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Attack Survivors Snap Up Chance to Save Sharks

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Jul 15, 2009 1:40 AM CDT

(Newser) – Victims of shark attacks have gathered in Washington to lend a hand to their one-time foes, reports the Washington Post. The survivors plan to lobby senators to pass a bill setting new restrictions on shark fishing in US waters. A third of the world's shark species are now classified as threatened, and their disappearance is playing havoc with ocean ecosystems, advocates argue.

Many survivors say that while they hated sharks for a long time after being attacked, they eventually grew to respect the huge predators. "We're seriously scarred," said one survivor, an environmentalist whose Achilles tendon was severed by a shark bite. "Some of us are missing limbs, and we have every right to hate sharks. I think the message is: If we can see the value in saving sharks, everyone should."

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"They're only doing what comes natural," says one man who lost an arm in a shark attack. (AP Photo/Hugh E. Gentry)

Overfishing of sharks is causing serious problems in many ocean ecosystems. (AP GRAPHIC)

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They're vicious and they're mean. But I don't have any right to be angry at the shark.
- Chuck Anderson, who lost an arm in a shark attack

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