FRIGHTENED - Atlantic Ocean - 19 December 2005 - rowers boat attacked

A pair of rowers from New Zealand taking part in the Atlantic Rowing Race were frightened by three-metre shark which attacked their rowing boat, bumping it and biting parts of it for more than 15 minutes.

The team’s shore manager released this report:

Monday, 19 December 2005

At sea. Atlantic Rowing Race: Shark Attack Team Sun Latte

In the early hours of the morning New Zealand time Team Sun Latte was attacked by a shark. Tara said on the Tech Rentals phone this morning that it circled the boat for a short time before making its attack, bunting into the boat sending it rocking. Iain and Tara didn’t muck around and got into the well of the boat and tried to not move or make a sound. The unprecedented attack continued unabated over the next 15 minutes leaving the rowers shell shocked.

“We were really scared,” said Tara, “It was so aggressive and persistent, for a while we wondered if it would ever stop, it just kept hitting the boat, having a go at the rudder, the sea anchor and hull. We weren’t sure it wasn’t biting holes in the underside so we rang the support ship Aurora for advice and possible assistance.”

The ship made its way to the crew taking about six hours to get to them. Unfortunately, it was dark by the time it arrived so was unable to assess any possible damage. The support boat is currently staying close until dawn at which point a check will be done.

Tara estimated the beast to be 12 feet long, “because when it went under the boat which is 6 feet wide we could see both ends of it sticking out either side,” but she was not sure what type it was, they didn’t hang around long on deck to find out!

“The scary thing is I was in the water cleaning the hull for barnacles at exactly the same time yesterday and Iain did likewise the day before,” said Tara. “I haven’t bitten my nails for over a year now but in that time I chewed two nails right off.”

Iain said he considered taping a gas cooking canister to a flare and trying to shoot it ‘Jaws’ style but thought the better of it. He passed comment to Tara that, “In 20 years time you may not remember what happened yesterday but you sure as hell won’t forget today.”

Rob Hamill

Team Sunlatte is crewed by Tara Remington and Iain Rudkin from New Zealand
http://www.teamsunlatte.co.nz/
Event website http://www.atlanticrowingrace.co.uk

UPDATE - diver tells of attack in north Queensland Australia

In a later report the diver - Glen Simpson, 44, said he was spearfishing with his 15-year-old son Luke at a reef of Port Douglas when the attack happened.

Luke had just speared a trout when a few sharks appeared and a feeding frenzy began. One swam right up to Simpson’s face.

“I punched him with my left arm to get him out of my face,” Simpson told media.

"And as I did that I was thinking I got rid of him and another one came from behind and grabbed my right arm."

Simpson told his son to swim for the boat which was 60 metres away because he was bleeding a lot. But Luke refused and helped his father to the boat.

After Luke had speared the trout “they started harassing me and dad a bit," Luke said.

And then, "just out of nowhere, it was just like shark city," Simpson told media.

"It was like something out of a movie," he said.

"I consider myself very lucky, you know, especially with the mood the sharks were in."

Simpson required dozens of stitches to a badly gashed left arm.

They both said they would continue spearfishing, but be more cautious.

Sources:
The Sunday Mail

INJURED - Port Douglas, north Queensland, Australia - 11 December 2005 - diver attacked

A brief report on Australia’s ABC News online stated a 42-year-old man was bitten on the elbow by a shark while diving (presumably spearfishing) 20 nautical miles off Port Douglas in far north Queensland, Australia, on Sunday 11 December.

The report said he was in a satisfactory condition in Cairns Base Hospital.

No other information was available at the time of this web log.

Sources: ABC News online

INJURED - New Smyrna Beach, Ponce de Leon Inlet, Florida, US - 27 November 2005 - surfer attacked

An unidentified 23-year-old man was bitten on his right hand by a shark after he fell off his surfboard while surfing about 100 metres south of the south jetty at Ponce de Leon Inlet, Florida, US. The attack took place at about 2pm local time on Sunday 27 November.

The man did not see the shark and as such was unable to identify the species or say how big it was.

He was treated at Halifax Medical Center at Daytona Beach for cuts and possible tendon damage to his hand.

This is the fourth shark attack at New Smyrna Beach in six weeks. The others occurred on:

20 November
12 November
15 October

Sources: Daytona Beach News Journal

UPDATE - surfer attacked off Flinders, Australia

This is an updated version of the attack on Tom Burke from News.com.au

Tom Burke, 18, told media he furiously punched and kicked the shark after it attacked him while surfing off Flinders, in Western Port Bay, on Friday evening. The shark is believed to be a 1.8 metre Bronze Whaler.

He then paddled back to shore, scared the shark would come after him and too fearful to look at his wounded leg, believing it may have been bitten off.

"I just started feeling really weird, then I saw a big black thing come up. I just got ripped off the board," Burke said.

"I punched it as hard as I could, then I started kicking (it).

"I didn't really have a clue what was going on, it was surreal."

Burke told media he would never surf again.

INJURED - Nahoon Reef, East London, South Africa - 25 November 2005 - surfer attacked

Ashley Milford, 26, suffered a small cut to his finger after being attacked by a shark while surfing at Nahoon Reef, East London, South Africa on Friday 25 November.

The attack took place at 11.30am after Milford had caught a wave, fallen off his board and had just started to paddle back to the take-off zone. The shark hit him from underneath and knocked him off his board. As it rose to take a bite Milford rammed his surfboard sideways into the shark's mouth.

Milford told media the shark had a "squarish snout" indicating it could have been a Zambezi or Tiger shark.

The tooth marks on Milford's board show a bite width of approximately 20 centimetres, according to the report. There was no estimate of the size of the shark.

The surfer told the press: "It was not an experience I'd wish on my worst enemy."

There were no further details in the report.

Sources
Daily Dispatch

INJURED - Flinders, Victoria, Australia - 25 November 2005 - surfer attacked

Tom Bourke, 18, was bitten by a shark while surfing with friends at Flinders on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia. The attack happened shortly before 6pm on Friday 25 November.

According to media reports Bourke told police the shark was 1.8 metres long, but he didn’t know the species.

