About 80 incidents with sharks in
2007.
2008 - 97 recorded incidents
2009--96 incidents--4 fatal
2009
As there are so many sites out there
now for shark attack info, this will be the last year for this site...just not
enough quality internet time any more..
2010--starts the year in South Africa (Fatal) and Florida---of all places--
Mr Brougham was swimming
about 20m off the shore looking for shellfish at a cove near the town of
Normanville on SA’s Fleurieu Peninsula when he was bitten by the shark, which
was estimated to be almost 3m (10ft) long.
He said he was
resurfacing after diving down to the ocean floor to see if there were any fish
to catch when he felt something bite. After fighting off the shark he swam to
the cliffs where the brother of his girlfriend was fishing, to raise the alarm.
“The swim from where it happened to the cliff felt like forever,” Mr Brougham
said.
He was treated by
doctors at a nearby hospital and will need further surgery on his ankle after
his Achilles tendon was almost ripped off in the attack, but Mr Brougham said he
is simply happy to be alive.
On October 24, 2009
Scott Barton and his companion, Emily Sondergaard, were surfing San Onofre State
Beach at Trail 5. It was 5:30 PM and they had been on the water 45 minutes. They
were about 20 yards from shore in water 4 feet deep with an estimated
temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit and visibility of 3 – 4 feet. The ocean was
calm with a clear sky and an estimated air temperature of 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
No marine mammals were observed in the area.
Barton reported; “My
girlfriend and I were surfing at Trail 5 Saturday evening. It was a beautiful
afternoon, with almost no wind, warm air and water, and 2 – 4 foot waves coming
in. Several fish were felt and seen in the water around my feet and legs prior
to the incident. They appeared to be grunion. I had just caught a wave and rode
it in, and was turning my board around to paddle back out.
As I was about to get
back on my board to begin paddling, I felt something brush against the calf of
my leg. I was wearing a spring suit, so I could distinctly feel that it was some
type of animal, and not just a piece of kelp or seaweed. It startled me, so I
kind of jumped up a bit to try to get back on my board, but before I could, I
felt several sharp teeth puncture my big toe and underside of my left foot. It
caused a sharp pain, and I knew instantly that I was bleeding.
My first reaction was to
try to get it off so I shook my leg hard, and it let go. I called to my
girlfriend that I had just been bitten, and that we should get out of the water.
So we both exited the water and walked up the beach. It was there that I
discovered three puncture wounds on my big toe and one on the arch of my foot.
This was clearly not a stingray wound or anything else I could think of. Then we
cleaned and dried the cuts on the beach and went home.”
The three punctures to
the top of the left foot/big toe demonstrate an ‘interspace measurement' of 1
centimeter, or 0.4 inches, between each cut. The slice to the arch of the left
foot is approximately one-half inch in length. The configuration and spacing of
the individual tooth punctures is consistent with upper and lower jaw teeth of a
small shark. Please report any shark sighting, encounter or attack to the Shark
Research Committee.
KIHEI, Hawaii — A 54-year-old man has been attacked by a shark while surfing at
Kalama Beach Park on Maui.
Maui County spokeswoman Mahina Martin says the unidentified man was bitten
Monday morning in the upper right thigh and the lower part of his right ankle.
The man was transported to Maui Memorial Medical Center. His condition wasn't
immediately available.
Martin says the shark is believed to have been a 6- to 8-foot sand shark.
In response to the shark attack that occurred shortly after 6 a.m., ocean use
from the south end of Kamaole 1 Beach Park to Waiohuli Road in Kihei was closed
to beachgoers until sunset.
County and state personnel will continue to patrol and monitor the shoreline and
near shore waters throughout the day.
Matt Bowen,
23, from Warrington, survived the attack when the 10ft (3m) Bull shark sank its
teeth into his leg. -
Mr Bowen needed surgery and physiotherapy to help him walk again
A Cheshire man has described the moment he was bitten by a shark while diving
off the west coast of Australia as a "horror story".
Matt Bowen, 23, from Warrington, survived the attack when the 10ft (3m) Bull
shark sank its teeth into his leg.
The gas fitter, who was in Australia as part of a round-the-world trip, was
taken to hospital in Albany before being moved to Perth for surgery.
He has a permanent scar and needed six weeks of physiotherapy to walk again.
Mr Bowen told BBC News: "I just could not believe it, it was kind of like one of
those horror stories.
"I turned around and it was there, I panicked, then adrenaline kicked in and I
kicked like crazy."
He managed to get free from the shark's jaws by kicking it and swimming with a
fellow diver to the surface to call for help.
Bull sharks, described as unpredictable and aggressive, are said to be one of
the top four most dangerous species of shark in the world.
Mr Bowen, who decided to stay in Australia and continue his travels, said the
attack had not deterred him from going diving in the future.
"Diving has been the best thing I have done since I've been travelling, I know
it is random, the attack, so it won't put me off, " he added.
He initially though the bite was his friend playing a prank until he saw the
shark.
"I kind of felt the bite, then it chomped on me, and shook me a little bit.
"It was the initial bite and after that it just went numb."
Daniel Callahan went for one last swim at his Key Colony Beach
home. He had sold the home and went for a final swim at about 5:30 PM on
September 26th, 2009. Upon jumping in he was attacked by an estimated 8 foot
bull shark. The shark bit his foot. He was able to escape and required 130
internal and external stitches to close the wounds on his foot.
Authorities Say Richard Snead Went Swimming Off Outer Banks
POSTED: 9:36 pm EDT September 14, 2009 UPDATED: 7:25 pm EDT
September 18, 2009
A
Ross Township man
who disappeared in the water off the North Carolina coast has been found dead,
bitten by a shark.
The body of Richard A.
Snead, 60, was discovered Thursday morning on the beach in Kill Devil Hills,
according to a statement from Currituck County Sheriff Susan Johnson's office.
"He was a wonderful
person, wonderful father, wonderful husband, just became a grandfather about a
year ago and was going to be a grandfather again here in November," next-door
neighbor Al Bialek told Channel 4 Action News.
Local police said Snead
was last seen going swimming off the Outer Banks at about 10:30 p.m. Saturday.
The beach was marked
with red flags, warning people to stay out of the water, police said.
The
state medical examiner's office in Greenville, N.C., determined the cause of
death to be injuries from a shark bite.
Mossel Bay local surfer
Gerhard van Zyl died this weekend after being
attacked by an unidentified species of shark at
Glentana Bay, close to Mossel bay. Van Zyl was
surfing at Glentana Bay with a friend at around
15:00 on Saturday the 29th of August when the attack
took place. The Shark bit his leg off above the knee
during the attack, and Van Zyl was helped to the
beach by his friend, who applied a tourniquet to his
leg while they waited for assistance. Authorities
soon after the attack and Van Zyl was airlifted to a
hospital in George. Unfortunately despite the
medical teams best efforts, he was declared dead
shortly after arrival at the hospital. According to
Southern Cape Surfing chairman Mike Sheppard, this
is the first recorded shark attack at Glentana bay,
which is becoming a popular surf spot. “It is an
active stretch of beach. Surfers are making use of
it more and more, but this is the first we've heard
of a shark attack there.” Sheppard said. Sheppard
also said the event had saddened the local surfing
community, “Everyone's emotional, it's a very sad
day for us. You have lots of people surfing here
each day and this really hits home for us.” He said.
Condolences have gone out to the Van Zyl Family from
the local surfing community.
POSTED: 4:11 pm PDT September 1,
2009UPDATED: 6:59 pm PDT September 1, 2009
SAN DIEGO -- An Encinitas woman
is recovering after she was attacked by a shark last Tuesday at Terramar Beach
in Carlsbad.A day of swimming and taking underwater pictures turned into a
frantic experience for Bethany Edmund."I felt a sharp pinching pain on my foot,"
said Edmund. The pain came from a shark sinking its teeth into her foot. The
water she was in was 8- to 10-feet deep, and she thought she had kicked a
reef."I started swimming sideways on my side and that's when I got hit for the
third time, about 30 seconds after I started swimming and that one propelled me
about a foot out of the water," said Edmund.But then Edmund was hit again, and
the force caused a big bruise on her leg.She said, "I literally felt someone
took my ankle and yanked me backwards, and I thought it was the swimmers that
were near me. So I surfaced and I looked around and said, 'Hey, don't pull my
foot, it's not funny guys,' and they were like, 'We didn't touch you; we're 10
feet from you.'"The shark took another bite on her calf."I went and caught the
next wave and I felt the same sharp pain on my calf, but this time I got pulled
down and shaken around for four or five seconds and I accidently kicked it and
it let me go and to that point I was in waist-high water and I started running,"
said Edmund.After looking at the pictures Edmund took, one shark expert told
10News the puncture wounds came from a baby Great White shark.The expert said
the shark was about 5- to 6-feet long next to Edmund, who is 5 feet 3 inches
tall.Adult Great White sharks can grow up to 20-feet long, and Edmund's
encounter was not the first report of Great Whites in the area.Last year,
triathlete David Martin died when a Great White shark attacked him in Solana
Beach.The expert said Edmund's bright-green toenail polish might have triggered
the attack."The water was clear enough that the sun could hit my nail polish and
reflect it, and so he (the expert) says the first bite was thinking it was a
fish and it realized it didn't want me then I wasn't leaving the area and then
it got aggressive because maybe that's it's area to hunt," said
Edmund.Lifeguards said they looked for the shark but were not able to locate it,
and no further shark sightings have been reported since Edmund's encounter.In
the meantime, Edmund's love for the water has not wavered as she was back in the
ocean just two days after the attack.
A tourist from Spain has become
the 7th person this year to be bitten by a shark off Volusia County waters.
26-year-old man suffered a minor bite on his left foot, as he sat on his
surfboard, waiting for a wave about a mile north of Beach Street, said Volusia
County Beach Patrol Capt. Scott Petersohn. The bite occurred around 7 p.m., and
though it’s not the usual spot for shark bites (well north of the known spot in
New Smyrna Beach), Petersohn thought that the fact that it occurred close to
nightfall may have been a factor. Beachgoers may have noticed the purple flags
flying at the lifeguard towers.Purple, according to the colored flag system,
means the presence of dangerous marine creatures. That can mean sharks, but in
this case, it actually refers to a handful of stings, possibly jellyfish stings,
reported in recent days. Petersohn suspected the culprit may have been sea
nettles or sea wasps, rather than jellyfish, but the few stings have been minor
and easily treated.
This Beach Beat reporter,
enjoying Sunday afternoon with my son, actually saw a dozen deteriorating
jellyfish bodies wash ashore. None of them were alive by the time they hit the
sand. They didn’t even have tentacles These type of jellyfish, which shows up
seasonally, aren’t the type that normally sting. Still, the purple flags are up
as a warning. Chris Haynes Jr., the Jackson businessman bitten by a shark over
the weekend, is still in a hospital recovering - and is even considering going
back to the same spot."He's fine," Chip Haynes said of his father. "He's not
nearly as shocked about it as the rest of us."Haynes Jr., 62, is listed in fair
condition at the University of Mississippi Medical Center following preliminary
surgery on Monday.Surgeons at the Jackson hospital "made an incision on his foot
to see what's going on, cleaned it out really well, and will wait until
Wednesday to try and fix it," Chip Haynes said.Haynes Jr. was bitten on the foot
Saturday as he and others fished for speckled trout in waist-high water near
Breton Sound, about 85 miles southeast of New Orleans. On Wednesday, surgeons
will try to repair damaged tendons in his foot, his son said.Chip Haynes, 20,
was one of a half-dozen Jackson-area men on the fishing trip who witnessed the
attack on his father, the owner of Chris Haynes Electric Supply Inc. in
Jackson.Joe Gex, 45, of Ridgeland was another.We love fishing the Breton Sound
and had gotten a good fishing report from Curlew Island, south of Breton
Island," Gex said."We had done this routine many times without any hitches,
other than bug bites or a hook in the finger."Who would have thought there would
be a shark attack?"Curlew Island, site of the attack, has been under water the
past few years, Gex said. "You have to find it with a GPS."The fishing party
anchored Haynes Jr.'s 30- to-34-foot boat, The Predator, on Saturday morning
near the island. Because they were catching mostly ladyfish, they moved farther
north.That's where Gex caught a five-pound speckled trout."Then Chris Jr. came
over to join me," Gex said. "And I looked in the water and said, 'There's a
pretty good shark in front of us.'"As soon as I said it, the shark, just as fast
as he could, ran into Chris."I asked him if he was OK, and he said, 'He knocked
me down but didn't bite me.' "A couple of the men in the fishing party climbed
into the boat; but Gex, Chris Haynes Jr. and others stayed put."About five
minutes later, I heard my son, Joseph yell, 'Shark!' " Gex said."This time, he
attacked Chris and wouldn't let go."Standing on The Predator about 300 yards
away, Chip Haynes saw his father drop."I thought it was a stingray at first," he
said.Gex and George Stewart helped the injured man limp toward The Predator
while Chip Haynes guided the boat as close to them as he dared in the shallow
water."There was a lot of blood, Gex said. "He was bleeding in the water with
the sharks."On the boat, the men used towels on Haynes Jr.'s leg as a tourniquet
and held them together with electrical tape.They radioed the Coast Guard, which
sent a helicopter to take Haynes Jr. to a New Orleans-area hospital. Later, an
ambulance transported him to UMC.As on other trips, the anglers had kept their
catch on stringers that floated on the water behind them.The stringers are
hooked to belts the anglers wear, said Walter Moses, a salesman with Haynes
Jr.'s business who wasn't able to make this trip."If a shark hits your stringer,
you've got to have the presence of mind to undo your hook from the belt; if you
don't, you're going with the shark," Moses said."A few years ago, a shark went
after my fish, and I was almost dinner."One expert advises anglers against using
stringers."You're basically sending a signal to any shark nearby that here's a
free meal," said Eric Hoffmayer, shark biologist at Gulf Coast Research
Laboratory in Ocean Springs.The shark who bit Haynes Jr. could have been a bull,
lemon, black-tip or tiger, he said."They can all get relatively large and do a
lot of damage."
