Shark Attack Press Releases

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ISLE OF PALMS — A local man was bitten in the forearm by a shark this afternoon while swimming at the beach near 31st Avenue . The 24-year-old Isle of Palms man paddled out from the beach about 2 p.m., said Fire Chief Ann Graham. "He said the shark jumped out of the water and bit him," Graham said. Police and firefighters combed the beach, warning swimmers to stay out of the water. The shark wasn't spotted again. The man was taken to a local hospital, and his condition was not serious, Charleston County EMS said.

Emerald Isle, N.C.(7/9) — A 14-year-old girl who was likely bitten by a shark off Emerald Isle has gotten out the hospital and returned home to Sneads Ferry. Baileigh Foster was swimming in waist-deep water when she was bitten in the foot around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.A doctor at Cartert General Hospital, where Baileigh was treated, said she suffered lacerations consistent with those inflicted by a shark bite.Baileigh said she had never thought a shark would attack her."It did, and I was surprised, but it's just one out of a million chances," Baileigh said.She underwent surgery to repair ligament damage and was released from the hospital on Friday.Doctors said they expect Baileigh to make a full recovery in time for her to play on her high-school soccer team this fall.Baileigh said she will not be afraid to go swimming in the ocean again – but does not plan to swim at dusk again.Shark attacks are more frequent in the early morning and evening when sharks are feeding in the dim light.

Georgetown County authorities are investigating what they think is a shark bite. It happened at around 2 p.m. Saturday, off Litchfield Beach in Georgetown County . Authorities say the shark apparently bit 17-year-old Julianne Lunti of Columbia in knee-deep water. Investigators say Lunti will likely need stitches. Midway Fire Rescue spokesman Bob Beebe says no one saw the shark, but the marks left on the teen’s foot are consistent with a shark bite.

STAFF REPORT
What do you get when you mix the good waves - the first in weeks -- with murky water near the New Smyrna Beach jetty? The 12th shark bite of the year. A 29-year-old surfer was bitten on his left foot Thursday afternoon. "The surfer was sitting on his board with his feet dangling in the water when he was bit," Beach Patrol Capt. Scott Petersohn said. He came ashore and was given first aid by a lifeguard, and it is unlikely the surfer will even need stitches, Petersohn said. He then drove himself north to the Jacksonville area where he lives. "The surfers have just been sitting looking at their boards," Petersohn said. "This is the perfect recipe for a shark bite -- lots of surfers and murky water at Ponce Inlet."

An apparent shark bite in chest-deep waters off Fernandina Beach has authorities taking extra measures to alert beach-goers to potential risks. Jennifer Castion of Birmingham, Ala., received severe lacerations to both sides of her lower right calf about 11 a.m. Friday, according to the Fernandina Beach Police Department. She was wading in the ocean around beach access No. 39 at Ozello Avenue near the golf club. She was flown via air ambulance to Shands Jacksonville hospital, according to Deputy Fire Chief Jeffrey Bunch. Bunch said the woman told him she felt something grab her leg in chest-high water. After a struggle, it let her leg go. Once ashore, her husband wrapped her leg in a towel, took her to the nearby beach house they were staying at and called 911, Bunch said. She never lost consciousness and was “remarkably calm,” he said. Her condition was not available. A nursing supervisor said she wasn’t listed in the hospital’s system early Friday evening. Florida ’s Flag Warning System is in place and “Dangerous Conditions” and “Dangerous Marine Life” flags have been placed at all guarded areas. Location supervisors are patrolling the beaches to alert visitors and advise them to use caution or elect not to swim. The Police Department also conducted air surveillance the length of Amelia Island . Police Capt. David Bishop reported seeing no evidence of sharks, although the ocean water was relatively clear. The local Civil Air Patrol has been asked to keep an eye on the shoreline throughout the weekend. Life guards also will monitor the water and report any changes. If confirmed as a shark bite, Bunch said it would become only the third such incident in Fernandina Beach since the 1890s.

