I don't support the hunting of sharks, but I don't get where the whole "respect" angle comes from (that last line in the article). You don't respect something because it could accidentally kill you; that's what fear and caution are for. The problem here isn't not enough respect, it's too much fear and not enough caution.
Some people respect (some) animals like we respect humans! But yes, caution is all that is strictly necessary. Though -- it's difficult to "cull" a bunch of animals if you respect them and their rights to the oceans. So maybe with more respect we wouldn't kill a lot of sharks for no reason.
I would say the reason for wanting respect (at least as it comes off in the article) is what bothers me. I don't mind respecting animals (including great white sharks) just because they're animals and destroying them doesn't help the environment. But respecting them just for their danger? That gives me a vibe of sycophantism and blind worship of power. The true measure of a person's character is never in how they treat things that pose a threat to them, but to how they treat things to which they themselves pose a threat (paraphrased from J.K. Rowling). I imagine a campaign to get people to respect spiders wouldn't garner so much attention or sympathy.
Hmm. I have a healthy respect for sharks, because if I am stupid, they will hurt me. The point of this article is that if you are not stupid, they will not hurt you (an overwhelmingly large percentage of the time) and thus are not to be feared. I do not fear my car, but I respect it. Mindlessly killing sharks, which was -- incredibly -- somebody's solution, is something you do because of fear, not respect.
As I told OftenBen, I wouldn't consider that respect myself, but cautious common sense. I don't disagree. But my point is that paying attention to a shark's presence while near one is not done out of respect either, nor is it necessarily done out of fear. As I pointed out above, it's something done out of a sense of awareness of the situation. My point is also that respect isn't part of the equation when it comes to deciding whether or not to stop the "shark cull". Killing sharks is having an effect on the underwater ecosystem. If it didn't have such an effect, and they really were such a danger to humanity, then by all means we could kill them en masse with no harm done. But because people care about the planet, they'd realize that killing sharks does disrupt the ecosystem, and would hopefully stop doing it for unfounded, overhyped risks such as attacks on humans. Respect for the dangers of powerful creatures never comes into it at all, only respect for the Earth in general. Hmm. I have a healthy respect for sharks, because if I am stupid, they will hurt me.
Mindlessly killing sharks, which was -- incredibly -- somebody's solution, is something you do because of fear, not respect.