SHARK ATTACK IN AVON N.C.

[KENNY BRITE]

GREETINGS
I WAS FIRST ON SCENE MONDAY.IT WAS LIKE NOTHING I'VE EVER SEEN!!I RESPONDED POV AND IT SEEMED LIKE TWO HOURS BEFORE THE RESCUE SQUAD AND MEDIC UNIT ARRIVED,BUT IT WAS ONLY ABOUT SIX MINUTES.
I'VE NEVER FELT SO HELPLESS.MY FIRST AID KIT WAS USELESS.
I'M GOING TO CISD THURSDAY.I FEEL I'M O.K.,BUT MAYBE I CAN HELP SOME OF THE OTHERS.I'LL PROBROBLY BE BETTER OFF MYSELF.
SIX AGENCIES WERE INVOLVED.IT WAS THE BIGGEST RESPONSE I'VE EVER SEEN IN THIS LITTLE TOWN OF 500 PEOPLE.
HOPE IT DOESN'T HAPPEN TO ANYBODY ELSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[NCRSQ751]

Amen to that.

I think the hysteria over the shark attacks this year is ridiculous though. I'm sure you can attest to the fact that these are rare in NC (first one in 40 years I believe).

And this is actually a slow year for our finned friends. Shark attacks are down.

There is simply a large media focus this year where in the past it has been successfully kept quiet by the tourism industry.

This is nothing new in the world folks - just high profile for once. The beaches have actually (overall) been safer this year!

[hctrouble25]

Susan:

Next time research your facts - http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Sharks...cs/statsus.htm

Last year 5 people were attacked by sharks in NC, 34 in FL - one of which was fatal, 2 in Hawaii, 3 in CA, 1 in SC, and 2 in TX. The difference now is that sharks are attacking at a faster more deadly rate and they are migrating into waters they had not previously inhabited. My rule is "stay out of the water". The sharks are trying to tell us something and I am definitely listening.

The attacks are on an upswing and the fatalities are growing in number. http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Sharks/Statistics/Act.htm
It is not that all of a sudden this is news..it is that more deaths are being recorded and reported and the scientists that work with sharks are telling us to pay attention more than they ever have in the past.

The sharks that seem to be most responsible for unprovoked and fatal attacks are the White Sharks. http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Sharks/White/Decade.htm
However, in recent years the Bull Shark is becoming a contender for most feared since these sharks will live and breed in shallow murky waters like those located in and around Florida.

All I know is I don't like the ocean much anymore and I certainly don't think I could fend off a 6 foot shark that weighed 400lbs. I just avoid the water and let them have their space.

[gah74]

HCTrouble...

Next time research the correct facts.

According to George Burgess, a biologist at the University of Florida who runs the International Shark Attack File of the Florida Museum of Natural History, "The basic perception that we're having an exceptionally sharky year is wrong." The updated numbers show that shark attacks are down this year with 52 reported so far. The overall number was 84 for 2000, 58 for 1999, and 54 for 1998.

The perception of this year as a particularly bad one does have some backing in US statistics. However, much of this is attributed to the increase over the decades to millions more people going to the beach and the increasing popularity of water sports. There have been no significant findings that indicate different behavior in the sharks themselves.

...much of this was straight out of the Associated Press during an interview with the guy who collects and interprets the data that you threw up there.

[nonameFF]

Not to minimize the tragedy of the attacks, but how about the STUPIDITY of the surfers in Florida?

In one weekend they had 3 attacks during a tournament at one beach and everyone kept going back in..... Duh!

[hctrouble25]

gah - please provide specific links to websites that I can read for myself...at least I put my sourced right up there with links. I also read similar facts on several other websites that are known for shark research. I am sure everyone could go to websites and get different information...the problem is still that more people are getting killed this year then in previous years and people are not taking it seriously. I mean..come on...if a guy got killed or attacked in Wildwood NJ I certainly wouldn't go there the next week and swim in those waters...that is pretty much common sense. Say what you want but I am not fool enough to go out there and try and fend off a shark...I doubt I would win.

[NCRSQ751]

So shoot me, I forgot to add the word fatal.

Hysteria like yours hctrouble is what causes such panic. This is merely media attention due to the first Florida attack.

Follow the common sense rules and you have more of a chance of being hit by lightening twice on the same day as you win the lottery.

I'd think that after being involved in Emergency Services for any length of time you'd be more prone to not jump at media hype.

[nonameFF]

Anyone catch the video on the news last night of the surfers off florida with the shark swimming in between them?

