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Not an attack as much as a weird coincidence.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-11/surprised-sa-fisherman-land-shark-of-the-day/8175032
Big shark leaps into small boat with surprised SA fishermen landing catch of the day
ABC South East SA
By Stuart Stansfield and Kate Hill Updated about 6 hours ago

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Woman attacked by shark in British territory St Helena

A woman has been attacked by a shark near a British island in the South Atlantic.
She was swimming near Ascension Island, part of the territory of St Helena, and one source told the Times her husband punched the shark to scare it away.
The woman, who works for the St Helena government, was treated in hospital locally, but later airlifted to the UK.

St Helena is a British Overseas Territory, 1,150 miles (1,850km) off the west coast of Africa.
The government has warned swimmers entering the water in the area that they do so at their own risk.

The remote islands of St Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha lie midway between Africa and South America, and though far from each other, they form a single territorial grouping under the sovereignty of the British Crown.

In the 1600s, the English East India Company was given a Royal Charter which allowed it to colonise the island, but St Helena is perhaps best known as the destination to which Napolean Bonaparte was exiled in 1815 after his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.

Today, the islands have a combined population of less than 6,000, and are linked to the outside world by a Royal Mail Ship, the St Helena, which makes a five-day journey from South Africa, every three weeks, carrying passengers and supplies.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39690179

This is the second post I've made this month about Ascension island and St Helena:
http://forum.forteantimes.com/index.php?threads/ascension-island-and-st-helena-cut-off.62469/
 
I've sipped from a bowl of shark's blood before but here's a bloke cooking one .. not much info in this vid but there's more on Youtube ..

 
First shark attack in British waters leaves Devon surfer Rich Thomson with a sore thumb
By CMJacqui | Posted: June 07, 2017

A surfer from Devon is thought to be the first person to ever be attacked by a shark in British waters after he fought off a shark which bit him on the leg.
Teacher Rich Thomson, 30, said the shark "grabbed me on the leg" at Bantham in South Devon and he turned to see it on his thigh, wriggling its head from side to side.

Speaking to the BBC, he said: "I hit it on the head and it swam off. My hand was cut to pieces."
The chemistry teacher, who said he thought his thick winter wetsuit protected him from being injured more seriously, said he had been left with a "sizeable bruise about three inches across".

"I went home and told my wife I was late because I had been bitten by a shark," he said. "She said 'I've heard that one before', but it was true.

"It won't stop me going back in the water and it shouldn't stop anyone, I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

He estimated the shark was about 3ft (1m) long and experts said it was the first incident of its type involving surfers in UK waters.

Mr Thomson said pupils at Kingsbridge Community College, where he teaches, had bought him shark ties and have dubbed him Sharkbait and Nemo. :p

"I have never caught any fish while fishing but the biggest one I've ever caught attached itself to my leg," he said.

Wildlife publisher and illustrator Marc Dando said he thought the shark was probably a smooth hound.
The smooth hound, found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean from the British Isles to South Africa and in the Mediterranean, can grow up to 6.5ft (2m) but usually do not grow bigger than 5ft (1.5m).
Of Mr Thomson's experience Mr Dando said: "It would be a shock because all sharks have powerful jaws.
"All sharks can be very territorial. It was probably just telling the person to go away and struck out."

Ali Hood, director of conservation at the Plymouth-based Shark Trust said the small shark "would likely have been disorientated" by the "turbid, dynamic water" of the river mouth.
"British waters are home to a wide diversity of sharks with a number of coastal species such as smooth hound, tope and cat sharks often reported by beach goers and water users," she said.

Both she and Mr Thomson said they had not heard of a shark of any sort biting a surfer in British waters.

http://www.cornwalllive.com/first-s...a-sore-thumb/story-30377770-detail/story.html
 
Surfer fends off white pointer shark with board near Lorne on Victoria's south coast
"When he got me he kind of dragged me on a little bit. Luckily I was wearing a really, really thick rubber wetsuit, which probably saved me from bigger injuries," Mr Brundler said.