His friends drove him to Rosebud Hospital. He suffered two wounds to one leg.

"I didn't go underneath, I got pulled off the board but I didn't go underneath the water," Bourke reportedly told Southern Cross Radio.

There were no futher details in the report.

Sources:
News.com.au

INJURED - Jensen Beach, Florida, US - 21 November 2005 - surfer attacked

A surfer in his 30s was bitten on the left foot by a small shark while surfing at a break about 150 metres north of Jensen Beach, Florida, US, on Monday afternoon, 21 November.

Details are sketchy, but it appears the bite was minor.

“It was a good bite, but pretty minor for a shark bite,” a lifeguard told the Palm Beach Post.

The surfer was taken to Martin Memorial Hospital.

The surfer’s name or type of shark was not mentioned in the report.

Witnesses on the beach said they had seen a four-foot shark swimming in the area for several hours.

One rather humorous line in the Post quoted a witness, Steve Ensor, as saying: “I've been sitting here for 25 years and I've never seen a shark body surf like that before.”

This was in reference to the man seeing the shark so close inshore that it was riding the waves with most of its body exposed.

Sources: Palm Beach Post

UPDATE - teen surfer attack at New Smyrna Beach

The 17-year-old surfer's name is Kevin Spradlin. Kevin was bitten on the leg and said he was paddling back to shore in knee-deep water when he felt a burning sensation on his leg. He needed 43 stitches to close the wound.

He said the attack would not keep him out the water and intended to be back in the surf in two weeks, the time the doctor said it would take for the wound to heal.

INJURED - New Smyrna Beach, Volusia County, Florida, US - 20 November 2005 - surfer attacked

A 17-year-old surfer (name withheld by media) was bitten on his right thigh while coming ashore with his surfboard near the south jetty at Ponce de Leon Inlet, New Smyrna Beach, Florida, US.

Beach Patrol Captain Scott Petersohn told media: “There were four to five minor lacerations on both sides of the leg.”

The surfer told beach patrol officers he never saw the shark.

He was taken to Bert Fish Medical Center and was expected to make a full recovery.

This is the third attack in five weeks at the same beach. A surfer was attacked on 12 November and swimmer was attacked on 15 October.

Sources:
Daytona Beach News Journal

Local6 News

Shark attack caught on film

Oceanic researchers take a dip 7 miles off the coast of Chile when one is hit by a Great White. All caught on film - grim stuff.

Watch it here

INJURED - Aston Bay, South Africa - 15 November 2005 - fisherman attacked

Sergeant Ivan Gerger, 32, a local policeman who fishes for sharks to supply the Jeffreys Bay shark aquarium was bitten on both hands and his right leg by a ragged-tooth shark when he tried to wrestle it from the water after reeling it in.

The incident took place at about 2pm local time at Aston Bay, near world-renown surfing spot Jeffrey’s Bay on South Africa's east coast.

A police spokesperson told media the shark bit him on the palm and fingers and right leg “but did not bite anything off”, before swimming back out to sea. He was admitted to nearby Humansdorp hospital in a stable condition.

Sources:
News24.com

INJURED - New Smyrna Beach, Florida, USA - 12 November 2005 - surfer attacked

An 18-year-old surfer was bitten on the right foot by a shark while he sat on his board with his feet dangling in about eight-feet of water. He was surfing near the New Smyrna Beach jetty in Volusia County, Florida, USA. The teen’s name was not released to the media.

The teen suffered puncture wounds to his right foot and was taken by ambulance to hospital reportedly in a stable condition.

The species and size of shark was not known. A beach patrol official told media the attack was most likely a case of mistaken identity.

Sources:
Local6.com

INJURED - 2 November 2005 - Club Sunterra Resort, St Martin, Caribbean - swimmer attacked

James Bumpers from Buffalo, New York, US, was was bitten on the right leg by a small shark while swimming off the beach at the Club Sunterra Resort on St Martin island in the Caribbean. He was on vacation with his wife Phyllis according to News 4 media.

Bumpers told News 4: “All of a sudden I heard and I felt something hit my leg.

“Honestly I couldn't feel the pain until after I got to the emergency room. I started feeling a little pain when [the doctor] starting sewing me up.”

The two doctors on St Martin concluded it was a small shark (no species identified) that sunk its teeth into Bumpers’ leg. The injuries were minor.

Sources: News 4

FRIGHTENED - 2 November 2005 - Maverics, Half Moon Bay, California, US, - surfer attacked

Tim West was surfing Californian big wave spot Maverics with friend Chris Loeswick when he was knocked into the air by a shark which smashed into the underside of his board.

The attack occurred late Wednesday afternoon (2 November). They were the only two in the water. He was paddling his 10’ 1’’ board out to the take off zone when the shark hit.

“At first I thought it was a seal or some seaweed or a boil,” West told Surfing magazine. “Then I saw this gray thing just thrashing by my board. I swam away, to the end of my leash, and all of the sudden the thing disappeared and everything just stopped. It went dead calm. I reeled in my board and just paddled straight toward the reef. I didn’t even care about waves – just get me into the whitewater.”

Loeswick who saw the entire incident was sitting on his board about 100 metres closer to shore. He shouted to his friend and then saw him begin to paddle to shore. He also then started to paddle to shore, but West still shot past him he was so “pumped on adrenalin”.

From a tooth fragment embedded in the board a shark expert estimated the shark to be a 12-14 foot Great White.

West was uninjured but badly shaken.

Sources:
Surfing magazine
Santa Cruz Sentinel

UPDATE 2 - Gansbaai, South Africa - surfer attacked

Surfer Christiaan van Zyl tells his story to media from his hospital bed in Cape Town.

"I was looking out to sea, maybe 50 metres from the shore when I felt it on my foot. It took me from behind.

"He brought me up out of the water and was shaking me. It was a Great White, about two to three metres, not so big. I thought I was going to die, but still you fight. I hit it on its head with my elbow, I took everything I had and hit it, and it released me and I pushed it away. It happened so fast.