Posted: Aug 3, 2009 04:20 PM EDT
Monday, August 3, 2009Reported by: NBC News
A Florida teen is recovering
after surviving a shark attack while diving in the Bahamas.The spearfishing trip
turned into a big scare for Derek Mitchell and his father Dale. Derek, his
father and some neighbors were spearfishing off Spanish Cay when they noticed a
couple of sharks close byWhen one of the guys they were with caught a fish and
did not bring it up in time, a 7-pound Bull shark got a whiff and headed right
for them."Because Derek didn't have a fish, I knew the shark would turn around
and go away," said Dale Mitchell.
The shark did turn away, but
seconds later, it turned around and grabbed onto Derek's' calf."I didn't even
know I got bitten. I thought I just got bumped by the shark, it didn't even go
through my mind 'til I saw some blood," said Derek.Dale and some of the guys on
the boat used a spear to scare the shark away, but it was too late. The bite was
very deep and Derek could hardly move.After he got onto the boat they rushed to
get the teen to a hospital for treatment.Within hours they charted a plane to
fly Derek back to Palm Beach International Airport where paramedics were
standing by. When he arrived paramedics rushed him to St. Mary's Medical Center,
where he underwent surgery to clean and close the wound.The bite punctured
Derek's Achilles tendon, but doctors were able to repair a lot of the damage.
They say the teen should be walking with the help of crutches in the next few
weeks.
Samantha Turnbull | July
31st, 2009Zac Skyring shows just how close he came to the sharp end of a shark
yesterday. Pic: Brad WagnerLESS than two hours after Broken Head 14-year-old Zac
Skyring was attacked by a bronze whaler, he was at school telling the tale to
his classmates.Zac went for a surf about 6.15am yesterday as he does every
morning at Broken Head, south of Byron Bay and within walking distance of his
home.While he was paddling out between the breaks known as Derek's and The
Rivermouth, he saw a 1.5m shark swim up underneath his surfboard."It was like a
bronze flash and it happened really fast," he said.The shark hit the underside
of Zac's board and catapulted him through the air."It was really forceful, very
strong," he said."But I was in shock -- I didn't really know what had
happened."His father Nigel Skyring was about 50m away and saw the whole thing.He
said when he noticed the shark he immediately began paddling towards his son.Zac
had a mouthful of blood which made his dad immediately assume the worst"I
thought, 'Oh no, it's grabbed him. There's blood coming out of his mouth'," said
Mr Skyring.Then Zac jumped back on his board and caught a wave into shore.Mr
Skyring paddled on to the same wave to follow him in."We realised he was
bleeding from the mouth because the board had hit him," he said.When they
reached the sand, they noticed three puncture marks on Zac's left arm.The
shark's teeth had ripped through Zac's wetsuit and also his watchband."It wasn't
a bite though, it's more of a graze," said Zac. "I don't remember it happening.
It didn't hurt at the time but it's a bit sore to touch now."Mr Skyring and Zac
then walked back their house and called Zac's mother Maxine Molyneux who had
left for work.She said she was not sure whether to believe the story at
first."Nigel said, 'Zac's in shock' and I said, 'OK, make sure he has a warm
shower because if he's going to school, he's only got 15 minutes before he has
to be on the bus'," she said.Mr Skyring made his son a hot Milo to calm him down
and Zac called a friend."I think once he had the chat to his mate it helped. It
was a debrief," said Mr Skyring.When Zac got off the phone he decided his story
was too good to miss a day of school at Xavier College in Lennox Head."I was
happy to go," he said."I told everyone about it and showed them my arm. They
couldn't believe it."Mr Skyring and Zac said they would both go out for another
surf this morning at Broken Head and wanted to make it clear they wished the
bronze whaler no harm.
Updated: Tuesday, 28 Jul 2009,
11:50 AM EDTPublished : Tuesday, 28 Jul 2009, 11:48 AM ED
EDINBURG, Texas (AP) - An
Edinburg, Texas teen needed 15 stitches to close a leg wound after a shark bit
her left leg.Deidre Casas said she got an ankle bracelet with a shark tooth to
mark her ordeal.The 14-year-old said she was in the Gulf of Mexico at South
Padre Island on Friday when she reached a sandbar near some hotels.Casas told
KRGV-TV something was tugging on her left leg, then "there was blood
everywhere." The girl headed for shore to get help.Her mother, Joann Casas, said
doctors did X-rays and decided the girl was bitten by a small shark, based on
the type of wound and marks on her lower leg.The cut runs several inches across
the front upper part of the girl's ankle.
HOLDEN BEACH, N.C. — A
26-year-old woman was bitten by a shark in the ocean at Holden Beach, making her
the state’s first shark bite victim this year, officials said.Witnesses told
police that Julia Anne Mittelberg, of Morton, Ill., was bitten while in about
four feet of water off the 400 block of Ocean Boulevard West, said Chief Wallace
W. Layne with the Holden Beach Police Department.Mittelberg told police the
incident happened around 3 p.m. Wednesday. She said she felt something bite her
left foot, then made her way to shore, where she saw a bite on her foot, police
said. George Burgess, curator of the International Shark Attack File at the
University of Florida, which tracks shark attacks nationwide, said the shark
bite is the first reported in North Carolina this year.
None has been reported this
year in South Carolina, he said.
By Jamal Thalji and Kameel
Stanley, Times Staff Writers
In Print: Thursday, July 23,
2009 ST. PETE BEACH — Handyman Wilbur Drummond was working next door when he
joked to the young woman swimming in the murky waters of Boca Ciega Bay that she
better watch out. "I said, 'Girl you better get out of the water,' " he said.
"What if some big fish takes a bite out?" Minutes later, he heard screaming. The
19-year-old woman was bitten by a shark while swimming behind her home on
Wednesday afternoon, according to St. Pete Beach Fire Rescue. Jenna James was
bitten below her right knee, according to St. Pete Beach Fire Marshal Ernie
Hand. She was in the water just 10 to 12 yards from her backyard dock when she
was attacked by an as-yet-unidentified species of shark. The wound was
considered serious but not life-threatening, Hand said. He did not believe the
victim was in danger of losing her leg. James, a graduate of Admiral Farragut
Academy, was taken to Bayfront Medical Center for emergency treatment. She was
rescued from the water by her sister, according to the fire marshal. The sister
pulled her injured sibling out of the water and was treating her wounds when
paramedics arrived. "Her sister, I think, falls in the line of an everyday
hero," Hand said. "Her sister did a great job tending to her. She wrapped the
wound in several towels which became a pressure bandage." James was conscious
while en route to the hospital, the fire marshal said. The incident took place
about 3 p.m. at the family's home at 7015 Boca Ciega Drive. Drummond, 44, said
the sister called him over to help secure the family's dog before paramedics
arrived. He said the flesh on James's bloody leg looked like it had been
shredded. The attack occurred less than 3 miles from the scene of the last shark
bite fatality in the Tampa Bay area. On Aug. 30, 2000, a 9-foot, 400-pound bull
shark killed Thadeus Kubinski, 69, who was swimming off his own backyard dock at
4321 Holland Drive. The shark crushed his rib cage and tore his liver,
authorities said.
Last updated at 11:13 AM on 10th
July 2009A surfer has spoken of the moment he was forced to hang on to a shark’s
tail in a desperate battle to survive.Paul Buckley grabbed hold of the creature
in a bid to restrain it after it sunk its teeth deep into his leg.'I was
actually paddling back to shore because I hadn’t had that great surfing when I
was flipped in the air with such force,' he said. Survivor: Paul Buckley,
left, with Boeta de Witt who helped him get medical help after the shark attack'
I just knew in my gut that it was a shark. It was like a 500lb Rottweiler in a
very bad mood. 'The force was incredible. The first thing I said when I was
attacked was "No, please God not like this."'I didn’t see the shark’s eyes
because his back was towards me but that was when I grabbed its tail. 'No
doubt I was scared. I feared for my life so I just grabbed it. I thought if I
held it by the tail, its mouth could not reach me again.Mr Buckley, 37, was
released after a few seconds and then frantically swam the 100m back to shore
near Stilbaai, which is near the tourist resort of MosselBayon which faces the
Indian Ocean.
Witnesses bundled him into a car
and rushed him to a doctor so the bite - which was nearly 37cm wide and 3cm -
could be closed.The businessman was then taken to hospital where he received 150
stitches. If it had been a little further over to the left or right, or if it
had taken out a chunk, it could have been much worse,' he said.Killer: Sharks
are common off the shores of South Africa but there have been few casualties in
recent years'It’s one of those things that just happens. If you look at the
probability, it’s just so unlikely.'The shark was doing what comes naturally –
looking for food. I owe him one really because he could have easily come back
and clamped his teeth round me but he didn’t and just swam away.'But yes, I’ll
certainly still surf.'LIfeboat spokesman Rico Menezies estimated the shark was
three-and-a-half metres long. 'I’m certain it was a great white,' he
added.Despite the number of sharks that swim off the warm seas of South
Africa, attacks are still quite rare with an average of six a year. Since 1990,
only a quarter have resulted in serious injury and only 12 per cent have been
fatal.Scientists believe surfers are at increased risk because sharks mistake
them for seals, which are easy prey.Great Whites, which can grow up to 6m, are
especially prevalent off False Bay, Cape Town, which has one of the highest
densities of the killer fish in the world
POSTED: Monday, July 6,
2009UPDATED: 9:37 am EDT July 6, 2009
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- A 12-year-old
Ohio girl on a boogie board off Daytona Beach was attacked Sunday by a shark,
officials said. 6th
Shark Attack In Volusia In '09 According to Volusia County Beach Patrol,
the girl was in water about 4-feet deep near the Zelda Beach Approach at about 4
p.m. when the shark bit her ankle. The girl's parents drove her to a hospital,
where she received stitches for her wound. Beach Patrol officials said murky
water and baitfish in the area likely caused the attack. The incident marks the
sixth shark bite in Volusia County this year.
CLEARWATER BEACH -- A tourist from Orlando was
bitten by a shark Monday night in the waters off Clearwater Beach. Dana Joseph
said he was swimming about 100 yards offshore, near Pier 60, when he felt a tug
at his right ankle. Joseph said moments later, he saw a shark about six feet
long, and quickly began swimming back to shore. “I went out in the water a
little too deep, and a shark grabbed my leg,” Joseph said. “I panicked and
called my son, Devin, and he thought I was playing, and I wasn’t. It was a scary
situation. I’m just glad no one else got hurt. It hurt really bad.” Joseph, who
refused a trip to the hospital, suffered an injury to his foot and ankle. He was
treated at the scene. However, Joseph’s wife drove him to an area hospital
later. Late Monday night, fishermen near the pier caught what they said was the
shark involved in the incident
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- Two
people were bit by sharks in separate incidents at New Smyrna Beach Saturday
morning.
