Attention ATS: there are Sharks in the ocean. That is all.

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - As the summer beach season opens in the United States, at least one expert is predicting an increase in shark attacks around the world this year that will surpass last year's record number. "We should have more bites this year than last," George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File at the University of Florida, said in an interview shortly before the Memorial Day holiday weekend that signals the unofficial start of America's summer vacation - and beach - season. In 2015, there were 98 shark attacks, including six fatalities, according to Burgess. Why the increased bloodshed? Shark populations are slowly recovering from historic lows in the 1990s, the world's human population has grown and rising temperatures are leading more people to go swimming, Burgess said. Still, the university notes that fatal shark attacks, while undeniably graphic, are so infrequent that beachgoers face a higher risk of being killed by sand collapsing as the result of over achieving sand castle builders. With their fearsome teeth and dorsal fins the inspiration for hit movies, TV series and beach-town souvenirs, it is hard to believe that a century ago American scientists did not believe sharks would fatally attack humans in U.S. temperate waters without provocation. That changed in July 1916, when four people were killed in attacks near the New Jersey shore, a series of deaths blamed on a sea turtle until a great white shark with human remains in its stomach was captured nearby. Since those attacks, public opinion of sharks has changed dramatically, with swimmers' fears fanned by fiction, from the 1975 Academy Award-winning film "Jaws," based on Peter Benchley's book about a giant man-eater, to the Discovery Channel's modern "Shark Week" summer television series.

This is not to downplay the shark attacks of last year, or the warning of more this year. Once you realize that sharks do indeed live in the ocean, and more importantly eat in the ocean, you see that when we put ourselves in the position of danger, it's only logical that eventually, someone will find that danger.

Remember these few things, sharks feed at night, so early or late swims in the ocean are really bad ideas. Sharks can bite you in about 2 feet of water. It's not the sharks fault he bit you, he just wondered what you tasted like, and he acted on his natural instincts.

And most importantly, there are no sharks in the pool. Enjoy your summer, and don't be part of the food chain.

Yeah, two summers ago me and my buddy decided it would be a good idea to go swimming at 8:45 at night off malibu.

We both end up getting bumped by a shark.

Ran faster threw waist deep water looking back over my shoulder than I think I ever could on land.

a reply to: network dude

Yep..that's a fact!! Bull sharks especially. Places like Florida Bull sharks can ruin your day.

The bull shark prefers coastal water which is less than 100 feet in depth. This is mostly due to their feeding patterns, since they prefer murky waters. This is also a problem since this gives the most interaction with humans. It is known that bull sharks inhabit areas off the coast of Florida, and there have been reports of bull sharks getting close enough to the coast to bite humans since the bull shark is a territorial animal, which encourages aggressive behaviour.[

en.wikipedia.org...

If I see a shark, he's gonna have to find me through a big brown cloud of water. And then he better have wings, cause I'm gonna be doing my Jesus impression.

a reply to: Krypto1

I'm pretty sure the majority of fatal shark attacks occur in 3 feet of water...

a reply to: 5StarOracle

Also ...

No Bull — This Is A Dangerous Florida Shark

The bull shark is known for a nasty temper and raw brute strength –It’s the shark world’s Bad Boy

The bull shark is a massive creature responsible for a number of Florida fatal shark attacks in both salt and fresh waters.

Most sport scuba divers and fishermen report the bull shark is a species with a “bad attitude” and a nasty temperament. They are also extremely unpredictable when provoked, threatened or agitated sometimes attacking boats and anything else within their reach.

There are other factors which make this specie especially dangerous and responsible for many documented shark attacks. These territorial sharks can grow to incredibly awesome proportions and exhibit bone crushing strength. What makes them even more dangerous is they are commonly found in shallow waters only a few feet in depth. Add the fact the bull shark commonly ventures into freshwater, such as rivers, and you have a deadly equation.

Just a mere 15 feet offshore on a Pensacola, FL beach a youngster was playing in the water in 2002 when a bull shark grabbed his arm. In this remarkable story the child’s uncle wrestled the shark ashore after the boy had lost his arm to the shark. The 200-pound bull shark was killed and the boy’s arm removed from its jaws. The arm was immediately iced down and then at a hospital after a 12-hour operation, the arm was reattached. The boy did recover, at least physically, after this gruesome ordeal.
Bull sharks are one Florida shark specie blamed on shark attacks
The bull shark has a nasty temper and is found in Florida inshore waters and sometime even in freshwater rivers.

Florida, with it’s many estuaries and waterways, is a favorite haunt for the bull shark, although it is responsible for attacks worldwide. These sharks move freely through shallow and murky waters and seek out these depths to spawn.

In the Florida Keys bull sharks are a great source of sport for anglers who tackle bull sharks exceeding 200 pounds in waters less than chin deep. The sharks provide a fishing challenge on light tackle and even fly rods. The sharks are “chummed up” behind an anchored fishing boat utilizing a stringer of sliced up barracuda. Apparently, the scent and blood of a barracuda is irresistible to the bull shark. Then the fisherman coaxes the shark to take a lure and an exciting battle ensues.

In another Florida incident, a mother and her 15-year-old daughter were paddling in ocean waters aboard their surfboards when a shark pulled the teen off her board and under the waves twice. The younger woman was saved by her mother and the attack was labeled as likely being a bull shark.