"In all this my left hand was still holding on to my board so I pulled myself onto it and paddled back to shore on a wave. I checked behind me and saw my foot was open and all bloody.

"When I got to the shore I tried to walk but my foot couldn't carry me. I dragged myself out on my arms and one knee. I waved to some people and they came running to help," Van Zyl said.

They put him on his surfboard and carried him through the lagoon to the beach.

More on Independent Online

UPDATE - Gansbaai, South Africa - Surfer survives shark attack

Cape Town newspaper Die Burger reports that the swimmer who was attacked on Saturday 22 October at Gansabaai, as earlier reported by Independent Online, was actually a surfer, Stiaan van Zyl, 20.

He was surfing at the holiday resort Uilenkraalsmond near Gansbaai which is popular with shark cage divers.

He was attacked in chest deep water about 100 metres from shore. The shark grabbed his right foot and lifted him out the water.

He told the newspaper:

...that a 3m-long shark lifted him into the air and shook him like a rag.

"It felt as though my foot was going to be ripped off.

"I tried to knock it away from me and also attempted to push my finger into its eye.

"It then suddenly let go of me and I could get onto my surfboard, which was fastened to my left leg."

According to Van Zyl he was then able to reach the beach safely with the aid of a big breaker.

"That wave saved my life," he said later.

A man on the beach went to his aid and called his parents. He was taken to a local surgery and then transferred by Red Cross helicopter to Groote Schuur hospital in Cape Town where he had emergency surgery to his Achilles tendon.

His injury was said to be minor.

Source: News24.com

INJURED – 22 October 2005 – Gansbaai, Western Cape, South Africa – swimmer attacked

A man (name and age not released at time of report) was bitten on his lower left leg while swimming off the coast of Uilenkraalsmond, between Gansbaai and Pearly Beach. The injury was reported as "not serious". The area is close to where shark cage diving is carried out.

Cleeve Robertson, of the Emergency Rescue Services, told media the incident occurred close to Dyer Island, which has become extremely popular with shark cage diving operators because of the large population of sharks there. He said the shark must have been small.

No other details were available at the time of this report, although it can be confidently presumed that the shark was a Great White, as these are common in the area.

Source: Independent Online

Shark attack facts

NBC San Diego has published some interesting shark attack facts such as these:

Where Sharks Attack

Most shark attacks take place in areas close to shore where people are most likely to be swimming or surfing. Some likely locations for these attacks are areas between a sandbar and shore, where sharks feed and sometimes become trapped during low tides.

Underwater geography can play a role in shark attacks as well. Areas with steep drop-offs are likely attack spots, since sharks often patrol here waiting for natural prey that congregate nearby.

Types Of Attacks

There are three major types of unprovoked shark attacks.

Hit And Run: This is by far the most common form of attack. A shark will usually attack in an area close to shore where swimmers and surfers are the most likely targets. The victim of the attack usually doesn't even see the shark and the shark usually just inflicts a single bite and leaves. Some believe that these attacks are most likely cases of mistaken identity, where a shark is unable to identify its normal prey either because of water clarity or harsh conditions. It is thought that once the shark takes a bite and realizes that the prey is quite large or unfamiliar, the animal releases its grip and leaves. These types of attacks are rarely life threatening.

Bump And Bite: This type of attack is less common but usually results in the most fatalities. The victims in these cases are usually divers or swimmers in deeper waters. Bump and bite attacks are typified by a circling shark that bumps into a person before it attacks. Repeat attacks are common and injuries are usually very serious.

Sneak Attack: The sneak attack is very similar to the bump and bite, the only difference between the two is that in a sneak attack there is no bump – the shark attacks without warning. Most shark attacks that occur during sea disasters are either a bump and bite or hit and run attack.

Common Culprits

Three species of shark have been repeatedly associated with attacks on people. They are the Great White Shark, Tiger Shark and the Bull Shark. Each animal is capable of consuming large prey and each can reach considerable size.

• More shark attack facts from NBC San Diego....

Salmon Creek Beach surfer describes shark attack

The water was eerily glassy and calm. Then a shark at least 17 feet long attacked from behind.

"It was weird. I was sitting out there thinking, 'Wow, this feels shark-y to me,'" Megan Halavais, 20, said Thursday. "It was straight out of 'Jaws.'"

"It's big. I couldn't fit my arms around its tail. Its fin, its main dorsal fin, was like taller than me," Halavais recounted for reporters at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital as she sat in a wheelchair, her bandaged leg extended in front of her.

(ABCNews report) - More...

INJURED - 17 July 2005 - Shanghai Aquarium - scuba diver attacked - sues aquarium

A scuba diver who was attacked while diving in the Shanghai Aquarium is sueing the aquarium owners, according to a report in the China Daily.

An experienced scuba diver, bitten by a 3-metre shark while swimming in a Shanghai aquarium, was so traumatized by the experience he is afraid of even getting into the bath.

Zhang went diving in the park on July 17, this year. Chen contends that as Zhang swam to the surface, a 3-metre-long shark suddenly attacked him from behind.

"He was bitten by the shark on the top and right side of the head and the right ear," Chen said.

"A fragment of shark's tooth, about three centimetres long, was still embedded in his head when he was rushed to hospital.

More...

INJURED - 19 October 2005 - Salmon Creek Beach, Sonoma County, California, US - surfer attacked

Megan Halavais, 20, was surfing at the Boardwalk surf spot at Salmon Creek Beach, Northern California when she was attacked by a 14-foot Great White shark. She suffered wounds to her right leg after being pulled under the water and fighting off the shark.

Halavais of Santa Rosa was surfing with six or seven other surfers at Salmon Creek Beach just north of Bodega Bay when the attack happened at 10.30am, according to press reports.

Brit Horn, a lifeguard at Sonoma Coast State Beach, witnessed the attack.

"I heard her scream, looked over and saw a very large fin, and saw her go under water," Horn told the media. "Then the fin disappeared and she popped up along with her board.''

According to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle Halavais told authorities that she had been lying on her surfboard when what she believed to be a 14-foot-long, great white shark hit her from behind. The shark grabbed her by the right leg, pulled her under water and shook her. She fought back and grabbed the shark by what she believes was its tail, and the shark let go.

