Let’s go ahead and make one thing clear right here: it isn’t. Yes, great whites are awesome. Yes, juvenile great whites seems somewhat manageable. No, harassing great whites, full grown or not, is NEVER a good idea; and, quite frankly, it is exactly that — harassment.
These are the sorts of situations where after 15 to 30 minutes of harassing the shark, it turns and takes a bite out of board or leg; media overreacts and hysteria ensues at local beaches/breaks; policy makers decide that the best response is a cull and execute a mass termination. Overreaching? Maybe. But then again, not really.
Anyway, the takeaway is to not be an idiot.
