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A possible shark attack in Maine - not a place where shark attacks are known to be likely ...
Woman killed in an apparent shark attack in Maine

A woman swimming off the coast of Maine was killed Monday after being injured in "what appeared to be a shark attack," according to a statement from Maine Department of Marine Resources.

The victim, whose identity is being withheld pending notification of her family, was swimming off the shore of Bailey Island, an island in Casco Bay, when she was injured, a witness told the Maine Marine Patrol. The witness added that it appeared to be a shark attack.

"Kayakers nearby brought her to shore and EMS responders were called to the scene where she was pronounced deceased," the statement said.

Shark attacks are rare for the state of Maine. The International Shark Attack File, a global database of shark attacks, only listed one unprovoked shack attack in the state. That happened in 2010, according to CNN news partner CBC, when a commercial diver working in the Bay of Fundy was attacked by a porbeagle shark. The diver was uninjured and captured the incident on video. Officials believe the shark thought the diver's camera was food, according to CBC. ...

FULL STORY: https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/27/us/possible-shark-attack-maine-trnd/index.html
 
Update on the Maine story ... Officials have confirmed it was a shark attack, and a recovered tooth indicates it was a great white.
First fatal shark attack in Maine blamed on great white

Maine officials said Tuesday that a great white shark was responsible for killing a woman off the coast -- the first fatal attack in the state's recorded history.

Julie Holowach, 63, died Monday after a shark bit her while she swam near Bailey Island.

Patrick Keliher of the Maine Department of Marine Resources said a recovered tooth matched those belonging to a great white shark. ...

FULL STORY: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/202...in-Maine-blamed-on-great-white/4621595959441/
 
Again, this shows how desperate sharks are getting for food thanks to overfishing of the oceans.
 
Again, this shows how desperate sharks are getting for food thanks to overfishing of the oceans.

Truly desperate:

A GREAT white shark is feared to be stalking UK waters, after the carcasses of two dolphins were washed up on a beach popular with holidaymakers. The gruesome discoveries were made this weekend in Great Yarmouth on the Norfolk coast, near to where a half-eaten four foot-long seal was found last year.

Great Yarmouth is one of a number of popular holiday seaside towns along the Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Suffolk coasts including Cromer


https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6284476/great-white-shark-uk-coast-dolphins-norfolk/
 
I've got an idea that one of the reasons that we're seeing sharks in places not known for them is the change of temperature of the oceans, causing a change in the quality and quantity of currents. There are plenty of fish around the coastlines, which is usually where the Marine Parks are.

Great whites do like the odd seal or five and usually hang out around nurseries and resting points of seals - they also help clean up cetacean carcasses.
 
Great whites have been recorded as far north as Iceland; I would be happy with one on the west coast.

But North sea? Who knows?

There certainly have been a big population explosion of seals in this country. If it didnt mind cooler seas, might make a nice summer holiday jaunt
 
Ata boy Bruce!

A man leapt from his surfboard on to a shark that was attacking his wife, repeatedly punching the animal until it let go, Australian media report.

Chantelle Doyle, 35, was surfing off Shelly Beach at Port Macquarie, New South Wales, when the attack took place. Her husband punched the shark until it released its grip and then helped Ms Doyle to the shore. She was airlifted to hospital with serious injuries to her right leg.

Experts quoted by the Port Macquarie News believed Ms Doyle had been mauled by a juvenile great white shark up to 3m (10ft) in length.

Surf Life Saving NSW chief executive Steven Pearce praised the husband - named by media as Mark Rapley - for his quick action.

"This fella paddled over and jumped off his board on to the shark and hit it to get it to release her and then assisted her back into the beach," he said, quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald. "Pretty full on, really heroic."

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-53792016
 
46-year-old surfer killed in shark attack at Australian beach

An Australian man died Tuesday after being attacked by a shark while surfing at a Gold Coast beach.

Nick Slater, 46, was attacked while surfing at Greenmount beach and sustained injuries to his legs before dying at the beach despite efforts to save his life at the scene. ...

