News Column  Scientists Urge Media to Stop Using the Phrase
'Shark Attacks'  Aug. 9, 2013  It was the summer of 2001. The
media were in a frenzy over sharks before Sept. 11 changed
everyone's focus. New Smyrna Beach and Volusia County were well
on their way toward a record-setting year for shark bites. The
majority of news outlets were calling them shark attacks.  12
years later the American Elasmobranch Society, which is all
about sharks, rays and skates, has sent a letter to The
Associated Press and Reuters urging them to be more accurate
when describing human-shark relations. The often-quoted
International Shark Attack File based at the University of
Florida is an offshoot of this society.  In the letter, the
group says the media uses "the term 'shark attack' in a
sensationalizing manner" and "can reinforce misleading
stereotypes of shark behavior and may undermine public support
for shark conservation."  So what to use instead?  Bob Hueter,
Director of the Center for Shark Research and Christopher Neff,
a