|
|
|
|
Surfing with Sharks
One of every surfer’s nightmare would be to get attacked and/or eaten alive
by a shark while being in the water. The recent media coverage about two fatal
shark attacks at the west coast of South Australia has prompted me to compile
opinions and facts about surfing with sharks.
When I grew up in Germany, I was blissfully unaware of the existence of sharks. The thought that I was sharing the same element with them while swimming in the ocean never entered my mind. They simply deaden’t exist for me. Even the notorious film "Jaws" didn’t perturb me too much. Only when I started showing interest in surfing did I become aware that I put myself at risk when entering the ocean.
Although at the time I determinedly maintained that I wasn’t scared of sharks, I did my own research. Reading books and magazines about sharks, watching shark documentaries on TV and using the Internet, trying to gain as much insight as possible, with the aim of establishing patterns as to why, when and where shark attacks are most likely to occur. I must admit, at this point of time, I have not yet seen a shark in the water while surfing. The only shark close up I have encountered so far was a dead one that got washed up on the beach after a storm, and that particular one had already been mutilated by trophy hunters/fishermen, as the fins and the jaws were missing. I became kind of obsessed with sharks and often did not go out for a wave due to my inhibitions of sharks. Listening to my husband’s encounters with various sorts of sharks over the years didn’t make me feel really comfortable either. I even spoke to Rodney Fox, himself a well-known shark attack survivor, Jaws film adviser and now tour boat operator for cage diving with sharks in South Australia about the possibility of getting attacked by a shark. He confirmed that one was much more likely to get hit by lightning than falling victim to a shark attack.
In Australia, several attacks, most of them fatal, have occurred in recent years and caused much media hype:
Cactus Beach is notorious for being frequented by sharks due to the off-shore reefs that are feeding grounds for plenty of salmon, turtles, stingrays, seals and other fish which sharks prey on. Still, this was only the second fatal attack since a 12-year-old boy was taken in 1975 while swimming around the corner at Point Sinclair. Getting bumped by sharks at Cactus only adds to the adrenalin rush of surfing one of the best remote reef-breaks of the world. It is a risk a surfer is very much aware of when entering the water in such a desolate area, with medical aid and facilities miles away. Yet, they keep coming, drawn by the reputation of this break, where the unpolluted waves come directly from the cold Southern Ocean, peeling perfectly left and right, the remoteness, the thrill, the challenge. A surfer is considered a "real" surfer if he can claim "I’ve ridden Cactus".
When the second attack happened within 24 hours, my initial reaction was disbelief. Great whites are protected in Australian waters due to apparently decreasing numbers. I have watched television documentaries where shark diving expeditions were made to Dangerous Reef and Neptune Island, which are supposed to be white shark heaven, with not a shark in sight for days, even despite repeated burleying. And now this: two fatal attacks in two days! The more I thought about it, the angrier I became. What right did these sharks have to attack innocent surfers who were only enjoying themselves and not doing any harm to anybody? I was just picturing the young surfer at Blacks Beach, who was just paddling back towards shore, in the middle of the day, surrounded by his mates, when he got attacked and, to the horror of his friends, disappeared, never to be seen again. I was thinking to myself: Why didn’t he survive? Most shark attacks are not fatal. Sharks don’t usually fancy humans, we are not their preferred prey. They have a taste and then spit us back out. The shark should have known better. Sharks are fairly intelligent, have numerous senses to detect prey. It just wasn’t fair.
In the days to follow, the surfing population hit the water with apprehension and trepidation, the events definitely embedded in their heads. Generally, even though the thought of sharks is always on a surfer’s mind, there is a certain ignorance and arrogance about them. They go out in the water thinking "Yeah, they are there, but it won’t happen to me." There was a general opinion about the cause of the last two attacks: The whales had left the area where they were rearing their calves, so there was not much to feed on for the whites. Cruising along, they must have been so hungry that they went for the surfers instead.
Falling victim to a shark is perhaps worse for the remaining family and friends than for the victim itself. The thought that someone got eaten alive, there is no body to put to rest, how and if the victim suffered, is just incomprehensible. The only consolation will probably be that he died, doing what he loved: surfing. Reports of survivors of shark attacks can in a certain way be reassuring: at no time during or after the attack was there any pain.
Our body is a miracle; it is designed to protect us. In the event of shock or stress, which occurs in association with severe injury, the body has a system that activates a morphine-like substance called endorphin in the pituitary gland of the brain. This is responsible for blocking all pain. Also, our nervous system, combined with the adrenal gland, works overtime in the event of "Flight or Fight". Adrenaline and Noradrenaline are being released into the bloodstream. This causes blood to be re-routed to those organs essential for emergency reactions. The blood vessels contract and bloodflow to the skin and most internal organs is reduced. This also accounts for the pallor associated with extreme rage or fear. On the other hand, the blood vessels in the brain, heart, lungs and muscles dilate, supplying these areas with a greater volume of blood, to provide oxygen and essential nutrients. Considering this and quick medical assistance at the time of the attack, the chances of survival should be high.
General perception of Sharks
I have included three emails that friends, also surfers, wrote to me about sharks. Sounds familiar?
"By the way - I have that same fear of sharks you were talking about in your webpage! I absolutely couldn't think of a worse death than by shark attack! Sharks are so ugly and horrific, I really wish I could see them as just fish and not some terrific monsters of the deep! I recently borrowed a book from the library about shark attacks that have occurred over the last ten years - I don't know why I did, I guess I just wish I could feel about sharks the way some people feel - that they are just another beautiful piece of nature! (Yeah right!!!)"