After surfing for 40 years off Cocoa Beach , the last thing John Vasbinder thought about was sharks. At least that was the case until a few days -- and 45 stitches -- ago. Vasbinder, district vice president of the Central Florida YMCA, was lying on his surfboard June 7, paddling out to catch another wave, when his hand hit something. Turns out, something bit his hand. "I thought I hit a dolphin or a turtle or something until I looked at my hand," Vasbinder said. "The skin on my palm was peeled back in three places and a couple of my finger tips were bleeding." A shark, possibly a bull shark, based on where the attack took place, came up from behind. "I never saw it coming," Vasbinder said. "In 40 years of surfing, this is my first scratch." His wife, who was sitting on the beach, took him to a doctor. The 45 stitches were removed Wednesday, and Vasbinder is looking forward to surfing again. "The doctor told me I'd be back in the water in a week," Vasbinder said Wednesday. For now, Vasbinder is a bit of a celebrity among his colleagues at work. "Actually, yeah. I'm to the point that I now say a dog bit me because they don't want to believe a shark bit me," Vasbinder said. As for the bite itself, Vasbinder said it didn't hurt until he got to the hospital and the doctor put the anti-infection salve on his hand. Then, it burned, he said. Vasbinder sees the whole thing in a positive light. First, it was his right hand, and Vasbinder is left-handed. So, "It worked out great," he said. Second, Vasbinder feels pretty confident about the possibility of a future attack"I say lightning doesn't strike twice, so I'm good for another 40 years."

BRENTWOOD — Surviving a shark bite that tore into her foot and ankle is not how 15-year-old Madi Taff planned to spend her family's annual vacation in Cherry Grove , S.C. Members of the beach patrol from the resort area just north of Myrtle Beach say they haven't seen a shark attack in at least five years. The Brentwood Academy 10th-grader spent June 1, the first day of her family's week-long vacation, at the beach with her father and 11-year-old sister. Russ Taff was reading a book several feet away from the surf while Madi waded in the hip-deep water, keeping a close eye on Charlotte Taff, who was body surfing. All of a sudden, Madi said, she felt what she thought was a crab biting her ankle. Attempts to shake the creature off were futile. Unaware that a 5-foot long sand bar shark, also known as a black tip shark, was latched onto her, Madi walked to the shore where she saw her foot bleeding profusely. Her dad rushed to help her just before members of the beach patrol swooped in on the scene. They confirmed what Charlotte had just said: It was a shark bite. While everyone was in a rush to treat her, Madi said, she remained calm. She even took a picture of the bite with her cell phone. "They were all freaked out and concerned. When you say 'shark bite,' it sounds really bad and you always imagine your leg getting bit off or something," she said. But she was lucky, suffering only puncture wounds that called for 16 stitches and a week on crutches. In fact, she was so calm, she called her father on the way to the hospital and asked him to bring her makeup. Despite the attack, Madi insisted her family finish their vacation, and she even ventured back to the beach . . . though not into the water. Madi's mother said the attack hasn't broken Madi's spirit. In fact, she is planning to go on a beach vacation with a friend's family next week. "This is going to be one of those things she looks back on and (will) feel grateful that it wasn't worse, grateful that she was protected," Tori Taff said. As for next year's family trip, Tori Taff says she is "looking to have a land-locked vacation."

SAO PAULO , Brazil (AP) - A shark ripped off the right hand of a teenager swimming along the coast of northeastern Brazil , fire department officials said Monday. Pernambuco state fire department spokesman Marcio Maia said 14-year-old Wellington dos Santos was attacked on Sunday after he swam beyond a coral reef that keeps sharks away from the beach of Piedade near the state capital, Recife . Lifeguards rescued dos Santos and rushed him to a hospital, where he was reported to be in critical but stable condition, Maia said. Besides severing dos Santos ' hand, the shark "bit off a large chunk of his buttocks," Maia said. "People insist on ignoring the sign posts warning of the danger of shark attacks, especially beyond the coral reefs about 150 meters (490 feet) from the beach," Maia said. The attack was the 51st since authorities started keeping count of shark attacks in the area in 1992. Maia said that sharks have killed 19 people in Pernambuco state over the past 15 years.