"Then I've just given him a punch and luckily a set wave came around and I've just taken off on the set wave and ridden it to the rocks to safety."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-29/surfer-fends-off-shark-near-lorne/8852186
 
This guy hasn't let shark inflicted injuries get him down. Vid at link.

Winter Paralympics: Sean Pollard goes from shark-attack victim to Paralympic snowboarder
By Shaun Giles
Updated

Around 60 seconds. Maybe more. That's all it took for Sean Pollard's life to change.

"I went on a trip to Esperance with my girlfriend, Claire, and I went out for a surf and didn't make it back in one piece," Pollard said.

In October 2014, the then 23-year-old was attacked by two great white sharks while surfing. He fended them off but lost his left arm and right hand in the incident.

"I managed to survive it," Pollard said. "I was pretty lucky to get to hospital within an hour of the attack.

"I lost a lot of blood. By the time I got to Perth I needed seven blood transfusions."

That's more than three litres of blood. The average adult body comprises about 4.5 to 5.5 litres.

The harrowing event, however, does not define Pollard. Nor does his disability or ability.

But his character does.

"It's been a fairly steep recovery since then and I've learnt a lot about myself and the things I'm capable of," the 26-year old qualified electrician said.

"I think a good attitude to have in life is not to be afraid to fail. It's worked so far." ...

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-...ark-attack-to-winter-paralympic-debut/9514932
 
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Not safe to surf at Margaret River.

Two of the world's top surfers say they do not feel comfortable competing in Western Australia's Margaret River region in the wake of two shark attacks that happened just hours and a few kilometres apart.

A shark warning remains in place for waters between Kilcarnup and North Point near Margaret River on the state's South West coast after the attacks yesterday.

View image on Twitter


Charlotte Hamlyn

✔@charlottehamlyn


Brazilian pro surfer Gabriel Medina also raises concerns about safety of @MargiesPro in light of twin shark attacks yesterday. @abcperth

The Margaret River Pro international surfing event was taking place about 15 kilometres away and was put on hold for an hour following the first attack, before resuming with extra patrols and drones to look out for sharks.

The joint World Surf League (WSL) ratings leader, Italo Ferreira, took to social media to voice his concern.

"Two shark attacks in less than 24 hours here in Australia, just a few kilometres from where the event is being held," the Brazilian surfer said on Instagram. ...

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-...sed-after-two-gracetown-shark-attacks/9666076
 
Not safe to surf at Margaret River.

Two of the world's top surfers say they do not feel comfortable competing in Western Australia's Margaret River region in the wake of two shark attacks that happened just hours and a few kilometres apart.

A shark warning remains in place for waters between Kilcarnup and North Point near Margaret River on the state's South West coast after the attacks yesterday.

View image on Twitter


Charlotte Hamlyn

✔@charlottehamlyn


Brazilian pro surfer Gabriel Medina also raises concerns about safety of @MargiesPro in light of twin shark attacks yesterday. @abcperth

The Margaret River Pro international surfing event was taking place about 15 kilometres away and was put on hold for an hour following the first attack, before resuming with extra patrols and drones to look out for sharks.

The joint World Surf League (WSL) ratings leader, Italo Ferreira, took to social media to voice his concern.

"Two shark attacks in less than 24 hours here in Australia, just a few kilometres from where the event is being held," the Brazilian surfer said on Instagram. ...

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-...sed-after-two-gracetown-shark-attacks/9666076


Margarets river is a spot in the south west of western australia and is close to where the Indian and southern oceans meet - so it's cold - a condition that great whites like. There was also a dead whales carcass washed up - another condition conducive for the appearance of any shark really.

Ya takes ya chances - but, the surfing is brilliant.

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Is he lucky or unlucky?