And another one:
"I don't think there's any hope left that my girl will ever be a surfer. She has a terrible fixation about sharks!! We watch "Shark Week" on the Discovery Channel every year, and every year she is morbidly fascinated - it makes her scared, but she can't turn away! We see Rodney Fox (from Oz) get munched on once a year like clockwork. Nope - she won't even stick a toe in the water. "
A third one:
"All those sharks really sucks, I used to not think about it at all but after the tragedies on the west coast and the sight, it is getting pretty scary out there, especially when it is dark or overcast. It won't keep me off surfing but it does scare the hell out of me sometimes when I think about it."
The White Pointer
I have chosen to write about the white pointer, as we call it here in South Australia. Even though there are other dangerous sharks that are known to attack humans, like the bull shark and the tiger shark, the white pointer is by far the most terrifying and awesome predator that frequents mostly the shallow waters of the continental shelf in search for his favourite prey. The tiger shark is found in warmer waters, like for instance the Pacific Ocean off the coast of NSW and QLD, while the whaler shark is a common sight in bays, estuaries and also rivers. The sharks that can really do a lot of damage to humans are the ones with large triangular shaped upper teeth with serrated edges. These teeth are made for tearing flesh
Teeth
recovered from an 18-foot great white, killed in a tuna cage in Mexico 2003.
Gaining knowledge about white sharks
What makes the white shark so fearsome and intimidating is the fact that not much is known about them. One fears what one doesn’t know. Unlike other animals which can be observed in captivity or underwater, this cannot be done with white sharks. They have been known not to survive captivity, and diving with white sharks without the protection of a cage is for obvious reasons risky, although it has been done in a few cases. Filming and observation is mainly done from the security of cages. In recent years, the practice of shark tagging has become a method of studying the white shark. Commercial fishermen, cage diving operators and Marine Research Groups are tagging and logging every individual shark they encounter (tagged and untagged), tracking them down via Satellite ----->CSIRO website about Shark Tagging
And here is the latest update about the CSIRO tagging Neale, a great white shark, in Australia
According to latest information from Barry Bruce, shark researcher from CSIRO Tasmania, there are about 200 tagged sharks in South Australia. Most are tagged with simple ID tags, that allow the shark to be identified, should it be resighted or captured. Six have been captured to date, with distances ranging from 2 – 600 km from where they were tagged. Most of the tagging happens at the Neptune Islands (click on map thumbnail)
In other instances, sharks are studied by photo identification on the Farallon Island, off the San Francisco coast. The Farallon Islands are a white shark hotspot due to large seal and sea lion populations. The observation can be made from the safety of dry land.
On other occasions, a mini-camera was attached to a white shark. After it bobbed back to the surface, interesting footage of "through the eyes of a great white" could be viewed.
courtesy B. Bruce, CSIRO Marine Reseach, Tas.
Compare sharks with normal fish and you will find amazing differences:
And more interesting facts about the white shark:
People have been trying to keep track of Australian shark attacks. The most comprehensive file would be the shark attack files, kept at Taronga Zoo, Sydney, NSW
The problem is though, that not every attack is reported, people’s deaths have not been conclusively proven to be caused by shark attacks, especially with the body missing; and even for the most diligent student, trying to establish a pattern as to when, how and where do the most shark attacks occur, it is simply impossible. Sharks do not prefer males, simply because the amount of attacks on male bathers, swimmers, divers or surfers by far outweighs females. It is simply the case that there are more males in the water at all times. It cannot be said with certainty that it is more dangerous to be in the water in the Australian summer months because this is when most attacks have been recorded. Fact is that more people enter the water in the summer time, when it is warm and there are holidays. It cannot definitely be proven either that the most dangerous waters are South Australian waters due to the largest amount of sharks and shark attacks.
There is also no proof that one is safer in clear water than in murky waters. There is simply no pattern regarding attacks, especially with great whites. Every attack is different. People tend to feel safe when there are dolphins around. Dolphins are nice and playful and friendly, they chase sharks away. This is a misconception as well. Dolphins are prey for sharks, they have been found in stomachs of captured specimen. In certain instances it can be that a big pod of dolphin defends its young and chases any intruding sharks away, but I am sure that would not deter a hungry white. In my opinion it is also false belief that sharks are more likely to attack boogie-boarders or shortboarders rather than longboarders because from below they more resemble a big turtle or a seal. Why then did the windsurfers disappear? Great whites are also not solitary. They have been sighted leisurely cruising in pairs and even attacking together. They can also breach and jump out of the water when attacking. They have been known to stick their head out of the water and look around with their black eyes to observe whether there is any prospective food above the surface.
What can YOU do to maximise safety?
Keep the following in mind before going in the water:
So, really, after digesting all the information that is currently available about sharks, it is up to you, the individual, to decide for yourself if conditions look "sharky" or not. Personally, I am not fond of overcast days and murky waters. Fact is, there are no guarantees. One can only try to minimise the risk and observe the conditions that present themselves, keep a watchful eye out for potential signs. Be aware that you are outside your normal element. We were born with arms and legs, not flippers. Respect the ocean and everything that’s in it.
The Media always goes into a "feeding frenzy" when a shark attack occurs. Click on the link for reports about
fatal shark attacks in South Australia since 2000, including the coroner's findings in some of their inquests
© Sibylle Martens, 2004
updated 18/12/2004
bravenet.com