Sharks !

[double u]

Taiohae, Nuku Hiva:...there certainly was no way to continue with the forest of goose barnacles on the boat! Nothing for it than go in & hope for the best. Seeing the shower of scraped off barnacles sink slowly & attract all sorts of small fry certainly made for some nervousness.
Every once in a while in the anchorage there'd be a little feeding frenzy of sharks (no tigers though, I think...) churning up the water, dorsal fins showing & Boobies diving. Once right at our stern ...
I guess nearly no boat arrives after the east Pacific crossing without lots of growth.

Diving in offshore just for the fun of it seems frivolous in the extreme to me. Did it several times to clean the bottom, but for fun?

[skipperpete]

Ocean swimming in Noumèa was totally banned after 2 fatal shark attacks in a short period of time, recently a 200 metre stretch of beach was re opened after a completely netted off enclosure was constructed.
The problem with the shark attack statistics is that no mention is made of the “ possible” shark attacks where a swimmer disappears and is thought to be drowned, no body recovered. Here in Australia there’s a suspicion that some of what are recorded as croc attacks might be bull shark attacks..... and not appearing in the statistics. Many countries don’t even report persons missing at sea as anything other than drowning. In Malaysia and Thailand I’ve never heard of a shark attack officially reported, even the existence of box jellyfish deaths was never mentioned until Lisa Gershwin, a leading researcher into marine stingers appeared in local newspaper articles, before that there was no statistic, zero deaths or injuries, now we know that deaths occurred and why.

[GordMay]

This is the most dangerous animal, in the world.
A shark is pictured, swimming peacefully, beneath it.

[GordMay]

Lawn Mowers, Tanning Beds, and 20-Plus Other Things* That Kill More People Than Shark Attacks
➥ https://www.peta.org/features/shark-...uses-of-death/

Each year, worldwide, there are ± 10 deaths, attributable to shark attacks.
*Compared with:
Boating: More than 4,000 recreational boating accidents occur, each year, in [just] the U.S., resulting in more than 500 deaths.
Coconuts: There’s approximately 150 deaths, worldwide, caused by falling coconuts.

[chrisr]

the problem in the marquesas (like nuka hiva mentioned above) is no lagoon.

elsewhere in FP we happily swim anytime day or night...in the lagoons, where there is simply nothing to worry about. plenty of reef sharks but they are harmless (if curious)

outside the lagoons is a different matter. lots of folk do go scuba and snorkelling outside, but not us !

cheers,

[Jubilee39]

I anchored in the Surrarow atoll Cook Islands. The ranger lived on the main Island and would regularly throw offal from fish cleaning into the pass causing a feeding frenzy of tiger sharks. He claimed that because of this the tiger sharks in the lagoon wouldn't bother you. I had a chance to test this when strong winds were forecast and I scuba'd down to chain to a coral head. I was surrounded by tigers but was not bothered. Not to say I was happy with the situation.

[cofc]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Lawn Mowers, Tanning Beds, and 20-Plus Other Things* That Kill More People Than Shark Attacks
➥ https://www.peta.org/features/shark-...uses-of-death/

Each year, worldwide, there are ± 10 deaths, attributable to shark attacks.
*Compared with:
Boating: More than 4,000 recreational boating accidents occur, each year, in [just] the U.S., resulting in more than 500 deaths.
Coconuts: There’s approximately 150 deaths, worldwide, caused by falling coconuts.

This is silly because it's gross numbers, not per capita. Yes, all the old fogies riding their golf carts around The Villages are way more likely to be hurt by a tanning bed than they are a shark attack, because they're never in a position to be attacked by a shark. I hear bull riding is quite dangerous for those that partake, but I can assure you my risk is 0.

If instead of mowing their lawn on Saturday afternoons everyone went snorkeling in areas where sharks lived, the numbers would be different.

[skipperpete]

The OP in his first post asked if it was safe to swim around the boat far from land in the Atlantic, and regardless of what a museum in Florida says about shark attacks , my answer would be that “NO, its not safe!, ever!”, even if just a little shark or barracuda decides to give you an exploratory nip you would then have an injury that might or might not kill you if medical attention was available but if you happen to be days away from land, helicopters, doctors and coastguard ships, your longevity is severely challenged. You have a skippers responsibility to not do dangerous things at sea and diving overboard in mid ocean to cool off rather than pour seawater over yourself from a bucket on deck could put your crew in a really bad situation. Reading some of the earlier posts suggests that more than a few people on the forum have never seen a shark in the wild.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by cofc

This is silly because it's gross numbers, not per capita...

A very good point.
The same point, that the more serious articles & study, quoted upthread, made:

"... It’s not just the raw number of shark attacks that makes a difference, but the rate of shark attacks—how many encounters per million people..."

The "rate" [of attacks] has remained fairly consistent, over time.

[GordMay]

Fatal Shark Attack in Hawaii

On Saturday, December 30, 2023, Jason Carter (39), of Haiku died, following a shark "encounter", at Maui's Paia Bay, the Maui Police Department said.[1]

The Baldwin Beach Park, and Lower Pā’ia Park (Baby Beach), for 1 mile to either side of where the incident took place, were closed Saturday, following the shark incident.

"By noon on Sunday, if no further signs of shark activity are detected, signs will be taken down," the Department of Land and Natural Resources wrote, on Facebook. [2]

[1] MPD Press Release ➥ https://www.mauicounty.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=13149

[2] Hawaii DLNR ➥ https://www.facebook.com/HawaiiDLNR/



Trivia FWIW:
Did you know that when a shark has a stroke...
it can smell burnt toast*, from up to fifty miles away?

* Phantosmia [olfactory hallucination] is a condition that causes you to smell things that aren’t there.
Smelling burnt toast can be a sign of a medical condition, including some serious conditions.
Eg: A temporal lobe seizure may cause an olfactory hallucination, that is sudden, and lasts for less than a few minutes.
However, there’s no evidence that suggests phantosmia is a sign of a stroke.

A simple “FAST” test can help you recognize a stroke, in yourself or others:
Face. Ask the person to smile. Look for signs of drooping on one side of the face.
Arms. Ask the person to raise their arms. Look for a downward drift in one arm.
Speech. Ask the person to repeat a phrase without slurring. For example, you could have them say “The early bird catches the worm.”
Time. Waste no time. Immediately call your local emergency services, if you or someone you know, shows signs of a stroke.

[GordMay]

Three sailors from Russia and France were rescued, on Sept. 6, 2023, after the 9m (30-ft) inflatable catamaran they were trying to navigate, from Vanuatu to Australia, came under attack from sharks, in the Coral Sea.

Both of the inflatable hulls on their boat were damaged in several attacks by what were thought to be cookiecutter sharks — a small species not considered dangerous to people. Aerial photos of the men's rescue showed major damage to the boat, which was nearly submerged, and a front section of one hull was completely missing.

➥ https://www.thestar.com/news/world/3...61924acc6.html


Would this have been better posted to "Nautical Oddities"?