Who let the sharks in?

Here is a story told by Betsybug

The maritime watchdog (the Maritime Authority or MA) has put out a warning about the dangers of sharks - "look, long sharp teeth, large mouth, strong bite. Stay away at all costs. You could be killed by these predators".

After putting out this warning, it stands idly by when a seaside resort (let's call it the Delmar Beach Sports Seaside or DBSS) lets in sharks into its swimming lagoon. They have made a huge investment by advertising this new attraction at its resort. Many holiday-makers visit the resort as a result of this promotion. Nobody notices that the sharks were promoted as an exotic dog-fish species. In a foot-note in the promotion brochure, there is mention of the dog-fish species which called by its proper scientic name, "Carcharodon carcharias". Its layman's name is the Great White Shark. However, no-one quite understood all the marine biology jargon. Everyone thought this was a safe holiday at home, far from fears of terrorism and air-crashes.

The DBSS resort tells the holiday-makers, "Don't worry, this is a unique resort attraction. You are perfectly safe as long as you stay within the lagoon. It's not like you are swimming in the open sea. Go right ahead and swim and you will have a good time". The holiday-makers, being rather trusting of this reputable resort, proceed to wade out into the lagoon. Soon, entire families were having a wonderful time, splashing merrily in the cool waters of the lagoon. Everyone thought this was a perfect holiday.

The inevitable happens - someone has a little accident and suffers a small cut. Unfortunately, the sharks detected the minute amount of blood and their predatory instincts kicked in. They begin to attack and gobble up the poor swimmers. The carnage is quite heart-breaking. Young and old are killed or are maimed and injured. The swimming lagoon is awash with blood and gore, and very few managed to crawl out of the lagoon untouched.

The resort's lifeguards are not much help - after all, this was not something they trained for. They knew about CPR and water rescues, but shark attacks were completely new to them. Ambulances were called, but for many of the victims, help came too late. In the aftermath of the disaster, the DBSS management was hard to reach for comments. They asked that all enquiries be sent to its PR department, and that all queries will be handled in due time.

Meanwhile, MA said that the families of victims or surviving victims should put in their claims for compensation to DBSS. It said that DBSS is the correct party to judge whether the claims are valid or not. It also reminds everyone that it has issued a warning about sharks. An MA official said that there is inherent risk in every activity even on holidays. And the more fun you have, the greater is the risk you run.

A prominent marine biologist, Mr TK Lynch set up a support centre to counsel and answer the questions by the bewildered families who have lost their loved ones. He helps organise support group meetings, and writes to the MA to seek answers and redress. At the time of writing, nothing has yet happened. Meanwhile, throughout the country, at many wakes and funerals, the grieving continues and many heart-rending questions are sent skywards. But no answers descend.