Emergency officials said the
bites happened near the jetty, about 100 yards from the shore.The first person,
Dave Bryant, of Sanford, was bitten on his hand. The second is a well-known
doctor from the area, Dr. Bryan Heath, who was bitten on his foot. Both men were
surfing at the time of the bites.As Dave Bryant walked out of the hospital, he
showed off his injuries."It's a little bit sore," he said. "The pain's starting
to kick in. He nailed me. I got about 23 stitches.He said, based on the size of
the bite, he thinks the shark was about 5 feet long."He chomped down and
fortunately released it," Bryant said. "It was like a 100-foot ride in with my
nub tight because I didn't know how bad my hand was bleeding."Fellow surfer and
local photographer Kem McNair captured images of Bryant after first helping
him."I had pressure on his wrist to keep the bleeding down, had it up in the
air," McNair said.As Bryant headed to the hospital, McNair said he noticed
something else in the same place, not far from the rocks where the bites are
common."Within one minute, another truck comes zooming down the beach and I go
down maybe 100 yards and there's another guy laying on the surfboard," he
said.McNair said he knows the man well. He said the victim, of whom he also shot
pictures, is a doctor. The man's ankle was bit."He happened to be riding a wave
in and jumped off the board and landed on the shark," McNair said. "It bit him
when he hit him."Bryant said as soon as his hand heals, he'll be back in the
water surfing."I was in his territory," he said. "I've been doing this for 30
years and this is the first time it's happened. So the odds are in my favor.
I'll be a little bit upset if I get bit a second time."Officials said Saturday's
warm, murky water was inviting for sharks in shallow areas. The bites occurred
in the same general area about five minutes apart, according to Volusia County
Beach Patrol Capt. Scott Petersohn.Petersohn said Saturday's bites were the
third and fourth shark bites of the year for New Smyrna Beach.He said the sharks
in the waters are juvenile, about 2 to 4 feet long. There is no way to know, but
Petersohn said the bites on Saturday could be from the same shark.
Written by Nick Delgado, Pacific
News Center - Guam, Saipan, CNMI, Asia-Pacific
Wednesday, 13 May 2009 17:19
Guam - The 27 year old man who
was bit by a shark off Ritidian point yesterday is recovering after undergoing
surgery at the Guam memorial hospital last night. PNC's Nick Delgado spoke with
the victim of the shark attack and tells his story.A 23-year-old man was bitten
by a shark while swimming in the waters off Mabini town in Batangas province
Philippines.
A 23-year-old man was bitten by
a shark while swimming in the waters off Mabini town in Batangas province, early
Monday morning.Gerald Perez was swimming a few meters with his family near the
shoreline in Barangay San Jose when the shark bit his legs around 5 a.m.Senior
Superintendent Jesus Gatchalian, Batangas provincial police director, said
relatives of the victim rushed him to the Batauan Doctor's Hospital.Garchalian
said the victim lost a lot of blood, but has been declared out of harm by
doctors. With a report from Arnell Ozaeta, ABS-CBN Southern Tagalogas of
04/22/2009 6:37 PM
SYDNEY - A
TEENAGE boy is recovering from leg surgery a day after being mauled by a shark
as he surfed with his father off a popular Sydney beach. Sunday's shark attack
was the area's third in as many weeks. Andrew Lindop, 15, was in the water off
Avalon Beach when a shark bit deeply into his left thigh, its teeth penetrating
to the bone. His ather, Charles, managed to get him to shore and wrapped the
surfboard's leg rope around his son's injury to stop the bleeding. They were
flown by helicopter to Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital where Lindop
underwent a four-hour surgery. The hospital said the boy was recovering
well.Marine experts are working to identify the species of shark responsible for
the latest attack. -- AP
A man has suffered a
shark bite while fishing off Cairns. The man was bitten while fishing at Batt
Reef about 10.15am (AEST) on Sunday, a Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS)
spokeswoman said.QAS paramedics met the vessel at Yorkeys Knob Marina, north of
Cairns, about an hour later and took the man to the Cairns Base Hospital in a
stable condition.It was not clear if he lost his finger in the attack, or
whether he was on a private or chartered fishing vessel.
Fred
Pawle and Matthew Clayfield | February
13, 2009 Article from:
The Australian
A SURFER at Bondi Beach who was the second shark
attack victim in Sydney waters in two days told fellow
surfers he thought he was going to die.
The 33-year-old
surfer, whose first name is Glen, was last night being
treated for severe arm injuries in St Vincent's Hospital.
The incident came only a day after a navy diver was attacked
by a shark in Sydney Harbour, resulting in the loss of a
hand and severe leg injures. A spate of shark attacks and
sightings around Australia this summer has sparked claims
that a ban on killing the animals has led to a surge in
numbers, endangering swimmers and divers. Witness accounts
said Glen, from nearby Dover Heights in the eastern suburbs,
had been sitting on his board about 7.30pm at the southern
end of the beach when the shark leapt, grabbed him by the
arm and dragged him 5m through the water. Bondi surfer James
McIntosh said that when Glen had arrived on the sand, he was
white and his left hand was only just attached to his arm.
He said that Glen thought he was going to die. "He said to
me, 'Tell my wife, Lisa, I love her. She's six months
pregnant'," Mr McIntosh said. "I couldn't believe what I was
seeing. His hand was stuck by a bit of skin, but not
connected any more. "I grabbed his legrope, pulled it off
his leg and wrapped it around his arm. He was trying to
walk, but I told him to stop. I pulled his leg-rope off and
I was just numb to what I was seeing." Mr McIntosh said a
friend had described the attack as ferocious. "The shark
bumped Will's board first, then two seconds later, bang,
this guy who was sitting on his board got attacked," he
said. "It grabbed his arm when he was sitting up on his
board. I don't even know how that happened. You'd think it
would have gone for his leg." A police spokesman said some
off-duty doctors on the beach had helped to stem Glen's
bleeding. Lifeguards said they suspected the man was
attacked by a "bronze whaler about 2m long". The last fatal
shark attack at Bondi occurred in 1929. On January 12 of
that year, 14-year-old bodysurfer Colin Stewart died after
being attacked. Less than a month later, on February 8,
39-year-old John Gibson was killed when a shark bit his
right thigh, severing his femoral artery.
The latest Bondi
attack came a day after navy clearance diver Paul de Gelder
was mauled by a bull shark in Sydney Harbour while
conducting anti-terrorism exercises. Despite severe wounds,
Able Seaman de Gelder was able to fight off the shark,
punching it several times. Surgeons operated for two hours
to stabilise his condition but his family said he had lost
his right hand and could lose his leg. "He's coping very
well mentally," his brother Travis said. "He's a very strong
person with a lot of character. It appears he's supporting
the family at this stage." Organisers of a Sydney Harbour
swimming race say the event will go ahead in less than three
weeks, despite the attack on Able Seaman de Gelder. More
than 850 swimmers are expected to swim in the Sydney Harbour
Swim Classic, from the Opera House to Farm Cove. The move to
proceed with the race came despite calls from the NSW
Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald not to swim in
Sydney Harbour. Since 2006, he has repeatedly said swimmers
should be aware of the risks of open waters. "If swimming in
the harbour, I personally would only swim at netted beaches
or enclosures or harbour pools," he said. "There are a lot
of bull sharks in the harbour at this time of year." Locals
have noticed a sharp increase in shark activity recently.
The Department of Primary Industries is reviewing the NSW
shark netting scheme, and a report is due later this year.
The Sydney Harbour Swim Classic's organisers moved to allay
any fears the event was unsafe, saying the commotion would
scare off predators and divers would monitor swimmers. The
Australian revealed yesterday that Able Seaman de Gelder was
not wearing a navy issue SharkShield, which repels sharks by
emitting electrical waves, because Sydney Harbour was deemed
low-risk. A Defence spokesman said the navy was
investigating its policy regarding the use of
shark-repelling devices. Diving operations have been
suspended until the investigation is concluded. Perth man
Brian Guest was the last Australian to be killed by a shark,
when a 4-4.5m white pointer struck early one morning in
December while he and his son were snorkelling for crabs
about 30m off Port Kennedy beach.
Posted
Wed Jan 28, 2009 2:25pm AEDT
Updated Wed Jan 28, 2009 2:24pm AEDT
A swimmer bitten
by a shark on the New South Wales far south coast at the
weekend says it is lucky he was attacked rather than a
child.Jeremy McDonagh, 19, from Canberra, was swimming
between the flags in a metre of water at Surf Beach, near
Batemans Bay on Saturday, when the shark struck.Mr McDonagh
says children were swimming next to him when the shark
latched on to his arm causing severe bleeding.He says the
wounds needed hospital treatment."It was all infected, so I
had to get antibiotics and tetanus shots because they said
there was bacteria in the shark's mouth," he said."They said
it was all rotten meat, so you can get a real bad infection
and stuff that I didn't realise until the next day when my
hand was all puffed up and killing me."
An off-duty lifeguard was killed by what the Natal
Sharks Board says was a Bull shark while bodysurfing Second Beach in Port St
Johns on Saturday, reports Wavescape.
The nature of the injuries to Sikhanyiso
Bangilizwe, 27, suggest it was a 2.5 metre Bull (Zambezi) shark, said the NSB.
There were three separate bites. The Umzimvubu River is a known area where Bull
sharks give birth to their young. Another fatality followed on Sunday,
yesterday, when a soccer player drowned at the same beach. Lifeguards were not
present because the beach was closed, say locals, who pointed out alleged
unhappiness among lifeguards after alleged mismanagement of the Wild Coast
Guards by the Port St Johns municipilaty. The Eastern Cape resort has had a
nightmare two years, which has seen 14 people drowned, mostly at Second Beach.
"People, many of whom are kids, are bussed from inland towns and cities like
Mthatha. They go into the ocean with no experience, and accidents have happened,
sometimes with an entire group drowning," said a concerned resident. "The
lifeguards are often not paid, and are often not on duty, which is not ideal
when you have inexperienced holidaymakers going into the water." It has also
been claimed that because lifeguards are not always able to perform their
duties, some of the bodies of drowning victims are not recovered, which "might
attract sharks". However, the last fatal shark attack occurred in January 2007,
and before that, it has been 17 years since the last fatality. Manager and coach
of Iliza Surfing Academy Michael Gatcke told Wavescape that the attack occurred
almost to the day two years after another lifeguard, Sibulele Masiza, lost his
life to a shark at the popular swimming beach. Masiza's body was not recovered
after the attack, believed that time to be a tiger. His flippers, one torn, were
the only items recovered. Gatcke's academy, which has seen three development
surfers compete for Border in the SA Champs, had been running a clinic with
about 48 youngsters in the water at Second Beach under two hours before the
attack. "We were running a swimming lesson to get the guys used to the water,
and to prepare them for their first surfing lesson," a relieved Gatcke said. The
Daily Dispatch, reporting on the weekend's attack, said that Tshintshekile Nduve,
a fellow lifeguard, had been swimming with Bangilizwe at 13h30 when he heard
cries. "I saw he was in trouble and the shark on him, I saw blood and I went out
of the water to get help," he was quoted as saying. It was also reported that
Bangilizwe was the sole breadwinner for his family.
* Wavescape is setting up a donation fund for the
Bangilizwe family.
Watch
this space.
Article
from:
By Steve Gee January 13, 2009 12:00am
WHEN a 2m
bullshark grabbed Steven Fogarty's leg as he
snorkelled in the tepid waters of Lake Illawarra,
he thought it was a joke at first.
But after
punching himself free, Mr Fogarty spent a
harrowing five minutes clinging to a bridge
pylon, terrified the shark would return. Even
witnesses looked on in disbelief ignoring the
24-year-old's pleas for help as he desperately
fought off the predator.Finally someone onshore
realised the seriousness of Mr Fogarty's plight
and hailed a fisherman. "I thought it was
someone playing a joke so I turned around and it
wasn't that. I thought I can't be here and
started swinging," he said yesterday.As he
hobbled from Shellharbour Hospital with more
than 40 puncture wounds to his right calf, he
said: "I just done me best. I think I got one on
it and that's probably what got rid of it."Mr
Fogarty was snorkelling alone, following schools
of fish near the Windang Bridge about 1km inland
from the lake entrance south of Wollongong, when
he was attacked about 10.45am yesterday. The
former Illawarra Steelers' junior representative
- a local who has grown up snorkelling in the
area with his father - had been in the water
just 20 minutes when the shark struck.A man was
watching from a bridge overhead as the attack
unfolded in about 2m of water, but initially
turned away, asking Mr Fogarty to be quiet
before realising what was happening. Mr Fogarty
said he swam on his back for several metres
before the man yelled for him to head towards a
bridge pylon. "I was screaming out for help and
everyone just looked at me and kept walking like
nothing had happened," he said. "It was a good
couple of minutes before anyone came."A couple
of people drove past in a boat and others just
looked away and kept going on with what they
were doing. I was scared more than anything. I
thought it was coming back."Mr Fogarty said he
only realised how serious his wounds were when
he was pulled into the boat and checked to "make
sure both legs were there" when he noticed blood
covering his feet. After having dozens of
stitches to three rows of puncture wounds
covering both sides of his calf, Mr Fogarty was
still struggling to come to terms with the
attack as he emerged from hospital more than
five hours later.
