SharkArchives.com

Source: winknews.com

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Shark attacks worldwide dipped last year to their lowest level in five years.

University of Florida shark researcher George Burgess says there were 59 attacks in 2008, compared to 71 in 2007. He attributes the decline to economy and fewer people going to the beach.

There were four fatal attacks last year, an average number, compared with only one in 2007, which marked a two-decade low. Two of the deaths were in Mexico, one was in Australia and one was in the United States.

Burgess is an ichthyologist and director of the International Shark Attack File, which is housed at the University of Florida.

Shark Attack

Source: telegraph.co.uk

Nari the dolphin, who was popular with tourists, sustained deep bite marks to his head and back during a shark attack on Friday. The injuries could have proved fatal had he not received medical attention.

A regular at a nightly hand-feeding event at Moreton Island off Brisbane, Nari had disappeared after being spotted with severe injuries.

Sea World vets feared he had died when he did not appear at feeding time for days.

However, on Tuesday night Nari reappeared at the beach, looking tired and frail. He was led in to shore by his mate Echo, where he was captured by waiting vets and volunteers without a struggle.

Nari, one of a pod of 11 wild dolphins who regularly attend the feeding event at Tangalooma Resort, was transferred to Sea World on the Gold Coast where he underwent surgery for his deep wounds and was given antibiotics to prevent infection.

He was initially force-fed but is now eating voluntarily again and is recovering in a recuperation tank. Nari is expected to make a full recovery and rejoin the pod within eight weeks.

Trevor Long, Director of Marine Sciences, said the Sea World team used anaesthetic to remove dead flesh from Nari’s gaping wound.

“We are extremely pleased with Nari’s progress and are feeling very positive about his recovery.

“Nari has begun eating voluntarily and is exhibiting encouraging behaviour which is a very good sign,” Mr Long told Australian Associated Press.

“He may also require further surgery to remove more dead skin as he heals.”

Dolphins

Source: dailymail.co.uk

A surfer’s arm was shredded by a shark off Australia’s Bondi Beach - the first attack at the popular tourist spot for 80 years.

The 33-year-old man, whose name was not released, suffered severe arm injuries, police said. Other surfers helped him to shore, where volunteers helped to stop his bleeding.

The man underwent a 10-hour surgery at St. Vincent’s Hospital, and was in serious but stable condition, hospital spokesman David Faktor said.

‘We could see all of his bones cut like with a big knife. It was very clear,’ French tourist Mikael Thomas, 21, said.

Lifeguards sounded the beach’s shark alarm and cleared the water. Surfer James McIntosh, 29, said he tied a leg rope around the victim’s arm as a tourniquet.

‘I just kept pulling that leg rope as hard as I could. As soon as we put the tourniquet on there wasn’t any bleeding,’ he added.

On Wednesday, a Navy diver lost his hand after fighting off a shark in Sydney Harbour, not far from the Opera House. His leg was also badly mauled.

A recent string of shark attacks across Australia has left some swimmers jittery. 

In December, 51-year-old Brian Guest vanished while snorkeling with his son off a beach in Western Australia. A piece of his wet suit was later found, and officials said he was almost certainly eaten by a shark.

Last month, a 13-year-old surfer in the island state of Tasmania was dragged under water by a 16-foot great white shark, and a 31-year-old surfer was bitten while surfing at a remote beach in New South Wales state the same day. Both survived.

The following day, a shark latched onto the leg of a snorkeler in southern New South Wales. The man survived after pummeling the creature with his fists until the shark let go.

Most experts agree the cluster of attacks is a freak coincidence and say there is no evidence of an increase in the country’s shark population. 

Nevertheless, some have argued that cleaner, nutrient-rich waters have boosted the animals’ reproduction and drawn them into shallow waters.

Although sharks are often spotted off Australia’s beaches, fatal attacks are rare. 

On average, just one person is killed by a shark in Australia each year, according to the Australian Shark Attack File database.

Shark Attack

Source: sbs.com.au

A Navy diver who lost his hand after being attacked by a shark in Sydney Harbour says he is about to have his leg amputated, but is looking forward to rebuilding his life and career.

Navy clearance diver Able Seaman Paul de Gelder was mauled while working between HMAS Kuttabul navy base at Garden Island and Mrs Macquarie’s Chair about dawn last Wednesday. 

The 31-year-old was taking part in an underwater trial to test new naval defence technology when what is believed to have been a bull shark attacked him.

“I will today have my right leg amputated,” Mr de Gelder said in a statement released through the defence department on Wednesday.

He said the past week had been overwhelming, and he would not have survived without the support of numerous people.

