Jacques Costeau, the famous oceanographic researcher once dubbed it as the "most dangerous shark in the world." The oceanic whitetip shark may never be as popular as the great white or even the hammerhead, but over the years, it has shown how effective it is in killing people. But the decline of the species is causing concern, leading the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Fisheries Division to propose that the shark should be listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
Daily Mail reports that the sharks' number have declined by a whopping 90% in the Pacific Ocean and 50% - 85% in the Atlantic Ocean. One of the reasons is that the oceanic whitetip has large pectoral fins, and since their fins are used in some dishes like soup, there is a high demand for their fins, which can fetch a high price.
Lora Snyder from Oceana says that there needs to be a full ban on the buying and selling of shark fins in the United States in order to ensure that the species would not be on the endangered list. Millions of sharks are killed each year because of the buying and selling of shark fins.
Despite being considered a dangerous shark, the Florida Museum says that there are only 10 documented attacks by the oceanic whitetip that is unprovoked. The reason why the said shark is notorious is because it is touted as the ones that are responsible for many deaths during shipwrecks, as reported by Shark Sider.
Two events are being given as evidence of this. In 1945 when the USS Indianapolis sand, oceanic whitetips came to the area and fed on around 800 soldiers. The same is true for a steamship somewhere in South Africa, which had 1,000 passengers. They feed as a group and sometimes engage in feeding frenzies, where they take turns sharing food.
