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05/09/2005: "Grey Nurse (cont)."

These are the sharks so popular with marine aquariums. They look mean and they live well in captivity.

With a sinister name that was borrowed to describe any beach shark attack in the 1930's, it took decades before the seperation between species and their names was established.

To many people it came as a surprise to learn that: grey nurse sharks were not the same maneaters as white pointer (great white) sharks.

Consequently the first people to dive with grey nurse were thought of as: fearless heros or complete fools that didn't know any better.

'Many grey nurse sharks ended up as boneless fish fillets in the old fashioned fish and chip shops of Newcastle' said former Australian champion spear fisherman Peter Kemp this week.

The same could be said for wobbegong sharks.

There was a time when the great Brian 'bruno' McKenna and his side-kick 'the toad' (paid us the equivilent today) $20 for each speared 'wobbe' - delivered whole. (Especially during any USFA spearing competition in the Sydney area when we were all together for one Sunday each month).