Interaction With Humans
The nurse shark is not widely commercially fished, but because of its sluggish behaviour it is an easy target for local fisheries. Its skin is exceptionally tough and is prized for leather; its flesh is consumed fresh and salted and its liver is utilised for oil. It is not taken as a game fish. It has been reported in some unprovoked attacks on humans but is not generally perceived as a threat. Divers have often provoked the shark, however, by grabbing a motionless specimen by the tail.
Juvenile nurse sharks are sometimes sold in the saltwater aquarium trade. However, since nurse sharks attain lengths in excess of ten feet they are far too large to be kept in home aquaria. In an article for Aquarium Fish Magazine, Scott W. Michael criticizes the ethics of aquarists attempting to keep species beyond their spatial and financial means. He also notes that most public aquaria are not interested in taking specimens that have outgrown home aquaria and that they should never be released into the wild.
Read more about this topic: Nurse Shark
Famous quotes containing the words interaction with, interaction and/or humans:
“The act of putting into your mouth what the earth has grown is perhaps your most direct interaction with the earth.”
—Frances Moore Lappé (b. 1944)
“Our rural village life was a purifying, uplifting influence that fortified us against the later impacts of urbanization; Church and State, because they were separated and friendly, had spiritual and ethical standards that were mutually enriching; freedom and discipline, individualism and collectivity, nature and nurture in their interaction promised an ever stronger democracy. I have no illusions that those simpler, happier days can be resurrected.”
—Agnes E. Meyer (1887–1970)
“The worst condition of humans is when they lose knowledge and control of themselves.”
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)