She paddled to shore accompanied by the other surfers, one of whom ran 800 metres to the nearest road and drove to a phone to call for help.

She was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital with five lacerations to the leg.

A hospital spokeswoman said she was in a stable condition and described the main bite wound as 45cm long running form her thigh to her calf.

Her surfboard also had bite marks according to park rangers who recovered her board.

Sources:

San Francisco Chronicle

Washington Post

FRIGHTENED - 13 October 2005 - Honokowai, Maui, Hawaii - surfer attacked

Clayton Sado, 22, had been surfing for about three hours on Thursday afternoon 13 October off Honokowai, Maui when an eight foot Tiger shark attacked and sunk its teeth into his board. He was about 100 metres offshore when the attack took place. He was uninjured, although his board showed the familiar semi-circular shark-bite mark.

Sado said he fought to stay on the board as the shark thrashed from side to side. He hit the shark’s nose and tried to push it away. He yelled to a surfer friend and two boys surfing nearby to get out of the water.

"I was just thinking, 'Don't tip me over. Don't tip me over,'" Sado told Honolulu’s Star Bulletin. "It was fighting very much."

Then the shark let go and dived underwater.

He said he waited motionless for a long 15 seconds before sticking his hands in the water to paddle.

"I waited for the courage to stick one hand in and paddle," he told the newspaper.

“When I got to shore, immediately I was just jumping around. I was jumping for joy just to be alive."

John Naughton, a US National Marine Fisheries Service biologist, said the animal was likely a tiger shark searching for turtles.

The Star Bulletin first reported the incident on Sunday 16 October.

• Sources: Honolulu Star Bulletin

INJURED - 15 October 2005 - Ponce Inlet, Volusia County, Florida, US - surfer attacked

A 15-year-old boy surfer (name withheld by media) was attacked by a small shark when he apparently stood on it while wading out to the surf at Ponce Inlet jetty, Volusia County, Florida, US.

The attack took place in the afternoon of Saturday 15 October 2005. They species of shark, thought to be about 2-3 feet, was not named.

The boy suffered minor cuts to the top and bottom of his left foot, Scott Petersohn, spokesman for the Volusia County Beach Patrol, told media.

The boy was taken to Halifax Medical Center where he was reportedly in a stable condition.

Sources: Daytona Beach News Journal

Great White's marathon sea trek

Finally, some hard evidence that these great sharks travel super long distances. Satellite tracking great whites off California last year showed that they swam to Hawaii and back, and dived toi great depths during the journey. Now they've been shown to swim from South Africa to Australia and back - a record distance.

A Great White shark crossed the Indian Ocean from South Africa to Australia and back again within just nine months.

It was one of several great whites tagged by researchers in an attempt to improve conservation strategies.

Writing in the journal Science, they say the journey is unparalleled among fish - only tuna come close.

More...

The shark at one point dived to 1,000 metres, but for more than 60% of the journey swam within five metres of the surface. Scientists think this may have been for navigation purposes.

See the story on South Africa's Independent Online.
Nicole the shark makes a record ocean journey

INJURED - 2 October 2005 - Grand Cay, Bahamas - diver attacked

Nixon Pierre, 35, was diving for conch with companion Oliver Russell about one mile north of Grand Cay in the Bahamas when he was attacked by a large shark which bit him on the right side of his face.

The report was published on Monday 3 October and only refers to the incident as having taken place at the "weekend" - either 1 or 2 October.

The two men had been fishing and diving from their 17-foot Freeport Skiff.

Russell helped his injured friend back into the boat and rushed him back to Grand Cay where he received emergency medical treatment at the Government Clinic before being flown to Freeport’s Rand Hospital where a doctor described his condition as serious but not life threatening.

The species of shark was not reported.

• Sources:
  The Freeport News

HERE’S TROUBLE - 1 OCTOBER 2005 - SUNNY COVE, FALSE BAY, SOUTH AFRICA - SURFSKIER ATTACKED

Trevor Wright, 55, was paddling his surfski about 80 metres from Sunny Cove in False Bay, South Africa just after 3pm on Saturday 1 October when a four-metre Great White attacked the front of the surfski, puncturing the fiberglass with four tooth marks.

Wright was unharmed.

He told the media: my first thought was “here’s trouble” when he felt a “hell of a knock” on the back of his surfski and realized it was too deep for him to have hit rocks.

The shark then appeared at the front of his surfski and came out of the water to bite the front of Wright’s surfski, according to his friend Alan Weston who witnessed the attack from his surfski nearby.

“I still have this vision of the shark’s open jaw and eye,” Wright said.

He was too far from the shark to hit it with his paddle.

The shark released the surfski and dived. Wright and Weston then paddled to the shore and alerted the authorities.

“If I’d fallen in the water, it could have been far worse,” a clearly relieved Wright told media.

Sources:
IOL

INJURED – 25 SEPTEMBER 2005 – KANGAROO ISLAND, SOUTH AUSTRALIA – SURFER ATTACKED

Surfer, Josh Berris, 26 suffered lacerations to both legs after being attacked by a four-metre shark (some reports say the shark was “more than two metres”) at Cape du Couedic, a renowned seal breeding area off Kangaroo Island, South Australia, about midday Sunday 25 September.

Berris was celebrating his 26th birthday.

Locals call the surf spot “Spooks” because of regular shark sightings during the seal breeding season.

Paramedic Dean George told media Berris felt the shark underneath him and thought it was a seal before it bit his leg.

“He put his hand in the shark's mouth to push it away," George said. "When he hit it, it got the board and it starting towing him away. He just yanked his leg rope off.”

Witness Dave Dowie said the shark circled around its victim after the initial attack.

“The shark appeared to come around onto his left hand side and was right up close to his board,” Dowie said.

“It stuck its head out of the water and Josh was able to push it away.

“But then it appeared to just go for his surfboard, which was probably very fortunate."
Dowie said the attack happened quickly.

“Josh sort of called out when it first hit him, because obviously it took him by surprise,” he said.