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 24 May, 2008 : - - Acapulco -- A shark injured a 49-year-old American surfer Saturday off the Pacific coast of Mexico, in the third attack in a month. The Mexican Navy deployed personnel to warn people about sharks at beaches in Zihuatanejo, a resort northwest of Acapulco, according to a Navy official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information. He said authorities have not closed beaches in Zihuatanejo, but people were being advised against swimming. A day earlier, a 21-year-old Mexican surfer was killed by a shark off a nearby beach. The two attacks came a month after a shark killed a San Francisco man surfing in the same area.Local Civil Protection director Jaime Vazquez Sobreira said the American attacked Saturday lost his thumb but managed to get to a hospital on his own and was in stable condition.The Guerrero state Public Safety Department identified the man as Bruce Greems but did not give his hometown in the U.S. Vazquez Sobreira said he lived in Zihuatanejo. The U.S. Embassy confirmed an American had been bitten by a shark but did not have additional information.Mexican authorities used baited hooks to catch sharks last month after the attack that killed 24-year-old Adrian Ruiz of San Francisco. Local conservationists protested the hunt, and it was not immediately clear if authorities would do it again.Arturo Sabas de la Rosa Camacho, the Guerrero state environment secretary, said the government would hold meetings in Zihuatanejo next week with tourists, environmentalists, shark experts and fishermen to determine what actions to take. "We need scientific explanations for the shark presence, and if it's because of climate changes," he said.Cold currents and an abundance of giant squid and other prey may be attracting sharks to the area, said Jose Leonardo Castillo Geniz, a shark expert with the National Fishing Institute. He said a large shark presence was unusual for the region. Geniz said the authorities should close beaches in Zihuatanejo instead of killing sharks. He also called for aerial surveys to determine what species has been attacking surfers.Aida Navarro, of the environmental group Costasalvaje, urged the government to post warning signs at Zihuatanejo's beaches. "Killing sharks is not the solution to preventing encounters with humans," Navarro said. She noted that some shark species are under threat from overfishing.

SYDNEY: An Australian swimmer who was mauled by a 16-foot shark and survived said he saw a shadow in the water seconds before the attack and thought it was a dolphin. The shark, believed to be a Great White, seized Jason Cull by the left leg as he was swimming at Middleton Beach in southwestern Australia on Saturday. Mr. Cull, 37, survived after grappling with the beast and after a lifeguard at the beach came to his aid. The shark was one of three that swimmers reported seeing at the beach on Saturday. Officials closed the beach after the attack.Tom Marron, a spokesman for the lifeguards at the beach, said volunteer lifesaver Joanne Lucas leapt into the water to help Mr. Cull after swimmers at the beach started panicking when they saw him struggling. “She heard the cries and knew they needed assistance and went straight in.” — AP

: NEW SMYRNA BEACH - A 6-year-old Deltona boy was bitten by a shark just before noon Wednesday as he waded in the water off New Smyrna Beach.Although the boy was taken by ambulance to a hospital for stitches, the bite on his left foot was minor, said Capt. Scott Petersohn of the Volusia County Beach Patrol.It was the 11th shark bite this year in Volusia County.While other shark bites in the New Smyrna area have been in the area of the South Jetty, this was near the 27th Avenue approach, about five miles south of the jetties, Petersohn said. That is a popular area of the beach, at the south end of the driving zone, he said.The boy was in about 18 inches of water, no more than a couple of yards from the shore, when he felt the bite and walked out of the water, Petersohn said.

ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) -- A U.S. surfer was killed in a shark attack off Mexico's southern Pacific coast, officials said Tuesday 4/29/08. The San Francisco, California, man bled to death Monday after a gray shark bit his right thigh, leaving a 15-inch (38-centimeter) wound, the Guerrero state Public Safety Department said in a statement.The U.S. Embassy in Mexico could not immediately confirm the man's name, but local authorities identified him as a 24-year-old who was surfing with a fellow American. The other man was not injured.he attack occurred at the Troncones beach, about 45 minutes west by car from the beach resort of Ixtapa.The statement said the victim suffered wounds "that reached from the hip to the knee, exposing the femur."The victim was still alive when he was brought back to the beach. It took so long for the ambulance to reach the relatively isolated, undeveloped beach that a bystander took the victim to a local hospital in his car.The man died from loss of blood a few minutes after reaching the hospital, according to the statement.Shark attacks are relatively rare in Mexico. In 2006, the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History reported only one attack in Mexico, which was not fatal.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- Swimmers were again cleared from a New Smyrna Beach Monday after a third swimmer in three days was bitten by a shark and treated at a hospital.The latest victim was the ninth recorded shark bite of the year in Volusia County, putting the number of bites ahead of the record breaking "Year Of The Shark" in 2001, according to beach records. Monday's bite happened when an 18-year-old was trying to get back on a surfboard near the Ponce De Leon Inlet's south jetty.The victim received stitches at a Central Florida hospital.Several shark sightings in the water prompted lifeguards to clear the water Monday, Local 6 reported.Meanwhile, over the weekend two different swimmers were treated at hospitals after being bitten by sharks.A 24-year-old man stepped off of his surfboard in chest-deep water near a jetty in New Smyrna Beach Sunday and was bitten on his right calf.He was taken to Bert Fish Medical Center and treated.On Saturday, a 21-year-old man was treated at a hospital after a shark bit his foot while he was surfing in the same area Saturday.Officials said Mark Pattison of Lake Mary was injured Saturday after he got of his surfboard near a jetty in New Smyrna Beach.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- For the second time this weekend, a surfer was attacked by a shark in New Smyrna Beach.The beach patrol said a 24-year-old man stepped off his surfboard in chest deep water Sunday and was bitten on his calf.The victim's injuries were not described as serious.On Saturday, another man had to undergo surgery after a shark bit his foot.Lifeguards said conditions were ripe for more shark attacks, especially near the jetty in New Smyrna Beach.Sky 13 captured sharks and swimmers just feet apart in the water on April 22.

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 25 April, 2008 : - - San Diego -- A shark believed to be a great white killed a 66-year-old swimmer with a single, giant bite across both legs Friday as the man trained with a group of triathletes, authorities and witnesses said. Dave Martin, a retired veterinarian from Solana Beach , was attacked at San Diego County 's Tide Beach around 7 a.m., authorities and family friend Rob Hill said. Martin was taken to a lifeguard station for emergency treatment but was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a statement on the Solana Beach city Web site. His injuries crossed both thighs, San Diego County sheriff's Sgt. Randy Webb said in a news release. Scripps Institution of Oceanography shark expert Richard Rosenblatt says the shark was probably a great white between 12 and 17 feet long. "It looks like the shark came up, bit him, and swam away," said Dismas Abelman, the Solana Beach deputy fire chief. There was a single bite across both of Martin's legs, Abelman said. The attack took place about 150 yards offshore. Several swimmers wearing wetsuits were in a group when the shark attacked, lifeguard Craig Miller said. Two swimmers were about 20 yards ahead of the man when they heard him scream for help. They turned around and dragged him back to shore. Swimmers were ordered out of the water for a 17-mile stretch around the attack site and county authorities sent up helicopters to scan the waters for the shark. Eight miles of beach were closed. "The shark is still in the area. We're sure of that," Mayor Joe Kellejian said. Hill, a member of the Triathlon Club of San Diego, said he was running on the beach while about nine other members were in the water when the attack took place. "They saw him come up out of the water, scream 'shark,' flail his arms and go back under," Hill said. "The flesh was just hanging," and Martin may have bled to death before he left the water, Hill said. A witness, Ira Opper, described the victim as "burly and athletic." He said the man was wearing a black wetsuit that was shredded on both legs. Club members had been meeting at the beach for at least six years and never had seen a shark, Hill said.

