On a Brighter Note -White Sharks are doing well

Researchers are saying the population of the great white shark is booming, and they conclude that’s a good thing, even though your dusty DVD of "Jaws" might suggest otherwise.

Chris Fischer, who has been studying and tagging great whites for the past decade and is founder of the research organization Ocearch, said he has observed an increasing number of the species.

"We're seeing an ocean that's teeming with life like we haven't seen since the '40s or '50s," Fischer told CBS News in an online story published on Thursday.

And that’s huge, said Dr. Bryan Franks of Jacksonville University in Florida and a member of the Ocearch team.

"I think what we are starting to see is what the oceans looked like 100 years ago, 150 years ago," Franks told WPTV of West Palm Beach, Fla., "and I think that's a good thing because a healthier shark population reflects a healthier ocean."

So maybe healthy enuff to feed the apex predators, may be healthy enuff to feed the salmon...

Good for sharks; not so good for surfers and swimmers. I may take another vacation to Hawaii, but I'm finished with snorkeling and swimming in the ocean. I used to wonder why anyone would go to a tropical ocean resort and use the swimming pool instead of the ocean. I may have an increased appreciation of that pool now.

I've seen shows on TV that it's the Atlantic great whites that are increasing in response to the large seal population. I guess we could use a few of them in Puget Sound to help control the out of control seal population in the Sound.

Fortunately our favorite snorkel place on da Big Island is really shallow and rather disconnected from a direct open ocean link. The remains of a fishpond wall make a nice barrier. But yeah, Mano is out to get you.

I think the only sharks I have seen in Hawaii were while diving and they were Nurse Shark. Did snorkel with some big Hammerheads in the Galapagos. They just cruised by.

It was in the Galapagos that I got my biggest scare when a sea lion grabbed my fin and pulled it from behind. I did think it was a shark at first. He was pissed because I was watching his buddies and not him. Then from in front of me and where I could see him he chomped the fin again. Then left.

Not sure that the Pacific is warm enough this far north for the Whites. They do enjoy the Death Triangle of the Farallones, Pt Reyes, and Ano Nuevo. Lots of sea lions, elephant seals, and fun seals plus the skinny surfers.