OT/ FL: Shark Attacks Are Relatively Rare Occurance In Gulf Of Mexico ....
Slimpickins
Experts: Shark attacks rare
By Gerald Ensley
DEMOCRAT SENIOR WRITER
Dave Volk rents beach chairs, umbrellas and surfboards to tourists visiting
St. George Island. So he is frequently asked: "Are there any sharks in the
water?"
Volk has them perform a simple test: Put a hand in the water and taste it.
"They tell me it tastes salty, and I say, 'Exactly,'
" Volk said. "Because if it's saltwater, then there are sharks in the water.
You just have to deal with that, or you won't have any fun at the beach."
That's also the message from marine experts following a tragic incident
Friday in Pensacola in which a shark bit off the arm of 8-year-old Jessie
Arbogast. Though his arm was reattached, Jessie remains in a coma with
possible brain damage caused by loss of blood.
The attack has drawn international publicity as summer vacationers flock to
the beaches. It has generated particular concern in Florida, which annually
records half the shark attacks worldwide.
Yet experts say the threat of shark attacks today is the same as last week:
"infinitesimally small" - especially in the waters of the Big Bend.
"Incidents like we had last week are absolutely regrettable - but very
rare," said George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File.
"Are there sharks out there? You bet there are. But the fact is, sharks
normally avoid humans because they do not see us as food items."
The ISAF is housed at the Museum of Natural History at the University of
Florida. Started as a U.S. Navy project in 1958, it has chronicled about
3,400 shark attacks worldwide over the past 40 years.
Shark attacks have increased in recent years, topped by a record 79 last
year - of which 34 occurred in Florida. So far this year, there have been 25
reported shark attacks, including 13 in Florida.
But Burgess emphasized the rise in shark attacks does not mean
more-aggressive behavior by sharks, whose populations are declining
worldwide because of overfishing. Instead, he said, it reflects the
increasing number of people who swim, fish, surf and boat in the ocean.
The good news for local beach-goers is that relatively few shark attacks
happen in the Big Bend. Though Florida averages 30 shark attacks a year, all
but one or two occur on the state's more-populous east coast. Daytona Beach
annually leads the state with 10 to 15 shark attacks per year.
Last attack in 1999
The last reported shark attack in Wakulla, Franklin or Gulf counties - home
to such beaches as St. Teresa, St. George Island, Dog Island, Alligator
Point and Cape San Blas - occurred in 1999: Tallahassee fisherman Robert
Bass suffered a 9-inch-long shark bite while floating off Dog Island trying
to repair a stalled boat engine.
Burgess attributes the paucity of Big Bend attacks to the area's relatively
small human population. Bob Hueter, director of the Shark Research Center at
the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, said it's also a function of the
Gulf of Mexico environment. On Florida's Atlantic Ocean coast, the
continental shelf is narrow, concentrating sharks in a smaller area. In the
Gulf, the shelf extends 60 miles into the ocean, "So the sharks just aren't
concentrated as densely," Hueter said.
That's not to say sharks don't swarm around Big Bend beaches. Jack Rudloe,
who operates a marine lab in Panacea, tells of flying over Cape San Blas and
seeing a school of sharks swimming just beyond a line of surf fishermen.
Volk said he routinely sees sharks at the East Pass end of St. George Island
and tells of two encounters with "Ol' Sarge," a 9-foot tiger shark that has
become a St. George Island legend.
Burgess said there are 20 varieties of sharks in Florida waters. More than
90 percent of attacks in Florida are "hit-and-run cases of mistaken
identity," in which small (3 feet to 5 feet) blacktip, mako, sand and other
varieties of sharks nip at a hand or foot thinking it is a fish. Once they
realize their mistake, Burgess said, those small sharks usually swim away
and don't return.
Dangerous sharks
More dangerous are white, tiger and bull sharks, which all grow to more than
7 feet in length and are responsible for most fatal attacks. Last year, bull
sharks killed a swimmer in St. Petersburg and severely injured two swimmers
in Gulf Shores, Ala. It was a bull shark that attacked the boy in Pensacola.
"Though we have fewer numbers of sharks on the west coast, bull sharks are
more prevalent," Hueter said. "So when we have an incident, it's usually
more serious."
Fishing for sharks is a popular activity, with many casting for them from
the surf of beaches such as St. George Island.
Some prize sharks for their meat; properly skinned and marinated, it can be
a delicacy. Since the late 1980s, there has been a market for shark
cartilage, which is ground into pills and sold as a treatment for arthritis.
And many just love the sport.
"Everybody wants to catch 'Jaws,'
" said George Brooks, who sells shark rigging at his bait and tackle store
on St. George Island.
Burgess said there's no evidence shark-fishing draws more sharks - but he
said it can't help.
"Anytime you put bait in the water, that's an attractant," Burgess said.
"One would want to consider carefully the thought process of allowing shark
fishing on beaches that are also hosting human swimmers."
Yet the key is to avoid paranoia. Each year, more people die from heart
attacks and drownings at the beach than from being attacked by a shark.
