Mexican marine biologist works to save great white sharks

Mexico City, Aug 17 (IANS) A Mexican marine biologist is using his new book to spread the message for protection of great white sharks, an animal that he contends is nearly perfect.

"When we see a white shark, we shouldn't think we're at the gates of Hell, we're dealing with one of the most perfect creatures in the whole world," Edgar Mauricio Hoyos said on Wednesday.

Hoyos used the launch of his book, "El gran tiburon blanco, protector de los oceanos" (The Great White Shark, Protector of the Oceans), at a museum here to educate the public about the great whites, noting that the huge predators do not eat humans.

The marine biologist, who has spent 14 years studying great white sharks at Isla de Guadalupe, located off the coast of Baja California, makes the case for protecting the creature in his plainly written 119-page book.

Great white sharks, which have been around since before the dinosaurs, visit Isla de Guadalupe each year between August and February, feeding on fish, sea lions and dead whales, maintaining balance in the marine ecosystem, Hoyos said.

Great white sharks are threatened by fishermen, who can get up to $50,000 for the animals' fins and jaws.

Shark fins, especially those of great whites, are prized as a delicacy in Asia.

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