Oh my, its a big shark...breath slowly

[SeaJay]

LOL, if one was to bump me and he could "smell", he might think i was dead because i would crap all over myself.

steve

Heh.

You know, there's a theory that that works. Dunno if there's any truth to it, but that's the theory.

There's really no need to be afraid of these things; it's a matter of handling yourself properly in the water. The fear, whether irrational or not, is real - most people feel the way you do.

Check my site in the FAQ's, like I mentioned above.

There's also this group of pictures: http://pub18.ezboard.com/fsharks77551sharkattacks.showMessageRange?topicID=313.topic&start=1&stop=20 Notice that everyone else's reaction is the same as yours. It comes from many years of seeing movies. The reality is that the shark's got much more to be afraid of than you do.

BTW, I'm not condoning swimming with GW's or "letting your guard down." Being in the ocean with a shark - or any fish capable of inflicting damage - is like being in the yard with your neighbor's pit bull. Actually, it's worse... A dog generally is accustomed to humans, and sharks simply aren't, so they're less predictable.

Swimming with sharks is like being in the woods with wolves or being in the desert with coyotes. Well... Sorta. Wolves and coyotes are predators. Sharks are scavengers, although they're frequently referred to as predators.

Anyway, my point is that the risk isn't as high as it seems, and like scuba diving or climbing communications towers (I just got off one), proper risk management goes a long way and can save your skin.

Oh, and in reference to "if he could smell"... You bet he can. Sharks are amazingly sensitive to all types of bodily fluids... Blood, urine, fecal matter. You'd blow his mind! It'd also be a very new smell to him... Your bodily fluids/matter does not smell like anything he's ever smelled before.

For a really good overview on shark behavior, pick up "The Shark Lady," a book on shark research done over decades by a female doctor... Can't remember her name...

would this hypothetical creature be male or female?

and also, would it be offering me a beer?

too many variables here...

Heh.

Well, that's just it... Your attraction to beer is probably about like his attraction to flesh. Dead and dying flesh, to be more specific. That's why they bump... To see if you're dead or dying. If you come out swinging (it works) then they move on to the easier food.

So yes... It's like there's an alien that comes out of the sky, emitting light from all over his body. He doesn't walk... He kinda shuffles and floats, making funny gurgling sounds. If you could get past your fear, then you might approach out of curiosity... And as you reach him you realize that he smells a little like beer. Not really any sort of beer you've ever had before, but similar. He smells quite a bit.

Do you bite?

What's his proper reaction? Well, if he pulled out a sharp implement and began to shuffle really fast towards you, what would you do?

Same goes with the sharks.

The bottom line is that a frenzied shark will bite anything if he's already feeding and has committed to eating. So... Don't be in the water with feeding sharks. Don't hang out on the surface like you're dead or injured, and if you're bumped, chase that sucker and put a knife in his gills. It doesn't matter how big he is (would it matter to you if it was a small alien or large one?) He won't be back. You wouldn't believe how picky these eaters are.

Hey, SeaJay... it has been a while since I visited the board... how is (did?) your quest for Guiness going (went?)

Hey, Matt. Good to see you!

Progress on the attempt is going well, although I thought I'd be a whole lot further along than this by now. I've done some training and some coordination, but haven't entered the Phases yet. It looks like the attempts are going to be in Florida, and possibly one this summer. There is renewed interest in the attempt from a couple of facilities, including Weeki Wachee Springs. I'll let y'all know what happens.

Where in LI are you?

I'm in South Carolina. I spent a lot of time in NJ when I was a kid, but have never dived Yankee territory.

I grew up in Westhampton Beach, and although I have done very little diving off Long Island I have fished extensively off there and my wife has several professional fisherman (commercial and sport) in her family.

Very cool. That's like my family.

My one brother in law who ran a 50 ft. charter boat out of Montauk for years gave it up a few years back because the large peligic population has dwindled so dramaticaly.

No kidding... You're near the 'Doria.

I wanna get up there and dive that wreck sometime in the next couple of years. Perhaps we can hook up...

 

[DivemasterSteve]

i will admit i am scared of them and i do respect them very much. last time i went to the Bahamas was 2 years ago on Blackbeards and i did go on their shark feed. i have to admit that i will do it again, it was fun but i will also say that they still scare me.

steve

 

[Phaethon]

Cool link to the GWS pics SeaJay!

One of the posts later in that thread mentions: "i have only seen 4 or 5 of these animals over the last 10 years in block island sound to south of montauk..." so that's one every other year - not a bad average.