A
TEENAGE girl attacked by a shark in Tasmania bravely hit
back at the man-eater and screamed for help, her elder
cousin and rescuer says.
Hannah Mighall, 13, from
Scamander, was dragged under the water several times by a 5m
shark at Binalong Bay, near St Helens, in Tasmania's
northeast yesterday afternoon.Hannah suffered severe
lacerations to a leg and is recovering in the Royal Hobart
Hospital.Her cousin, Queenslander Syb Mundy, 33, who was
paddling nearby on his surfboard, helped fight off the shark
and took Hannah to safety. "She came up and was fighting the
shark and hitting it and screaming 'help me, help me, help
me'," Mr Mundy told Launceston's The Examiner
newspaper. Eyewitnesses said the shark followed them in to
the beach. "She gave me the strength to stay there with her
in the water - when I saw the way she was fighting it off,"
Mr Mundy said. "She was scared but she fought it off."Senior
Sergeant Jason Elmer said at one stage the pair caught a
wave, but the shark was in the same wave. "There's a
significant bite out of the surfboard. "I understand there
was a fair bit of blood in the water." Witness Ian
Hollingsworth said Mr Mundy saved Hannah's life. "The shark
took three bites from her leg, I could see it was dragging
her backwards and trying to get her under the water," Mr
Hollingsworth told The Mercury newspaper. "Her
cousin was brilliant. I can't give him enough praise. He
literally pulled her out of the shark's jaws and saved her
life. "He was fighting the shark and fighting to grab hold
of her. "It was like something out of a Jaws movie.
It was just terrifying." Mr Hollingsworth was surfing just
30m away from Ms Mighall when the shark struck. Mr Mundy
pulled his cousin onto his surfboard and caught a wave to
shore, Mr Hollingsworth said."When we were heading to the
shore, the shark kept circling us all. It was the worst
feeling in the world," he said.
When the three surfers
got to the shore, dozens of onlookers rushed to their aid.
SURFER Jonathan
Beard was lucky to survive an attack by a shark at
Fingal yesterday.Paramedics
said Mr Beard, 31, received a 'substantial bite' to
the upper left thigh while surfing about 70m
offshore at
Dreamtime Beach.The Brisbane man yesterday
remained in a stable condition in the
Gold Coast Hospital. Authorities said the wound
was not life threatening.The attack occurred just
before 9.30am about 500m south of Fingal Headland on
the Tweed Coast. Mr Beard's friend, known only as
Chad, said his mate managed to swim to shore after
being bitten by the shark.“There was an attack from
down below. It hit him on one of the legs,” Chad
said.There were all dolphins surrounding us at the
time. “He knew what had happened. He called out
'shark!' And he got this hit of adrenaline straight
afterwards, which got him in so far and then we
helped him to shore.“I don't really know what to
say, I'm a bit shaken. The main thing is it didn't
hit a main artery and he didn't bleed to death on
us.”Mr Beard's friends were able to stop the
bleeding by using a leg rope from one of their
boards as a tourniquet before surf lifesavers and
paramedics arrived on the scene.NSW Ambulance
paramedics praised the man's friends for their quick
thinking.Kingscliff paramedic Syd Francis said it
appeared Mr Beard lost a lot of blood before his
friends secured the leg. Mr Francis estimated the
deep wound to be about 30cm long and 20cm wide and
said it reached bone.“It was quite a substantial
bite, pretty well down to bone level. There were
also smaller teeth marks around the wound. But there
didn't appear to be any major blood vessel
involvement. He was a lucky man,” he said. “He was
in what we'd class as shock when we got there. His
blood pressure was a bit low and he was pale and
sweating.”Paramedics set up a drip and gave him pain
killers.Surf lifesavers could not say what type of
shark was involved and said nothing was sighted
during a search later.Ian Thomason saw the surfer
after the attack.“It also took a chunk out of his
board. But he was very brave. His mates did a good
job, too. They wrapped him up really well and
stopped the bleeding.”He said no one knew what sort
of shark was involved.
“The guys with
him said they saw just the grey of the body in the
water.”
It's not a case of once bitten twice shy for Hastings man Greg
Sims, who says he's not afraid to re-enter the water after a suspected shark
attack at Haumoana on Tuesday (jan 6). The 49-year-old was enjoying a dip just
south of the Tukituki River mouth with partner Pauline Hayes before he was
attacked at 5.30pm. ``I felt a sharp, painful bite on the back of my leg and
couldn't leave the surf fast enough,' he said. ``I screamed at Pauline to get
out of the water, she just stood there not comprehending what had happened.' Mr
Sims, a registered nurse, then used his towel as a tourniquet to stop the
bleeding before the two drove to Hawke's Bay Hospital. ``It was the most
panicked I've ever seen him,' Ms Hayes said. The family were today still baffled
over what had inflicted the bite from the blue. ``I saw nothing at all. Nothing
broke the water so there was no warning and no sighting. We thought maybe it was
a stingray, but from what we know they leave a sharp whip-like laceration, but
this wound is the shape of a bite, and has taken a chunk of flesh away so we
think it was a shark.' Hawke's Bay Today sent a photograph of the injury to
Department of Conservation scientist and shark expert Clinton Duffy, who agreed
with the couple's theory. ``There appears to be a semi-circular jaw impression
which indicates a shark bite,' Mr Duffy said. ``Plus it's on the upper thigh and
you'd expect a typical stingray attack to be on the lower leg. ``Top of the list
of suspects would be a broadnose sevengill shark (Notorhynchus cepedianus).
This is a common large coastal shark species, which is most abundant near shore
at this time of year.' He said the fact Mr Sims hadn't seen the shark was not
surprising. ``This shark has an almost non-existent dorsal fin so you wouldn't
see it break the surface in shallow water.' The attack hadn't put Mr Sims off
his favourite swimming spot. ``It'd be silly to say never again. I've been
swimming here for 40 years and I've never heard of - let alone experienced - a
shark attack in the area. ``What are the chances of it happening twice?'
A group of kayakers and fishermen have survived a close encounter
with a shark believed to be a great white off Long Reef north of Sydney The
encounter happened on Saturday ( December 27) the same day a suspected shark
attack in is believed to have taken the life of Brian Guest who was snorkelling
in Western Australia.
29-year-old Steve Kulcsar on his kayak
The fishermen alerted the kayakers to the danger after spotting a
large fin in the water. The shark then bumped 29-year-old Steve Kulcsar's kayak,
sending him into the water with the five metre animal.Steve was able to scramble
onto his kayak again and was then pulled into the fishermen's boat. The other
kayakers "rafted" their kayaks against the fishing boat in an effort to find
safety until the shark eventually swam away some ten harrowing minutes
later."This thing comes up behind the boat, it lifts up, it would've been
eye-level with the guy going next to his kayak. He looked. We thought he's
dead." said Kayaker Rick Darmanin once safely back on dry land.Fisherman Darryl
Domoney spoke of the attempt to scare the large predator away.We actually hit
him in the head with the prop. And then we seen him go five metres, ten metres
and a bit more out to sea." Domoney said.These two incidents, along with other
sightings and beach closures have seen some calling for a "culling".But marine
experts say that's an "ill-informed" approach."The idea of a cull on these
species is very ill-informed in my mind, they are a key part of theecosystem."
marine biologist Keiran Mackenzie said.A sentiment echoed by Daniel Guest son of
missing Brian Guest, yesterday's victim of a suspected shark attack near
Rockingham, Western Australia. "This is their territory. You know, and they're
going to do what they're going to do." Daniel said today when he returned to the
scene of his father's disappearance with fellow mourners.The sharks involved in
both attacks yesterday are believed to be White Pointers, a protected species
which means they will be not be culled.
By Richard Shears Last updated at 9:24 AM on 28th December 2008
Feared dead: Brian Guest was snorkelling when a great white shark
struck near Perth, AustraliaA huge shark - believed to be a great white - rolled
over in the water with the body of a man in its jaws in a horror scene described
by witnesses.Bank officer Brian Guest, 51, was grabbed by the shark as he was
snorkelling for crabs with his 24-year-old son Daniel off the coast of Western
Australia today when the feared monster of the deep struck.The water turned red
with blood as the shark carried the father of three away after the attack, just
25 feet from the beach at Port Kennedy, 20 miles south of the State capital,
Perth.Witnesses on the beach told of seeing a 'flash of fin' but local man Luke
Tubbs, who lives near the beach, described a horrific scene in which the shark
could be seen with Mr Guest's body in its jaws.While he did not witness the
event personally, he said it had been described to him by another man who had
run to his home to raise the alarm.'He told me he just saw a big splash and then
the shark roll over in the water with the guy - and then (he saw) no body or
anything.'Police, emergency services and volunteers search the coastline for any
sign of Mr Guest, but his body had not been found several hours after the
terrifying attack.Mr Guest's son was swimming some 20 feet from his father when
the shark struck and while Daniel is understood not to have witnessed the actual
attack, he realised his father was in trouble when he saw the water turn red
with blood.He swam quickly to the beach, shouting for help. Rescuers later
reported they had found parts of a wetsuit believed to belong to the missing
man, as warnings went out to beachgoers to stay out of the water.
A fisherman faced a terrifying 10-minute walk back to shore after
being savaged by a shark while setting his net.Ken Lindberg spent five days in
hospital after suffering serious injuries while fishing with a friend off
Maraetai."We were just checking the net, just walking along lifting the top up a
bit," he told Newstalk ZB."The next thing I felt this almighty clamp go around
my leg. I said to Jeremy, 'We're out of here'."Lindberg said his left leg
started to tighten up as the pair waded back through the surf but was only able
to look when they reached shallow water."All I could see was this almighty gash
and a lot of blood pouring out. I thought, 'All I want to do is get back to
shore'."He made it back to his friend's house where a towel was wrapped around
the wounds to stop the flow of blood.His friend's wife then took him to
Beachlands Medical Centre."The doctor had a look and said, 'It's an ambulance
for you'."Lindberg was pushed out in a wheelchair with his leg still bleeding
and taken to hospital.He needed 10 stitches above his ankle, four stitches to
close his severed Achilles tendon and will not regain any feeling around his
little toe."I haven't been out setting the net since then," Lindberg
said.Department of Conservation shark expert Clinton Duffy said if Lindberg's
wounds were the work of a shark it was probably a bronze whaler.The species can
reach up to 3m in length and are common in New Zealand waters around
summer.While they don't usually attack humans, it could have been attracted to
Lindberg's fishing spot if there were distressed fish in the net. "That would be
enough to attract a shark into the area looking for a feed."
Port Elizabeth - A 15-year-old boy was bitten by a ragged tooth
shark after a long battle between his friend and the shark.
Luke Parker from Port Elizabeth received 45 stitches after the incident at
Plettenberg Bay.
Luke and two friends were fishing on Wednesday evening, when his friend, Guy
Moorecraft, got a bite. Guy struggled for about two hours to get the shark to
shore.
Finally the shark which weighed about 100kg pulled Guy from the rocks into the
shallow water. The fishing line - which can carry up to 40kg - broke.
Guy's two friends, Luke and Ricardo do Pinero - all are 15 and pupils at Grey
High School - quickly jumped in after him.
Grabbed tail fin
Guy grabbed the shark's tail fin and the shark swung to the right and got hold
of Luke's legs and lower body.
Guy was scared the shark would pull Luke into the deep sea. "I immediately bent
over and tried to pull the shark's jaws from Luke's leg."
Luke finally managed to free himself and ran to the beach, where paramedics from
the National Sea Rescue Institute took him to the NSRI station for treatment. "I
didn't really feel much pain, because I was too shocked," said Luke from his
parents' home in Port Elizabeth.