Two of his friends dragged an injured Berris from the water and pulled him onto rocks at the base of a cliff, before climbing up steep cliffs to make an emergency call from a nearby ranger station.

An Adelaide Bank Rescue helicopter airlifted Berris to Flinders Medical Centre, where he spent the night. His injuries were not life-threatening.

Sources:
The Australian

News.com.au

FRIGHTENED – SCARBOROUGH BEACH, PERTH, AUSTRALIA – 24 SEPTEMBER 2005 – SURFER ATTACKED

Surfer, Brad Satchell, 44, survived a shark attack by punching the shark repeatedly on the head when it tried to attack him at Scarborough beach, Perth, Western Australia.

Satchell said he thought the shark was a bronze whaler more than one metre in length.

When the shark swam straight at him he climbed off his board and used it as a shield.
He was quoted by media as saying: “I actually had a smile on my face when I first saw the thing because I thought it was a seal.

"I can remember I was actually smiling, but then it just changed and I thought 'wow this thing is going to have a go at me'.

"Probably two or three foot before it tried to attack me, I turned my board on the side to use it as a shield.

"I lifted my body out of the water and I just got my fists and I remember what I'd read in the paper - I just started punching and I connected with its head."
Satchell said it was a frightening experience.

He was unhurt and paddled to safety.

Sources:
ABC News Online

Herald Sun

INJURED - 7 September 2005 - Park Beach, Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia - surfer attacked

A 15-year-old surfer, Blake Garnett, suffered severe lacerations to his left foot after he was bitten by a shark while surfing at Park Beach, Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia.

His father, Michael Garnett, told media Blake was standing beside his surfboard in the surf at Park Beach at dusk on Wednesday, 7 September.

"He had just caught a wave and felt something pulling him down and then it let go and nipped at him, all in a matter of seconds,” Garnett was quoted as saying.

His foot has a bite mark across the toes and at least three deep, wide slashing cuts on his ankle.

No shark was sighted at the time of the attack. Locals quoted in The Coffs Coast Advocate believe a baby bronze whaler or black tip shark bit Blake.

Two surfing friends helped Blake to the beach where they waited for an ambulance to take him to hospital.

Sharks and dolphins had been sighted chasing baitfish at Coffs Harbour during a surfing competition the same day, competition organiser Mark Windon said. Blake was not surfing in the competition. Windon said the competition had been put on hold for half an hour because of the shark sighting.

• Sources:
  The Daily Telegraph

South Australia shark attack victim tells his story

South Australia shark attack victim, Jake Heron, gives a first-hand account of his ordeal.

"The board took the brunt of it - they definitely do not like fibreglass," Jake Heron said from hospital on 7 September.

"I haven't really dealt with it," he said but he thought it was unlikely he would return to surf in the same area.

More... from the Port Lincoln Times

INJURED - Eyre Peninsula shark attack update - 4 September 2005

Jake Heron, 40, was surfing off South Australia's Eyre Peninsula with long-time friend Craig Materna when he was attacked just 10 metres from the shore by a four-metre Great White shark. The shark bit him on the right arm and thigh.

The attack took place at Fishery Bay around 3pm (local time) Sunday 4 September.

Heron’s two children, a six-year-old girl and a two-year-old boy, witnessed the attack from the shore.

Heron gave the shark a couple of solid punches before it let him go and it seems this may have saved his life.

Materna, who was riding a surfboard nearby at the time of the attack told the media he heard his friend scream and paddled straight to him.

"He was freaking out, yelling for help," Mr Materna said.
"No one saw the shark come up to him - it knocked him off the board.
"It pulled him under because the leg rope was attached to him. He kicked and punched the shark, I think in the gill."

The shark also took a bite out of Heron’s surfboard splitting it in two before returning to continue the attack on him.

Heron managed to get out of the water and struggle to his car where he called for help. He was taken to Port Lincoln Hospital where he had 20 stitches in his arm and 40 stitches in his thigh.

Materna said: "Jake was lucky - the shark had a few goes at him."
"He got a shock. He realises he's lucky to be alive.

• Source: The Age

INJURED - 4 September 2005 - Eyre Peninsula, South Australia - surfer attacked

A 40 year-old man suffered leg injuries after he was attacked by what is believed to be a four-metre Great White shark while surfing off the Eyre Peninsula about 30km south of Port Lincoln in South Australia.

His board was split in two during the attack which took place around 3pm local time (5.30am UTC).

The victim, who was not yet named, was taken to hospital and was reportedly in a stable condition.

Source: Nine MSN

FATAL - reported 4 Sept 2005 - fishing trawler, Thailand - fisherman attacked

In a rather bizarre and tragic incident a Thai fishing trawler crewman was untangling fishing nets on the deck of the boat when he was bitten on the arm and leg by a two-metre long, 200kg shark which had been brought aboard in the nets.

The crewman, a Cambodian migrant worker identified only as Ham, 21, bled to death on the boat. The incident took place about 100 nautical miles from shore.

No other details were immediately available.

Source: Independent Online

Fatal Adelaide shark attack update

"As the pair resurfaced and tried to return to their boat, the shark repeatedly used its snout to force Mr Stehbens, 23, under the water. Two researchers helped Mr Rowntree aboard the boat, but they watched in horror as the shark took hold of their colleague and dragged him under. Mr Stehbens was seen calmly trying to free his leg from the shark's jaws."

Source: Times online

FATAL – 24 August 2005 – Glenelg Beach, Adelaide, Australia – diver attacked

A diver is presumed dead after a shark attacked him while diving with friends two kilometres off the popular Glenelg Beach in Adelaide, Australia.

The attack took place at 4.10pm local time. The victim and another man were scuba diving when their two friends aboard a boat saw the shark, but they were powerless to stop the attack. The two friends on the boat pulled the victim’s diving companion from the water as the attack took place.

The witnesses said the shark was large and took the diver while he was underwater.

Police have recovered some of the missing diver's equipment, including the oxygen tank and a buoyancy vest. A search for the victim was underway Wednesday night, but he was presumed dead.