Meet the man who's survived a snake, bear and shark attack
By Soraya AuerBBC News

They say bad luck comes in threes, and for Dylan McWilliams, a 20-year-old from Colorado, that has unfortunately proved true.

The young outdoorsman has survived his third bloody brush with the animal kingdom - a shark attack while body boarding off the coast of Hawaii.

"It's kind of crazy," Dylan told the BBC from the island of Kauai. "I don't seem to have a lot of luck but it's kind of lucky in unlucky situations."

He was enjoying the Pacific waves on Thursday morning when he felt something hit his leg. He explained: "I saw the shark underneath me. I started kicking at it - I know I hit it at least once - and swam to shore as quickly as I could."

Worried about the trail of blood he was leaving, he told local media after the attack: "I didn't know if I lost half my leg or what."

Warning: This story contains some graphic images

The shark, believed to be a tiger shark between 6 and 8ft (about 2m), left distinctive teeth marks in Dylan's leg that needed seven stitches. ...

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43858481
 
The city that never sleeps has another reason for staying awake and alert.

Two children have been injured in shark attacks off the coast of Long Island in New York in the first such incidents in the state for 70 years, officials say.

A 12-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy were treated for puncture wounds in separate incidents miles apart along the bay of Fire Island on Wednesday.

A tooth, described as being "consistent with a large fish", was extracted from the boy's leg and is being analysed.

Shark attacks on humans are extremely rare in the US state of New York.

The young girl, who was later named as Lola Pollina, said she was standing waist-deep in the cold water and described seeing a fin before returning to the beach to discover "my leg was bloody".

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44882921
 
I wonder if the council boss is arguing with the local police chief about beach closures?

A tourist has been killed in a shark attack while swimming in the Red Sea off Egypt's coast, in the first death of its kind in the country for more than three years.

The man, from the Czech Republic, died on Friday in waters around 12 miles north of the the popular holiday resort of Marsa Alam, city council chair General Atef Wagdy told Paris-based press agency AFP.

According to local media, the dead man was holidaying with his family. Only some of his body has so far washed ashore.

His family have since returned home and are waiting for his remains to be returned to them, The Daily Telegraph says.

A hotel receptionist in the resort told the newspaper that that there had been no instructions to restrict beach access.

Council boss Wagdy said that “there is no problem in diving”, but warned that people swimming on the surface of deep waters beyond the coral might be at risk of shark attacks, reports Arab News.

This is the first shark-related death on Egypt’s Red Sea coast since March 2015, when a German woman was killed. Egypt's worst spate of shark attacks occurred in 2010, when sharks mauled five tourists in a week, killing one of them.

http://www.theweek.co.uk/63058/wher...letter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter
 
Off the coast of Cork! Maybe he was bitten by a local.

A man from Belfast has been injured after he was bitten by a shark off the coast of County Cork on Saturday evening.

The man suffered a serious lower arm injury while deep-sea angling, Irish national broadcaster RTÉ said.

The crew of the angling boat gave the man first aid before he was transferred to a lifeboat, where he got further treatment.

Crosshaven RNLI volunteers were called to the scene at 18:00 local time.

"This was more of an angling accident than a shark attack, there was a bit of a struggle when pulling the shark on board," a RNLI spokesman said.

"We're not trying to panic anyone."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-45388517
 
WELLFLEET — A 26-year-old man from Revere died from a shark attack Saturday in the waters off Wellfleet, the first fatal shark attack in Massachusetts in more than 80 years and only the fourth recorded in state history.

The death came after increasing numbers of shark sightings and warnings about the danger of the predators off Cape Cod waters this summer, and followed an attack on Aug. 15 that severely injured a 61-year-old New York man.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2...story.html?s_campaign=breakingnews:newsletter
 
Popular spot for shark attacks!

An Australian man has died after being attacked by a shark at a popular tourist spot in Queensland.

The location - Cid Harbour in the Whitsunday Islands - was also the scene of two non-fatal shark attacks in September.