Gold Coast Mayor Thomas Tate urged residents to stay away from the beach, confirming this was the first fatal shark attack in the area since 1958. ...

FULL STORY: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-...ark-attack-at-Australian-beach/4701599609452/
 
Now the sharks are being attacked!

The New York Times reports:

Since [September 2016] at least six more sharks have washed up on Mediterranean coasts, each impaled with the same murder weapon, and almost always in the head. In the latest example, an adult 15-foot thresher shark — itself equipped with a whiplike tail capable of stunning blows — washed up in Libya. Inside was a foot of swordfish sword that had broken off near its heart.
Taken together these cases offer what may be preliminary scientific evidence of high-speed, high-stakes underwater duels that had previously been confined to fisherman's tales.
https://boingboing.net/2020/10/30/a...dfish-swords-stabbed-through-their-heads.html
 
A fatal attack in Western Australia this morning:

Man killed in shark attack at Broome’s Cable Beach
A man in his 50s has died of horrific injuries after being mauled by a shark at one of Western Australia’s most iconic beaches.

A man has died after being attacked by a shark off the famous Cable Beach at Broome in Western Australia’s north.

The 55-year-old man is understood to have been body boarding alone when the shark mauled his thigh and bit off his hand around 8.45am local time.
Emergency crews were called to the beach and CPR was carried out at the scene but the man, who was a Broome local, could not be saved.
WA Police Inspector Gene Pears said a couple on the beach saw some “thrashing”, prompting the man to go into the water and retrieve the body.
He brought the boarder up onto the beach, while his wife called for police and an ambulance.
“I commend them for their actions, obviously that would have been pretty horrific for those people,” Mr Pears said.
“It was very brave to enter the water and do what they did.”
Police lawfully shot at the 3-4m long shark, which remained in the area for about half an hour after the attack, due to its threat.
The type of shark remains unknown but the man was understood to have been about 40m out at sea when he was mauled.
https://www.news.com.au/national/we...h/news-story/96b738ba6b08bb5a08721122284d83ee
 
Another great white attack, fortunately, not a fatality this time.

Surfer describes moment he was attacked by great white shark off Kangaroo Island

A surfer has recalled the moment a great white shark attacked him in waters off Kangaroo Island over the weekend, likening the experience to "being hit by a truck".

Key points:
  • The 29-year-old Kangaroo Island local on Monday released a statement about the attack
  • He was surfing off D'Estrees Bay when the shark bit him in the back
  • The man thanked emergency services, saying he felt "incredibly lucky and grateful"
The 29-year-old man was attacked at D'Estrees Bay off the island's south coast on Sunday afternoon, and was rushed to hospital with the help of another surfer.

ABC News: Surfer describes moment he was attacked by great white shark off Kangaroo Island.



 
Is something attacking the sharks?

Where are Cape Town's great white sharks?

For years, one of South Africa’s great tourist attractions has been the opportunity to see, up close, one of the world’s most fearsome predators - the great white shark. But barely a single one has been spotted off the coast of Cape Town for two years now – where there used to be hundreds. What’s going on?

Reporter: Andrew Harding

Camera and editing: Christian Parkinson


Published14 hours ago

Section BBC News Subsection Africa

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-africa-55894733
 
They're probably moving to different waters for food as the ocean's heat up.

Watching the video, it looks like massive overfishing as well as climate change. One local scientist blames Australia's demand for fish and chips! But the global demand for fish has been causing havoc on the oceans for years now - this is really the industrial type that uses huge nets that's the problem.

It's a beautiful part of the world, what a shame.
 
Watching the video, it looks like massive overfishing as well as climate change. One local scientist blames Australia's demand for fish and chips! But the global demand for fish has been causing havoc on the oceans for years now - this is really the industrial type that uses huge nets that's the problem.

It's a beautiful part of the world, what a shame.
I can't bear what us humans are doing to the poor world :(
 
A fatal shark attack on the New South Wales mid north coast this morning after a surfer was bitten:

Surfer dies in shark attack at Tuncurry Beach on NSW Mid North Coast​

A man has died after a shark attack at Tuncurry Beach on the NSW Mid North Coast.