Cheers,

K.

 

[aujax]

I think all of us in the wreck valley area and new england will see more and more fish like that one. i've heard many stories of GW's in this area, though they are rare (it was a gw who killed all those people back in 1917 in NJ, right?). but the health of these waters is getting better and better. believe it or not, harbor seals and other pinnipeds are coming back up here. last week the ny post reported on a beached harbor seal that was saved in the Bronx, of all places! since they started treating the city's sewage before dumping it in the east river, things have really improved...

 

[salty]

Its a little cold up here for GW and most other sharks. We usaly dont see any untill around July. What you saw sounds more like a blue shark or sand shark/dog fish. Blue sharks are comman and hang in mid water unlike sand tigers.

 

[archman]

Its a little cold up here for GW and most other sharks. We usaly dont see any untill around July. What you saw sounds more like a blue shark or sand shark/dog fish. Blue sharks are comman and hang in mid water unlike sand tigers.

Great whites prefer cold water. That's where their food is (seals and sea lions). It's the warmer water areas (Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean) that hardly ever get the things.

Blue sharks (Prionace glauca) can be found anywhere, but are generally pelagic. Their body shape conforms to this lifestyle. They're not very terrifying looking either... more on the anorexic side.

Sand and dog sharks are usually quite small and not terribly threatening-looking.

I'm still going with the tiger shark. They love wrecks.

 

[mattiedread]

What about a mako? They are the most common large sharks in that area. Those and blue sharks are really the only large sharks that come in on the tournements anymore.

And, I thought it was a bull shark who killed all those people in NJ in 1917... several in the Manasquan River.

 

[Pugsly55]

What about a mako? They are the most common large sharks in that area. Those and blue sharks are really the only large sharks that come in on the tournements anymore.

And, I thought it was a bull shark who killed all those people in NJ in 1917... several in the Manasquan River.

I think it is still up for debate, depending on whose book you read. But, in my humble opinion, a bull as the killer certainly makes a heck of a lot more sense, considering how much time it spent in fresh water.

 

[archman]

Mako's (two species in the genus Isurus) are commonly fished in tournaments with blue's 'cuz both share the same habitat... open water. Neither tend to hang around bottom features like wrecks (exceptions to this are shallow seamounts).
And although mako's are certainly scary-looking (basically a streamlined version of a great white), they move very quickly(they're the fastest sharks alive) and most divers rarely get more than a glimpse... and that usually on a drift dive or deco stop. Their preferred prey are billfish, tuna, and mackerel, which they chase down at speeds exceeding 40 mph.

The 1917 incident has pretty much always been attributed to one or more large bull sharks. One such animal was fished up nearby and found to have human remains in it. Lake Nicaragua in Honduras has landlocked bull sharks in it, and they attack folks all the time. Hardly anybody dives in there.

 

[SeaJay]

In the summer of '87 and '88 I worked at the Mullica River Boat Basin (marina) because it got me closer to the water than working at McD's (I was 17 yeaers old). I enjoyed scuba, but my "big thing" at the time was water skiing... And working the docks, I could manage to find a "pull" about three times a week (I didn't own a boat).

...Anyway, the shark event of 1917 happened not far from the Mullica... Just a few tributaries up, if I recall... Something like 50 or 100 miles away.

Funny now that I look back on it... I learned much of what I know now about the water by growing up in Jaws' waters.

BTW, I never saw a... Wait. I did. Once.

I was going to say that I never saw a shark in the Mullica (brackish water). But I once had to use a forklift to pull the body of a dead shark out of the water. It'd been caught offshore, and it was too big to get into the 55' sport fisher... 20 - something feet, if I recall correctly. They'd lashed it, basically still alive (kinda) to the side of the boat, and headed inland. We were their first stop.

They pulled the boat alongside the shoreline and I used a forklift to pick the shark out of the water. I'm going to say that it was probably something like 20 or 22 feet long. Big sucker. I didn't know much about sharks at the time, so I couldn't really tell you what kind it was.

I remember USCG came around to open the animal's stomach and check it's contents. I don't know why they'd do that, but they did. You wanna talk about nasty? Holy smokes.

They didn't find anything odd in the stomach. I remember having to hose everything off the pier, though.

I also remember getting a little raw in the hands and inner wrists from handling the skin of the shark.

Anyway, that's the only time I ever saw a shark in the Mullica... When it was caught offshore and dragged inshore. It was quite dead by the time it hit brackish water.