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