Initial reports did not mention the name of the victim or those of the witnesses.

Local shark expert Andrew Fox told media it was most likely a Great White shark, the same type of shark that was believed responsible for the fatal attack on 18-year-old Nick Peterson last December just one kilometre from this incident.

• Sources:
  ninemsn news
  The Age

INJURED – 21 August 2005 – Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, US – swimmer

An eight-year-old boy, Jacob Kolessar, was swimming with his grandfather Sunday morning at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, US, when he was bitten on his side and chest by what experts believe to be a small black tip shark.

His aunt, Stephanie Laibinis, told media he was recovering and had received numerous stitches to his side and chest.

According to the press the boy told emergency workers he had seen several small fish swimming near him. Shark experts said the bite was probably unintentional as Black Tip sharks prefer small bait fish which they feed on near the shore. “They don’t have an interest in man as prey.”

The Kolessar family, from Mountain Top, Pennsylvania, was vacationing at the beach.

According to statistics compiled by the Florida Museum of Natural History there have been few shark bites in the Carolinas in the past 10 years and no fatal attacks in South Carolina since the 1800s.

Chris Humphrey was attacked by a shark at Holden Beach, North Carolina, in mid-July.

• Meanwhile, a park ranger at Fort Fisher Recreational Area told the press there had been an unconfirmed bite at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, earlier in August.

Source: MyrtleBeachOnline.com

INJURED - 19 August 2005 - Crystal Beach, Texas, United States - swimmer attacked

A 12-year-old boy, Julian Elizondo, was bitten on the left foot by a shark while walking in knee-deep water at Crystal Beach, east of Galveston Island, Texas, United States. The attack took place Friday 19 August.

Media reports that “when he couldn't pull away, Julian knocked the shark on the head and it let go”.

There was no mention of the size or type of shark responsible for the attack.

He was taken by ambulance to the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, where surgeons operated on his foot. Hospital officials said the wound also affected the ankle joint.

• Source: Houston Chronicle

Selachophobia: A brief history

You know the scene: A black dorsal fin slices through the surf toward a solitary swimmer. From the crowded beach come cries of "Shark!" But it's too late.
More...

INJURED - 23 July 2005, Ormond Beach, Florida, US - surfer attacked

Robert Thompson, a 61-year-old surfer was bitten on the foot by a shark while paddling 20 metres from shore at Ormond Beach. The cuts were minor and the surfer didn't need stitches.

Thompson told reporters his foot probably wasn't appetising because the shark let him go.

A beach patrol spokesman said based on the cuts on Thompson's foot, the shark was likely a spinner or black tip shark. He said these are less aggressive and often found along the Volusia County coast.

Sources:
CBS47

INJURED - 27 July 2005, Daytona Beach, Florida, US - swimmer attacked

A 13-year-old girl, Nicole Carlos, was bitten on the left hand by a shark while wading in waist-deep water off Zelda Boulevard. The attack occurred close to the Zelda approach, which is near the line separating Ormond and Daytona beaches. Nicole was hospitalised, although officials said the injury was minor.

Sources:
Orlando Sentinel

INJURED - 22 July 2005 - Holden Beach, Ocean Boulevard, North Carolina, US - swimmer attacked

Chris Humphrey, 22, was hanging on the side of a raft when he was bitten on the forearm by a five foot shark. He said the pain "felt like razor blades". He suffered multiple punctures and a 15-centimetre gash that required stitches. Tiny fragments of shark teeth were removed from the wound.

Humphrey hit the shark which released its grip and swam off. He made it to shore where his parents wrapped his injured arm in a towel.

According to local police officials the attack was reported as a medical emergency sometime after 5pm (local time).

Humphrey was on vacation from Springfield, Virginia.

The type of shark responsible for the attack was not reported.

Sources:
NBC17
The Virginian Pilot

INJURED - 13 July 2005, Crystal Beach, Texas, United States, swimmer attacked

Fourteen-year-old Lydia Paulk was bitten on the foot on Wednesday 13 July by what is believed to be a black tip shark while standing in waist deep water with two relatives.

According to witnesses the shark was 4-5 feet long. It bumped her leg before returning after a few seconds and biting her foot. The jagged bite severed tendons on the top of her foot.

Lydia’s aunt, who was with her in the water, pulled her onto a small boat and took her to shore, wrapping her bleeding foot in a towel

Lydia, from North Carolina, was taken to University of Texas Medical Branch hospital. Doctors, who removed fragments of shark teeth from the wound, said they believed she would be able to walk again.

Galveston County - The Daily News report

The electric Shark Shield

Autralian company SeaChange has developed an electric Shark Shield designed for divers, surfers, kayakers and other water sport users, both professional and recreational.

The shield is strapped to the user of the user's water craft and creates a "unique electronic field around the user. The electric field is detected by the snouts of the sharks and causes them intense discomfort making them to leave the area," says SeaChange.

The electric field does not affect any other sea creatures and is harmless to the wearer.

SeaChange says the device has been tested over many years in scientific and real life situations with a wide variety of sharks, including Great Whites.

SeaChange...

Electric shark barriers given go-ahead for South Africa, Australia

"Electronic barriers to keep sharks away from popular beaches are to be given the go-ahead in Australia and South Africa.

Australian company Seachange Technology said on Monday that it had signed a deal with South Africa's Natal Sharks Board to trial electronic devices that give out a signal that drives sharks away but is harmless to them and to dolphins and whales."

More...

The Bull Shark

Following a spate of shark attacks in the Gulf of Mexico recently presumed to be by bull sharks , here is the scientific picture of the bull shark, considered the most dangerous shark in the world, responsible for the most attacks on humans - from the Ichthyology Dept, Florida Natural History Museum.

The Bull Shark

"According to the International Shark Attack File (ISAF) bull sharks are
historically responsible for at least 69 unprovoked attacks on humans around the
world, 17 of which resulted in fatality. In reality this species is likely
responsible for many more, and has been considered by many experts to be the
most dangerous shark in the world. It's large size, occurrence in freshwater
bodies, and greater abundance in close proximity to numerous human populations
in the tropics makes it more of a potential threat than either the white shark
or tiger shark. Since the bull shark occurs in numerous Third World regions
including Central America, Mexico, India, east and west Africa, the Middle East,
Southeast Asia, and South Pacific Islands, attacks are often not reported. The
bull shark is also not as easily identifiable as the white or tiger shark, so is
likely responsible for a large percentage of attacks with unidentified
culprits.

