Documentary about 1916 Jersey attacks airs

The Discovery Channel will kick off their Shark Week Aug. 2 when they air “Blood in the Water,” the true-life story that inspired the movie, “Jaws.”
It was loosely based on the 1916 shark attacks that occurred along the Jersey shore when five people were attacked in 12 days.
The 1916 occurrence was the first multiple shark attack in American history, and is considered by some, the reason we fear sharks to this day.
Andy Dehart, Discovery Channel Shark Advisor and Director of Biological Programs at the National Aquarium in Washington, D.C., compares what people knew about sharks in 1916 vs. what we believe today.
In 1916, some thought the 1916 New Jersey attacks were caused by sea turtles; not sharks.
Today, sea turtles are not feared, since they feed on sea grass, jellies, and crustaceans.
A marine biologist published an article following the 1916 New Jersey shark attacks describing great white sharks as an “object of dread” growing to a length of 40 feet.
Today, the maximum length confirmed for the great white shark is 21 feet.
Early ichthyologists believed that a shark’s jaw did not have the power to sever a human leg in a single bite.
Scientists today know that the maximum pressure recorded at a single tooth tip in some shark species is 18 tons per square inch. White sharks have been known to remove limbs and incapacitate large sea lions with one swift strike.
In 1916, scholars did not believe sharks would attack people in temperate waters.
Today, with 35 recorded attacks along the Atlantic coast north of Virginia, we now know that, while extremely rare, sharks can attack people in the cooler northern waters.
In 1916, the U.S. House of Representatives appropriated $5,000 for the eradication of the New Jersey shark threat, fueling the largest-scale animal hunt in history. It led to the slaughter of hundreds of sharks in that summer.
Today, the U.S. House of Representatives is reviewing the Shark Conservation Act of 2009, which would protect sharks from the inhumane and wasteful practice of “finning” and discarding shark carcasses at sea, in an effort to address the huge decline in shark populations around the world.
How would you have your congressional representative respond to the shark population today?
Predator or prey?
And which are you?