Before They Were the Enemy

Okay, so maybe our species doesn't really kill 100 million sharks per year, as is so widely reported. But even if the true figure is closer to 26 million, that's still a heckuva lot of fish—and far out of proportion to the number of humans who annually perish in shark attacks. Blame Jaws if you must, but it's obvious we have little respect for the sharp-toothed kings of the sea.

And so it's instructive to note the relationship that Hawaiians of yore had with sharks, which could be accurately ...