The bull shark gets its name from its stout appearance and pugnacious reputation. The French know the shark as requin bouledogue, and the Spanish as tiburon sarda. It is known by many different common names throughout its range including Zambezi shark, Van Rooyen's shark (Africa); Ganges shark (India); Nicaragua shark (Central America); freshwater whaler, estuary whaler, and Swan River whaler (Australia); shovelnose shark, square-nose shark, river shark, slipway grey shark, ground shark, and cub shark."

More here...

INJURED - 1 July 2005 - Gasparilla Island Beach, Florida, US - swimmer attacked

In the third shark attack in Florida, US, in a week, a 19-year-old Austrian tourist was bitten on the ankle by a shark shortly before 11.30am local time while swimming about 100 metres from the shore off a Gulf of Mexico beach in Gasparilla Island State Park.

His father brought the boy ashore where a nurse, who was on the beach at the time, put a towel on the wound stanching the blood flow until paramedics arrived.

The victim, Armin Trojer, 19, of Baden, Austria, was airlifted by helicopter to a hospital in Fort Myers, where he was in good condition, hospital spokeswoman told the press. He had surgery to repair torn ligaments and tendons and was expected to make a full recovery.

According to the Herald Tribune: Trojer, who is 6 feet tall, told physicians at Lee Memorial Hospital that he was swimming alone in water that was too deep to stand in when the shark's jaws closed on his ankle.

Authorities don't know what kind of shark bit Trojer, although hammerhead sharks, spinner sharks and bull sharks frequent the area several hundred feet north of Boca Grande Pass, according to press reports. The two attacks which took place earlier this week in Florida (see earlier blogs) were by bull sharks.

"The bull shark gets its name from its stout appearance and pugnacious
reputation. The French know the shark as requin bouledogue, and the Spanish as
tiburon sarda. It is known by many different common names throughout its range
including Zambezi shark, Van Rooyen's shark (Africa); Ganges shark (India);
Nicaragua shark (Central America); freshwater whaler, estuary whaler, and Swan
River whaler (Australia); shovelnose shark, square-nose shark, river shark,
slipway grey shark, ground shark, and cub shark." - Icthyology Dept at the Florida Museum of Natural History.

The pass, where Charlotte Harbor flows into the Gulf between Boca Grande and Cayo Costa, is world renown for game fishing. Locals don't recommend swimming in the area.

The Herald Tribune report.

Shark Attack Tips

Shark Attack Tips from National Geographic.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU'RE ATTACKED

• If attack is imminent, defend yourself with whatever weapons you can, advises the ReefQuest Centre for Shark Research. "Avoid using your [bare] hands or feet if you can avoid it; if not, concentrate your blows against the shark's delicate eyes or gills." A shark's snout is also said to be sensitive.

• If a shark actually gets you in its mouth, says ISAF's George Burgess, "I advise to be as aggressively defensive as you are able. 'Playing dead' does not work. Pound the shark in any way possible. Try to claw at the eyes and gill openings, two very sensitive areas."

• If bitten, try to stop the bleeding. Leave the water as efficiently, calmly, and swiftly as possible. While many sharks will not bite again, you cannot rule out a second attack.

• Get immediate medical attention, no matter how small the injury.

HOW TO HELP A VICTIM

• Remove the victim from the water as soon as possible.

• Even before you leave the water, begin controlling bleeding by pressing on pressure points or by applying tourniquets.

• Protect the victim from cold by wrapping him or her in a blanket to minimize heat loss.

• Once out of the water try not to move the victim unnecessarily. Call for medical help.

Shark facts: attack stats, record swims, more...

National Geographic News - Shark facts: attack stats, record swims, more...:

Over 375 shark species have been identified, but only about a dozen are considered particularly dangerous. Three species are responsible for most human attacks: great white (Carcharodon carcharias), tiger (Galeocerdo cuvier), and bull (Carcharhinus leucas) sharks.

INJURED - 27 June 2005 - Cape San Blas, Florida, US - fisherman attacked

A 16-year-old boy, Craig Hutto, was attacked by a shark while fishing from a sandbar about 50 metres offshore of a sandspit at Cape San Blas on the Florida panhandle in the United States.

The attack, which took place about 10.30am local time on Monday 27 June, is the second shark attack in three days on the Florida panhandle. A 14-year-old girl was killed by a shark on Saturday 25 June near Destin about 130 kilometres northwest of Cape San Blas.

The boy was fishing in waist-deep water with two friends when the shark bit him on the right thigh, nearly severing his leg.

The three fought the shark off the boy, hitting it on the nose several times. Hutto was pulled ashore by his friends and a doctor who happened to be nearby began treatment before he was taken to Bay Medical Center in Panama City by helicopter.

A hospital spokesperson told media his leg was amputated and he was listed in critical condition, but expected to recover.

Eric Ritter of the US-based Shark Attack Institute told media it was unlikely that the two attacks were by the same shark.

Experts with the US-based International Shark Attack File (ISAF) pointed out that this attacked was provoked as the boys were baiting the water to catch fish, while the attack on the girl two days earlier was unprovoked as she was merely swimming on her boogie board.

Florida is considered the world's shark attack capital with an average of 32 attacks a year between 2000 and 2004, according to the ISAF.

USA Today report

Surfer Recounts Fatal Shark Attack in Florida

Tim Dicus was surfing when he heard the scream. He turned and saw a girl swimming as fast as she could _ and another one face down in a bloody circle of water. Dicus, 54, paddled over to the wounded 14-year-old girl, who had been swimming on a boogie board about 100 yards offshore.

"Right next to her was the shark, about to come up and attack her again," Dicus said. He put the girl on his surf board and the shark _ which appeared to be a bull shark about 8 feet long _ went after her hand.

