Facts versus fiction when it comes to sharks.

Story & Photos By Kelly Currington

Fifty shades of turquoise; this is one of the first sights everyone sees as they fly into the Turks & Caicos Islands. There are so many variations of aqua and emerald that it can’t be described with words—you have to see it for yourself. Before your plane has landed, you can imagine immersing yourself in those colors, whether it be snorkeling, scuba diving, or just hanging out in the water. It’s one of the biggest attractions bringing hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

In spite of media fear-mongering, sharks are vitally necessary for a balanced marine ecosystem.

As a dive professional, one of the questions I hear quite frequently is “Are there sharks here”? This question is derived from society’s conditioning by news, media, and movies to fear sharks, using a tactic called “fear mongering.” They use buzz words like “lurking,’ “infested,” “vicious,” and “attack” to describe sharks living in their natural habitat. It incites instant emotion when you hear those words. Media also uses very carefully edited images and videos with dramatic music to increase the emotional fear reaction. This is done solely to gain exposure for their stories, and it has nothing to do with facts. 

There has been a lot of attention lately on a few incidents involving sharks here in the Turks & Caicos, so I want to talk about facts and expose the fiction. I’ll start with the obvious—sharks inhabit all oceans on the planet and have been around for about 450 million years, but not all species inhabit every ocean. The shark species indigenous to TCI waters are mainly Nurse sharks (not to be confused with the Grey Nurse shark or Sand Tiger shark), Lemon sharks, Caribbean reef sharks, Tiger sharks, and a Great Hammerhead now and then, and that last one is such a treat when it happens. That being said, other species may occasionally be present because there are no boundaries or nets in the wild.

For me, one of the most important facts is that sharks are vitally necessary for a balanced ecosystem. When you have a healthy and diverse shark population, it is a sign that the ecosystem is functioning properly. The sharks wouldn’t thrive if their natural food source (no, humans are not their food source) wasn’t plentiful, and their food source’s food source wasn’t plentiful, and so on, right down to the tiniest living organisms, starting with the coral beds. 

How do these apex predators help keep the ecosystem balanced? They keep other predators in check, maintaining species diversity. They remove weak and sick prey, helping to keep those populations genetically healthy, which is crucial for balance. 

Lemon sharks are known to inhabit shallow coastal waters where people also swim, surf, and dive. While they are not inherently aggressive, it’s important to maintain caution and respect their space.

Blue Carbon is the carbon stored in the oceans, and sharks that inhabit coastal waters help enhance blue carbon by hunting and patrolling reefs and sea grass pastures eating dead matter. Plant-eating fish can over-graze ocean vegetation, like sea grass and kelp forests that are crucial for carbon absorption through photosynthesis. This causes a negative impact on the carbon cycle. Oceans are Earth’s largest absorber of atmospheric carbon and sea grass can capture it up to 34 times faster than tropical rainforests, storing large amounts of that carbon for decades. A healthy population of coastal sharks who hunt and remove these fish helps to minimize excessive grazing—a positive force in balancing the carbon cycle.

With all the scientific proof that our climate is changing and growing warmer, maintaining the ecological balance and resilience of the oceans is critical for withstanding and minimizing the damage that extreme climate events can cause. Sharks play a vital role in the success of this process.

Are humans on the menu when sharks are deciding what to have for dinner? Let’s talk about what sharks’ natural food sources are. Though it varies by species, most include fish, cephalopods like squid and octopus, and crustaceans like lobster and crab. Humans . . . NOT. In addition to the common food sources, some species have a specialty menu item that they were built to hunt. For example, Tiger sharks’ teeth are designed to saw through sea turtle shells, Hammerhead sharks are designed to hunt stingrays and other bottom dwelling food, and Nurse sharks are designed for crushing and have a powerful suction that makes them great at hunting crustaceans and conch, and sucking fish from the crevices in coral.

Inland sharks, like the species common in the Turks & Caicos, will generally swim away from humans and keep their distance as long as there is no natural food source present. Hundreds of thousands of people enter the water here to snorkel, dive, paddleboard, kayak, kite surf, and frolic, and never have a negative experience with a shark. That is so important to remember if an incident occurs and the media sensationalizes it. 

Nurse sharks have several rows of short, serrated teeth used for crushing hard shells like conch.

Here in the Turks & Caicos, any time there is an encounter with a shark that involves a bite it is either a defensive bite, investigative bite, or mistaken identity bite. A defensive bite means that a human was in some way violating the shark’s space, touching the shark, or harassing the shark. An investigative bite generally means the shark is testing to see if an object is food, and the only way they can feel is with their mouths. A mistaken identity bite can happen if the signals the shark is receiving are telling it there is food nearby, and if you are in water where fish are being cleaned or have been cleaned recently, the shark could bite thinking you are the source of those signals.

When you visit a new location, it is important to assess the risks before entering the water. One of the best ways to do this is to talk to locals or professionals who know the area well. Ask questions. Because sharks inhabit all oceans, understanding their abundance, behavior, and how to safely interact with them is crucial. Each species reacts differently to divers, snorkelers, and swimmers. Knowing what species you may encounter allows you to learn more about their habits and reduce your risk of a negative encounter.

We have all seen the videos on TV and social media of people handling and feeding different species of sharks, and the misconception is “If they can do it, I can do it.” The truth is that the professionals you see in footage have years of experience in handling sharks and knowing how to safely interact with them. They understand shark behavior and feeding habits, and have had specialized training. There are always people who attempt to touch or feed sharks who have zero experience, and the outcome is often not what they expected. This is happening more since posting everything someone does on social media has become the norm, just to gain views and followers. 

The lure of the mesmerizing turquoise water is strong, but that doesn’t mean it’s an open invitation without some “fine print” you should understand. It is our responsibility as humans to protect and safeguard the oceans, because in the “Big Picture” of life on our planet, sharks are not the villains, humans are—desecrating their numbers at a rate of over 100 million a year. This is a scary reality that we need to work on changing and recovering from. 

This frontal view of a Great Hammerhead shark “hammers” home the reason for its descriptive name.

Our beautiful waters depend on healthy reefs, which depend on healthy shark populations. These remarkable creatures have survived five major mass extinction events, outliving dinosaurs, proving their resilience, and claiming a necessary role in our oceans matched by no other creature. Here is a profound statement I read: “In reality, they (sharks) are curious guardians patrolling and protecting the precious balance of their ocean home.” Their presence and vital role in the oceans can go unnoticed and unappreciated when they are portrayed by the media as man-eating, aggressive killers, lurking in wait to attack humans. This is something many organizations are working on changing.

One of the biggest misconceptions involves nurse sharks. People describe them with words like “puppies” and “friendly,” and the most concerning one, “harmless.” This gives people a false sense of safety, and many try to touch, pet, or even worse, grab them by their tail and pull them from their resting place during the day! No shark is harmless, and if provoked or threatened will rightfully defend themselves. Nurse sharks don’t have conventional “shark” teeth, they have several rows of short, serrated teeth used for crushing the hard shells around conch and hermit crabs. Although docile in nature, that does not mean Nurse sharks cannot inflict serious injuries if provoked. The simple rule of not touching or harassing any wildlife will go a long way in avoiding trouble.

So go out and enjoy this Beautiful By Nature paradise. The Turks & Caicos waters are safe when you enter with respect. This will help ensure your chances of having a negative shark experience are slim to none.