"Only once I saw the blood running down my leg, did it become painful."
The shark disappeared into the waves.
During December 2008, Darryl Kriel was attacked by a shark whilst
spearfishing at Chidenguele in southern Mozambique. He was spearfishing with a
local spearo on a shore dive when the attack took place. He was in shallow water
when he was bitten on the upper part of his leg. The attack was fatal and our
condolences go to his family and friends.
One
crew member was killed by a shark and another 18 were missing after a Taiwanese
fishing vessel capsized in rough seas off Taiwan's southern tip, rescue services
said yesterday. The Kaohsiung-registered fishing trawler Fu Chi Hsiang 767
carried a crew of 28, including six Taiwanese nationals, twelve Chinese, eight
Vietnamese and two Filipinos, rescue services said.Only nine crew members were
rescued by yesterday noon, with 18 still missing. One of the rescued crew told
reporters that he had seen one of his colleagues, 45-year-old Taiwanese citizen
Chen Te-hsing, being attacked and bitten by a shark. The other fishermen held on
to Chen for hours, but loss of blood sent him into shock, the eyewitness said. A
wave sent Chen to the bottom of the sea, he said. Rescue workers were unable to
recover his body.A helicopter found the first group of seven survivors, three
Taiwanese, two Chinese and two Vietnamese nationals. Later yesterday afternoon,
a rescue vessel found another two Vietnamese crew members, the coastguard
said.The men spent more than 16 hours in the cold water, but three of the
survivors were let out of hospital yesterday evening.
BAGUIO
CITY – A 39-year-old fisherman from the fishing village of Callaguip, Paoay town
in Ilocos Norte was attacked and killed by a shark before noon Thursday.Local
fisherman Joel Bacud who was with his 17-year-old son Louie, some three hours
away at high waters off the South China Sea along the northern town coast went
fishing aboard their motorized banca when the elder Bacud dived in deep water to
check on their fishing net.A shark suddenly sprung and attacked the elder Bacud,
said Paoay town police chief Senior Inspector Dexter Corpuz in a telephone
interview.It was not known if Bacud had a wound because sharks only attack after
smelling blood.When retrieved from the waters Thursday noontime, Bacud was
already lifeless.The father and son went fishing around 5 a.m. and the attack
happened around 10 to 11 a.m.The attack happened about three hours away by
travel from the shoreline, Bacud said.The victim’s son Louie, 17, who was
unhurt, brought his father’s body along the shoreline using their motorized
banca.He said that the elder Bacud jumped off from the motorized banca with some
bloodied fish catch which apparently drew the shark’s attention.
Eleven-year-old
Hudson Anthony survived a nibble from a sand shark while wading in the waters of
Santa Rosa, FL. Hudson was standing alone in a school of minnows in waist-deep
water on Oct. 8 when he felt an intense, sharp pain. Then he saw a nice, big
gash.“Shark Bait” was taken to Sacred Heart Hospital in Santa Rosa where the
family learned from hospital officials that a school of minnows is the last
place a swimmer needs to be hanging out. Sharks feed there. Based on the size of
the wound, which required two layers of stitches and eight stitches on top,
hospital officials speculated the gash came from a 4-5 ft sand shark.
Damjan Pecek from Slovenia was attacked by a shark ten meters away from the
shore in Mala Smokova on island Vis in Croatia.
He claims the shark was 4 or 5 meters long and probably attacked him because he
was carrying a bleeding fish he just caught. Shark bit Pecek’s left leg and he
defended himself by grabbing the shark by the gills with one hand, while hitting
it on the head with the harpoon he held in the other hand. Harpoon bent (makes
me LOL, sorry) but shark let him go so his friends managed to get him in the
boat.
I just heard on TV that two teeth were found in wound in Pecek’s leg and it is
confirmed that they belong to the great white shark.
t’s big deal here because allegedly there are no great whites in Adriatic.
Apparently, there are. I hope I’ll forget this event until next summer.
The victim became the
23rd shark bite victim of the year. That breaks the 2001 record of 22 bites, a
tally that dubbed 2001 the “Year of the Shark.”
According to the Volusia
County Beach Patrol, the unidentified man was surfing
south of the jetty about noon when he
felt something prick his foot.
The damage was minor, but
hey… a bite’s a bite.
UPDATE: The victim was
44-year-old David Logan. He had a few small puncture wounds on his heel which
paramedics bandaged, then he was right back in the water. You’re a brave man,
David!
By KELLY CUCULIANSKYSeptember
07, 2008 Staff Writer
Two surfers were almost
simultaneously bitten by a shark today in Ponce Inlet, bringing the Volusia
County bite count just one encounter short of its record 2001 "Year of the
Shark."
A 43-year-old man from
Ponce Inlet and a 15-year-old boy from Casselberry were surfing about 200 feet
away from each other when they were bitten about noon, Beach Patrol Capt. Scott
Petersohn said. In 2001, 22 bites were reported, including three in one day.
The surfers, who did not
know each other, were catching waves in the area between Beach Street and the
jetty rocks. They each suffered "very minor" puncture wounds on one foot and
were treated by Beach Patrol at the scene, Petersohn said. It's unclear whether
it was the same shark that bit them or who was bitten first.
"It's just a werid
coincidence," Petersohn said. One of the surfers asked for help at a lifeguard
tower. A Beach Patrol truck was called in, and while officers were on their way
to the tower, they spotted another surfer on the beach bleeding from his foot
and thought it was the victim they were originally called to treat.
"It was just very
quirky," Petersohn said.
Surf conditions were
typical for shark encounters today. Petersohn said the water is churned up and
murky with lots of bait fish.
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- For the third
day in a row, a surfer was bitten by a shark.
The Volusia County Beach Patrol
said the 19-year-old was in the water when he was bitten on his left foot
Thursday.The victim was treated at the scene and then left the beach with a
friend.The teen is now the 19th shark bite victim in Volusia County this
year.The record for the county was 22 bites in 2001.
Thursday, August 28, 2008 7:29:02 PM
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- A 26-year-old man became Volusia County's 18th shark bite
victim of the year Wednesday.The
latest attack happened near the jetties on the New Smyrna Beach side of the
Ponce de Leon Inlet.The Volusia County Beach Patrol said Alexander Zgura was
surfing in the area when a 6-foot shark grabbed his lower left leg.Lifeguards
said Zgura had over a dozen cuts between his knee and ankle, but chose to drive
himself to the hospitalThe beach patrol said the attack may have been caused by
a large number of bait fish in the water, which sharks feed on.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008 6:19:06 PM
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- A surfer became the 17th shark bite victim for 2008 Sunday.
The Volusia County Beach Patrol
said the 20-year-old man was surfing near the 27th Street approach when he was
bitten on the foot.He was taken to Bert Fish Medical Center with four
lacerations on his foot.Lifeguards said he is expected to OK.
A Cape Coral man says he was
bitten by a shark this afternoon, and Sanibel police are urging swimmers to be
cautious.Around 2:45, Jack Miller, 47, of Cape Coral, docked his boat near the
Sanibel Moorings, 845 East Gulf Drive. He was swimming with his son when he was
bitten on the forearm by a shark, he said.Miller did not seek medical attention
for the three lacerations on his forearm.Sanibel Police Chief Bill Tomlinson
said the bite was not a sign that shark bites could be a more frequent problem.
But he said it was a good idea for swimmers and boaters to be cautious.“You
never know,” Tomlinson said. “People should be aware and take certain
precautions to keep that from occurring.”
A 13-year-old girl (name
not released) was swimming in waist to chest deep water off New Smyrna Beach,
Florida, USA on Tuesday 12 August 2008, when she was bitten on the right leg by
a shark.Officials said she suffered several small puncture wounds and one gash
of about three inches between her ankle and her knee.No other details were
reported.
POSTED:
5:14 pm EDT August 12, 2008 UPDATED: 5:30 pm EDT August 12, 2008
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- Once again, Volusia County proved it's the shark bite
capitol of the world. This time it wasn't a surfer who was attacked, it was a
13-year-old girl playing in the water Tuesday. The attack happened in a
different place than they usually do, a good mile and a half south of where most
of the New Smyrna Beach bites occurred. It's a beach that is more popular with
tourists that surfers. One of the many people enjoying a calm Tuesday on New
Smyrna Beach was 13-year-old Emma Klopchin from upstate New York. She was wading
in chest deep water when she felt something grab on to her lower right leg. "All
of the sudden, she felt the bite, looked down and immediately ran to shore,"
said Garry Mac, Bert Fish Medical Center. A couple of nurses who happened to be
on the beach treated the deep cut and puncture wounds until paramedics could
arrive. Doctors at Bert Fish, by now familiar with treating bites, were likely
going to take care of it with stitches once they cleaned out what the shark left
behind. "The think they have found one of the shark's teeth, maybe part of a
tooth, in the wound and that will be Emma's souvenir to take home," Mac said.
Last year, there were 17 bites for the entire season and Tuesday's bite has
2008's number already at 16. At New Smyrna Beach, there are more shark attacks
per square mile than on any other beach in the world. If you've been swimming
there, you've likely been within just 10 feet of a shark. There have been 210
attacks in Volusia County since 1982. The main reason is the area is rich with
bait-fish and Volusia County is where sharks go to feed.
A SURFER says he
was saved from a shark attack by a timely wave, but not before the predator bit
through his leg rope.Aaron Seare, 31, was surfing at Levys Beach near
Warrnambool in western Victoria yesterday morning and had caught only two waves
when he spotted something about 30m away. "I wasn't too sure what it was," he
said today."I was only watching the movement for a second before it's turned and
come straight at me.I felt a tug on my leg rope but a wave picked me up and
washed me back to the beach. I really freaked out." It wasn't until Mr Seare
reached shore that he discovered his leg rope had been bitten in two. "I
realised that was pretty close," he said. ocal fishermen said the marks on the
rope were those of a sevengill or great white shark.
PANAMA CITY,
Panama: An official says a Panamanian judge was bitten by a shark off the
Central American nation's Pacific coast.Electoral Tribunal spokesman Humberto
Castillo says electoral court judge Gerardo Solis was bitten on his left calf
Sunday near San Carlos beach.Solis's father, Menalco Solis, told local media
Monday his son was filming while sitting on a surfboard when the shark attacked
him.He said the injury was not life-threatening and that the judge had been
treated at a local clinic and released.
Ryan Seacrest
was taking a swim in the Pacific Ocean in Mexico on Sunday when he was bitten by
a shark, he said on his KIIS-FM radio show Monday.The "American Idol" host said
he was "about eight feet out" when he felt something swim by him."I thought it
was a stick," he said. "I wasn't sure what had happened."Then, he said, "I saw
it swim! He took a bite, and he left."Seacrest, 33, said the shark's tooth
"wasn't a great thing to find. It was like finding a splinter!Although he said
he was "in pain," the "American Idol" host wasn't hurt too badly, but said he
"needed to take an Advil."Asked by his radio co-host if anyone else was bitten,
Seacrest said: "No, just me, of course! There were like 1,000 people in the
ocean, and I get bit by the shark!" spy told the New York Post's Page Six gossip
column that Seacrest was swimming in front of LG Villa Cabo, that the shark was
a sand shark and that it chomped on Seacrest's toe.
Ryan Seacrest was
bitten by a shark at the weekend while swimming a few feet from the beach in
Los Angeles
.Seacrest, the American Idol host was bitten on the toe, by a shark he bizarrely
described as being about the size of an average cat.The cat-sized shark
apparently left a tooth in his foot.No
word on whether it was cat-tooth sized."I thought it was a stick!"
said Seacrest. "I wasn't quite sure what had happened. I saw it swim! He
took a bite, and he left."Seacrest did not need hospital treatment after
the attack, but did take an Advil.
New
Smyrna Beach
,
Fla.
(WOFL FOX 35, Orlando) -- A teenager is in the hospital after a shark bite.
It’s the second time a shark bite in
New
Smyrna
Beach
has landed a surfer in the hospital.17 year old Ethan Fulton was surfing near
Ponce Inlet with friends Friday morning when a shark clammed down on his right
foot. The staff and the physicians in the Bert Fish emergency room assessed
cleaned the wounds started dealing with it and determined surgery was needed
says Gary Mac, spokesperson for Bert Fish Medical Center.Scott Petersohn with
Volusia County Beach Patrol says
Fulton
’s friends never called his lifeguards for help. Petersohn says
Fulton
’s friends loaded him into a car then headed to the hospital.During the trip,
Petersohn says,
Fulton
began to lose consciousness so the friends stopped and called for help.
