Who is a diver who encounters sharks?

[raid]

With 50,000 RFF members, there should be some members who are divers (as a sport) and who sometimes encounter sharks.

Maybe then you have read about Dr. Erich Ritter. He is a Swiss scientist who specializes in Human-Shark interaction, with a shark school in the Bahamas.

I have been doing research with him since about 4 years now.
Our most recent findings:

1. Sharks swim closer to a swimmer when the swimmer is in a horizontal position.
2. There is a shark attack cluster in the central part of the East Coast Florida shores.

I am curious.

 

[tj01]

5-6 years ago, there are plenty of sharks around our waters, white tip, black tip, nurse, hammerheads. These days they are less and juvenile.
In a few years time, there would be hardly any to study.

 

[Bob Michaels]

.................. 2. There is a shark attack cluster in the central part of the East Coast Florida shores. ...............

Yep, that is the Daytona Beach (Volusia County) and Cape Canaveral / Cocoa Beach / Melbourne Beach (Brevard County) area where many surfers get nipped every year. Next to no major damage though. Come on down, we'll go surfing.

 

[raid]

Yep, that is the Daytona Beach (Volusia County) and Cape Canaveral / Cocoa Beach / Melbourne Beach (Brevard County) area where many surfers get nipped every year. Next to no major damage though. Come on down, we'll go surfing.

So the shark attacks are not fatal quite often?
This is good to know, Bob.
It is also the area where non-suring shark attacks are most likely to occur on the eastern coast of Florida.

Thanks for the invite.

 

[raid]

The chances of getting attacked by a shark for California is interesting. While more attacks occur in the southern part, the chances are higher in the northern part.

Anyone from there?

 

[bigeye]

A long time ago, Surfer had a back page had a great picture taken by a diver, looking up from the bottom at New Smyrna (I think) of the silouettes of several surfers sitting on their boards, legs dangling, and several sharks circling a few feet below. The title was "Eenie Meenie Mynie Moe..."

.

 

[raid]

i am teaming up with Erich Ritter to challenge and unveil myths about sharks and to use scientifc experiments to obtain solid results.


There are many sharks at Pensacola Beach, and we don't hear about shark attacks here. In Northern CA there are the white sharks, and there are seals. Sharks eat seals for "dinner", so to speak. If you look like a seal, then a shark may gtake a bit to sample ....


"Eenie Meenie Mynie Moe..."

 

[Bob Michaels]

So the shark attacks are not fatal quite often?
....................

Raid: almost all of our shark bites are where a small shark bumps into something (or, someone) in the turbulent water of the surf, puts its mouth around the object to see if it is something than can be eaten, then moves on. The common result is a surfer with 50-100 stitches, a good story and an occasional appearance on TV telling everyone how they will be back surfing as soon as they heal up. I cannot remember when we had a fatal shark attack locally even though we are the shark bite capital.

 

[Thardy]

Here's a list of shark attacks in 2012. Interesting.

http://sharkfacts.hubpages.com/hub/US-Shark-Attacks-2012

 

[burancap]

Raid: almost all of our shark bites are where a small shark bumps into something (or, someone) in the turbulent water of the surf, puts its mouth around the object to see if it is something than can be eaten, then moves on. The common result is a surfer with 50-100 stitches, a good story and an occasional appearance on TV telling everyone how they will be back surfing as soon as they heal up. I cannot remember when we had a fatal shark attack locally even though we are the shark bite capital.

I would agree with that.

In my previous life, about 30 years ago and a lot less pounds ... I was a FL Gold Coast surfer hubbed at Trespass Break in Deerfield.

As you mention, I was actually bitten the exact same way. Not by a shark nor even a 'cuda we believed, but by a Bluefish! No stitches, but a very cool wound that I showed every bikini until it healed.

While there were certainly sharks in the water (all around us - saw some crazy stuff), I never had a physical encounter. I can't remember any specific instances of any friends having an encounter. I do not recall any fatalities. However, there was a strange incident in about '85-'86 during a good storm when a construction worker went out for a lunchtime dip and was never seen again. Rumors had a shark involved, but my guess was the fellow drowned.

As far as Gold vs. Gulf ... I was always of the opinion that the Gulf has many more attacks, fatal or otherwise.

Interesting stuff.

 

[raid]

It seems that white shark attacks in California are more serious.

 

[denizg7]

Not Bull**** but when I was on my friends summer house in brigintine we swam far out and there was a steep sand out in the ocean where you could stand still...

a baby shark did appear extremly close to me , but i ddid not do a sudden movement and eventually it swam away..

I used to be a diver in middle school and a damn good one

 

[raid]

Erich Ritter is the authority on human-shark interaction studies that are based on scientifcally designed experiment and not driven by tabloid level "research".

Food for thought: do swimmers have a higher chance of being approached by sharks during a full moon day?

 

[Paul Jenkin]

I'm PADI open water qualified and although I haven't had massive exposure to sharks, I've swum with White Tip reef sharks in the Maldives (they seemed more nervous of us than we were about them) and White Tip (not sure whether oceanic or reef) off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Again, they seemed very docile and slightly skittish. Both experiences were in daytime. I haven't (and wouldn't wish to) dive with sharks at night - i.e. feeding time.

 

[Guaranteed]

Back when I was quite a bit younger I used to dive, sadly I've never seen a shark other than the ones at the aquarium. The closest I've come to having anything munching on me was a barracuda circling us at Stingray City.