AZTinman
Contributor
There might be some interest in this among ScubaBoard members so I thought I'd post the information we currently have. Moderators may want to move this to fatality section of the forum, but more members will probably see it here. Please pardon the length of this post.
Early this past week, I received information about an alleged shark attack on a commercial diver in the Northern Gulf of California southeast of Puerto Penaso, Sonora. The information included a graphic photograph of the victim laying in the bottom of a panga. Out of respect for the victim and his family, I've chosen not to post the actual photograph. Rather, I've included a link (hopefully, it will work) to a TV news video where the editors chose to edit the victims face and the actual wound. Essentially, the victim is missing his entire left leg and the lower portion of his pelvis. The wound extends into the victim's right leg.
Mexican authorities are investigating the incident and the most recent updated information is included in this post (see the section in Italic below). If the fatality is determined to be the result of a shark attack, it would be the first documented shark attack in the Gulf of California that I'm aware of.
It's worth noting that white sharks have been officially documented in the Gulf by researchers. The incident occurred about 6.2 miles southeast of the second largest sea lion rookery (3,500 sea lions live there) in the Gulf. Commercial divers (fishermen) use Hookah rigs to harvest scallops and other types of mollusks throughout the Northern Gulf.
Needless to say, residents of the beach resort of Puerto Penasco are quite upset about this incident as it raises concerns about the safety of tourists. Initially, some members of the dive community wondered if the fatality was really the result of a prop accident. Rumors began circulating late in the week that the fatality was caused by an orca attack. Most of the visitors to the community are under the impression that there are no sharks in Northern Gulf waters. Anyway, take a look at the report. I'll post updates as more information becomes available. Feel free to PM me if you have questions.
-AZTinman
Updated Shark Attack Report – 12/23/18
Expert leans to a white shark attacked diver
An orca would not attack a human the way Nahum was attacked, the man who was diving in the waters of Puerto Peñasco, since they are very intelligent animals, said researcher Felipe Galván Magaña.
The doctor in Marine Ecology said that most likely it was a white shark attack, because the area where the incident occurred and the State is one of the main places where the species lives.
"Because of the shape of the teeth, they leave their characteristic starter mark, but sometimes, because the bite and the pull they make are so strong, they can not be identified, but in that area there is a white shark.
"The killer whales do not really attack directly, they are very intelligent, the problem with that area is that sometimes the water is very cloudy and the sharks see silhouettes, and he (the deceased) was dressed in black, then it could look like a seal or a wolf marine, "he stressed.
The researcher from the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) emphasized that killer whales are very intelligent and that they detect the presence of their prey with their sound and detection system.
Last Wednesday a diver was attacked by a marine species, 21 nautical miles from Puerto Peñasco.
The Attorney General's Office of the State (FGJE) reported that according to the autopsy and analysis performed on Nahum, 37, he said that the death was due to an immediate hypovolemic shock, derived from traumatic amputation of the left pelvic member.
Early this past week, I received information about an alleged shark attack on a commercial diver in the Northern Gulf of California southeast of Puerto Penaso, Sonora. The information included a graphic photograph of the victim laying in the bottom of a panga. Out of respect for the victim and his family, I've chosen not to post the actual photograph. Rather, I've included a link (hopefully, it will work) to a TV news video where the editors chose to edit the victims face and the actual wound. Essentially, the victim is missing his entire left leg and the lower portion of his pelvis. The wound extends into the victim's right leg.
Mexican authorities are investigating the incident and the most recent updated information is included in this post (see the section in Italic below). If the fatality is determined to be the result of a shark attack, it would be the first documented shark attack in the Gulf of California that I'm aware of.
It's worth noting that white sharks have been officially documented in the Gulf by researchers. The incident occurred about 6.2 miles southeast of the second largest sea lion rookery (3,500 sea lions live there) in the Gulf. Commercial divers (fishermen) use Hookah rigs to harvest scallops and other types of mollusks throughout the Northern Gulf.
Needless to say, residents of the beach resort of Puerto Penasco are quite upset about this incident as it raises concerns about the safety of tourists. Initially, some members of the dive community wondered if the fatality was really the result of a prop accident. Rumors began circulating late in the week that the fatality was caused by an orca attack. Most of the visitors to the community are under the impression that there are no sharks in Northern Gulf waters. Anyway, take a look at the report. I'll post updates as more information becomes available. Feel free to PM me if you have questions.
-AZTinman
Updated Shark Attack Report – 12/23/18
Expert leans to a white shark attacked diver
An orca would not attack a human the way Nahum was attacked, the man who was diving in the waters of Puerto Peñasco, since they are very intelligent animals, said researcher Felipe Galván Magaña.
The doctor in Marine Ecology said that most likely it was a white shark attack, because the area where the incident occurred and the State is one of the main places where the species lives.
"Because of the shape of the teeth, they leave their characteristic starter mark, but sometimes, because the bite and the pull they make are so strong, they can not be identified, but in that area there is a white shark.
"The killer whales do not really attack directly, they are very intelligent, the problem with that area is that sometimes the water is very cloudy and the sharks see silhouettes, and he (the deceased) was dressed in black, then it could look like a seal or a wolf marine, "he stressed.
The researcher from the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) emphasized that killer whales are very intelligent and that they detect the presence of their prey with their sound and detection system.
Last Wednesday a diver was attacked by a marine species, 21 nautical miles from Puerto Peñasco.
The Attorney General's Office of the State (FGJE) reported that according to the autopsy and analysis performed on Nahum, 37, he said that the death was due to an immediate hypovolemic shock, derived from traumatic amputation of the left pelvic member.