According to
Fulton
’s father that’s not all his sons friends did. They did use a surfboard
leash to put a tourniquet above the knee says Bruce Fulton.The teenager’s
mother and father rushed to the hospital after learning about their son’s
injury. Bruce Fulton says the shark severed his sons Achilles tendon should have
a 100 percent recovery but you never can tell with Achilles tendon because that
is a very a place where you can have injury for the rest of your life if it's
not repaired correctly says
Fulton
.Doctors rushed the surfer directly into surgery. Bruce Fulton says his son knew
the risks of surfing in the area known as the shark bite capital of the world.
He also says his son knew someone was bitten in the area earlier this week.
Despite the injury
Fulton
says before his son went into surgery he left everyone know that when he
recovers he’s going to get right back on his surfboard.
A woman suffers a
bite to her arm in the first attack of the year for the stateA woman vacationing
on the
Leeward
Coast
was bitten on the arm by a shark yesterday morning, prompting the closure of
Makaha area beaches until further notice.The
attack happened while the woman was snorkeling in the waters off the Hawaiian
Princess condominiums by Lahilahi Point.She
was able to use her good arm to swim ashore and ask for help, bystanders
said.Rescue officials saw a 16-foot tiger shark in the waters shortly afterward,
but a state shark official said it probably was not the same shark that bit the
woman because of the size of her injuries and the description she gave.Officials
closed the beach for a mile in both directions from Lahilahi Point and posted
"Shark Sighted" signs at
Makaha
Beach
Park
.
BY ADI
ANDERSON
: NEWSROOM INTERNDespite being the victim of a shark attack, 8-year-old Madeline
Sinsley, of Pinehurst, isn't scared of the water.She is quick to say that she
wants to swim again."I can go in the water," she said in a phone
interview, "just right now I have to have a plastic bag with masking tape
on my foot."The attack occurred at about 1 p.m. last Thursday, while the
Sinsleys were on vacation at
Topsail
Island
."It was craziness," said Madeline's stepmother, Kimberly Sinsley, who
was in the water with Madeline at the time.The ocean waswarm and murky as Kim
Sinsley waded up to her waist into the surf with her son Drew Viney, 9, and her
stepdaughters, Madeline, and Kate Sinsley, 6."Suddenly, Madeline began
yelling 'Ow!' at the top of her lungs," said Kim Sinsley. When she turned
around, she saw a dorsal fin and some splashing.Her first instinct was to grab
Kate and throw her toward the sand, telling her to get out of the water. She
then picked up Madeline and began moving away.The shark did not intend to let
go. Kim Sinsley hit it on its broad head twice, and when it still clamped onto
Madeline's foot, she dragged it toward shore."It must've been about 5 feet
long," she said, "and it was flipping everywhere. But it didn't let
go."As she approached the beach, Kim Sinsley continued yelling
"shark!", drawing a crowd. When she was in about 3 inches of water,
the shark finally relinquished its hold, and the waves washed it back into the
surf.Drew, who was standing behind the shark, was very nervous as it sank back
into the ocean."It was dark gray, pretty big and really scary," he
said. "It's going to be a while until I get back in the water."
Last Edited: Thursday, 24
Jul 2008, 6:10 PM EDTCreated:
Thursday, 24 Jul 2008, 11:38 AM EDT
Troy Zettle stepped
on the shark when he fell on his surfboard.
New
Smyrna Beach
,
Fla.
(WOFL FOX 35, Orlando) --A
15-year-old boy who was surfing on
Florida
's east coast was bitten on his left foot by a shark.Troy Zettle stepped on the
shark when he fell on his surfboard Wednesday. “As soon as I lifted my foot up
to take a step, the shark just latched onto my foot,” said Zettle. “It
didn't hurt, it didn't hurt at all in the water. all I felt were his jaws, I
didn't feel the teeth."The teen was surfing on the
New
Smyrna
Beach
side of Ponce Inlet.Zettle had a number of stitches and is waiting to find out
if he needs surgery.
ISLE
OF PALMS — A local man was bitten in the forearm by a shark this afternoon
while swimming at the beach near
31st Avenue
. The 24-year-old Isle of Palms man paddled out from the beach about 2 p.m.,
said Fire Chief Ann Graham. "He said the shark jumped out of the water and
bit him," Graham said. Police and firefighters combed the beach, warning
swimmers to stay out of the water. The shark wasn't spotted again. The man was
taken to a local hospital, and his condition was not serious,
Charleston
County
EMS
said.
Emerald
Isle, N.C.(7/9) — A 14-year-old girl who was likely bitten by a shark off
Emerald Isle has gotten out the hospital and returned home to Sneads Ferry.
Baileigh Foster was swimming in waist-deep water when she was bitten in the foot
around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.A doctor at Cartert General Hospital, where Baileigh
was treated, said she suffered lacerations consistent with those inflicted by a
shark bite.Baileigh said she had never thought a shark would attack her."It
did, and I was surprised, but it's just one out of a million chances,"
Baileigh said.She underwent surgery to repair ligament damage and was released
from the hospital on Friday.Doctors said they expect Baileigh to make a full
recovery in time for her to play on her high-school soccer team this
fall.Baileigh said she will not be afraid to go swimming in the ocean again –
but does not plan to swim at dusk again.Shark attacks are more frequent in the
early morning and evening when sharks are feeding in the dim light.
By
Patricia BurkettWBTW Anchor/ ReporterPublished: July 5, 2008
Georgetown County authorities are
investigating what they think is a shark bite. It happened at around 2 p.m.
Saturday, off
Litchfield
Beach
in
Georgetown
County
. Authorities say the shark apparently bit 17-year-old Julianne Lunti of
Columbia
in knee-deep water. Investigators say Lunti will likely need stitches. Midway
Fire Rescue spokesman Bob Beebe says no one saw the shark, but the marks left on
the teen’s foot are consistent with a shark bite.
STAFF
REPORT
What do you get when you mix the good waves - the first in weeks -- with murky
water near the
New
Smyrna
Beach
jetty? The 12th shark bite of the year. A 29-year-old surfer was bitten on his
left foot Thursday afternoon. "The surfer was sitting on his board with his
feet dangling in the water when he was bit," Beach Patrol Capt. Scott
Petersohn said. He came ashore and was given first aid by a lifeguard, and it is
unlikely the surfer will even need stitches, Petersohn said. He then drove
himself north to the
Jacksonville
area where he lives. "The surfers have just been sitting looking at their
boards," Petersohn said. "This is the perfect recipe for a shark bite
-- lots of surfers and murky water at Ponce Inlet."
An
apparent shark bite in chest-deep waters off
Fernandina
Beach
has authorities taking extra measures to alert beach-goers to potential risks.
Jennifer Castion of Birmingham, Ala., received severe lacerations to both sides
of her lower right calf about 11 a.m. Friday, according to the Fernandina Beach
Police Department. She was wading in the ocean around beach access No. 39 at
Ozello Avenue
near the golf club.
She was flown via air ambulance to Shands Jacksonville hospital, according to
Deputy Fire Chief Jeffrey Bunch.
Bunch said the woman told him she felt something grab her leg in chest-high
water. After a struggle, it let her leg go.
Once ashore, her husband wrapped her leg in a towel, took her to the nearby
beach house they were staying at and called 911, Bunch said. She never lost
consciousness and was “remarkably calm,” he said.
Her condition was not available. A nursing supervisor said she wasn’t listed
in the hospital’s system early Friday evening.
Florida’s Flag Warning System is in place and
“Dangerous Conditions” and “Dangerous Marine Life” flags have been
placed at all guarded areas. Location supervisors are patrolling the beaches to
alert visitors and advise them to use caution or elect not to swim.
The Police Department also conducted air surveillance the length of
Amelia
Island
. Police Capt. David Bishop reported seeing no evidence of sharks, although the
ocean water was relatively clear.
The local Civil Air Patrol has been asked to keep an eye on the shoreline
throughout the weekend. Life guards also will monitor the water and report any
changes.
If confirmed as a shark bite, Bunch said it would become only the third such
incident in
Fernandina
Beach
since the 1890s.
After
surfing for 40 years off
Cocoa
Beach
, the last thing John Vasbinder thought about was sharks. At least that was the
case until a few days -- and 45 stitches -- ago.
Vasbinder, district vice president of the Central Florida YMCA, was lying on his
surfboard June 7, paddling out to catch another wave, when his hand hit
something.
Turns out, something bit his hand.
"I thought I hit a dolphin or a turtle or something until I looked at my
hand," Vasbinder said. "The skin on my palm was peeled back in three
places and a couple of my finger tips were bleeding."
A shark, possibly a bull shark, based on where the attack took place, came up
from behind.
"I never saw it coming," Vasbinder said. "In 40 years of surfing,
this is my first scratch."
His wife, who was sitting on the beach, took him to a doctor.
The 45 stitches were removed Wednesday, and Vasbinder is looking forward to
surfing again.
"The doctor told me I'd be back in the water in a week," Vasbinder
said Wednesday.
For now, Vasbinder is a bit of a celebrity among his colleagues at work.
"Actually, yeah. I'm to the point that I now say a dog bit me because they
don't want to believe a shark bit me," Vasbinder said.
As for the bite itself, Vasbinder said it didn't hurt until he got to the
hospital and the doctor put the anti-infection salve on his hand. Then, it
burned, he said.
Vasbinder sees the whole thing in a positive light. First, it was his right
hand, and Vasbinder is left-handed. So, "It worked out great," he
said.
Second, Vasbinder feels pretty confident about the possibility of a future
attack"I say lightning doesn't strike twice, so I'm good for another 40
years."
BRENTWOOD
— Surviving a shark bite that tore into her foot and ankle is not how
15-year-old Madi Taff planned to spend her family's annual vacation in
Cherry Grove
,
S.C.
Members of the beach patrol from the resort area just north of
Myrtle Beach
say they haven't seen a shark attack in at least five years.
The
Brentwood
Academy
10th-grader spent June 1, the first day of her family's week-long vacation, at
the beach with her father and 11-year-old sister. Russ Taff was reading a book
several feet away from the surf while Madi waded in the hip-deep water, keeping
a close eye on Charlotte Taff, who was body surfing.
All of a sudden, Madi said, she felt what she thought was a crab biting her
ankle. Attempts to shake the creature off were futile. Unaware that a 5-foot
long sand bar shark, also known as a black tip shark, was latched onto her, Madi
walked to the shore where she saw her foot bleeding profusely.
Her dad rushed to help her just before members of the beach patrol swooped in on
the scene. They confirmed what
Charlotte
had just said: It was a shark bite.
While everyone was in a rush to treat her, Madi said, she remained calm. She
even took a picture of the bite with her cell phone.
"They were all freaked out and concerned. When you say 'shark bite,' it
sounds really bad and you always imagine your leg getting bit off or
something," she said. But she was lucky, suffering only puncture wounds
that called for 16 stitches and a week on crutches. In fact, she was so calm,
she called her father on the way to the hospital and asked him to bring her
makeup.
Despite the attack, Madi insisted her family finish their vacation, and she even
ventured back to the beach . . . though not into the water.
Madi's mother said the attack hasn't broken Madi's spirit. In fact, she is
planning to go on a beach vacation with a friend's family next week.
"This is going to be one of those things she looks back on and (will) feel
grateful that it wasn't worse, grateful that she was protected," Tori Taff
said.
As for next year's family trip, Tori Taff says she is "looking to have a
land-locked vacation."
SAO PAULO,
Brazil
(AP) - A shark ripped off the right hand of a teenager swimming along the coast
of northeastern
Brazil
, fire department officials said Monday.
Pernambuco state fire department spokesman Marcio Maia said 14-year-old
Wellington
dos
Santos
was attacked on Sunday after he swam beyond a coral reef that keeps sharks away
from the
beach
of
Piedade
near the state capital,
Recife
.
Lifeguards rescued dos
Santos
and rushed him to a hospital, where he was reported to be in critical but
stable condition, Maia said.
Besides severing dos
Santos
' hand, the shark "bit off a large chunk of his buttocks," Maia said.
"People insist on ignoring the sign posts warning of the danger of shark
attacks, especially beyond the coral reefs about 150 meters (490 feet) from the
beach," Maia said.
The attack was the 51st since authorities started keeping count of shark attacks
in the area in 1992. Maia said that sharks have killed 19 people in Pernambuco
state over the past 15 years.
