Florida Shark Attacks on BeachHunter.net

Above video: Nurse sharks have small mouths and small teeth, but when they bite, they lock down and don't let go. The only way you are likely to run afoul of a nurse shark is if you step on one (they can rest on the bottom), or if you are a diver and decide to harass one. As you can see in the video above, they don't let go. Imagine if this were an 8 footer. It could easily drown the diver.

Reducing Your Chance of Being Bitten by a Shark

It is important to understand that people frequently encounter sharks without being bitten. Often a shark swims right by a person, who never realizes a shark is nearby. I recently saw a 3 foot shark hunting a school of mullet within 50 feet of a group of swimmers.

Based on what we think we know about sharks, and based on actual experiences and common sense, here are ways generally thought to minimize your chances of encountering a shark in a situation where it may bite you: 

• Never enter the water if you are bleeding. This includes menstrual blood. According to the Mote Marine Lab website, sharks are much more interested in fish blood than in human or animal blood, but the long held belief is that you should not be in the water if you are bleeding. Sounds like a no-brainer to me. Needless to say, if you injure yourself while swimming and are bleeding, get out of the water. 

• Avoid swimming during early morning and during the sunset hours. Sharks often come into shallow water to feed during those hours. Definitely don’t swim at night! 

• Avoid swimming in murky waters.  Sharks rely on their sense of sight as well as other senses. They can see very well in the dark, but sediment and algae suspended in the water makes it hard for them to see you. They may bite you before they realize you are not a fish. It is also harder for you to see an approaching shark in murky water. Clear shallow waters give you a much better opportunity to see an approaching shark. 

• Swim near other people. It seems that sharks are more likely to attack a swimmer that is alone or separated from a group. Some sharks prefer not to confront their prey; they want to sneak up from below or from behind. If they can’t do that, they may not bite.

• Don’t swim too far from shore. Florida waters usually have a shallow sandbar a short distance from shore. The generally held belief is that going into the deeper water beyond the first sandbar MAY increase a person’s chance of encountering a shark. Also, being that far out makes it more difficult for help to reach you if you are in distress, for whatever reason. 

• Don’t swim in schools of baitfish or mullet. If you see a lot of fish jumping and splashing it means they are trying to get away from a predator. This may mean that large fish are chasing and feeding on smaller fish, or it may mean the presence of sharks. It surely is a situation that might attract a hungry shark. Get out of the water and wait for the fish to go elsewhere. Flocks of sea birds diving repeatedly in one area are another indication that baitfish are present. 

• Avoid fishing where people are swimming, and of course, avoid swimming where people are fishing. When a fish is hooked, its frantic movements to escape may attract sharks. I wouldn’t advise standing in the water you are fishing in. If you do, and you catch a fish, get the fish out of the water right away. Whatever you do, don’t tie a stringer of fish to your waist. 

• Don’t jump off a pier, dock, seawall, or boat into dark murky water. You may startle a passing shark. Sharks are territorial and are quick to protect themselves by biting. Unfortunately this type of accident happened not long ago in St. Petersburg, Florida. A man jumped off his boat dock to take his daily swim in the bay and apparently jumped right on top of a shark swimming by in the dark water. The shark bit him and he died.
   

• Don’t wear shiny objects while swimming. The gold or silver flash of a watch, ring, necklace, or bracelet looks just like the sun’s reflection off the scales of a fish underwater. Not only can this attract a shark’s attention, it can also attract the unwanted attention of a barracuda. Barracudas are notorious for striking at shiny objects. Barracuda can grow quite large and they move like lightning. Below is a photo of a 4 foot barracuda. I wouldn’t want it to mistake my watch for a fish!
  
   

• Avoid swimming in or near passes, river-mouths, channels, drop-offs, or in deep water past the sand bars. Passes are the waterways between islands that allow water to move between the Gulf and the bays. Water moves swiftly through these passes and carries a lot of shark food with it. Don’t be there with the rest of the shark food. Anywhere there is an abrupt change in currents, salinity, or water depth there is increased food opportunity for fish and therefore sharks.
   

• Avoid swimming with your dog. Dogs splashing around in the water are great shark attractors.
   

• If you see sharks in the water, get out of the water as quietly and as quickly as possible. It doesn’t seem like I would have to say this, but some folks, especially surfers, tend to want to hang out for “one more wave.”
   

• Like most large predators, sharks move around a lot. During the spring and early summer they move into shallow waters to give birth. Some shark species prey on the young (pups) of other sharks. This means a lot of hungry sharks are coming into shallow water at the same time people are heading to the beaches. You should especially avoid engaging in risky behaviors during those times.

After writing all that cautionary stuff, I must say  I've been swimming in the Gulf since I was a kid and I've never been bitten. In fact for several years as a teenager I spent a lot of time on a surfboard splashing around like a wounded seal before sunrise, long after sunset, in murky water, in the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. So just follow common sense rules and there's a 99.9999999% chance you won't have any problem. Yeah, I know, I know...it's that .000000001% chance that gives you the creeps.