California Jaws!

[Wrench 9,801]

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2014/02/26/baby-sharks-spotted-swimming-in-venice-beach-canals/

 

just when you thought it was safe to get back in your gondola....

[SkyStrike 15]

Interesting.... But I wouldn't worry about it too much though... The Leopard shark (Triakis Semifasciata), [the same specimens observed in the Venice beach canals,]  is harmless to humans and even large specimens would most likely flee from approaching humans... they don't grow more than 5 feet in length.. and have a normally very docile temprament...

 

 

http://en.wikipedia....i/Leopard_shark

 

 

So there's nothing much to worry about... :)

Cheers!

Edited February 28, 2014 by SkyStrike

[JediMaster 451]

Around here you usually worry more about barracudas than sharks.

[SkyStrike 15]

Yes.. That's right..a barracuda is much more aggressive than a leopard shark....

[Fubar512 1,350]

Around here you usually worry more about barracudas than sharks.

 

Having swum with barracudas that were almost six feet long in John Pennekamp state park, I'm inclined to disagree with you.  Bull sharks (which are all over the St John's river system) are responsible for most of the fatal or near-fatal attacks in Florida waters. Believe it or not, the lowly bluefish is more likely to attack a swimmer in murky water, than would a shark, or even barracuda (in clear water). 

 

In fact, it's been my experience that bluefish have the meanest disposition of any fish species that I've encountered, and they have been responsible for attacks on swimmers along any coast that they inhabit (Spain, Morocco, the eastern seaboard of the United States, Western Australia).

 

http://www.27east.com/news/article.cfm/Sagaponack/224532/Surfers-injured-by-feeding-bluefish-at-Sagg

[JediMaster 451]

I've never been bitten by anything in the water myself, and have been only a few feet from multiple cudas. So by my experience, nothing in the ocean is dangerous. Doesn't really prove anything.

[Fubar512 1,350]

I'So by my experience, nothing in the ocean is dangerous. Doesn't really prove anything.

 

Please take no offense, but there's probably a vast difference in your level of experience on the ocean, and mine.  I For example, have spent years worth of time on the ocean over the course of the last 35 years, mostly going out of my way to seek potentially dangerous species. 

 

I have been bitten only a couple of times that I can recall, and on both occasions, it was by bluefish.  Both cases were a result of my letting my guard down, simply because I had become complacent with that species. That being said, I always approach sharks with a healthy dose of respect.  The last thing one wants to do, is to wait to be picked up by a USCG helo 50-70 miles offshore, as one's bleeding to death.

 

I have caught more than my share of "barries" while fishing off of North Carolina or Florida. I am always amazed by not only their awesome dentures, but also by the incredible amount of jaw pressure that they can exert when they attempt to "kill" a metal lure.  I've seen them immobilize a lead-bodied chromed diamond jig to the degree that one could not drive the hook into the their jaws.  I simply reeled in the lure afterwards, with deeply imprinted tooth marks evident in its flanks.

 

Two other species that I take great care when handling, are the wahoo and the king-mackerel, both of which sport jaws armed with close fitting. razor edged teeth.  Wahoo can exceed 100 lbs, and kings up to 50 lbs are not uncommon (bluefish, for example, rarely exceed 15 lbs).

Edited March 3, 2014 by Fubar512

[+Gunrunner 314]

Damn, I read California Jews, I thought it was about the nefarious conspiracy to rob Russia of it's legitimate claim over Crimea...

[JediMaster 451]

The problem is if you get bit by a little fish that makes you bleed and that provokes a bigger one that can do serious damage. I've seen sharks and cudas aplenty and they've always ignored me...but I've never been bleeding around them or around a feeding zone.

 

However, an absence of proof is not proof of absence, you can't prove a negative. So whilst no one I know has ever been attacked by one, I know that they do attack people. The question of frequencies is hard to figure out since it's so dependent on multiple factors such as season, density of people/fish, individual circumstances, and so on.

 

Are people attacked by sharks just because there are more of them where the people are, or because they're more aggressive? If every one of them was replaced by a barracuda in the same situations, would the bite frequency increase or decrease? I honestly don't know.

[Fubar512 1,350]

 

Are people attacked by sharks just because there are more of them where the people are, or because they're more aggressive? If every one of them was replaced by a barracuda in the same situations, would the bite frequency increase or decrease? I honestly don't know.

 

People are attacked by sharks in shallow, murky water for the same reason that people occasionally get bit by bluefish or barracudas, and that is a reflex action due to competition with other predators over the available amount of prey. He who snoozes, loses, or more accurately, starves!  

 

In every case that I'm aware with barracudas, the person that was bit was either wearing or holding a shiny trinket that the barrie went for.

 

In clear water, sharks either bite out of curiosity, or in the case of tigers, whites, or bulls, the attack can be due to hunger or territoriality. Here's a video showing how an attack can progress from a curios nip, to an out and out case of territoriality.  The white shark in the video saw the small boat as another predator competing with it, and the results were tragic.

 

Edited March 4, 2014 by Fubar512

[SkyStrike 15]

Having swum with barracudas that were almost six feet long in John Pennekamp state park, I'm inclined to disagree with you.  Bull sharks (which are all over the St John's river system) are responsible for most of the fatal or near-fatal attacks in Florida waters. Believe it or not, the lowly bluefish is more likely to attack a swimmer in murky water, than would a shark, or even barracuda (in clear water). 

 

In fact, it's been my experience that bluefish have the meanest disposition of any fish species that I've encountered, and they have been responsible for attacks on swimmers along any coast that they inhabit (Spain, Morocco, the eastern seaboard of the United States, Western Australia).

 

http://www.27east.com/news/article.cfm/Sagaponack/224532/Surfers-injured-by-feeding-bluefish-at-Sagg

 

Cool!... Could you please post some pictures on the forum if it's not too much to ask? thanks 

 

Yes.. You're right.. The bull Shark (Carcharinas leucas) is one of the most agressive shark species known and is even known to enter fresh water and is responsible for numerous attacks on swimmers......'

Edited March 4, 2014 by SkyStrike

[Fubar512 1,350]

Cool!... Could you please post some pictures on the forum if it's not too much to ask? thanks 

 

Yes.. You're right.. The bull Shark (Carcharinas leucas) is one of the most agressive shark species known and is even known to enter fresh water and is responsible for numerous attacks on swimmers......'

 

Pictures of what? Sharks?

 

Blue Sharks (all tagged and released): 

 

 

 

 

Makos:

 

 

 

 

Spinner shark (unofficial NJ state record):

 

 

 

Ocean sunfish stopping by for a scrub:

 

 

[SkyStrike 15]

Pictures of what? Sharks?

 

 

Thanks for posting the pictures of the sharks..... I was hoping to see the some of the picctures of you swimming with the barracudas..... but nevertheless the sharks & ocean sunfish pics were really nice... thank you once again...

[Fubar512 1,350]

Thanks for posting the pictures of the sharks..... I was hoping to see the some of the picctures of you swimming with the barracudas..... but nevertheless the sharks & ocean sunfish pics were really nice... thank you once again...

The last time I swam with barracudas was probably in early February of 1986, and I did not own an underwater camera at the time, nor were there waterproof disposables even on the market back then. I can tell you that it was fun chasing them around.  They would scoot out of sight, make a wide circle, and appear behind us a few seconds later.  We'd then chase after them, and they'd perform the same maneuver again and again.  

 

Check on youtube for "swimming with barracudas" or "Diving at John Pennekamp Park", and I'm sure you'll find several videos.