Surfersvillage
Global Surf News, 24 May, 2008 : - - Acapulco -- A shark injured a 49-year-old
American surfer Saturday off the Pacific coast of Mexico, in the third attack in
a month. The Mexican Navy deployed personnel to warn people about sharks at
beaches in Zihuatanejo, a resort northwest of Acapulco, according to a Navy
official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to
release the information. He said authorities have not closed beaches in
Zihuatanejo, but people were being advised against swimming. A day earlier, a
21-year-old Mexican surfer was killed by a shark off a nearby beach. The two
attacks came a month after a shark killed a San Francisco man surfing in the
same area.Local Civil Protection director Jaime Vazquez Sobreira said the
American attacked Saturday lost his thumb but managed to get to a hospital on
his own and was in stable condition.The Guerrero state Public Safety Department
identified the man as Bruce Greems but did not give his hometown in the U.S.
Vazquez Sobreira said he lived in Zihuatanejo. The U.S. Embassy confirmed an
American had been bitten by a shark but did not have additional
information.Mexican authorities used baited hooks to catch sharks last month
after the attack that killed 24-year-old Adrian Ruiz of San Francisco. Local
conservationists protested the hunt, and it was not immediately clear if
authorities would do it again.Arturo Sabas de la Rosa Camacho, the Guerrero
state environment secretary, said the government would hold meetings in
Zihuatanejo next week with tourists, environmentalists, shark experts and
fishermen to determine what actions to take. "We need scientific explanations
for the shark presence, and if it's because of climate changes," he said.Cold
currents and an abundance of giant squid and other prey may be attracting sharks
to the area, said Jose Leonardo Castillo Geniz, a shark expert with the National
Fishing Institute. He said a large shark presence was unusual for the region.
Geniz said the authorities should close beaches in Zihuatanejo instead of
killing sharks. He also called for aerial surveys to determine what species has
been attacking surfers.Aida Navarro, of the environmental group Costasalvaje,
urged the government to post warning signs at Zihuatanejo's beaches. "Killing
sharks is not the solution to preventing encounters with humans," Navarro said.
She noted that some shark species are under threat from overfishing.
SYDNEY: An Australian swimmer who was mauled by a
16-foot shark and survived said he saw a shadow in the water seconds before the
attack and thought it was a dolphin. The shark, believed to be a Great White,
seized Jason Cull by the left leg as he was swimming at Middleton Beach in
southwestern Australia on Saturday. Mr. Cull, 37, survived after grappling with
the beast and after a lifeguard at the beach came to his aid. The shark was one
of three that swimmers reported seeing at the beach on Saturday. Officials
closed the beach after the attack.Tom Marron, a spokesman for the lifeguards at
the beach, said volunteer lifesaver Joanne Lucas leapt into the water to help
Mr. Cull after swimmers at the beach started panicking when they saw him
struggling. “She heard the cries and knew they needed assistance and went
straight in.” — AP
: NEW SMYRNA BEACH - A
6-year-old Deltona boy was bitten by a shark just before noon Wednesday as he
waded in the water off New Smyrna Beach.Although the boy was taken by ambulance
to a hospital for stitches, the bite on his left foot was minor, said Capt.
Scott Petersohn of the Volusia County Beach Patrol.It was the 11th shark bite
this year in Volusia County.While other shark bites in the New Smyrna area have
been in the area of the South Jetty, this was near the 27th Avenue approach,
about five miles south of the jetties, Petersohn said. That is a popular area of
the beach, at the south end of the driving zone, he said.The boy was in about 18
inches of water, no more than a couple of yards from the shore, when he felt the
bite and walked out of the water, Petersohn said.
ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) -- A U.S.
surfer was killed in a shark attack off Mexico's southern Pacific coast,
officials said Tuesday 4/29/08. The San Francisco, California, man bled to death
Monday after a gray shark bit his right thigh, leaving a 15-inch (38-centimeter)
wound, the Guerrero state Public Safety Department said in a statement.The U.S.
Embassy in Mexico could not immediately confirm the man's name, but local
authorities identified him as a 24-year-old who was surfing with a fellow
American. The other man was not injured.he attack occurred at the Troncones
beach, about 45 minutes west by car from the beach resort of Ixtapa.The
statement said the victim suffered wounds "that reached from the hip to the
knee, exposing the femur."The victim was still alive when he was brought back to
the beach. It took so long for the ambulance to reach the relatively isolated,
undeveloped beach that a bystander took the victim to a local hospital in his
car.The man died from loss of blood a few minutes after reaching the hospital,
according to the statement.Shark attacks are relatively rare in Mexico. In 2006,
the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History
reported only one attack in Mexico, which was not fatal.
Number Of Bites
Ahead Of Record 'Year Of Shark' Totals
POSTED: 2:57 pm
EDT April 28, 2008 UPDATED: 9:23 am EDT April 29, 2008
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. --
Swimmers were again cleared from a New Smyrna Beach Monday after a third swimmer
in three days was bitten by a shark and treated at a hospital.The latest victim
was the ninth recorded shark bite of the year in Volusia County, putting the
number of bites ahead of the record breaking "Year Of The Shark" in 2001,
according to beach records. Monday's bite happened when an 18-year-old was
trying to get back on a surfboard near the Ponce De Leon Inlet's south jetty.The
victim received stitches at a Central Florida hospital.Several shark sightings
in the water prompted lifeguards to clear the water Monday, Local 6
reported.Meanwhile, over the weekend two different swimmers were treated at
hospitals after being bitten by sharks.A 24-year-old man stepped off of his
surfboard in chest-deep water near a jetty in New Smyrna Beach Sunday and was
bitten on his right calf.He was taken to Bert Fish Medical Center and treated.On
Saturday, a 21-year-old man was treated at a hospital after a shark bit his foot
while he was surfing in the same area Saturday.Officials said Mark Pattison of
Lake Mary was injured Saturday after he got of his surfboard near a jetty in New
Smyrna Beach.
Previous Story: Shark Bites Man
In New Smyrna Beach
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- For the second time this weekend, a
surfer was attacked by a shark in New Smyrna Beach.The beach patrol said a
24-year-old man stepped off his surfboard in chest deep water Sunday and was
bitten on his calf.The victim's injuries were not described as serious.On
Saturday, another man had to undergo surgery after a shark bit his
foot.Lifeguards said conditions were ripe for more shark attacks, especially
near the jetty in New Smyrna Beach.Sky 13 captured sharks and swimmers just feet
apart in the water on April 22.
Surfersvillage
Global Surf News, 25 April, 2008 : - -
San Diego
-- A shark believed to be a great white killed a 66-year-old swimmer with a
single, giant bite across both legs Friday as the man trained with a group of
triathletes, authorities and witnesses said. Dave Martin, a retired veterinarian
from
Solana
Beach
, was attacked at
San Diego
County
's
Tide
Beach
around 7 a.m., authorities and family friend Rob Hill said. Martin was taken to
a lifeguard station for emergency treatment but was pronounced dead at the
scene, according to a statement on the
Solana
Beach
city Web site. His injuries crossed both thighs,
San Diego
County
sheriff's Sgt. Randy Webb said in a news release. Scripps Institution of
Oceanography shark expert Richard Rosenblatt says the shark was probably a great
white between 12 and 17 feet long. "It looks like the shark came up, bit
him, and swam away," said Dismas Abelman, the
Solana
Beach
deputy fire chief. There was a single bite across both of Martin's legs,
Abelman said. The attack took place about 150 yards offshore. Several swimmers
wearing wetsuits were in a group when the shark attacked, lifeguard Craig Miller
said. Two swimmers were about 20 yards ahead of the man when they heard him
scream for help. They turned around and dragged him back to shore. Swimmers were
ordered out of the water for a 17-mile stretch around the attack site and county
authorities sent up helicopters to scan the waters for the shark. Eight miles of
beach were closed. "The shark is still in the area. We're sure of
that," Mayor Joe Kellejian said. Hill, a member of the Triathlon Club of
San Diego, said he was running on the beach while about nine other members were
in the water when the attack took place. "They saw him come up out of the
water, scream 'shark,' flail his arms and go back under," Hill said.
"The flesh was just hanging," and Martin may have bled to death before
he left the water, Hill said. A witness, Ira Opper, described the victim as
"burly and athletic." He said the man was wearing a black wetsuit that
was shredded on both legs. Club members had been meeting at the beach for at
least six years and never had seen a shark, Hill said.
A 14-year-old girl was bitten on the foot by a
shark while surfing Sunday morning, the Volusia County Beach Patrol said. The
teen was surfing near Minorca condominiums between 8 and 9a.m. when she stepped
off her board in knee-deep water and was bitten on her right foot. She was taken
to Bert Fish Memorial Hospital and treated for puncture wounds and lacerations.
Beach Patrol Capt. Scott Petersohn said that the area where the incident took
place is where about 90 percent of Volusia County's shark bites happen.
16-year-old boy was swimming off Ballina, about 650 kilometers north of Sydney
SYDNEY,
Australia (AP) -- A shark attacked and killed a 16-year-old boy Tuesday (4/8/08)
while he and a friend were bodyboarding off Australia's eastern coast, officials
said.Peter Edmonds was about 50 yards from shore when the shark attacked around
8 a.m., lifeguard spokesman Stephen Leahy said.Edmonds suffered two large bites,
one to the leg and one to the body. He died of extreme blood loss while
lifeguards and paramedics tried to save him.It was the first fatal shark attack
in Australia in two years.All nearby beaches were closed as a precaution, and
crews were looking for the shark in the waters off Ballina, about 400 miles
north of Sydney, Leahy said.Edmonds' bodyboarding friend, Brock Mathew, was
leaving the water when he looked back and saw Edmonds "in a bit of trouble" and
swam back to his friend, who he thought was trying to catch a wave.Mathew said
he saw a "big, gray shadow" pass by him as he paddled to his friend, who was by
then face down in the water."I thought he was only joking, so I went over to him
and as I flipped him over I saw his leg," said Mathew, who dragged his friend to
shore and tried with lifeguards to resuscitate him."He didn't make one noise,"
Mathew said.Edmonds' 20-year-old sister, Kylie, said her parents were numb from
the sudden loss."They lost their baby -- what more can you say? The only boy in
the family," she said.Leahy said there had been three shark alarms sounded in
Ballina in recent months.Heavy rainfall over the past two days had made the area
more susceptible to attacks, because sharks congregate near river mouths to feed
in rainy weather. The beach where the attack occurred is just north of the
Richmond River estuary.It wasn't known what type of shark attacked the teenager,
though residents said bull sharks had been spotted in recent days.Detective
Inspector Steve Clark said Mathew would be considered for a bravery medal for
going back into the water to rescue his friend despite seeing the shark
nearby.There are about 15 shark attacks a year in Australian waters -- one of
the highest rates in the world -- but on average just over one attack per year
is fatal.In January, a fisherman survived a bite by a shark he had reeled onto
his boat deck. In December, a surfer was attacked by a shark at a beach north of
Sydney, but his injuries were not life-threatening
(WPTV Staff) A
shark took a bite out of a surfer at New Smyrna Beach today.18-year-old Joey
Giangrasso was in waist-deep water near the south jetty when the shark
approached.This was the fourth reported shark attack in Volusia County this year
and might be the most serious.Doctors say the shark just missed a main artery
and took a huge chunk out of the top and side of Giangrasso's foot.He was taken
to Bert Fish Medical Center in New Smyrna Beach. He is sedated and might need
surgery.However, his mom says, even this close call won't keep her surfer son
from the water. All the shark bites this year in Volusia County have happened in
the same area.
David MacAnally/Eyewitness
NewsPendleton - An Indiana mom and her kids are back home following a spring
break vacation that sent her to the hospital with a shark bite. It happened in
the Atlantic Ocean near Cocoa Beach."It was probably in the 80's. My children
and I were out boggie boarding on the waves," said Teresa Holloway describing
their Florida vacation. But then a Spring Break trip for the Pendleton family
turned from fun to fear."I was riding the waves in and all of a sudden I felt
something very sharp on my foot," said Holloway.She feared for her three
children. Her 16-year-old son was farther out. "I was thinking so many thoughts
that second. Something had hold of me and I just needed to get away. It had to
be something with a really large mouth since my whole foot was in it's
mouth."Her legs were her weapons against a threat she couldn't see but had to
shake."It had to be a shark," she said. "I just kept kicking as hard as I could.
