Much of what most people know about sharks are in fact, false. This
article is based on various scientific research and other shark articles
written by people who study sharks.

Myth #1: Shark Attacks are Common
Shark attacks are quite rare.
See
Fact Stats

Myth #2: Sharks Have Poor Vision
Sharks' eyes, which are equipped to distinguish colors, employ a lens up
to seven times as powerful as a human's, and some shark species can
detect a light that is as much as ten times dimmer than the dimmest
light the average person can see.

Myth #3: Sharks Eat All the Time Everytime
Sharks eat periodically depending upon their metabolism and the
availability of food. For example, juvenile lemon sharks eat less than
2% of their body weight per day.

Myth #4: Sharks Go Crazy Over Human Blood
Most sharks don't appear to be especially interested in the blood of
mammals as opposed to fish blood.

Myth #5: Sharks are only Found on Salt Water
A specialized osmoregulatory system enables the bull shark to cope with
dramatic changes in salinity -- from the freshwaters of some rivers to
the highly saline waters of the ocean.

Myth #6: All Sharks are Fast Swimmers
Although some sharks may swim at bursts of over 20 knots (23 miles per
hour), most sharks swim very slowly at cruising speeds of less than 5
knots (5.75 miles per hour).

Myth #7: Sharks are Dumb
Sharks' relatively large and complex brains are comparable in size to
those of supposedly more advanced animals like mammals and birds. Sharks
also can be trained.

Myth #8: Shark Meat is Poisonous
Although there have been some reports of people being poisoned by shark
meat, the meat from the majority of sharks is edible and delicious when
properly handled and prepared.

Myth #9: Sharks are Hard to Kill
Stress of capture weakens a shark, and so some sharks are easily killed
in hook-and-line or net fishing.

Myth #10: Sharks are Man-Killers
Of the more then 350 shark species, about 80% are unable to hurt people
or rarely encounter people.

Source: Myths and Legends