Police said the latest victim, 33, had been swimming with friends when the attack happened on Monday.

He was pulled from the water with leg and arm injuries and later died in hospital, authorities said.

"He had suffered very serious bites, significant blood loss as well as cardiac arrest," said Ben McCauley from Central Queensland Rescue.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-46105285
 
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water ...

Australian rescued after 13-ft tiger shark sinks his kayak
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/11/15/australian-rescued-13-ft-tiger-shark-sinks-kayak/

Swimmer dies in suspected stingray attack in Australia, after two mauled by sharks in horror weekend
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/11/18/swimmer-australia-dies-apparently-stung-stingray/


Giant 15ft great white shark caught in net off popular Sydney surf beach
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/20...t-white-shark-caught-net-popular-sydney-surf/
 
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water ...

Australian rescued after 13-ft tiger shark sinks his kayak
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/11/15/australian-rescued-13-ft-tiger-shark-sinks-kayak/

Swimmer dies in suspected stingray attack in Australia, after two mauled by sharks in horror weekend
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/11/18/swimmer-australia-dies-apparently-stung-stingray/


Giant 15ft great white shark caught in net off popular Sydney surf beach
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/20...t-white-shark-caught-net-popular-sydney-surf/


Ah yeah...Summer's a bugger.
 
Is this the the tooth?

Researchers at a university in the United States say far fewer shark bites were reported worldwide last year.

According to the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File, 66 bites were documented in 2018, compared with 88 the previous year. The figure is 26 per cent lower than the five-year average of 84 bites annually. Thirty-two bites happened in US waters. Four of last year’s bites were fatal, roughly keeping with the average of six deaths worldwide each year.

In a statement, Gavin Naylor of the Florida Museum of Natural History’s shark research programme said it is unknown whether the drop can be attributed to more people heeding beach safety warnings or to declining shark populations.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/wor...rk-bites-reported-worldwide-in-2018-1.3774414
 
Eeeek! They don't just snack on swimmers. Sharks eat songbirds!

Forget seabirds. Baby tiger sharks feast on songbirds in the Gulf of Mexico
By Alex FoxMay. 21, 2019 , 12:00 PM

Every fall, birders along North America’s Gulf Coast eagerly anticipate the arrival of a variety of songbirds. They’re not the only ones. A new study reveals baby tiger sharks regularly snack on the seasonal fliers, munching birds that fall into the sea dead or alive.

The study traces back to 2010 when researchers identified a wad of slimy feathers barfed up by a baby tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) captured off the Gulf of Mexico. The sharks have been found with everything from chicken coops to unexploded ordnance in their stomachs, and the team expected the feathers to come from a seabird. Instead, they belonged to a songbird.

To find out whether this phenomenon was more widespread, the team surveyed the stomach contents of baby tiger sharks from 2010 to 2018. The team caught the sharks with a rod and reel and then stuck plastic tubes down their throats before releasing the animals back to the ocean.

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/201...ly_2019-05-21&et_rid=394299689&et_cid=2826741
 
An interesting narrative-driven long-read here about the impact of shark attacks on the community of Cape Cod:

The Shark Attack That Changed Cape Cod Forever
Last summer, Arthur Medici went surfing off the coast of Cape Cod. He never made it back alive. As the region’s shores increasingly become a hotbed for great white sharks, is it finally time to be afraid to go in the water, for real?
by CASEY SHERMAN·5/14/2019, 10:47 a.m.​
Isaac rocha sat in class trying to concentrate on his schoolwork, but his mind was somewhere else. it was a friday afternoon in mid-september 2018, and although the academic year had just begun, the 16-year-old everett high school junior and novice bodyboard surfer was already longing for the weekend. suddenly, his cell phone buzzed, and he quietly slid it out of his pocket, careful not to alert his teacher. the text screen lit up.
Full Article:​
 
A three shark attack...

A 21-year-old student has been killed by three sharks while on holiday in the Bahamas with her family.

