Posted on 07/24/2021 10:10:08 AM PDT by Capt. Tom
THE number of shark attacks has exploded across the globe as swimmers continue to ignore bloodbath warning signs - seeing nearly 800 people mauled in just nine years.
America has overtaken Australia for the number of attacks with Cape Cod, Massachusetts, now considered the shark capital of the world.
Great white sharks are plaguing ocean shores around the world
It seems graphic warning signs do little to influence beachgoers and swimmers Experts report seeing 50 in the popular holiday haven alone this summer.
However, despite a spike in maulings by the ferocious beasts and signs warning of attacks on beaches in the US and Australia, swimmers are still putting themselves at risk.
This year has seen 49 shark attacks - six being fatal - across the globe, as the underwater predators continue to get closer to humans.
The US recorded the largest number of shark bites, reporting 33 incidents, while Australia recorded 18.
A whopping 791 shark attacks have been reported between 2010 and 2019, according to data published by the International Shark Attack File, with an annual global average of 80 bites.
It shows an incredible rise compared to data from 1970 to 1979, when just 157 attacks were reported.
Surfers and water sports lovers seem to be the prime targets, accounting for 61 per cent of victims last year.
Great whites have taken a chunk out of five swimmers since 2012 in Cape Cod, including one fatality.
The area is just a few miles north of Martha's Vineyard - where Amity Bay, the fictional island in the Jaws films, was located.
It seems life is imitating art, as the species, which can grow up to 18ft long, continue to frequent the waters due to the increased activity amongst the shores.
Experts believe the high density of gray seals - which have repopulated thanks to a US hunting ban - coupled with the busyness brought by beachgoers, creates a perfect storm for a sharks to strike.
In 2018, over 150 great white sharks were seen swimming in the region, which experts claimed could be due to climate change and the warming of the Cape's waters sooner than usual.
CAPE COD IS SHARK CAPITAL OF THE WORLD Just two years later, two of the huge sharks were again spotted near swimmers off the coast, just days after a woman was killed by a great white while swimming just yards off of Maine's Bailey Island.
It seems the predators are now favouring the shores of America's most popular beaches, which are typically packed out with tourists, prompting an increase in attacks.
Cape Cod, as well as Cape Town in South Africa, are "the only two places in the world where you have a high density of people, seals, and great white sharks" in the waters, shark social scientist Christopher Pepin-Neff told National Geographic.
Scientists have suggested shifting hunting grounds, the weather, an increase in staycations, overfishing and even "chance" may have played a part in the rise, after numbers quietly dwindled last year due to the pandemic.
Despite the evident development of human knowledge and understanding of sharks, warning signs do little to discourage swimmers to take care.
BEACH WARNING SIGNS IGNORED Beach signs cautioning people of the dangers were found to be largely ineffective in a 2013 research study that looked at four Australian beaches.
Shockingly, 55 per cent of beach visitors did not even notice them. "There’s so much stimuli (at the beach) you might never notice the signs,” Pepin-Neff added.
Authorities found that "people can become complacent" and "careless", although they are encouraged to assume sharks are always present.
Australia is working to reinvent the fear surrounding shark attacks by instead referring to them as "incidents" or "interactions" - despite there being eight deadly attacks in 2020.
In May this year, an Aussie surfer in New South Wales was tragically mauled to death by a 14ft great white - after he heroically tried to alert others to the danger before he was attacked.
Signs have proved a redundant warning on South African beaches too - as their coloured flag system is disregarded by most swimmers.
The Shark Spotter program shows a red flag when there is a likelihood of sharks in the waters and a white one when a great white has been confirmed to be swimming in the area.
But swimmers, surfers, and paddlers didn’t exit the water until after Shark Spotters flew a white flag, sounded the alarm, and actively cleared the swimming area, a 2017 study found.
People did not exit the water when the red flag was displayed - suggesting to Sarah Waries, CEO of Shark Spotters in Cape Town, that: "We're providing the information and people aren’t absorbing it."
The differing systems used by countries around the world also prove problematic for tourists unfamiliar with the procedure.
The shark attack epidemic is feared to be exacerbated as holidaymakers flock to beaches desperate for sunshine after a year indoors due to the pandemic.
Swimmers are encouraged to always presume a shark may be lurking
It is totally lacking in the statistical proof that the odds are in your favor of not being bothered by a white shark.
When a person is swimming in the ocean they are not worried about an auto accident coming or going to the beach or being struck by lightning etc. or anything but the possibility of an encounter with a.... Well you know what I mean.
This article feeds that fear. -Tom
“Experts believe the high density of gray seals - which have repopulated thanks to a US hunting ban”
Ah yes, there it is. just like tampering with deer hunting....There are reasons the population needs to be controlled.
We have 90 people a year being attacked by sharks out of the how many millions per year going into these waters?
“...which experts claimed could be due to climate change...”
You just knew that rubbish was coming!
I used to do business with a guy in Melbourne who would swim every day in some kind of port area. 100s of others would swim there too. He said every once in a while a shark gets one of them. But it doesn’t stop the swimmers.
It’s Australia. They probably see the shark and say “that’s not teeth. Now this is teeth :-D”.
Ah yes, there it is. just like tampering with deer hunting....There are reasons the population needs to be controlled.
That's the reason for the white shark population explosions in Mass. They are protected by both Federal and State, and can now swim right to the shoreline , where as before the protection, they would end up "Dead on the dock." -Tom
Glow-ball warming! Of course.
People should wear masks in the ocean
Doesn’t shark taste like salmon ?
The art imitates the life… “ It seems life is imitating art, ”
Going from a ‘Red flag’ to a ‘White flag’ is not a good color choice !
- white flags have another meaning !
80 attacks, world wide, per year is not something to get worked up about.
Death toll was what, 1/10th of that.
If people are ignoring the flags, it is because there is not a clear danger.
The over abundance of warnings/cautions that are meaningless (for example: Think California’s ridiculous’ everything is cancer’ warning label.)
Approximately 100 people per year are killed by cows. Sharks are embarrassed and trying to catch up and get the lead back !
The question isn’t does shark taste like salmon, but do people taste like seals?
As I understand it the same sort of thing is happening in California.
Humans. It’s what for dinner.
Sharks have high levels of urea because they are carnivorous. If the human body has too much urea it can cause severe kidney damage and even lead to kidney failure. Eating shark meat, especially shark meat that has been fermented in urea, like the famous Icelandic dish “Harkal,” can be incredibly damaging to the health of humans.
Wow. Horses and Cows got the lead !
“ Sharks are the least of your problems according to these statistics.
November 01, 2019
You’ve seen “Jaws.” You know sharks can be deadly. But in reality, they don’t kill very many people each year.
There are approximately five deaths caused by sharks annually, while horses kill about 20 people a year and cows kill about 22. Crocodiles gobble up 1,000 people a year. By spreading malaria, mosquitos kill hundreds of thousands more people than sharks do every year. Deer also cause hundreds of deaths, mostly by running out in front of cars.
Now that you know not to fear sharks, celebrate your knowledge with this very silly LL Cool J song about sharks.
”
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