Shark fatality Northern California

[MXGratefulDiver]

The local news report said a 'Scuba' diver was diving for abalone. My question is was he in scuba gear? In which case he wasn't diving for abalone, he was poaching. If he was diving for abalone legally, he wasn't in scuba gear and the 'big fish' could have mistaken him for dinner.

The reports I've read say he was free diving ... in 15-20 feet of water.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Mouth Breather old]

Abalone diving in the same area that this attack occured is one of my favorite pastimes. I feel so badly for this man's family what a tragic way to die...my question is this...would I be less likely to be thought to be a big seal if I was wearing a brightly colored or trimmed wetsuit? Maybe blue with orange sleeves or something like that? Just wondering.

 

[drbill]

Heard from one of my buddies who works at Calif. Dept. of Fish & Game. She said he was indeed free diving so he was not poaching. Glad to hear that but sorry that he met such a fate. Somewhere I read that he had foreseen being attacked by a shark.

Doc

 

[DCROOK]

Headless body recovered after shark attack
'It was over in 5 seconds,' witness says



UKIAH, Calif. (AP) — The coast guard has recovered the headless body of a diver who was killed by a shark off the Mendocino County coast.

Randy Fry, 50, was attacked Sunday afternoon in shallow water near Westport while diving for abalone with a companion. Fry's body was recovered Monday. The companion escaped injury.

A friend of Fry's estimated the shark was about five metres long.

"It was over in five seconds," said Red Bartley, who witnessed the fatal encounter from a boat.

It was the state's first shark fatality since August of last year.\

 

[lee3]

My thoughts go out to this man's family and friends. I have never gone abalone hunting, but obviously see them diving all the time. I'm curious if blood from an abalone is released into the water when hunters use a knife to remove them from whatever they are attached to? I've picked them up before from sand but never tried to remove them from rock and have no idea whether or not they bleed. I've read a lot of literature on GW's and know that the vast majority of attacks on humans occur because the human is mistaken for food or is holding their food in their hands or on a spear gun. Do seals eat abalone and is so, were conditions murky enough there that it's possible to hypothosize that the white was there hunting for a seal?

I do recall from my reading that this is the time of the year (late august) when the white's migrate to the northern california coast in search of seals from as far away as hawaii and are preseumed to arrive quite hungry. The literature warned that this is the most dangerous time to be in surfing/hunting/swimming/diving in or near the red triangle. Even though the chance or attack is remote, it is statistically more significant now than at any other time. I simply want to learn as much as I possibly can as that is where my family and friends spend the majority of our time in the water and there have been a couple of fatalities up here the last few years

 

[Pamdiv]

The reports I've read say he was free diving ... in 15-20 feet of water.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

I was almost sure he was free diving. The KCRA TV newscaster said a "scuba diver" was attacked and I suspected she misspoke.

 

[Squid]

A friend of mine showed me this link from CNN today:

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/West/08/18/shark.attack.ap/index.html

For what it's worth, my sympathies go out to his friends and family. :sad_2:

 

[Rick Inman]

I don't want to go early.
If I do go early, I'd rather it not be by shark attack.
If I do go by shark attack, having my head bit off IS how I'd like to get it. Gruesome for those hearing about it, but quick and over with for me.

 

[H2Andy]

good point there

 

[jbichsel]

Anyone who has seen Jaws knows it is not safe in the water . This is coming from a former diver and surfer who has had to get out of the water more than once .

Just a little statistic for how 'dangerous' the water is:

On average, 10 people in the world die each year from shark attack. On average 150 people in the world die each year from coconuts falling and hitting them on the head.

The ten most common causes of death in America:

10 - Machinery, mainly farming related - 350/year

9 - Medical & Surgical Complications and Misadventures
Deaths per year: 500

8. Poisoning by gases
Deaths per year: 700

7. Firearms
Deaths per year: 1,500 (Lets make sure we understand this one, it's mainly gang related)

6. Suffocation
Deaths per year: 3,300

5. Fires and burns
Deaths per year: 3,700

4. Drowning
Deaths per year: 4,000

3. Poisoning by solids and liquids
Deaths per year: 8,600

2. Falls
Deaths per year: 14,900

1. Motor vehicle crashes
Deaths per year: 43,200

Please don't fall prey (pun intended)to the "Jaws", "maneater", "killer", bad shark mentality. When God calls you home, it's time to go.