I don't think he was on me very long but I wasn't going to give him a second
chance."She kicked the shark loose just as her son swam in to help her."He was
on his way up and he kicked it out of the way. He didn't want to see what it was
because my mom was yelling and stuff," Holloway's daughter later told a Florida
television station."There were some men on the beach that had helped him drag me
out of the water. They immediately found someone's shirt and wrapped it around
my foot cause it was bleeding pretty badly," said Teresa. "Basically the top of
my foot was filleted open so they had to tack that down. The bottom just looked
like somebody took a knife and was cutting up and down my foot."Despite the
bite, she says she will go back into the water. "The doctor told me at the
hospital I had a better chance of getting struck by lightening. That's not funny
because our house was hit by lightening and burned."It was not Great White but a
small or baby shark. Teresa says she's thankful it was her and not her kids.The
Florida television station says a check turned up two other bite victims there
in the last year.
Tuesday, April 01,
2008Patrick O'DonnellPlain Dealer Reporter
Mayfield -- The
shark bite on Nick Canganelli's shin is no big deal for West Palm Beach, Fla.,
where it takes a gory mauling to attract attention. But at Mayfield High School,
where classmates have only had to dodge the gaping jaws of vicious Lake Erie
perch, it's a major happening. Nick, 15, said the one-bite attack just a few
feet offshore from a Palm Beach Shores hotel last week made him a celebrity at
school Monday. Photos of his bite are being passed around on the cell phones of
classmates. And his mother, Toni, said she heard strangers talking about the
bite at a dentist's office Monday. "I have a lot more people coming up to me and
talking to me now," Nick said after school Monday, before joking, "I finally
have friends." The family of six flew to Palm Beach just before Easter for a
short vacation. Over that weekend, Nick and his three siblings were often in the
water up to their chests. On Tuesday, March 25, Palm Beach Shores police said
public beaches were closed because sharks had been spotted near shore feeding on
schools of fish in shallow waters. The Marriott hotel where they stayed warned
guests about going in the water but mostly because of rough waves, which Nick
and his brothers had fun riding in a raft. When a school of fish came near
shore, Nick said, he and his brothers tried to catch them by hand. His brother
Anthony ran ashore for a pail and told their mother he had seen a dolphin catch
a fish. Then Nick, up to his knees in water, felt a bite he compared to a bad
dog bite. "When I turned around to look, I saw the fin out of the water and this
gray thing swam away," he said. His brother and a nearby surfer estimated the
"dolphin" was 6 feet long. Doctors at a hospital later told him it was probably
a Spinner shark, which bites its prey and rotates to tear it apart. The round
wound, about the size of an orange, needed 12 stitches. Police and paramedics
confirmed the incident but could not verify the bite was from a shark since they
did not see it. Police classified the attack as "minor." Doctors are telling
Nick that the wound is healing fine and that he can return to track practice
when stitches come out. He says he'll be careful in the water now, the family is
more relieved than shaken. "It worked out," said his mother. "He's OK. And he's
got a good story."
2008.03.21
21-Mar-2008 USA Florida Beachway Avenue Approach, New Smyrna Beach,
Volusia County Wading
2008.03.21
23-Mar-2008 USA Florida South of Ponce de Leon Jetty, New Smyrna Beach,
Volusia County Walking out of the water after surfing
Are the waters
safe at Huntington Beach (HB)? Not according to Huntington Beach surfer Tom
Larkin. Larkin claims he was attacked by a shark. Some experts believe it was a
great white shark based on analysis of Mr. Larkin's surfboard.Authorities cannot
confirm nor deny the alleged shark attack, but they seem quite doubtful. Other
beach goers at Huntington point to the large number of dead sea lions washing
ashore as evidence. But experts point out that the bodies are intact, where if a
great white shark were responsible, they would be mangled.Personally I would be
more worried about the potential of septic, polluted waters and over exposure to
UV than I would be of running into a great white shark. But that's just me.
Shark attack at
HTB
Huntington Beach — On March 7, 2008 Thomas Larkin was surfing with two
friends. He recounted the following; “I was surfing a 6’6” Avisco (carbon fiber)
Surf Prescriptions Bat Tail Quad. I paddled out at Dog Beach near Huntington
Cliffs around 7:10 in the morning at a pretty full high tide. Dog Beach is
located in a stretch of Huntington City Beach between Seapoint Street and Golden
West Street. I was meeting two friends there, Matt Donoghue and Craig Angel. The
current was moving around a lot of water, and both of them were on longboards,
so about 20 minutes into the surf I was tired of paddling over to them on my
shortboard, and was surfing pretty much alone. There were two bodyboarders about
100 yards north of me, and I was almost due west of the ramp walkway. At about
8:00 AM, I caught my best wave of the session, and even though Matt and Craig
had already gotten out, I wanted one more. I paddled back out and was sitting in
the lineup alone, with the closest surfers about 200 yards south, and the
bodyboarders were inside and north. I was waiting for a set for about 5 minutes
when I felt a jolt down on the tail of my board, immediately followed by violent
bubble cascade, which sunk the board down about another 8 inches. I didn’t
really get what was going on as quickly as I should have, but as soon as it
begun it had ended and I was apparently alone again. A wave popped up, I paddled
into it but pearled because of the water in the nose of my board, I quickly got
back on and paddled into the whitewater of the next wave and boogie boarded it
to the beach where I emptied the board through the apparent bite mark." The
diameter of the bite suggests an adult White Shark in excess of 15 feet in
length. Caution should be exercised when utilizing this location for your ocean
water activities. Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the
Shark Research Committee.
AN electronic
device designed to ward sharks away from surfers failed so spectacularly during
a trial off South Africa that it was eaten by a great white.An inquest heard
yesterday the Shark Shield surf model was activated on a float carrying bait
when the 3.6m female shark approached. Rather than being deterred by the device,
the shark, under the gaze of the Natal Sharks Board, bit into it. South
Australian Deputy State Coroner Tony Schapel yesterday heard of the test failure
during the inquest into the death of Jarrod Stehbens, who was taken by a great
white shark while diving off Glenelg in South Australia in 2005. The inquest has
turned into a trial of Shark Shield devices, hearing concerns that the
electronic fields generated to repel sharks may attract them. Studying
cuttlefish for the University of Adelaide at the time of his death, Stehbens had
been provided with two Shark Shields on his dive boat by university staff - but
he either didn't know they were there or chose not to use them. University staff
have told Mr Schapel they questioned the Shark Shields' efficacy and believed
there might be long-term health risks from using them. As a result, the devices
were not compulsory. Rod Hartley, director of Sea Change Technology, which
manufactures the Shark Shields, yesterday took the stand to defend his product.
"There is no doubt whatsoever that it does not attract sharks," he said. He told
Mr Schapel he believed a disgruntled surfer had started the rumour. "Nobody
wearing a Shark Shield has ever been attacked by a shark," he added. Mr Hartley
said the failed South African test on the surf unit - which has been held back
from release into the marketplace - was due to a problem with the electrode's
configuration. The device was now packaged with a large disclaimer warning it
would only repel sharks when the surfer was still in the water waiting for a
wave. "The surf product only can be guaranteed to work when it's stationary, not
when it's surfing in the wave or paddling," Mr Hartley said. CSIRO shark expert
Barry Bruce has told the inquest the shark that killed Stehbens was in "full
predatory strike" mode and would have been nearly impossible to deter. His body
was never recovered. Mr Schapel will publish his findings at a later date.
An Austrian man bitten by a
shark while diving over the weekend near the Bahamas has died, authorities said
Monday.The man "passed away from his injuries sustained by a shark bite," said
Coast Guard spokeswoman Petty Officer Jennifer Johnson.The victim was identified
as Markus Groh, 49, of Vienna, according to Ken Smeriglio, an assistant in the
Austrian Consulate in Miami.Groh was diving about 50 miles east of Fort
Lauderdale on Sunday at about 10 a.m. when a shark bit him, according to
officials.The service dispatched a rescue helicopter, and its crew hoisted the
man off the boat and flew him to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.A crewmember
aboard the 70-foot Shear Water had contacted the Coast Guard. The blue
commercial diving vessel is registered to Jim Abernathy's Scuba Adventures from
Riviera Beach.The company offers shark trips to the Bahamas for enthusiasts and
photographers hoping to interact with hammerhead and tiger sharks, according to
its Web site.Operators for the company stir in fish and fish parts to "chum" the
water and attract the sharks, reads the itinerary. "Please be aware that these
are not 'cage' dives; they are open water experiences," states the Web
site.Abernathy had been told by the Bahamas Diving Association to exercise
caution with more aggressive sharks such as mako, lemon, tiger and hammerhead
sharks.
A YOUNG South West Rocks surfer
was attacked by a shark last Thursday while surfing her local break. Fiona
Casey, 14, was surprised and a little shocked when the shark attacked her in
Horseshoe Bay. Fiona was paddling back out to the break after catching a wave
when she felt something hit her arm hard. She lashed out and hit the one-metre
shark with her elbow. Remarkably Fiona sustained no serious injuries as her
wetsuit protected her from the shark’s coarse skin, but she was rather shocked
and received a ‘dead arm’ after hitting the fish. “My dad is a trawler and I’ve
been fishing with him a lot and I’ve seen heaps of sharks so I’m positive it was
a shark I saw,” Fiona said. The ocean on Thursday afternoon was very murky and
dirty from the river run-off, which created very low visibility in the surf.
Fiona is a passionate young surfer and when she was asked if she got out of the
water following the incident she laughed.“I was scared but the waves were just
too good,” she saidAt 7.30pm on the same day surfers at Horseshoe Bay spotted
another shark as the sun was setting.This time the shark really spooked the
three surfers who all hastily exited the water and didn’t return.
BY KIMBERLY C. MOORE AND
KAUSTUV BASU FLORIDA TODAY
A surfer across from Patrick Air Force Base's main
entrance off State Road A1A has suffered an apparent shark bite, witnesses said.
The man, who was not identified, refused treatment. Jon Humphrey, 33, said he
and a friend had paddled out about 50 to 100 feet off the beach when another
surfer near them began shouting "shark!" Humphrey said he looked up and the guy
was "punching a shark that was on his foot." "He got onto the beach and was
holding his foot," said Humphrey, who along with his friend grabbed a T-shirt
and wrapped the man's foot. He said the wound appeared to be bad enough to
require stitches. The water "blew up" around him, Humphrey said. He slipped off
his board and went to shore. Humphrey said the shark appeared to be about 3 feet
long. "I think I'm done here for the day," Humphrey said.
Written by: Tommy Ballantyne
South Africa - Glenwood surfski paddler Wayne Symington, 42, had a close
encounter with a 2m blacktip shark while on a training stint 3km off the
Suncoast Pirates beach on Tuesday when he was thrown off his ski."I was paddling
at a fast rate out near where the ships are anchored when I was catapulted out
of my ski when the shark hit the rear, tearing a big chunk out of it."I knew
immediately it was a shark which had attacked me and that to survive I would
have to get back on my ski as fast as possible, which I managed to do and
luckily I still had my paddle in my hand," said Symington."As I turned the ski
back towards the shore it began to sink as water poured in through the hole, but
a big bubble of air got trapped up front and the nose of the ski lifted out of
the water."I guess it took me about half-an-hour to get back to the line of
shark nets and I was functioning on pure prayer and adrenaline," he said.He had
to jump off his ski at the nets to drag his ski over them after it became
snagged before he got back to the beach safely.On Wednesday Symington paid a
visit to Jeremy Cliff, the curator of the Natal Sharks Board, who matched the
imprint of the shark's bite on the ski with a specimen of a blacktip's jaws and
estimated the length of the shark to be 2m.
(removed from
records??)POSTED: 8:34 am
EST January 18, 2008 wftv
BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. -- A
Brevard County man told Channel 9 a shark bite won't keep him from surfing
again.Jordan Marsden is still on crutches, a week after he was attacked by a
small shark while surfing at Playalinda Beach. Marsden realized something was
wrong after he felt an excruciating pain in his foot."It felt like my foot got
run over by a car, at first, and there was a lot of pressure and I put my foot
down and then I jerked away and that's how I got the teeth in my foot," Marsden
recalled.After getting x-rays, doctors found two small teeth in Marsden's foot.
Even after examining the teeth, Marsden said he still isn't sure what kind of
shark it was.It's rare to see shark bites in January, but the warmer weather
brings more surfers into the water, which increases the risk of an attack.
