Posted on 07/03/2009 7:16:32 AM PDT by Rebelbase
HENDERSON, LA (WAFB) - Bass, catfish, and perch make for a great fish fry down on the bayou, but lately, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has found sharks in inland waters of the Atchafalaya Basin Swamp.
Most people have a preconceived notion that sharks are found in the ocean. While that's certainly true, sharks are also being found among the beautiful cypress trees in the waters of the Atchafalaya. "Well, I guess this is a swamp, shark that lives in the swamp," said Mike Walker with Wildlife and Fisheries. "You could call it a swamp shark."
Walker has pictures of bull sharks that were caught among the inland waters in Louisiana. He says sharks have likely been around these parts for decades. However, they're noticing them more because they now take huge samples of species in different waterways in Louisiana and that's turning up sharks. It's no surprise for long time Atchafalaya swamp tour guide Curtis Allemond. "Oh, I used to catch ‘em up on the river when the river's low, yeah (laughs)," he said when asked if he had ever seen any sharks in the swamp.
The bull shark is particularly troubling for Walker, in part due to their natural threatening nature. "They're fairly aggressive sharks. They're probably responsible for the majority of the attacks on human beings." Walker says there are no known inland shark attacks in Louisiana. The bull sharks are not just hanging around the bayous and swamps. They have been caught some 900 miles up the Mississippi River.
"They have been captured in St. Louis. They have traveled 2500 miles up the Amazon. They have some mechanism in their make-up that allows them to process freshwater and not require high salinity to live." It may seem hard to believe that in the deep swamp of Louisiana bull sharks, one of the most dangerous species of shark, are swimming in the swamp.
So thats like, not in my house, right.
Walker says there are no known inland shark attacks in Louisiana.
Maybe he means, “No known survivors of inland shark attacks.”
Al long as they don’t have Frikkin laser beams on their
heads.....
That was near my hometown of North East, MD. The fisherman who caught it was named Henry “Pip” Pratt, and the shark was trapped in one of his eel pots, if I remember correctly. The shark was hung up by the tail in the churchyard in town (St. Mary Ann’s) and the whole town turned out to see it (including me - I was a kid at the time). Come to think of it, my father has a few of the shark teeth from it - Mr. Pratt gave them to him because he (my father) was his dentist.
Actually, Bull Sharks have been identified 1800 miles up the Ole Miss in Illinois with rumors as far north as Minn “Land of Sky Blue Lakes and Bull Sharks:
http://www.seesharks.com/bull_sharks.php
This is the subject of my movie Red Water.
“We’re gonna need a bigger bass boat.”
oh yes, I will be sure and STOP SWIMMING IN THE SWAMP !!!
Such a stupid article.
How many folks go SWIMMING in the swamp with the ALLIGATORS ?!?
IIRC it was in the mid 80’s and it was 2 sharks that summer that were caught in the upper Chesapeake Bay. I have searched for any info on the web about it but can not find any old articles. if you can remember anything else or have a link to an old story I would appreciate it. no one believes me-LOL
the atchafalaya basin is perfect for water sports. the word “swamp” throws people off. It has many parts that are open for such things as fishing, skiing, wakeboarding, etc. I live a few miles from the basin and I am in the waters all the time. Alligators are less aggressive than people think and this bull shark incident won’t stop me from swimming in the basin its the perfect place to enjoy any type of water-related activity.
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