue what sharks are, why people fear sharks, why people feed and swim with sharks, and whether it is a good idea to continue to allow people to feed sharks.
The term shark is thought to have evolved from a Middle English term, shurke, meaning "villain" (Brylske 7). In early writings, the shark was described as a monster (Scarr 118). This could explain why people's fear of sharks has been around for some time. "On paper, the most feared sharks are great whites, with their enormous jaws and great, triangular teeth. This species is extremely rare." (Cousteau 236).
All sharks are carnivorous, but some will eat anything. The biggest sharks eat the smallest organisms. These large sharks are the whale shark and the basking shark. They feed off plankton in the seawater. The remaining 380 known species of sharks, most of which evolved over 160 million years ago, eat much larger things. For example, the tiger shark will eat almost anything. Records show they have found license plates, even the remains of deer inside tiger sharks. The cookie-cutter shark will go after larger prey and take bites leaving a cookie cutter effect in its victim and then swims away (Brylske 6).
There are many unique features that separate sharks from other creatures. One is the teeth. "Sharks have rows and rows of replaceable teeth, as many as 30,000 in a lifetime for some species, for feeding on their prey. The teeth are attached to their skin, and not to the jaws itself" (Brylske 5). These teeth are not made of bone like many may think. Shark teeth are made up of cartilage, and are reinforced with mineral deposits (Scarr 119). When these teeth are lost others come in to replace them. The tooth that replaces the previously lost tooth is always a little bigger than the last. It can lose an entire row of teeth every week.
