Mention shark-infested waters to most folks, and they'll get a little antsy. Dr. Glenn Parsons of The University of Mississippi knows better. In fact, he gets a little exasperated about the myths and misconceptions associated with sharks. They tend to shy away from a lot of human activity.
More people die each year from bee stings than from shark attacks.
You're more likely to get struck by lightning than bit by a shark. But it's hard to dispel these misconceptions. If anything, Parsons says, humans pose a far greater threat to sharks than vice versa. Thanks to overfishing and loss of habitat due to coastal development, a disturbingly high number of species now face extinction. In the sweltering heat of a summer's afternoon, the group dons rubber overalls and sets about its arduous work, repeatedly tossing out and hauling in the 600-foot shark net, recording data and coping with the long stretches of boredom in between.