The only good shark is a live shark

This sounds like a good thing.  But is it?  Research published in Current Issues in Tourism demonstrates that sharks are worth more alive than they are dead.  Austin Gallagher and Neil Hammerschlag from the University of Miami examined ecotourism businesses from 83 locations around the world and found that sharks, in addition to their ecological significance, can provide a significant boon for local economies.  They were able to value a single living reef shark at $73 per day, while the same shark dead might have a one-time value of $50.  Worth noting - shark-driving tourism produced more than $78 million in revenue in 2007. 

Obviously, it would be a major step forward to convince local governments and businesses that a swimming shark is more valuable to them than one reduced to fins and jaws.  My major concern with shark ecotourism are those operations which put humans AND sharks in harm's way by feeding animals as a means of providing photo ops for their Mike Nelson wannabe clients.  I'd love to believe that a tour operator could make a decent living by providing an opportunity to view sharks in the natural habitat, without catering to the guys who think that their penis size goes up if they're in a photo frame with a tiger shark.