Mr de Gelder described his colleagues and mates Leading Seaman Clearance Diver Jeremy Thomas, Able Seaman Clearance Diver Ryan Dart and Seaman Clearance Diver Arthur McLachlin as “a couple of heroes”.

Hopes for career

“(They) pulled me out of the water and saved me from what I understand was a three metre Bull Shark,” he said.

He also offered his thanks to the paramedics “who got me to the hospital within an inch of my life”, as well as the doctors and staff of St Vincent’s Hospital.

He said that his family, friends and workmates had shown him limitless support since the attack.

“During this stressful time, they are keeping a smile on my face and love in my heart.

“I’m looking forward to rebuilding my life and taking on the new challenges I have to face.

“Ultimately I would like to return to what I love - Navy diving.”

Thanks for support

He praised the Royal Australian Navy for its support, and said there were too many others to thank them by name.

“There are so many people who have sent their best wishes and support that I couldn’t possibly name them all, but each of them have helped me to rise above this potentially life shattering situation and I thank them all.”

A spokesman for St Vincents Hospital said Mr de Gelder remained in a stable condition in the hospital’s Naval ward.

The shark attack was the first of two in Sydney last week.

A 33-year-old man, named in the media as Glenn Orgias, was savaged by a shark while surfing at the iconic Bondi Beach at dusk last Thursday.

His hand was almost severed in an attack and he also remains in a stable condition in St Vincent’s Hospital.

Shark Attack

Source: timesonline.co.uk

A Royal Australian Navy clearance diver is in hospital after being mauled by a shark in Sydney Harbour on Wednesday morning.

Able Seaman Paul Degelder was taking part in an anti-terrorism exercise in waters alongside the Navy’s fleet base at Garden Island, near Woolloomooloo in Sydney’s inner-east, when he was attacked on the hand and thigh by what is believed to have been a 10ft bull shark.

The 31-year-old, who was in the water with a police diver, managed to punch the shark a few times and then swim to a safety boat nearby. The attack, which happened on the surface of the water and was over in a matter of seconds, occurred within sight of the popular harbourside tourist lookout at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair and the Sydney Opera House.

Medical sailors from a nearby ship came to his aid and immediately called emergency services who transferred him to a local hospital where he had emergency surgery.

Australian Fleet Commander Rear Admiral Nigel Coates told The Times that Able Seaman Degelder is still in a “very serious condition” but would not divulge his exact injuries, or confirm reports that he may lose his hand.

An ambulance spokesman confirmed his hand had been partially severed, and Admiral Coates admitted Able Seaman Degelder’s injuries could end his career.

“He’s not going to die, but he has got some serious injuries that will take some time to get over,” Admiral Coates told The Times.

The Navy immediately suspended the diving operation, which was part of an underwater trial to test new naval defence technology, while boats searched for the shark.

Admiral Coates said Able Seaman Degelder was a “very popular” member of the Navy and the attack had shaken up his fellow personnel, some of whom had received counselling.

“Some of his mates are with him in hospital, along with his family,” he told The Times.

Able Seaman Degelder has been a member of the Royal Australian Navy for eight years since transferring from the Army. He is a member of Australian Clearance Dive Team One, based at HMAS Penguin in Sydney’s northern suburbs and described by Admiral Coates as a “keen and enthusiastic diver”.

Today’s attack is the first time a shark has mauled a member of the Royal Australian Navy, which will hold an inquiry into the incident and review diving operational procedures.

Jacob Ruru told Sydney’s Daily Telegraph newspaper that on Tuesday evening he saw a “3.5 to 4 metre bull shark chasing and leaping out of the water after bait fish” while he was fishing in the harbour at Mort Bay near Leichhardt in Sydney’s inner-west.

While sharks are commonly sighted in Sydney Harbour, an attack is very rare and there have only been 43 shark attacks over the past 200 years.

The last shark attack in the harbour was at Atol Bay, near Taronga Zoo on Sydney’s north shore. The last fatal shark attack in the harbour occurred in 1963 when Martha Hathaway was killed by a bull shark at Middle Harbour.

Shark expert John West said Bull sharks, which can grow up to 12ft, are one of the more “aggressive” shark species.

He said while bull sharks are “quite capable of taking chunks out of people”, this attack probably occurred because Able Seaman Degelder had inadvertently entered the shark’s personal territory.

“It seems to me this shark probably reacted to a perceived threat by the diver,” Mr West said.

“But it’s a rare occurrence. Sharks are in the harbour, but they are not out there eating people left, right and centre.”

While there are no statistics on the shark population in Sydney Harbour, a spokesman for the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change said regenerated sea life had most likely attracted more of the predators to the waters.

“As the harbour gets healthier and less polluted, the numbers of fish are likely to improve and so you may also have sharks attracted to the whole area,” department spokesman John Dengate said.