A 14-year-old girl was bitten on the foot by a shark while surfing Sunday morning, the Volusia County Beach Patrol said. The teen was surfing near Minorca condominiums between 8 and 9a.m. when she stepped off her board in knee-deep water and was bitten on her right foot. She was taken to Bert Fish Memorial Hospital and treated for puncture wounds and lacerations. Beach Patrol Capt. Scott Petersohn said that the area where the incident took place is where about 90 percent of Volusia County's shark bites happen.

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- A shark attacked and killed a 16-year-old boy Tuesday (4/8/08) while he and a friend were bodyboarding off Australia's eastern coast, officials said.Peter Edmonds was about 50 yards from shore when the shark attacked around 8 a.m., lifeguard spokesman Stephen Leahy said.Edmonds suffered two large bites, one to the leg and one to the body. He died of extreme blood loss while lifeguards and paramedics tried to save him.It was the first fatal shark attack in Australia in two years.All nearby beaches were closed as a precaution, and crews were looking for the shark in the waters off Ballina, about 400 miles north of Sydney, Leahy said.Edmonds' bodyboarding friend, Brock Mathew, was leaving the water when he looked back and saw Edmonds "in a bit of trouble" and swam back to his friend, who he thought was trying to catch a wave.Mathew said he saw a "big, gray shadow" pass by him as he paddled to his friend, who was by then face down in the water."I thought he was only joking, so I went over to him and as I flipped him over I saw his leg," said Mathew, who dragged his friend to shore and tried with lifeguards to resuscitate him."He didn't make one noise," Mathew said.Edmonds' 20-year-old sister, Kylie, said her parents were numb from the sudden loss."They lost their baby -- what more can you say? The only boy in the family," she said.Leahy said there had been three shark alarms sounded in Ballina in recent months.Heavy rainfall over the past two days had made the area more susceptible to attacks, because sharks congregate near river mouths to feed in rainy weather. The beach where the attack occurred is just north of the Richmond River estuary.It wasn't known what type of shark attacked the teenager, though residents said bull sharks had been spotted in recent days.Detective Inspector Steve Clark said Mathew would be considered for a bravery medal for going back into the water to rescue his friend despite seeing the shark nearby.There are about 15 shark attacks a year in Australian waters -- one of the highest rates in the world -- but on average just over one attack per year is fatal.In January, a fisherman survived a bite by a shark he had reeled onto his boat deck. In December, a surfer was attacked by a shark at a beach north of Sydney, but his injuries were not life-threatening

(WPTV Staff) A shark took a bite out of a surfer at New Smyrna Beach today.18-year-old Joey Giangrasso was in waist-deep water near the south jetty when the shark approached.This was the fourth reported shark attack in Volusia County this year and might be the most serious.Doctors say the shark just missed a main artery and took a huge chunk out of the top and side of Giangrasso's foot.He was taken to Bert Fish Medical Center in New Smyrna Beach. He is sedated and might need surgery.However, his mom says, even this close call won't keep her surfer son from the water. All the shark bites this year in Volusia County have happened in the same area.

David MacAnally/Eyewitness NewsPendleton - An Indiana mom and her kids are back home following a spring break vacation that sent her to the hospital with a shark bite. It happened in the Atlantic Ocean near Cocoa Beach."It was probably in the 80's. My children and I were out boggie boarding on the waves," said Teresa Holloway describing their Florida vacation. But then a Spring Break trip for the Pendleton family turned from fun to fear."I was riding the waves in and all of a sudden I felt something very sharp on my foot," said Holloway.She feared for her three children. Her 16-year-old son was farther out. "I was thinking so many thoughts that second. Something had hold of me and I just needed to get away. It had to be something with a really large mouth since my whole foot was in it's mouth."Her legs were her weapons against a threat she couldn't see but had to shake."It had to be a shark," she said. "I just kept kicking as hard as I could. I don't think he was on me very long but I wasn't going to give him a second chance."She kicked the shark loose just as her son swam in to help her."He was on his way up and he kicked it out of the way. He didn't want to see what it was because my mom was yelling and stuff," Holloway's daughter later told a Florida television station."There were some men on the beach that had helped him drag me out of the water. They immediately found someone's shirt and wrapped it around my foot cause it was bleeding pretty badly," said Teresa. "Basically the top of my foot was filleted open so they had to tack that down. The bottom just looked like somebody took a knife and was cutting up and down my foot."Despite the bite, she says she will go back into the water. "The doctor told me at the hospital I had a better chance of getting struck by lightening. That's not funny because our house was hit by lightening and burned."It was not Great White but a small or baby shark. Teresa says she's thankful it was her and not her kids.The Florida television station says a check turned up two other bite victims there in the last year.

