Fatal Shark Attack Closes Beaches in Southern California

White Shark attacks seem to have increased in recent years. According to The International Shark Attack File (ISAF) 112 alleged incidents of unprovoked shark-human were investigated worldwide in 2007. Unprovoked attacks are defined as incidents where an attack on a live human by a shark occurs in its natural habitat without human provocation. Only 71 were actually confirmed as Great White attacks.

With Friday's, April 25, 2008, fatal attack of David Martin, the beaches in the San Diego area remained closed on Saturday. Martin was 66 and died on the beach after a Great White Shark lifted him out of the water with his legs in its enormous jaws. The shark shred Martin's wetsuit and left deep lacerations upon Martin's body. Richard Rossenblat, a professor emeritus of marine biology, believed that according to the bite marks on Martin's body, the shark must have been 12 to 17 feet in length and could have weighed up to 5,000 pounds.

The majority (61%: 43 attacks) of unprovoked attacks occurred in North American waters. Each year at least half of the world's attacks occur in United States, including Hawaiian waters. Pacific attacks occurred mainly in California, Oregon, and Alaskan waters; while most of the attacks in the Atlantic were in Florida waters. Florida had 32 unprovoked Great White attacks in 2007. Elsewhere, attacks occurred in Australia (13- up from 7 in 2006 but similar to 2004-2005 totals of 13 and 10), South Africa (2), and New Caledonia (2), with single incidents reported from Fiji, Ecuador, Mexico, and New Zealand.

Sharks have existed as a group for over 350 million years. Great White Sharks often reach lengths of 20 feet and weigh around 5,000 pounds. Great White Sharks often reach lengths of 20 feet and weigh around 5,00 pounds. Great White Sharks are also the world's largest known predatory fish. Females are often larger than males and more predatory as well. Unlike other fish, sharks have no internal bone structure. Instead have a cartilaginous skeleton, allowing them to move very quickly. No living victims of shark attacks ever saw the shark in advance. They move to fast.

The Great White (Carcharodon carcharias) prefers temperate waters throughout the world's oceans. Great Whites dine on a diet of sea lions, elephant seals, dolphins, other sharks, sting rays, fish, seabirds, and marine turtles. The waters off central California are a delicatessen of rich food for white sharks. Every summer and fall it is common for them to feed in near shore areas. The Farallon Islands, a national wildlife refuge about 27 miles off San Francisco, is a common feeding ground for the sharks. The northern elephant seal, the California sea lion, the Steller sea lion, and the Harbor seal, live around and breed on these islands. The coastal waters along central California, around the Año Nuevo State Reserve, and along the Marin Headlands, lay another popular breeding ground for Great White. In the summer the sharks feed on seals and sea lions along the coast as far north as Oregon, occasionally migrating as far as the Gulf of Alaska. The autumn months they journey south and feed along the offshore islands. It is believed that female white sharks migrate to southern California to give birth to their offspring. During warmer than normal years, El Niño years, white sharks are more plentiful off central California because both they, and their prey, have shifted north.

How to Avoid Being Attacked:
•Don't swim, surf, or dive alone. The mere presence of your companion may deter a potentially dangerous shark and - should anything happen - at least help is close at hand.

•Stay away from the mouths of rivers after heavy rains because fresh water fish and other animals are swept out to sea.

•Avoid entering the ocean at between dusk and dawn. This is when sharks feed most actively and you cannot see well to defend yourself in the event of an attack.

•Avoid areas where there has recently been an attack or where large shark has recently been seen.

•Wear swim goggles or a face mask and take the time to look beneath the surface regularly. Such will greatly increase your chances of spotting an approaching shark and, if necessary, defend yourself.

•Pay attention to what's going on in the marine environment around you. If fishes and other marine life suddenly disappear or begin to swim erratically, leave the water while looking around very carefully - a shark is probably hunting in the immediate area.

•Keep a first aid kit with you at all times and maintain current status in first aid training from a recognized agency (Red Cross, St. John Ambulance, etc.). Having the appropriate tools and training may help save a life.

•White shark attacks upon humans usually happen in water 10-30 feet deep that is near the shore.

•Great White Sharks distinguish between contrasts very easily. Therefore do not wear high-contrast clothes, such as yellow or orange. Also don't wear anything shiny that could be thought of by the shark as a fish.

•Never go into the water if you are bleeding. If you injure yourself in the water and start to bleed, get out immediately. Sharks are very sensitive to the smell of blood and can smell or taste the smallest amount of blood over a mile away.

To learn more about sharks visit your local library, the web The International Shark Attack File (ISAF), and natural history museums and aquariums.

http://research.calacademy.org/research/
http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/topics/saf_attacks.htm#attacked
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/vertebrates/Doug/shark.html