Shark frenzy or fear?

Two fishers caught a shark which looked like a bull shark in the Wainimala River in Vunidawa, Naitasiri on Thursday.

Immediately after the word got out, people were issuing a warning against swimming in the river.

Others welcomed the news because at this time of the year sharks swim upriver and many end up on the dinner table.

One villager said: “They are yummy when fried as fish and chips.’’

“Sharks in the river are not new. Blame climate change. They have been swimming there for as long as I can remember,” says an elderly man.

It depends on who you talk to.

No one can remember any shark attacks in recent times.

It is believed this is the spawning season and the bull sharks especially are found in the main tributaries to the Rewa River, Fiji’s biggest river, which flows into the sea.  They swim there from the sea. Then they move back to the coast. The sea is usually regarded as their natural habitat. But now they are increasingly seen in freshwater areas.

So it depends on who you are talking to. Some are scared of sharks so they advocate no swimming. Others welcome sharks because they can catch them. They love a shark meal, particularly the shark fin soup they can get  in some restaurants.

Whatever people’s positions are on this issue, sharks deep inside Viti Levu in rivers is a natural phenomenon.

Feedback: nemani.delaibatiki@fijisun.com.fj