"We are afraid of sharks because the water is unfamiliar territory; it's a
lack of control, and that's scary," Rudloe said. "But when you consider the
number of people in the water, and the number of hours spent in the water,
it really doesn't happen that often."
Contact Gerald Ensley at gen...@taldem.com or (850) 599-2310.
AVOIDING SHARKS
George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File at the
University of Florida, said there is an "infinitesimally small" chance
anyone will be attacked by a shark. But Burgess said those who wish to
reduce their chances even further should:
Avoid wearing bright clothing and jewelry when swimming. Sharks attack in
search of food and react to bright flashes.
Use extra caution when waters are murky. Sharks won't be able to tell the
flash of skin is attached to a human.
Avoid being in the water during darkness or twilight when sharks are most
active.
Swim close to shore. Swimming farther out isolates you and makes it more
difficult for others to render assistance.
Swim in groups. Sharks are more likely to attack a solitary individual.
Exercise caution when swimming between sandbars or near steep drop-offs.
These are favorite hangouts for sharks.
Stay out of the water if bleeding or menstruating.
Fend off an attack by smacking the shark in the nose with a solid object or
your hand, which should cause it to veer away for a few moments. Then get
out of the water as quickly and noiselessly as possible.
Do not enter the water if sharks are known to be present, and evacuate the
water if sharks are seen.
http://web.tallahasseedemocrat.com/content/tallahassee/2001/07/12/local/0712
.loc.shark.htm
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
Lars Eighner
<Ijt37.42001$J91.2...@bgtnsc06-news.ops.worldnet.att.net>,
the lovely and talented Slim
broadcast on alt.true-crime:
S> any sharks in the water?"
S> Volk has them perform a simple test: Put a hand in the water and
S> taste it.
S> "They tell me it tastes salty, and I say, 'Exactly,'" Volk
S> said. "Because if it's saltwater, then there are sharks in the
S> water. You just have to deal with that, or you won't have any fun
S> at the beach."
Bull sharks, the kind that attacked the boy, can be found in fresh and
brackish water as well and have been found in the Mississippi as far
north as Illinois.
--
Lars Eighner eig...@io.com http://www.io.com/~eighner/
Love is the only game that is not called on account of darkness.
Desi
Slimpickins wrote in message ...
Thanks Slim for posting this, but I read the boy was
Knee-deep in water??? How does a shark tear off your arm
when you are wading only??? And you can bet I will not be
in the water at twilight or wearing flashy stuff or
whatever else they said NOT to do
desi>> not leaving the beach
Merc
Hey Desi, nice to see ya!
You know Ive lived by the ocean all my life and I still swim most days
and I reckon its safer to swim at twilight than to cross a busy road
at twilight!
Merc
GMSpider
>You know Ive lived by the ocean all my life and I still swim most days
>and I reckon its safer to swim at twilight than to cross a busy road
>at twilight!
>
>Merc
When a shark eats you, please have somebody notify us so we know where you went
too. I'll stick to the pool where I can see the bottom.
CONSERVATIVE, n.
A statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from the
Liberal, who wishes to replace them with others.
The Devil's Dictionary
Merc
>>Hey Desi, nice to see ya!
>>You know Ive lived by the ocean all my life and I still swim most days
>>and I reckon its safer to swim at twilight than to cross a busy road
>>at twilight!
>>
>>Merc
>
>When a shark eats you, please have somebody notify us so we know where you went
>too. I'll stick to the pool where I can see the bottom.
>
>
What ya gonna do when you come down to visit? Down here instead of
church on Sundays, we go to the beach! Anyway, Im telling ya Sarah
youll be fine. Dont forget weve survived ATC.... we can out-swim or
thump any little ol shark!
Merc
Slimpickins
"Desi" <de...@cts.com> wrote in message
news:3b4e822c$0$280$e2e...@nntp.cts.com...
**Desi wrote:
>
> Thanks Slim for posting this, but I read the boy was
> Knee-deep in water??? How does a shark tear off your arm
> when you are wading only??? And you can bet I will not be
> in the water at twilight or wearing flashy stuff or
> whatever else they said NOT to do
>
> desi>> not leaving the beach
>
Hi Desi!
I imagine that the boy was actually Sitting* in the water with his arms to
his side. It's a very common position and posture that lots of kids and
adults take when just relaxing and/or vegging in the ocean. I've* certainly
sat on the oceans edge like that while simply R&R-ing. Wish I could be at
Dog island right Now doing just that ;-)! But it's Sooo darned hot and Humid
here in the panhandle that Only being immerced in the water can one Stand
being out in this heat! I'd wilt like a flower otherwise.
Slim
Desi
Merc wrote in message ...
>On 13 Jul 2001 11:50:09 GMT, gmsp...@aol.comnojunk
(GMSpider) wrote:
>
>>>Hey Desi, nice to see ya!
>>>You know Ive lived by the ocean all my life and I still
swim most days
>>>and I reckon its safer to swim at twilight than to cross
a busy road
>>>at twilight!
>>>
>>>Merc
Hiya
I'm still staying out of the water for awhile. Happens
everytime I read one of these stories.
desi