I posted this some time back but here goes again... Couple of years ago at 28th st, OC, while sitting in the lineup I looked down just in time to see about a 5 footer going right under my board, between my legs. I freaked and kicked my legs straight up and out which made him freak and he shot away and got caught in my leash for just a moment. The force of it was incredible (imagine a really big dog suddenly taking off after a rabbit and yanking the leash, only its around your ankle!) - felt like it was gonna rip my leg off. As quick as he was on it, he was off it and we both hauled ass in separate directions. My lower leg swelled up with a nasty abrasion but I don't know what was scarier - seein' him, or feeling that violent jolt. Anyway, afterwards I never thought that he was gonna bite (he had his chance to do that just before I saw him) - I figured he was just checkin' me out but who knows... I've also been smacked a couple of times by close-passing cow-nosed rays. Oh HELL NO son!!
I always thought to myself...... It's the eastcoast....there is no seals to maintain thier diet.....the water is poluted......it's too cold..........it's way too shallow.........hahaha!!!! ignorance is bliss!!!! Spongers= shark bisquit!!! Surfers= surferkabobs!!!! I recently read that a 14 yr old New Zealand gril thwarted an attack by beating the shark with her bodyboard......google it!!!
So, are there More sharks on the East Coast, or on the West coast? I know that California has fatal white shark attacks, which are gnarly, but I have been surfing socal for years, at really deep reef passes and everywhere else, and honestly, I feel much safer from sharks on the west coast than I do back east. So, are there more sharks, white or not, on the east coast or west coast? The spring time is prime time for hungry sharks on both coasts, but I would think that the mid-atlantic and southeast have california beat hands down with overall numbers... Maybe i just have been away for a while, but when i surf in the springtime in OC MD, and its cold and dark, and I see dolphins close, I get sketched. I dont know why... but i just feel like there are more sharks, more of the year round in the midatlantic... Any opinions? The normal argument is, yes guys in florida and NC get small bites all the time and see sharks everyday, but you never see the sharks in california. And if they bite, you die... So, all severity aside, Im just talking big boys in the water..
I'm going to have to say West Coast, the seal population is bigger and the humbolt current supports more marine life, with means more food for the sharks.
agreed.... In my opinion, there are more attacks on the east coast mainly because of florida, but the sharks are smaller, therefore you have a shot to live after an attack. The west coast has less attacks, but more of an abundance of white sharks where if you get bit by one of those, your in serious trouble. Florida's volusia county has new symrna inlet, which is considered the shark attack capital of the world. Brevard county in florida isn't that much far behind either as far as attacks go. I'm going down to Florida in a few weeks to surf , so I'll make sure I pack my cage suit. For the record, not that I'm a shark expert or anything, but I believe bull sharks and tiger sharks have more attacks on humans than Great whites do. I still like my chances better with the bull or tiger over the great white because I think they are typically smaller.
This is an awful topic to talk about before an upcoming swell but I can't seem to stop reading. Few encounters in hawaii nothing super close but sharks thrashing around about 50ft away..I'm not a fan of spear fishers in the line-up. Cape Cod has had a huge influx of seals which in the past years have attracted the great whites. I heard they had to shut the beaches down a few times this past summer. Eventhough I'm reluctant to surf the cape anymore I feel safe surfing in NH. Maybe its the freezing cold water but whatever helps you sleep right?
It's funny, I was out at around 48th in OC at first light on the Sunday after the OC Longboard Challenge last Spring, and got to talking to the guy surfing closest to me - he told me that exact same thing happened to him (or maybe this is the same guy posting this). Either way, that would definitely freak me out too.
I've seen a lot of sharks in the lineup, the sketchiest being an eight-foot hammerhead at the end of Frisco Pier. By the time I paddled out, I saw they were actually chumming off the pier, which is illegal. I turned right around and rode in. I've seen a bunch of fins around the Rodanthe/Pea Island area, but nothing too close to me and they didn't look that big. In VB, I've only send black tips or sandbar sharks. Neither are considered aggressive, so I didn't pay them any mind. One time at Ponce Inlet, Fla. I saw a huge tiger shark pop up on the outside. The thing was huge, so like I did in Frisco, I peaced out immediately. Sharks are something you just can't let worry you while you're out there, otherwise you'll just freak yourself out...
Me either, but they say bulls and tigers are more aggressive. And, bulls can go into fresh water as well. Jaws was actually based on the events of a bull shark.
