Nobody seems sure why there have been more than the usual number of shark attacks in the Carolinas this summer.
But the simple fact is that there are both more sharks and more swimmers, according to shark experts. And, the number of swimmers will certainly be up this weekend, with the Fourth of July holiday.
It’s a recipe for a cross-species surf war, albeit not one either sharks or most humans seek.
George Burgess, head of the Florida Program for Shark Research at the Florida Museum of Natural History (FLMNH), said it is important to have this perspective so people don’t get ahead of themselves and fear a “Jaws-like” scenario. It’s tempting to assume the worst when pictures of sharks start circulating online; plus it’s particularly troubling when the series of attacks has predominantly affected young people. But, what’s more likely happening is North Carolina beachgoers are not used to looking for sharks and may be caught off guard as other factors draw sharks closer to shore, Burgess said.
“It’s not like a trip to the YMCA pool,” he said. “The onus is on us as humans now to adapt.”
Two more people in the Carolinas were bitten by sharks this week – a man swimming at Ocracoke Island in North Carolina and a boy at Isle of Palms, S.C.
The Ocracoke incident was the seventh shark attack in a month in North Carolina.
From north to south, the affected Carolinas area spans about 500 miles, with an oceanic region called the Mid-Atlantic Shark Area halfway between.
While experts and tourism promoters always urge calm and statisticians go on about how we are more likely to be attacked by a cow than a shark, that is small comfort for those swimming in the ocean rather than hanging around a farm.
“Something has changed,” worried a commenter on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore Facebook page, just above a post about one of the latest shark attack injuries.
Burgess said what makes North Carolina’s situation stand out is that the state isn’t used to this many attacks in a short period. According to the FLMNH International Shark Attack File, between 2005 and 2014, North Carolina saw only 25 incidents, none of them fatal.
“If it had been in Florida, I wouldn’t have batted an eye,” Burgess said. In that same time frame, Florida has had 219 incidents, two of them fatal.
Burgess, like others, can only speculate as to specific causes.
This year, Burgess said he has heard many reports of increased sea turtle activity this nesting season along the southeast coast. The turtles come onto shore to lay eggs, which can attract sharks into shallower waters as they look for food.
Roger Rulifson, a distinguished professor of biology and senior scientist at East Carolina University, said that there have been reports of small bait fish coming closer to shore this summer, which attracts sharks.
Rulifson also noted, “This is the time of year when a number of these sharks to come in to pup, or spawn, so it’s very possible that’s one reason they might be close to shore.”
More long-term explanations include generally warmer water temperatures, which bring fish accustomed to warmer waters northward, bringing hungry sharks with them. Upwelling also may be contributing – this is when warmer surface-water is pushed away by wind or storms, allowing colder, nutrient-rich water below to rise to the top. Having more nutrients near the surface and shore attracts plankton, which attracts small fish, which in turn attracts sharks, Burgess said.
One common practice that can draw sharks is fishermen on piers, either attracting sharks as they bait small fish or even fish for sharks using “chum,” or ground-up fish.
Fishermen often attract sharks as they clean their catch, tossing large chunks into the sea. Frequently, excited sightseers show up, hurling more fish at the sharks to watch them leap and feed. Sometimes a wounded shark will go hurtling and twisting through the shallow waters at unfathomable speeds that take onlookers by surprise. Sometimes these sharks have been caught with large hooks and line but have managed to escape the fate of being hauled up onto the beach and then carved into steaks by fishermen.
There are at least 19 piers jutting out into the sea in North Carolina; in South Carolina, roughly five or fewer. The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries asks people not to fish for sharks near swimmers earlier this month, the Associated Press reported, and swimmers are routinely warned to stay away from piers, though many don’t.
There are signs that some species of the long-dwindling shark population are making a recovery. Research by Burgess and others shows great white sharks are starting to return, though over a period of decades, and it’s unlikely the general uptick in attacks is because of more great white sharks, Burgess said. Plus, the North Carolina attacks are most likely the work of bull or tiger sharks, he added.
But Burgess said the simplest reason for North Carolina’s rough month may be that more people are going swimming. With hotter summers earlier in the year, Burgess said, more and more people are venturing to the beach, increasing the chances that someone might get bitten.
Ideally, every beach would have a lifeguard, Burgess said.
In any event, tourism experts say, it’s unlikely there will be a rush of trip cancellations to the beaches along the Carolinas.
The attacks are “not good for the reputation of the state, but fortunately people who come realize it’s tragic but rare and isolated,” said Wit Tuttell, executive director of the N.C. Division of Tourism. “I think people understand that.”
“We’ve got the brains; they’ve got the teeth.”
Contributing: The News Observer, The Associated Press
Tips to avoid shark attacks
From the Florida Museum of Natural History:
▪ Always stay in groups since sharks are more likely to attack a solitary individual.
▪ Avoid being in the water during darkness or twilight hours when sharks are most active and have a competitive sensory advantage.
▪ Do not enter the water if bleeding from an open wound or if menstruating – a shark’s olfactory ability is acute.
▪ Wearing shiny jewelry is discouraged because the reflected light resembles the sheen of fish scales.
▪ Use extra caution when waters are murky and avoid uneven tanning and bright colored clothing – sharks see contrast particularly well.
▪ Refrain from excess splashing and do not allow pets in the water because of their erratic movements.
▪ Exercise caution when occupying the area between sandbars or near steep drop-offs — these are favorite hangouts for sharks.
Television: Shark Week 2015
Discovery Channel’s Shark Week 2015 runs nightly, Sunday through Sunday. Here, a sampling of episodes; find the full list at discovery.com.
Sunday
Shark Trek, 8 p.m.: Shark expert Greg Skomal and a team of engineers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution embark on a mission to find out why great white sightings in Florida are on the rise. It’s the biggest study ever of Atlantic great whites.
Monster Mako, 10 p.m.: A team of marine biologists set out to clock the top speed of the fastest shark in the ocean – the mako. Meanwhile, a second team aims to prove that makos are ambush predators that breach to kill their prey, just like great whites.
Tuesday
Bride of Jaws, 9 p.m.: At nearly 18 feet and more than 3,000 pounds, a record-breaking female great white shark nicknamed “Joan of Shark” roams the waters off Western Australia. Three shark experts follow an extraordinary 4,000-mile migratory path to find and tag her.
Wednesday
Super Predator, 9 p.m.: The search for the predator that ate a 9-foot great white off the coast of Australia takes wildlife filmmaker Dave Riggs into the kill zone – a deep ocean battleground of great whites, killer whales and giant squid.
July 11
Sharksanity 2, 9 p.m.: We scoured the seas to bring you the greatest moments from Shark Week 2015! Only the closest calls, biggest bites and greatest gadgets made the cut. Then, we’re revealing your top picks for the best moments in Shark Week history.
July 12
Shark Island, 8 p.m.: In a remote corner of the Indian Ocean, Reunion Island has become the most dangerous place on the planet for shark attacks. After seven deaths in four years, locals and scientists are in a race against time to find answers before another fatal encounter.
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