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Red Sea Sharks by Jeremy Stafford-Deitsch
Red Sea Sharks by Jeremy Stafford-Deitsch
Attitudes to sharks have altered dramatically. Where they were once thought voracious and undiscerning predators, and old diving manuals warned that if you saw a shark you should leave the water immediately, nowadays divers are exhilarated by a close encounter.
Jeremy Stafford-Deitsch became well known for his best-selling book Shark - A Photographer's Story (now out of print), which probably owed its popularity to the book-buying public's morbid fear of such animals.
Red Sea Sharks is a more modest production measuring only 15 x 21cm but it is aimed at divers. Part of a new series of In Depth Guides, it details the species that one might be lucky enough to see while diving in the Red Sea, but still contains some evidence of the popular media attitude to sharks.
The first of two parts deals with biology and behaviour. Most of the writing reflects the author's own feelings about the animals, and half of this section discusses the dangers of sharks, 'the warning signs of an imminent attack', 'attacks on divers' and 'when things go wrong'.
I feel this plays on those unspoken fears we all have, and after reading it aboard a boat in the Red Sea I started having second thoughts about wanting a confrontation with one of these magnificent creatures!
'The tiger shark is known to be a man-eater.' I wonder if the sharkwranglers who handled a number of tiger sharks for the James Bond movies know that! Such a bald statement leaves the reader convinced that he never wants to meet one.
Those reservations apart, the book is full of useful facts and interesting, colourful photographs by the author. The second part is a structured compendium of the 15 types of shark which are indigenous to the region.
One (beautifully photographed) small coral head at Sangeneb in the Sudan gets more than its fair share of photographs in the book. I know Jeremy Stafford-Deitsch spent three weeks there tempting sharks to it with concealed fish bait, and therefore got plenty of shots, but it does add a little repetition to this otherwise excellent little volume.
Alas, thanks to a shark-finning industry that aims to satisfy burgeoning demand in the Orient, sharks are less numerous than they were in the Red Sea. Count yourself lucky if you see any. John Bantin |
Red Sea Shark by Jeremy Stafford-Deitsch, Trident Press (0171 491 8770). Hardback, 96pp, £14.95; Softback, £9.99
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