[hctrouble25]

Actually Susan it is not hysteria...it is common sense. I don't go into their waters, and they stay off my land. It works out well for both parties.

You and I have chatted before and believe me there is very little that we will EVER agree upon. Let's just leave it at that. But in the future a little research on your part wouldn't hurt.

And for the record my father was attacked by a shark but luckily was a professional scuba diver at the time and managed to stay calm enough to survive and got away with only a chunk of his flipper missing and not a chunk of his body. So it does happen out there...it is not myth, over exagerrated, or the media playing this up. It is reality. Sorry to break the news to ya.

[hctrouble25]

Actually Susan it is not hysteria...it is common sense. I don't go into their waters, and they stay off my land. It works out well for both parties.

You and I have chatted before and believe me there is very little that we will EVER agree upon. Let's just leave it at that. But in the future a little research on your part wouldn't hurt.

And for the record my father was attacked by a shark but luckily was a professional scuba diver at the time and managed to stay calm enough to survive and got away with only a chunk of his flipper missing and not a chunk of his body. So it does happen out there...it is not myth, over exagerrated, or the media playing this up. It is reality. Sorry to break the news to ya.

[gah74]

hctrouble...

Would you stop whining. I don't think any of us are shark experts. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not. However, if you want to come on here and tell people to "research the facts," then next time you better figure out what they are.

I agree that we can go from site to site finding contradicting information. ...so present what you found, but don't try to pass it off like Susan is wrong and you're right.

So, if you gotta have a link, here it is: http://www.dallasnews.com/national/4..._05nat.AR.html

One of the scientist quouted in this article is a lead researcher from the musuem you quoted...

The odds of getting attacked by a shark are remote. Lets think about how many fatalities and/or attacks there have been this year...now think of how many people are in the ocean on the beaches every day....day after day after day after day. Should we close the beaches? You say people aren't taking it seriously. What do you want us to do? I stand a better chance of sustaining an injury from beating myself over the head after listening to the knee-jerk reactions of some of the posts in here.

[hctrouble25]

I never said she was right or I was right, or that either of us were wrong. Simply that she seemed to have a whole lot of facts with very little to back it up..for all I know those are just her opinions. Defend her all you want it does not change the fact that she had no actual sourced facts to present.

And I also never said that you WOULD definitely get attacked if you went in the water, just that I don't go in cause I don't want to chance it. That is my choice. But with the upswing of attacks lately I feel it is wise to avoid the water until the scientists get more info on what is going on.

So in the future let her fight her own damn battles, I have tangled with Susan before and she is quite capable of making an intelligent argument on her own.

[nonameFF]

Anyone familiar with the quote

"Perception is reality"??

If people think attacks are up, they are. It's unfortunate that the media can determine reality, but they do.

(and I'm not even gonna get into the "when the millenium began" issue....LOL)

[gah74]

I'm not arguing for Susan, I'm arguing against what you try to portray as fact. You're citing statistics and then putting your own spin on them. You continue to say that attacks are up, but the scientist who collects the data you cited say they are not. It all depends on what you're looking at...and as scientifically significant goes...the statistics don't support what you are saying.

...and if I look at nothing except what you posted

5 people were attacked by sharks in NC, 34 in FL - one of which was fatal, 2 in Hawaii, 3 in CA, 1 in SC, and 2 in TX.

...this adds up to a whopping total of 47 people. Have you ever been to the beach? Do you realize how many people are on US beaches every day? ...and if you do realize this, use some of that common sense you were referring to earlier. What is it that the sharks are trying to tell us exactly? That out of the hundreds of thousands of people in the water every year only about 54 a year are worth eating or trying to eat.

Come on in, Trouble, the water is fine!

[PAVolunteer]

To reiterate what gah said, let's say that on any given day, there are, I don't know, let's say 1 Million people in the ocean all over the world. HOLY COW!!! ON MONDAY TWO OF THEM WERE BITTEN BY SHARKS!!! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD GET OUT OF THE WATER WHEREVER YOU ARE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD!!!

It's like every single person in the world playing the lottery on the same day and all of them expecting to win.

Now, I don't have any links to any websites to back this up, but I'm guessing that all of the following are more likely to happen to you on any given day than getting attacked by a shark at the beach.

Dying in a car accident
Dying in a fire
Dying in a car accident w/ fire
Getting hit by a car and dying
Getting attacked by a dog
Get my point?

I'm still walking down the street, and even crossing it, even against these incredible odds. HCTrouble, you're giving female FF's a bad name ... soon people will think that all of them are psycho.

Stay Safe