Mayfield -- The shark bite on Nick Canganelli's shin is no big deal for West Palm Beach, Fla., where it takes a gory mauling to attract attention. But at Mayfield High School, where classmates have only had to dodge the gaping jaws of vicious Lake Erie perch, it's a major happening. Nick, 15, said the one-bite attack just a few feet offshore from a Palm Beach Shores hotel last week made him a celebrity at school Monday. Photos of his bite are being passed around on the cell phones of classmates. And his mother, Toni, said she heard strangers talking about the bite at a dentist's office Monday. "I have a lot more people coming up to me and talking to me now," Nick said after school Monday, before joking, "I finally have friends." The family of six flew to Palm Beach just before Easter for a short vacation. Over that weekend, Nick and his three siblings were often in the water up to their chests. On Tuesday, March 25, Palm Beach Shores police said public beaches were closed because sharks had been spotted near shore feeding on schools of fish in shallow waters. The Marriott hotel where they stayed warned guests about going in the water but mostly because of rough waves, which Nick and his brothers had fun riding in a raft. When a school of fish came near shore, Nick said, he and his brothers tried to catch them by hand. His brother Anthony ran ashore for a pail and told their mother he had seen a dolphin catch a fish. Then Nick, up to his knees in water, felt a bite he compared to a bad dog bite. "When I turned around to look, I saw the fin out of the water and this gray thing swam away," he said. His brother and a nearby surfer estimated the "dolphin" was 6 feet long. Doctors at a hospital later told him it was probably a Spinner shark, which bites its prey and rotates to tear it apart. The round wound, about the size of an orange, needed 12 stitches. Police and paramedics confirmed the incident but could not verify the bite was from a shark since they did not see it. Police classified the attack as "minor." Doctors are telling Nick that the wound is healing fine and that he can return to track practice when stitches come out. He says he'll be careful in the water now, the family is more relieved than shaken. "It worked out," said his mother. "He's OK. And he's got a good story."

2008.03.21 21-Mar-2008 USA Florida Beachway Avenue Approach, New Smyrna Beach, Volusia County Wading

2008.03.21 23-Mar-2008 USA Florida South of Ponce de Leon Jetty, New Smyrna Beach, Volusia County Walking out of the water after surfing

Are the waters safe at Huntington Beach (HB)? Not according to Huntington Beach surfer Tom Larkin. Larkin claims he was attacked by a shark. Some experts believe it was a great white shark based on analysis of Mr. Larkin's surfboard.Authorities cannot confirm nor deny the alleged shark attack, but they seem quite doubtful. Other beach goers at Huntington point to the large number of dead sea lions washing ashore as evidence. But experts point out that the bodies are intact, where if a great white shark were responsible, they would be mangled.Personally I would be more worried about the potential of septic, polluted waters and over exposure to UV than I would be of running into a great white shark. But that's just me.