Have seen several sharks patrolling at various places in N.C. over the years while surfing, normally near inlets. Was struck in the forearm with a nose once at Fort Macon St. Park, Atlantic Beach NC. Carried a huge bruise for almost 2 weeks. Again this spot near an inlet.
bump to this id wanna hear everyones opinions too, ive always surfed the east coast my whole life and had 2 encounters. First encounter was in Harvery Cedars. LBI.. an 8 foot thresher was about 5 feet away from me in 3-4 foot deep water...fin sticking so out of the water..turns out the thing was unconscious/ almost dead due to almost being caught by a few fisherman..lifeguards noticed it haha and callled everyone in and we watched it float down beach. Second one was this past summer, Beach Haven, LBI...blues were definitely out...out with my bro and these 3 other girls..i go outside a little with the one girl and my friend stayed a little inside....he started bugging out yelling for me to get the **** on the beach and he was reckless when we got on beach saying a shark slid down his leg..and he had a small open wound..freaked everyone on the beach out and those girls never went back in the water lol
saw about a 4-5 ft. sandbar shark about 3-4 ft. away from my foot in Monmouth Beach, NJ a few years ago, and another one about the same size in Ocean Grove, NJ, last year. But the scariest scene for me was at Trestles in Wildwood Crest, with the fishing boats coming in and the guys cleaning fish on the way toward the inlet. Seagulls swarming and diving... fish guts spilling into the water... just two of us sitting over a sandbar way out... a good 20 minute walk down the trail to the car... and I get a nosebleed! Sure enough, here comes a freakin' shark... we both saw it and freaked. Only about 4 ft. long, but circling around, looking for ME! As soon as I had the opportunity, I paddled in as fast as I could. I was about 17 at at the time, and SCARED into a absolute PANIC! Everybody knows sandbar sharks are fish eaters, and won't kill you. But if you look at your hand in the summer, it's nice and dark on top, and nice and white on the bottom... just like a fish. You could ruin your session having to go to the hospital for stitches.
little monmouth at little monmouth there was a dead whale so we decided to stay in then a shark apperaed 10 ft ahead of us and we took the next wave in
Does anyone know the reason for sharks coming closer to beaches and more shark attacks in recent years? I always thought it was because of over fishing meaning lack of food for sharks in the open water. I'm sure there are a couple of resons why, but is there main reason why. Does anyone know?
Yeah, from what i have read and seen on documentaries, tigers and bulls are more likely to get aggressive and attack anything, rather than just fish. But yes, when a whitey gets you, there isnt much else left to do. The swimmer last year didn't get "eaten". He got bit on hit side and pulled under. The huge shark realized he wasn't food and let go, but the bite was so huge, he bled out by the time the other swimmers got him in... Other shark enthusiasts in the area speculated that the white shark just did its normal attack and it would have come back up to eat the guy, but the swimmers took him in. Usually, they say white sharks bite really hard, then they let the seal bleed out and slow down in the water, then once its tired, it goes back for lunch a couple minutes later..... Anyway though, I was up watchin TV drunk a few weeks ago. I was watching sportcenter at like 2:00am. Then it went right into some ESPN fishing show. So it starts out like, "Lets catch some HUGE makos RIGHT ON THE BEACH IN SAN DIEGO!!!! So they start showing OB, right where i live... SO i get all scetched out, never seeing makos out here... So, while they said it was right on the beach in SD, they really went out 7km off shore to fish. They were using old school fly fishing reels or some ridiculous set up to try and show you how easy it is to catch Makos.... So, long story short, the guys are out chumming and fishing with basically a hook and a string. Then like 25 makos just start circling them. They were everywhere. Not only were these things taking the bait EVERY TIME, they were biting that Camera, the boat and EVERYTHING these guys put in the water. They would just go right at it, with no fear and bite the **** out of it... This was in JULY in SD when the water is warm... But the largest one they caught was only 225 pounds, but my point is that this scared the shi* out of me, because they always say, ohhh sharks only want fish... blah blah... But this show showed you that in the right situation, those things will bite/eat anything.... SUPER aggressive fish.
All the data I have read out here in california leads to seasonal information and a lot to do with climate.... For instance, the last two fatal white shark attacks on the coast of SD, were BOTH in April. About 10 days apart. One was an actual attack from 08. The one before that was like 6 years before that and it was a dead lady who drown, and a white shark fed on her underwater. But both incidents happened in the month of April, the month in SD where there are the LEAST amount of fish. Which makes sense... In OBX etc, the data shows the same trend. More large sharks close to show in the spring, when fish are less abundant.... But the factor that I don't get back east are all of the summer attacks. I guess when the fish become more abundant in the mid atlantic, there are more fish near shore, meaning more sharks as well, but then there is a 2-3 month stretch of time when most people are in the water, from june-august... So with that being said, that probably tells you why more people get bit, because the other 9 months of the year there are only a hand full of surfers in the water each day,, then there are like 200,000 a day for 3 months... I guess thats why.
i have been bodyboarding all the breaks near bethany & indian river inlet for almost 25 years & have never even seen anything in the water other than dolphin & porpoise.BUT,back in the late 90's,my dad & his brother were boating about 100ft ofshore of sea colony & they looked in the water beside the boat & there was a tiger shark almost as big as their boat just sitting there near the surface.you could clearly see it's stripes & it was in the 10-12ft catergory easy.this worries me cause it's right at my favorite break were this thing was sitting.we talked to a guy at the coast guard & he said they're most dangerous when they're just sitting still cause they could be injured or getting ready to give birth or something.they snapped a poloroid of it & man,that sucker was big & scary looking.he was big enough to have his way with any surfer or bodyboarder that he wanted....
