Saturday, May 19, 2007

Forbes Traveler Annual "Scary Beach" Article

Well it's beach season again. Time for spooky stories in the mainstream media about killer sharks, deadly jellyfish, etc. Why do we like to scare ourselves so much?

Forbes Traveler has come out with a suitably scary article in its online magazine about the top "10 Shark Infested Beaches." At least they do point out that the danger from sharks is much less than the dangers from bees, wasps, snakes, and drowning.

Here is the list, according to the author of the article, Adrian Lurssen:

Kosi Bay, South Africa
Gansbaai, South Africa (east of Capetown)
Brisbane, Australia
Bolinas Beach, California (north of San Francisco in Marin County)
New Smyrna Beach, Florida (shark attack capital of the world)
Umhlanga Rocks, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa
North Shore, Oahu
Recife, Brazil
Kahana, West Maui, Hawaii
West End, Grand Bahama Island

Why are there more shark bites at these beaches than others?

Simple. The main reason is that there are more people in the water at these beaches.
A second reason is that some of the beaches are near waters where there are large
populations of seals which attract large sharks. A surfer paddling a surfboard looks a lot like a seal when viewed from below.

The author of the article notes that West End, Bahama Island made the list even though it has only had 4 unprovoked shark bites since 1749, none fatal. But that's still "more than all others in the Bahamas." Not very scary.

New Smyrna, Florida has lots of small bites from blacktip and spinner sharks, usually to the hands or feet of surfers. Surfers usually find themselves in rough, murky water. Sharks don't see well in murky water, but they feed actively in the surf zone. Sometimes they grab a hand or foot. Usually they let go when they realize it isn't a fish. For more detailed info on shark bites in Florida, download my free ebook on beach safety from Beachhunter.net.

In 2005, Forbes interviewed me for an article on "Death Beaches." I gave a few tips for staying safe at the beach, and surprised the author when I told her that the biggest danger at the beach is drowning. Not sharks. Not jellyfish. Not stingrays.

But really, driving to the beach is the most dangerous act of all.

Labels: , , ,