Jordan Lindsey was snorkelling at the time and reportedly couldn't hear warnings from her parents while she was in the water.

Jordan, from California, was taken to hospital but pronounced dead on 26 June, according to local police.

In a tribute, her family said: "Jordan had the most beautiful, gentle soul and she will be missed deeply."

"She was a beloved daughter, sister, girlfriend, and friend," they continued.

Jordan was bitten by the sharks on her arms, legs, and bottom - and lost her right arm in the attack.

https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-48784745
 
Mon kilt by muckle fish.

A Scots tourist is believed to have been eaten by a shark off the island of Reunion after forensic scientists found his hand inside the animal.

The holidaymaker's severed hand complete with the wedding ring of the swimmer was found by scientists on Wednesday as autopsies were carried out on five fish caught around the waters of the French overseas territory. It is understood the shark was killed because he was considered a threat to holidaymakers. It is believed the hand belonged to a 44-year-old man from Scotland who had been holidaying on the island with his wife.

https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18019456.scots-tourist-eaten-shark-off-holiday-island-reunion/
 
Mon kilt by muckle fish.

A Scots tourist is believed to have been eaten by a shark off the island of Reunion after forensic scientists found his hand inside the animal.

The holidaymaker's severed hand complete with the wedding ring of the swimmer was found by scientists on Wednesday as autopsies were carried out on five fish caught around the waters of the French overseas territory. It is understood the shark was killed because he was considered a threat to holidaymakers. It is believed the hand belonged to a 44-year-old man from Scotland who had been holidaying on the island with his wife.

https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18019456.scots-tourist-eaten-shark-off-holiday-island-reunion/

The shark is 'he'?

There are a few incongruous caveats in that reporting.

They have his hand and wedding ring inside a shark--verification should be fast and certain.

Is there a missing Scot whose wife can identify the ring? Or is there a Scot who lost his hand in the area?
 
The shark ten second rule. If your food doesn't move for ten seconds then it's fair game.
 
This is the latest of three fatal shark attacks in Australia so far this year ...
10-foot great white shark kills surfer in Australia

A 60-year-old surfer was attacked and killed by a 3-meter (10-foot) great white shark off the coast of northern New South Wales state on Sunday, officials said.

The man received a bite to the back of his thigh and was brought to the shore by other surfers who had fought off the shark, a surf rescue group, Surf Life Saving NSW, said in a statement. The victim, from Tugun just over the state border in Queensland, received first aid on the shore but died on the beach.

“A shark biologist assessed photographs and confirmed a white shark was responsible for the fatal attack,” the state’s Department of Primary Industries said. ...

It was the third fatal shark attack in Australia this year.

In January, a diver was killed near Esperance off the Western Australia state coast. In April, a shark fatally mauled a 23-year-old wildlife worker on the Great Barrier Reef.

SOURCE: https://apnews.com/69198f198408f1dfd84e913a2d9f80bb
 
STOP INDUSTRIAL LEVELS OF FISHING. The sharks (and everything else) don't have enough to eat, so they get desperate and try humans.
 
STOP INDUSTRIAL LEVELS OF FISHING. The sharks (and everything else) don't have enough to eat, so they get desperate and try humans.

An apt time for this article methinks.

The first-ever detailed study of the diets of great white sharks off the east Australian coast reveals this apex predator spends more time feeding close to the seabed than expected.

"Within the sharks' stomachs we found remains from a variety of fish species that typically live on the seafloor or buried in the sand. This indicates the sharks must spend a good portion of their time foraging just above the seabed," said lead author Richard Grainger, a Ph.D. candidate at the Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Sydney.

"The stereotype of a shark's dorsal fin above the surface as it hunts is probably not a very accurate picture," he said.

The study, published today on World Oceans Day in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, is an important contribution towards understanding the sharks' feeding and migratory habits. ...

https://phys.org/news/2020-06-great-white-shark-diet-scientists.html
 
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