Shark Attack

Source: csmonitor.com

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA - Like a predator stalking his prey, Patrick Davids’s eyes rarely stray from the choppy green sea, and his radio is always at the ready.

While the assortment of sunbathers, swimmers, and surfers may not know his name, they know what he does and that one day they may owe him their lives.

Mr. Davids, or “Rasta” as he is better known, is a shark spotter who helped set up one of the world’s only shark-monitoring units along beaches in Cape Town, South Africa.

From a cramped beach hut, Davids has helped build up a network of full-time shark spotters on nine beaches, watching over one of the world’s most shark-infested shorelines.

Nearly seven years ago, the former alcoholic and drug addict was chased out of his Cape Town suburb by vengeful gangsters after falling into debt from his drug habits. He fled to nearby Muizenberg Beach, where he scratched out a living as a car guard.

“My parents didn’t know where I was for two years – and they couldn’t know, because the gangsters were after me,” says Davids. “I was in big trouble, and I was drinking and smoking too much. I was homeless and looking in [garbage] bins for food.”

But after two years, his car-guarding career was about to change. In April 2004, a local teen, J.P. Andrews, was attacked by a great white shark while surfing off Muizenberg. Doctors pronounced him dead on the beach – but his life was saved, though he lost his right leg.

The effect on local businesses was profound as people stayed out of the water and off the beaches.

START OF DAVIDS’S SHARK-SPOTTING ‘CAREER’

Two weeks after the attack, a local surfer gave Davids some binoculars and asked him to scale a nearby mountain to keep a lookout.

“If I saw a shark, I was to phone a local surf shop, who’d [send someone to] the beach and warn people to get out of the water,” Davids says. “Some of the surfers and businesses would pay me.”

Dressed in a white T-shirt with a shark emblazoned on the back, shorts, dark sunglasses, his dreadlocks sticking out under a well-worn cap, Davids now oversees a much larger operation.

Since 2004, staff numbers have grown to around 36 in the summer – 16 in winter – boosted by increased sponsorship, including an annual 1.5 million rand ($154,000) budget for the next four years from the City Council.

But while Davids is confident in his ability to protect people from sharks, he’s not complacent.

THE ‘MCDONALD’S OF THE SEA’

Davids says it’s not surprising that sharks visit the area. “There is Seal Island, which has 78,000 seals and a lot of baby seals that stray from their mothers,” he says, pointing to a small outcrop in the bay. “There are penguins in [nearby] Simon’s Town. Dolphins, yellowtail [a fish] and birds come here to breed – plenty of feeding opportunities. I call it the McDonald’s of the sea.

“They’ve been coming here for millions of years, but now humans use the sea more and more: surfing, surfing with parachutes, swimming.”

Davids is well-respected on the beach. Surfers and swimmers are given reassurance; beach bums nod and say hello.

In a country racked by poverty and crime, he’s a welcome sight – even if in a previous life he stole to feed his habits.

But his main priority is spotting sharks. Officials at the local Save Our Seas Shark Center have tagged 78 great whites in False Bay that migrate to Australia and Mexico in the winter.

Center marine biologist Alison Kock, who also carries out research for Shark Spotters, says the network has been invaluable.

“When we had the attacks in 2004, it became critical for businesses and Cape Town,” says Ms. Kock. “People didn’t want to go in the water, they were scared. It’s very difficult to change people’s perceptions of the shark, but they’re not the threat they think they are.

“That’s why [Davids] and the spotters are terrific. Yes, they keep watch on shark movements but they also help educate people about great whites.

“[Davids] is absolutely fantastic – he almost owns the beach at Muizenberg. He’s central to what happens, but also deals with general inquiries, safety, and people look out for him. People love him down there.”

The shark spotters have assigned names for some of their more regular visitors: Charlize, a 4.5-meter-long female named after South African actress Charlize Theron; Speedy, who dives in the waves like a surfer; Nosey, who spends her time swimming in and out of shore; and Rosy, who has a roselike pattern on her dorsal fin.

Spotters work a five-hour morning or afternoon shift and get paid 90 rand ($9.25). They are equipped with whistles, binoculars, and foghorns, and are in constant touch via radio.

On the beach, the spotters employ four warning flags, including a white banner with the silhouette of a black shark warning swimmers to leave the ocean. Since helping set up the network, there have been 476 recorded sightings, but no attacks on humans.

“We try and minimize the risk of attack, but we can’t say 100 percent there will never be another one,” says Davids.

“There are more scary, two-legged sharks on land who come into your house…. I’d rather take my chances in the ocean than land,” he adds, before his walkie-talkie crackles into life and he heads off along the shoreline.

Shark Sighting