PatW
Contributor
Sharks really are not a risk to be worried about. Shark fatalities are very low so even finding accurate statistics on them is hard. It seems that sharks get one person in the USA every other year. In the same time period, far more people are killed by dogs, wasps & bees, horses and cattle. If you want to fear something, worry about drunk drivers.
We do get "shark attacks" in FL. Most of them occur at Daytona and New Smyrna Beach. Most of these are nasty bites that require a whole bunch of stiches and are suffered by bathers or surfers. Most of them are inflicted by rather smallish sharks. The common explanation is the sharks are chasing small fish through turbid waters and bite people by mistake. If you have ever seen aerial photographs of the beaches there are literally dozens of sharks mixed up with hundreds of people. If these sharks actually routinely fed on people, there would be hundreds of attacks every day. It is amazing that the "attack" rate is so low.
As for scuba divers, think about it. For example, I am 6' tall. My fins add another 3'. My BC, mask, and tank make me look much larger. Plus I am blowing bubbles. I bet I look like I am 10'+ and not very edible to boot. Generally predators like to go for things that are smaller than they are and likely to not put up a big fight. For a shark to have a good edge over me, it would have to be truly gigantic like 14'+. Sharks of that size just are not seen much.
I think a few scuba divers have been killed by sharks but the number is probably vanishingly small. Also, remember that quite a few divers molest fish and sharks (poke them) and claim that they were "attacked" when the irritated animal bite them. A good rule of thumb is keep your hands to yourself.
I have seen sharks scuba diving but most of them are quite wary of divers and take off. Sharks are graceful creatures and are a delight to see.
We do get "shark attacks" in FL. Most of them occur at Daytona and New Smyrna Beach. Most of these are nasty bites that require a whole bunch of stiches and are suffered by bathers or surfers. Most of them are inflicted by rather smallish sharks. The common explanation is the sharks are chasing small fish through turbid waters and bite people by mistake. If you have ever seen aerial photographs of the beaches there are literally dozens of sharks mixed up with hundreds of people. If these sharks actually routinely fed on people, there would be hundreds of attacks every day. It is amazing that the "attack" rate is so low.
As for scuba divers, think about it. For example, I am 6' tall. My fins add another 3'. My BC, mask, and tank make me look much larger. Plus I am blowing bubbles. I bet I look like I am 10'+ and not very edible to boot. Generally predators like to go for things that are smaller than they are and likely to not put up a big fight. For a shark to have a good edge over me, it would have to be truly gigantic like 14'+. Sharks of that size just are not seen much.
I think a few scuba divers have been killed by sharks but the number is probably vanishingly small. Also, remember that quite a few divers molest fish and sharks (poke them) and claim that they were "attacked" when the irritated animal bite them. A good rule of thumb is keep your hands to yourself.
I have seen sharks scuba diving but most of them are quite wary of divers and take off. Sharks are graceful creatures and are a delight to see.
