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Shark Hook Removal

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Sharks will be sharks and will try to get the easy meal by going after fishermen lures and fish. Some people also try to specifically fish sharks. In any case sharks show up on the dives with multiple hooks. In this footage Cristina is working with a female Caribbean Reef Shark, known as Foggy Eye, about 7 and half feet long, she lost her eye to unknown causes June 2012. Foggy Eye is routinely present on the dives. On Monday August 12th she showed up with one hook, which was removed, then showed up again on Thursday August 15th with a different one embed on the bottom of her mouth. The stainless steel lure was dangling from the shark mouth but no signs of hook on the outside. Cristina lured several times the shark in and checked the position of the hook by opening the shark mouth. The shark, wild animal, does not understand that pain is going to be followed by relief and moves as soon as the hook is touched, but keeps coming back for repeated attempts. Not shown in the video is the fact that the work lasted over 25 minutes. Cristina Zenato is a professional diver and shark handler. She has been working with sharks for 19 years and part of her work is to feed and handle these creatures in the wild. While working with them Cristina has developed a technique to put the sharks into a state of tonic. Used to show people a different side of sharks, to collect DNA and to remove hooks Cristina has been educating people about shark conservation for as long as she has worked with them. In the Bahamas, where this video was taken, Cristina works with the same sharks and keeps a log of their features, presence, behavior. Each sharks is recognized by distinctive marks and/or name. The suit Cristina wears is a stainless steel suit created to prevent accidental bites. When not working in direct contact and feeding them Cristina dives and free dives with the same sharks without protection. By donning a protective barrier she has been able to allow the sharks to come in closer and to pet them into a trance state like known as Tonic Immobility. As part of her work she shares her passion and techniques with divers from all over the world. Cristina's work, supported by PEW organization has allowed her to promote the establishment of laws in the Bahamas, where sharks now are 100% protected from commercial import, export, landing, use and selling. Her aim is for people to wonder and question their actual knowledge and give her a chance to respond and explain. She does not feel her work is crazy.

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