“There’s no way this thing is going to kill my daughter,” the mother exclaimed to reporters after rescuing her child. “I grabbed her shoulders and I pulled her up and I threw her on the nose of my board.”

Surfing enthusiasts are often the target of shark attacks. Since erratic motions, such as paddling and moving arms and legs, are an attraction to sharks, surfing can be one of the surest means of a shark encounter. A black wet suit adds to a surfer’s desirability as a meal since the possible prey may resemble a seal in disguise.

www.floridacruisingguides.com...

a reply to: network dude

And, on a related note:

phys.org...

Here's hoping all the sharks you meet have a pleasant personality!

a reply to: DJW001

Oh great thanks. I have enough herpes as is.

Humans have replaced their primary shore food source, seals.

All the reports of dead and dying sea mammals… bon a petit, Jaws.

With so many fish kills this year, I wonder if they think the Sharks will have a harder time finding food.

originally posted by: network dude


And most importantly, there are no sharks in the pool. Enjoy your summer, and don't be part of the food chain.

Nuff said right there.

as a kid i swam in anything at least 3 feet deep. Now, i don't get in lakes or oceans. Ill still do the Comal River, but that's about it.

I was in cape cod a few years ago and there was a great white sighting at the beach we were at only the day before

the seals at monomoy bring them in

I really wish I could have seen one, total bucket list right there

originally posted by: 5StarOracle
a reply to: Krypto1

I'm pretty sure the majority of fatal shark attacks occur in 3 feet of water...

I was standing in 3-4 foot deep water when I got bumped. The fish was probably starting its twilight search for food. Was cruising the surf line looking for fish and ran right into me and my buddy.

The shark first knocks my buddy off his feet, gets startled and jolts forward and goes right in between my legs lifting me off both my feet and dumping me over. Shark was probably a 6-7 foot leopord shark. Big around as a telephone pole and strong enough to knock two 200+ lb men nearly simultaneously off their feet. Still trip out on the fact sharks swim with their mouth open and that it being right between my legs that close to some very vulnerable bits.

Seen a few hundred feet out at the same place mature thresher sharks, makos and once a few miles from there a white shark. Just glad it wasnt one of those.

Stupid shark left a bruise on the side of my leg where its tail slapped me as ir scampered off.

a reply to: Krypto1

Bull sharks are also pumped full of testosterone naturally which doesn't help with their aggressive nature. They're actually more dangerous than great white sharks when it comes right down to it because you can encounter them in more places and they are just plain meaner.

a reply to: BASSPLYR

Scary story for sure.
Another important bit of information from your account is they are indeed night feeders...
Those moonlight swims that are very cool are actually putting people at increased risk...

a reply to: 5StarOracle

Yeah I still swim at the same location but now never after the sun goes down. The sense of vulnerability as you look panicked behind you while running to shore hoping to god you dont see the thing circling back for you. You can almost sense the teeth tearing into your ankles. Was never so happy to be ashore and safe.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: Krypto1

Bull sharks are also pumped full of testosterone naturally which doesn't help with their aggressive nature. They're actually more dangerous than great white sharks when it comes right down to it because you can encounter them in more places and they are just plain meaner.

not to add to the list of places you don't want to swim, but:

Sharks make extensive use of estuaries as nursery habitat and a source of food, and North Carolina is loaded with estuaries. The Albemarle-Pamlico Sound system is the largest barrier island lagoon in the U.S. and offers a huge variety of habitat for sharks, from large seagrass beds to river mouths to treacherously shifting inlets. The smaller sounds behind the state’s other barrier islands also get a lot of shark use. Juvenile sharks and smaller species can be found within the sounds, and adults will occasionally venture inside the inlets to chase schools of fish and other prey. While most sharks stick to the saltier parts of the sound, the entire system is available to the bull shark thanks to its ability to tolerate fresh water. Juvenile and adult bull sharks have been caught near the mouth of the Pamlico River, and fishermen and researchers alike have encountered large adults in the rivers of North Carolina.

thefisheriesblog.com...

I think the best answer to why aren't you swimming came from a crusty old curmudgeon friend of mine, "fish f*#k in there".
Be safe this summer all.

We have a lot of nurse sharks and button heads here in the Florida Keys....the ones I've seen are not very big , mostly about 3 feet long, and are docile and Skidish...but a few of the divers around here have seen big bull sharks...and a small great white was just spotted too. I'm not a fan of sharks at all....in fact I'm pretty freaked out by them....it's taken me awhile to be comfortable around the small button heads and nurse sharks . I can only imagine how scared I'll be when I run into the bigger meaner ones !

originally posted by: syrinx high priest
I was in cape cod a few years ago and there was a great white sighting at the beach we were at only the day before

the seals at monomoy bring them in

I really wish I could have seen one, total bucket list right there

I hope you mean seeing one from "afar" or at least from the above side of the water.

a reply to: network dude

pffft....woosses.

In Australia you quite often see bogans walking down the street with a great white on a leash because dogs are so last century, in fact you're not an Aussie unless you have a mullet, tatts, a ute and a white pointa.

Sharks are just misunderstood carnivores with a jaw that can crush steel.