Researchers come face to face with huge great white shark

When I first moved to California in 1975, I spent a lot of time sailing and fishing the waters between the mainland and the islands off the Southern state coast. In that time it seemed that we could walk to Catalina on the backs of sharks. Whenever and wherever we stopped to drift fish, sharks would be constantly cruising beneath our boat. In later years I rarely saw even one. I don't know if their disappearance was the result of over fishing or they simply moved on migrating to other waters and may return some day. And I saw the Great Whites. They were truly great in size, the largest cruising alone unlike other varieties that gathered in large numbers. I well remember one instance in which we caught a baby shark on a hook and line and tossed it back. Other fishermen were angry. They insisted we should have killed it. Why? To prevent it from growing up and becoming a danger. Looking around at the hundreds of sharks circling our boat and I had wonder. What danger? None of these presented any danger to us. No, it seems that sharks trigger some deep and dark fear in us which may explain their disappearance. But, like I said, I don't know. I simply don't like killing anything just for the hell of it or out of fear...