Shark attack at HTB Huntington Beach — On March 7, 2008 Thomas Larkin was surfing with two friends. He recounted the following; “I was surfing a 6’6” Avisco (carbon fiber) Surf Prescriptions Bat Tail Quad. I paddled out at Dog Beach near Huntington Cliffs around 7:10 in the morning at a pretty full high tide. Dog Beach is located in a stretch of Huntington City Beach between Seapoint Street and Golden West Street. I was meeting two friends there, Matt Donoghue and Craig Angel. The current was moving around a lot of water, and both of them were on longboards, so about 20 minutes into the surf I was tired of paddling over to them on my shortboard, and was surfing pretty much alone. There were two bodyboarders about 100 yards north of me, and I was almost due west of the ramp walkway. At about 8:00 AM, I caught my best wave of the session, and even though Matt and Craig had already gotten out, I wanted one more. I paddled back out and was sitting in the lineup alone, with the closest surfers about 200 yards south, and the bodyboarders were inside and north. I was waiting for a set for about 5 minutes when I felt a jolt down on the tail of my board, immediately followed by violent bubble cascade, which sunk the board down about another 8 inches. I didn’t really get what was going on as quickly as I should have, but as soon as it begun it had ended and I was apparently alone again. A wave popped up, I paddled into it but pearled because of the water in the nose of my board, I quickly got back on and paddled into the whitewater of the next wave and boogie boarded it to the beach where I emptied the board through the apparent bite mark." The diameter of the bite suggests an adult White Shark in excess of 15 feet in length. Caution should be exercised when utilizing this location for your ocean water activities. Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.

AN electronic device designed to ward sharks away from surfers failed so spectacularly during a trial off South Africa that it was eaten by a great white.An inquest heard yesterday the Shark Shield surf model was activated on a float carrying bait when the 3.6m female shark approached. Rather than being deterred by the device, the shark, under the gaze of the Natal Sharks Board, bit into it. South Australian Deputy State Coroner Tony Schapel yesterday heard of the test failure during the inquest into the death of Jarrod Stehbens, who was taken by a great white shark while diving off Glenelg in South Australia in 2005. The inquest has turned into a trial of Shark Shield devices, hearing concerns that the electronic fields generated to repel sharks may attract them. Studying cuttlefish for the University of Adelaide at the time of his death, Stehbens had been provided with two Shark Shields on his dive boat by university staff - but he either didn't know they were there or chose not to use them. University staff have told Mr Schapel they questioned the Shark Shields' efficacy and believed there might be long-term health risks from using them. As a result, the devices were not compulsory. Rod Hartley, director of Sea Change Technology, which manufactures the Shark Shields, yesterday took the stand to defend his product. "There is no doubt whatsoever that it does not attract sharks," he said. He told Mr Schapel he believed a disgruntled surfer had started the rumour. "Nobody wearing a Shark Shield has ever been attacked by a shark," he added. Mr Hartley said the failed South African test on the surf unit - which has been held back from release into the marketplace - was due to a problem with the electrode's configuration. The device was now packaged with a large disclaimer warning it would only repel sharks when the surfer was still in the water waiting for a wave. "The surf product only can be guaranteed to work when it's stationary, not when it's surfing in the wave or paddling," Mr Hartley said. CSIRO shark expert Barry Bruce has told the inquest the shark that killed Stehbens was in "full predatory strike" mode and would have been nearly impossible to deter. His body was never recovered. Mr Schapel will publish his findings at a later date.

An Austrian man bitten by a shark while diving over the weekend near the Bahamas has died, authorities said Monday.The man "passed away from his injuries sustained by a shark bite," said Coast Guard spokeswoman Petty Officer Jennifer Johnson.The victim was identified as Markus Groh, 49, of Vienna, according to Ken Smeriglio, an assistant in the Austrian Consulate in Miami.Groh was diving about 50 miles east of Fort Lauderdale on Sunday at about 10 a.m. when a shark bit him, according to officials.The service dispatched a rescue helicopter, and its crew hoisted the man off the boat and flew him to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.A crewmember aboard the 70-foot Shear Water had contacted the Coast Guard. The blue commercial diving vessel is registered to Jim Abernathy's Scuba Adventures from Riviera Beach.The company offers shark trips to the Bahamas for enthusiasts and photographers hoping to interact with hammerhead and tiger sharks, according to its Web site.Operators for the company stir in fish and fish parts to "chum" the water and attract the sharks, reads the itinerary. "Please be aware that these are not 'cage' dives; they are open water experiences," states the Web site.Abernathy had been told by the Bahamas Diving Association to exercise caution with more aggressive sharks such as mako, lemon, tiger and hammerhead sharks.