Surfer Recounts Fatal Shark Attack in Florida

FATAL - 25 June 2005, Fort Walton Beach, Florida, US - boogie boarder attacked

A 14-year-old girl, Jamie Marie Daigle, was fatally attacked by a shark while boogie boarding with a friend about 200 metres offshore of a Florida beach in the Gulf of Mexico, on Saturday, 25 June. A nearby surfer who witnessed the attacked and brought the girl to shore told media he thought it was an eight-foot Bull shark.

He said most of her thigh had been bitten off revealing the bone.

The girl who was on holiday from Louisiana.

CNN said: "The attack happened at about 11:15 a.m. in front of a campground near
the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in the Florida Panhandle between Pensacola
and Panama City, eight miles east of Destin, United States."

This is the first shark attack in the area, according authorities.

The surfer and two men took the girl to shore. She was transported to the Sacred Heart hospital in Destin where she was pronounced dead.

CNN report

FATAL - 22 June 2005 - Malekula Island, Vanuatu, South Pacific - swimmer attacked

Seven-year-old Alysha Margaret Webster, from New Zealand, was atatcked and killed while swimming off a beach on Malekula Island in the north of the Vanuatu island group in the South Pacific.

The attack took palce on Wednesday afternoon, 22 June.

Alysha was on a yachting holiday with her parents.

Media reports did not mention the type of shark believed to be responsibe for the attack.

Port Vila Presse, the island newspaper, reported that Malekula is well known for shark attacks and a number of local children have been killed over the years in similar circumstances.

- Sydney Morning Herald report

INJURED - 14 June 2005, Kaeui Island, Korea - diver attacked

A 38-year-old woman diver suffered a serious leg injury after being attacked by what experts believe to be a three-metre Great White shark while diving off Kaeui Island off the west coast of Taean County, South Korea.

The woman, identified only by her family name Lee, was rushed to a local hospital.

Lee who had been diving with 11 divers for ear shell in about 10 metres of water was quoted in the local press as saying: "I felt a hit in the knee, but I did not see it."

CDNN link - http://www.cdnn.info/news/safety/s050614.html

The International Shark Attack File

The International Shark Attack File is a University of Florida Icthyology reasearch department which keeps a record of all shark attacks around the world. Data is only available to qualifying scientists. It cannot be released into the public domain as it contains post mortems and some pretty shocking images. Nonetheless ther is some info on the site and tehy have recently posted the "ISAF 2004 Worldwide Shark Attack Summary".

"As in recent years, the majority (44%: 27 attacks) of incidents occurred in
North American waters. The 30 attacks in United States territorial waters
(including Hawaii) were significantly fewer than totals recorded in 2003 (41),
2002 (47), 2001 (50), and 2000 (50). Elsewhere, attacks occurred in Australia
(12), Brazil (5), South Africa (5), and Reunion Island (3), with single
incidents reported from the Bahamas, Cuba, Egypt, Fiji, New Zealand, and
Venezuela."

The International Shark Attack File

Great White Shark Attacks: Defanging the Myths

Great White Shark Attacks: Defanging the Myths - a news report from National Geographic.

"There is good and bad news for surfers regarding the great white shark
(Carcharodon carcharias). The bad news, according to shark scientists, and
contrary to popular opinion, is that great whites are sharp sighted, curious
animals, prone to taking "taste tests" of unfamiliar objects that catch their
eye.

The good news is they generally don't like to eat people." ...

Great White Shark Attacks: Defanging the Myths

South African shark tourism booms after Cape Town attack

"When there is an attack, we get even more people phoning,'' said Kim MacLean, who has run shark diving trips near Cape Town since 1992, in an interview. "It seems to boost interest."

South African shark tourism booms after Cape Town attack: "

INJURED - 5 June 2005, Surf City, Long Beach Island, New Jersey, USA - surfer attacked

In the first attack in 30 years in New Jersey, United States, a 17-year-old surfer, Ryan Horton was bitten on his ankle by what experts believe to have been a small Great White shark.

Horton received 50 stitches to close the wound.

Horton said he never saw the shark and just felt a stabbing pain in his ankle while swimming back to his board after falling off. He managed to paddle to shore where his brother helped him to hospital. He told the press he did not know what had had happened to him until his doctor suggested he had been bitten by a shark.

New York Daily News report:
http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/317297p-271377c.html

FATAL - 4 June 2005, Cape Town, South Africa - spearfisherman attacked

Spearfisherman, Henri Murray, 22, was fatally attacked by a large Great White shark 200-300 metres off Miller's Point near Simon's Town on the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.

His friend Piet Van Niekerk, 23, who was diving with Murray managed to get out of the water safely after shooting the shark with his speargun.

Police divers conducted and extensive search for the body, but found only found on floatation buoy that is normally attached to the speargun, the speargun, a flipper, a mask, a snorkel and parts of a weight belt belonging to Murray.

An eyewitness was quoted as saying: "It was incredibly fast. The two spearfishermen were about 100m from the beach. Suddenly a huge shark surged from under the water taking the one diver up to his arms in its jaws. It must have been massive to have done that. Then the shark and the man just vanished."

According to South African Sharks Board statistics, there have been over 70 attacks in Cape waters since 1990, of which eight have been fatal.

In March British tourist Chris Sullivan, 32, was attacked by a Great White shark at Noordhoek. He had to undergo four hours of surgery to his right leg and foot.

In November 2004 Tyna Webb, 77,was killed by a Great White off Jagger Walk on the Fish Hoek coast. Only her red swimming cap was found after the attack.

In June 2004 Nkosinathi Mayaba, 21, a diver from Gansbaai, was fatally attacked off Pearly Beach on the Cape south coast.

In April 2004 surfer JP Andrews lost his lower leg to a Great White at Muizenberg.

In September 2003 a huge Great White killed bodyboarder David Bornman, 19, of Newlands at a popular surf break off Noordhoek beach.

In December 2002 diver Craig Bovim was injured in an attack by a Great White off Scarborough.


IOL report: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=14&click_id=14&art_id=qw111795804177B262