No Way to Prevent Sharks from Attacking

[HotandHumid]

Originally Posted by Tulippsy

I lived on the beach in Pompano for about 10 years before moving to Weston. I would go for a walk on the beach almost every day, usually around 5 pm when the sun was getting lower in the sky. Then I'd jump in the water to cool off, and head back to my condo. Until one day, bobbing in about 10 feet of water, not too far from the shoreline, I spied a long, cylindrical, dark gray shape moving parallel to the shore, about 20 feet from me. Just as it was almost past, it turned toward me. I think I ran on top of the water all the way to the sand, screaming at the top of my lungs. Yes, I was in the water at the wrong time. Yes, I had jewelry on. No, I don't go in the water anymore.

It was lucky for you that the shark was just swimming around near the surface and you could see it in order to get out of the water quickly. Most people are under the wrong belief from TV's and movies that sharks swim around in circles at the surface before they attack. Sharks generally attack their prey from below where they're victims usually can't see them coming at them. Watch just about any documentary on sharks and you most times see sharks attacking from below their victim.

[HotandHumid]

Originally Posted by ajnucch

Wow, we lived in Fl for almost 30 yrs '78-07 had a boat, went swimming off the beach, skied on Inter-coastal, floated on rafts with jewelry, so many times, the thought "sometimes" crossed my mind, but seems these days you hear so much about sharks attacks, was I just naive, stupid or just lucky ? LOL

I think you were lucky but also you probably didn't think too much about being bitten by a shark in Florida waters as the media in Florida doesn't really spend much time reporting on shark attacks in Florida waters, even though usually more than 20 a year occur, because the media in Florida gets it's advertising from business interests that make their money off tourism and they don't want to pay for advertising in media outlets that might possibly jeopardize some tourists coming to Florida being afraid to swim here, as they should be, because of widespread reports of shark attacks in Florida.

[HotandHumid]

Originally Posted by croatbob

more chance of dying in a car accident on the way to the beach then in a shark attack. i grew up in australia and survived. florida has nothing to worry about

Just because you were never bitten by a shark doesn't mean that it doesn't happen in Florida. Maybe you should contact the 17 people that have been bitten by sharks in Florida so far this year the last time I checked the count and tell them they had a better chance of dying in a car accident than being bitten by the shark that attacked them and see how they feel about those crazy statistics given out by the media.
Maybe you can't stay out of a car, even though there are alternative ways to travel, but you can stay out of Florida waters because you don't need to be swimming in them to get to work or where ever.

[HotandHumid]

Originally Posted by newred5

17 Shark attacks in Florida in 2014 so far , compare that to the massive number of people that swim in Ocean and Gulf of Mexico I would say the odds are pretty small.. I have seen a few sharks in the water while swimming on the Treasure Coast , I will ONLY swim in guarded area

We're not talking about odds given out by media reports. We're talking about people being bitten by sharks in Florida because it does happen. A life guard who sees a shark on the surface of the water can warn bathers to get out of the water, particularly if it's a large shark but there's absolutely nothing a life guard can do to prevent a shark from swimming up under you in the water and attacking you.
How odd that we see signs put up to warn us of potential rip tides and stinging jelly fish that might be in the water but have you ever seen a sign put up at the beach in Florida that informs bathers that there could be sharks in the water?

[HotandHumid]

Originally Posted by vigo

Seriously?

People are attacked by sharks in Florida waters every year and the media using statistics such as stating number of people who get killed in car accidents in Florida to negate the fact that people are taking a risk of being bitten by a shark while swimming in Florida is fool hardy since most people aren't going to stop driving if it's their only way of getting back and forth to work, etc., but people can stop swimming in Florida waters to lessen their chances of being bitten by a shark, which was probably pretty serious to the people who were bitten by them in Florida waters so far this year.
Florida communities post signs all over the place to warn people of alligators in lakes and rivers but when's the last time you saw a sign at a beach informing people that there may be sharks in the water?
No, not that many people get bitten by alligators in relation to how many people die in car accidents in Florida but you still see warning signs about alligators in lakes and rivers.
When I vacationed as a teenager in Florida years ago before moving to Florida, I was in murky water after a tropical storm where there were some dead fish around and I was wearing a flashy gold bracelet and a brightly colored striped bathing suit.
No, I wasn't bitten by a shark but after I got back to Michigan and I was reading an article about shark attacks and what not to do such as swim in murky water after a storm where sharks might be feeding on dead fish or wearing jewelry or a brightly colored bathing suit that a shark might mistake for a fish in the water, I sure didn't feel that Florida much cared about protecting it's tourists and residents from being bitten by a shark considering how many times it happens a year because I never saw a single sign on that beach informing me that there might be sharks in the water and to enter at my own risk.

[Reptoid Humidian]

It's only dangerous when there's a tornado. A --- sharknado..

[1insider]

Public Service Announcement: There are sharks in the ocean. Consider yourselves warned. You guys don't read the "No Littering" signs so we aren't going to waste more money on "Sharks are in the Ocean" signs. We do have signs in some places.



In Florida you are most likely to be bitten (not killed) by a small blacktip or spinner shark if surfing between 2 and 3 PM in the month of September in either Volusia or Brevard County. Jewelry or brightly colored swimwear has not been associated with a greater risk of a bite.

Source: https://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/isaf/graphs.htm