604 ECOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR 



indifferent to the same shark moments before. It is noteworthy that these 

 warnings are virtually identical to those discovered in field studies by Johnson 

 and Nelson (1973). 



A striking bit of evidence concerning recognition of the aggressive posture 

 of large sharks was found in a wood carving from the Solomon Islands, in the 

 collections of the Museum of the Northern Territory, Darwin, Australia. The 

 carving was a good representation of a shark in agonistic display posture, 

 holding the body of a man in its mouth. The instructive point could hardly 

 be missed. (Unfortunately, this carving was destroyed, along with the 

 museum, in the disasterous Darwin cyclone of December 1974, and since no 

 comparable artifact has yet been located in the collections of other 

 museums, it is impossible to include an illustration.) Dr. Colin Jack-Hin ton, 

 curator of the Museum of the Northern Territory identified this carving as an 

 illustration of the "Karimanua" legend, in which the victim is attacked by a 

 shark housing the aggressive spirit of a jealous brother. 



As with any myth, the full significance of this can be appreciated only by 

 recognizing that it is a "dramatic shorthand record" of some actual events or 

 possibilities, serving to communicate, teach, or assist the society that per- 

 petuates it (Graves 1959). The superstitious component of the Karimanua 

 myth is obvious. Underlying it, however, the model of a shark, combining 

 agonistic display behavior with a fearful potential result of that behavior, 

 becomes a highly instructive device, communicating an important fact of 

 natural history to as many generations as retain the mythology and associ- 

 ated artwork. Other useful shark models are noted below. 



SHARK FISHING ON FAIS-A CASE STUDY 



The complex knowledge that underlies human practices relative to sharks in 

 the southwestern Pacific can best be appreciated on the basis of a more 

 thorough analysis of a single locality. The situation on Fais, in the Yap 

 district, western Caroline Islands, is a particularly striking example of a 

 shark-oriented culture. 



Fais (also called Feis or Tromelin) is approximately 230 km (145 mi) east 

 of Yap at lat. 9°46'N., long. 140°3l'E. It has an area of 2.8 km 2 and a 

 population of about 250. It is an elevated coral island, surrounded by verti- 

 cal or undercut cliffs 14 to 20 m (45-65 ft) high. The coral reef development 

 around Fais is very scanty, and the typical reef fish thus are scarce. Kramer 

 (1937) reproduced an early sketch chart and provided some brief descrip- 

 tions of fishing methods used by the islanders. Forsberg and Evans (1969) 

 made a botanical survey of Fais; they also noted the local agricultural and 

 mining activities on the island. 



The people of Fais fish specifically for sharks, preferring them to other 

 fishes. The origins and antiquity of this specialization are not known with 

 certainty but may be related to the relative unavailability of reef fish. The 

 argument raised against this interpretation is the situation on Satawal, 

 another island in the Yap district that lacks a surrounding lagoon and has a 



