In the far ago days that you are talking about, there was little or NO international protection for WHITE SHARKS & for SEALS. = The OVER-protection is the TRUE PROBLEM.
(For Tigers, Bulls & other “known to be man-eaters”, the MAJOR problem is CHUMMING-UP & even HAND-FEEDING sharks for the tourist trade, as once the dangerous sharks start associating people with FOOD, we have a REAL problem.)
I’ve studied sharks since I was a “shirttail kid” & once worked for Dr. Eugenia Clark, AKA: “The Lady with a Spear”, so I know a bit about sharks & their behavior.
Yours, TMN78247
Then you know that during those “far ago days” the NY Bight was thought to be a major nursery for whites yet the incidents were very low.
As to the amount of chumming done, I would throw 150+ lbs in a night from late May through Oct. and that was just one boat. Now count all the boats from Captree, Pt. Lookout, Freeport, Sheepshead Bay, Atlantic Highlands, Belmar, Brielle and other ports in those “far ago days” and double it for day trips as well. Plus, day fishing often went into November.
Now I’ll grant you, we weere not hand feeding sharks, but I seriously doubt the amount of chum being thrown today comes anywhere near what was thrown before the government started to destroy the sport fishing industry in the area.