Shark Week and #ioilspill

August 3, 2010

I’m in the Gulf of Mexico. Not physically in the Gulf waters – for that would be idiocy – but in the region we like to call the deep south. I’m spending two weeks reporting on the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico for a group called EDR and another group called CBS. But the group I’d really like to be reporting for is the Discovery Channel.

You know why?

Because it’s SHARK WEEK and everything they do this week is about wiping those horrid creatures off the face of the Earth.

OK. I know that’s not really true. And I know – or have heard – that it’s pretty unlikely that a shark will ever bite me, especially if I remain so deadly afraid of the big fishes that I let nary a toe into oceans, seas, bays, bayous and other waterways that might harbor these creatures.

I have also heard – and seen – that shark fishing is fun. In fact, while doing some of the reporting down here I talked with a guy named Tom Steber who runs a sport-fishing business. He takes people into the Gulf to catch really big fish. I got him on video to tell me that sharks are taking over the world and the Discovery Channel has it all wrong. OK, that’s another fib. Tom was fantastic and gave me some really good info on sharks and shark week and the oil spill. Give this a look and listen.