How many fatal shark attacks to stop you diving
- Thread starter Foxfish
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scubastingray
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Tigerman
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Unless of course they where personally molested by a shark, IN THE RECENT PAST!
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The following is further evidence of beach warnings in areas where shark attacks are considered likely. Last year a girl swam in shark infested waters off Brazil, ignoring the warnings on the beach signs. She was attacked by a shark and bled to death.
Here are a couple of news articles on the incident.
Shark attack claims Brazilian teen's life - CNN.com
Brazil shark attack video: Fatal attack upon teenage tourist Bruna Gobbi off Boa Viagem beach in Recife | Metro News
So there is another data point to add to the mix.
A beach security video camera filmed the incident. Warning signs on the beach can be seen at 4:01 on the beach.
Bull Shark Attack in Recife Brazil - last shot made by girl attacked - YouTube
When something like this happens the affect is not isolated. It is felt within the family and community. There were several lifesavers in the area that risked their own safety to assist the girls.
These attacks were not on scuba divers, but the example serves to highlight that when there is a serious risk of a shark attack, people and communities take steps to mitigate the risk, even if those steps are ineffective.
Scuba divers are not exempt. I count 36 recorded fatal attacks on Shark Attack Files SAS. Twelve were by white pointers. In many cases the species remained unidentified. One fatality was by a bull shark. In our area, I'd suggest the relatively low percent of fatal attacks on scuba divers in the statistics is mostly due to a diver's low level of exposure compared to say surfers and swimmers. The more diving you do, the greater the risk.
And finally a number of the more vocal posters are from areas like Norway, the US and Canada where the risk of a fatal shark attack is relatively low or non existent. Here is a video of the girl reported in the above articles showing the extent of her injuries after the attack. I offer it as part of your ongoing education on this subject. I've seen photos of the remains of people attacked by white pointers and this is relatively benign in comparison. Clearly they were not mistaken for seals.
This video show a the injuries of a girl fatally attacked by a shark in Brazil. Viewer discretion is advised. Eighteen-year-old female killed in Brazil shark attack - 22/07/2013 - YouTube
Here are a couple of news articles on the incident.
Shark attack claims Brazilian teen's life - CNN.com
Brazil shark attack video: Fatal attack upon teenage tourist Bruna Gobbi off Boa Viagem beach in Recife | Metro News
So there is another data point to add to the mix.
A beach security video camera filmed the incident. Warning signs on the beach can be seen at 4:01 on the beach.
Bull Shark Attack in Recife Brazil - last shot made by girl attacked - YouTube
When something like this happens the affect is not isolated. It is felt within the family and community. There were several lifesavers in the area that risked their own safety to assist the girls.
These attacks were not on scuba divers, but the example serves to highlight that when there is a serious risk of a shark attack, people and communities take steps to mitigate the risk, even if those steps are ineffective.
Scuba divers are not exempt. I count 36 recorded fatal attacks on Shark Attack Files SAS. Twelve were by white pointers. In many cases the species remained unidentified. One fatality was by a bull shark. In our area, I'd suggest the relatively low percent of fatal attacks on scuba divers in the statistics is mostly due to a diver's low level of exposure compared to say surfers and swimmers. The more diving you do, the greater the risk.
And finally a number of the more vocal posters are from areas like Norway, the US and Canada where the risk of a fatal shark attack is relatively low or non existent. Here is a video of the girl reported in the above articles showing the extent of her injuries after the attack. I offer it as part of your ongoing education on this subject. I've seen photos of the remains of people attacked by white pointers and this is relatively benign in comparison. Clearly they were not mistaken for seals.
This video show a the injuries of a girl fatally attacked by a shark in Brazil. Viewer discretion is advised. Eighteen-year-old female killed in Brazil shark attack - 22/07/2013 - YouTube
And of your count of scuba diver death.. How many were abalone diving? I ask because iv seen it noted throughout thread by u and it's pretty well known that particular job is very prone to great white attacks so their own choice of risk vs reward should excuse them from the statistics
I live in Canada but no longer dive in Canada. I'm a shark hunter. Just diving with some a few weeks ago. My greatest thrill diving with sharks so far was in Sipidan where there were hundreds of them. At Halfmoon Caye last November we had 4 or 5 hanging out with us and one decided to be particularly friendly with me. Loved every moment of it. I could go on and on relating the many encounters, some very very close, but you are not capable of understanding. Nor are you capable of changing my mind nor those of a like mind. No matter what you post here, no matter how often. We are divers and that's what we do. We go into the sea to see what gifts the sea will offer us on every dive. Sometimes it's sharks. Woohoo!
I am going to provide a generic response to Foxfish's repeated arguments to make it easier to respond to him every time he says roughly the same thing:
When he says that people have been attacked while swimming in relatively shallow water near shore, respond with "The overwhelming majority of shark attacks occur to people wading or swimming in relatively shallow water near shore. Scuba Divers are found in deeper water where such attacks are exceedingly rare. This has nothing to do with scuba diving, so it does not matter to us."
When he gives statistics of surfers that have been attacked, respond with "Surfing is done in relatively shallow water near shore. Scuba Divers are found in deeper water where such attacks are exceedingly rare. This has nothing to do with scuba diving, so it does not matter to us."
When he talks about a researcher who frequently wades with bull sharks taking a hit one time 10 years ago, respond with "Wading with bull sharks is a very rare activity done in relatively shallow water near shore. Scuba Divers are found in deeper water where such attacks are exceedingly rare. This has nothing to do with scuba diving, so it does not matter to us."
When he digs and digs and finally finds a few rare cases of scuba divers having encounters while spearfishing or performing other actions that compete with sharks for food, respond with "The overwhelming majority scuba Divers do not hunt or otherwise compete with sharks for food. This has nothing to do with normal scuba diving, so it does not matter to us."
When he gives statistics of surfers that have been attacked, respond with "Surfing is done in relatively shallow water near shore. Scuba Divers are found in deeper water where such attacks are exceedingly rare. This has nothing to do with scuba diving, so it does not matter to us."
When he talks about a researcher who frequently wades with bull sharks taking a hit one time 10 years ago, respond with "Wading with bull sharks is a very rare activity done in relatively shallow water near shore. Scuba Divers are found in deeper water where such attacks are exceedingly rare. This has nothing to do with scuba diving, so it does not matter to us."
When he digs and digs and finally finds a few rare cases of scuba divers having encounters while spearfishing or performing other actions that compete with sharks for food, respond with "The overwhelming majority scuba Divers do not hunt or otherwise compete with sharks for food. This has nothing to do with normal scuba diving, so it does not matter to us."
You are going to suggest that, are you? Let's go beyond your guess and look for something more reliable. Everyone with scientific credentials says something quite different. Dr. Bill, a noted Marine Biologist, researched the issue and found one example of a diver involved in a shark attack while diving in California in the last 50 years. Those are the kinds of statistics that make sense to us.
As I said before, your arguments sound to us the way it would sound if someone argued that people in Colorado should be afraid to hike on the trails in the Rocky Mountains because of the statistics of muggings in downtown Denver (which aren't very high, either, BTW).
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