A YOUNG South West Rocks surfer was attacked by a shark last Thursday while surfing her local break. Fiona Casey, 14, was surprised and a little shocked when the shark attacked her in Horseshoe Bay. Fiona was paddling back out to the break after catching a wave when she felt something hit her arm hard. She lashed out and hit the one-metre shark with her elbow. Remarkably Fiona sustained no serious injuries as her wetsuit protected her from the shark’s coarse skin, but she was rather shocked and received a ‘dead arm’ after hitting the fish. “My dad is a trawler and I’ve been fishing with him a lot and I’ve seen heaps of sharks so I’m positive it was a shark I saw,” Fiona said. The ocean on Thursday afternoon was very murky and dirty from the river run-off, which created very low visibility in the surf. Fiona is a passionate young surfer and when she was asked if she got out of the water following the incident she laughed.“I was scared but the waves were just too good,” she saidAt 7.30pm on the same day surfers at Horseshoe Bay spotted another shark as the sun was setting.This time the shark really spooked the three surfers who all hastily exited the water and didn’t return.

A surfer across from Patrick Air Force Base's main entrance off State Road A1A has suffered an apparent shark bite, witnesses said. The man, who was not identified, refused treatment. Jon Humphrey, 33, said he and a friend had paddled out about 50 to 100 feet off the beach when another surfer near them began shouting "shark!" Humphrey said he looked up and the guy was "punching a shark that was on his foot." "He got onto the beach and was holding his foot," said Humphrey, who along with his friend grabbed a T-shirt and wrapped the man's foot. He said the wound appeared to be bad enough to require stitches. The water "blew up" around him, Humphrey said. He slipped off his board and went to shore. Humphrey said the shark appeared to be about 3 feet long. "I think I'm done here for the day," Humphrey said.

Written by: Tommy Ballantyne
South Africa - Glenwood surfski paddler Wayne Symington, 42, had a close encounter with a 2m blacktip shark while on a training stint 3km off the Suncoast Pirates beach on Tuesday when he was thrown off his ski."I was paddling at a fast rate out near where the ships are anchored when I was catapulted out of my ski when the shark hit the rear, tearing a big chunk out of it."I knew immediately it was a shark which had attacked me and that to survive I would have to get back on my ski as fast as possible, which I managed to do and luckily I still had my paddle in my hand," said Symington."As I turned the ski back towards the shore it began to sink as water poured in through the hole, but a big bubble of air got trapped up front and the nose of the ski lifted out of the water."I guess it took me about half-an-hour to get back to the line of shark nets and I was functioning on pure prayer and adrenaline," he said.He had to jump off his ski at the nets to drag his ski over them after it became snagged before he got back to the beach safely.On Wednesday Symington paid a visit to Jeremy Cliff, the curator of the Natal Sharks Board, who matched the imprint of the shark's bite on the ski with a specimen of a blacktip's jaws and estimated the length of the shark to be 2m.

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. -- A Brevard County man told Channel 9 a shark bite won't keep him from surfing again.Jordan Marsden is still on crutches, a week after he was attacked by a small shark while surfing at Playalinda Beach. Marsden realized something was wrong after he felt an excruciating pain in his foot."It felt like my foot got run over by a car, at first, and there was a lot of pressure and I put my foot down and then I jerked away and that's how I got the teeth in my foot," Marsden recalled.After getting x-rays, doctors found two small teeth in Marsden's foot. Even after examining the teeth, Marsden said he still isn't sure what kind of shark it was.It's rare to see shark bites in January, but the warmer weather brings more surfers into the water, which increases the risk of an attack.

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