Emergency services were called to the beach, just north of Forster, about 11:20am after receiving reports a man had been bitten by a shark while surfing.

NSW Police said first responders found the man, believed to be in his 50s, with "critical injuries to his upper right thigh".

They pulled him from the water and attempted CPR, but were unable to revive him.

According to lifesavers, the man was a local who was surfing with friends.

Photographs of the bite are currently being analysed by shark scientists from the Department of Primary Industries who will try to determine the species and size of the shark involved.

The Mid North Coast Council has closed beaches from Black Head to One Mile at Forster for at least 24 hours.

Brian Wilcox from the local Surf Life Saving branch said the attack was "unprecedented".

"I can't recall ever having a shark attack in this area," he said.

Mr Wilcox said a number of sharks had been spotted in the water since the attack.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-18/shark-bite-victim-dies-on-nsw-mid-north-coast/100146460
 
Newly published archaeological / forensic research describes what is believed to be the oldest known shark fatality. It occurred in Japan circa 3,000 years ago.
3,000-year-old shark attack victim found by Oxford-led researchers

Newspapers regularly carry stories of terrifying shark attacks, but in a paper published today, Oxford-led researchers reveal their discovery of a 3,000-year-old victim - attacked by a shark in the Seto Inland Sea of the Japanese archipelago.

The research in Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, shows that this body is the earliest direct evidence for a shark attack on a human and an international research team has carefully recreated what happened - using a combination of archaeological science and forensic techniques. ...

The team concluded that the individual died more than 3,000 years ago, between 1370 to 1010 BC. The distribution of wounds strongly suggest the victim was alive at the time of attack; his left hand was sheared off, possibly a defence wound.

Individual No 24's body had been recovered soon after the attack and buried with his people at the cemetery. Excavation records showed he was also missing his right leg and his left leg was placed on top of his body in an inverted position. ...
FULL STORY: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-06/uoo-3sa062321.php
 
Another Australian attack, this time off the coast of Western Australia. Fortunately the shark wasn't too hungry this time:

Surfer attacked by unknown species of shark near Leeman, in WA's Mid West​

A surfer has been bitten by a shark at Gum Tree Bay, near Leeman, about 300 kilometres north of Perth.

Emergency services received a call about 2:00pm on Wednesday from a member of the public saying there had been a shark attack.

A spokeswoman for St John Ambulance said the 25-year-old man was reported to have a bite to his lower ankle and calf, was conscious, breathing and people were there with him.

The man had a 20-centimetre laceration below his knee, but the bleeding had been controlled using a tourniquet, she said.

A Royal Flying Doctor Service crew flew to Leeman from Meekatharra and transported the man to Perth, where he was taken to Royal Perth Hospital.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-23/wa-reports-of-shark-attack-north-of-perth/100239022
 
A drunken Brazilian man waded into the sea to urinate and was killed by a shark.

Drunk Man Killed In Shallow-Water Shark Attack After He Went Waist-Deep In Sea To Urinate
07/13/21 AT 8:44 AM
A man was viciously mauled to death by a shark Saturday after he walked into the sea off a Brazilian beach in a drunken state to urinate.

Marcelo Rocha Santos, 51, was drinking with his friend at the Piedade Beach in the Brazilian city of Jaboatao dos Guararapes before the tragic incident took place ...

Santos reportedly walked into the sea at approximately 2 p.m. ET when the shark leaped out of the water and attacked him. Edriano Gomez, an eyewitness, told the outlet that at the time Santos entered the water, the weather was cloudy and the sea had begun to storm, a weather type that invigorates shark activity.

"It was my friend who was at sea with the attacked man. Suddenly he saw the man suffering. There was a lot of blood in the water," Gomez said to Eminetra.co.nz.

Ademir Sebastiao da Silva, another eyewitness, said Santos and his friend went into the sea to pee because there was no toilet in the vicinity. “I was next to him with water up to my waist,” he told the outlet.

Santos’ mutilated remains washed ashore after the attack and photographs taken by bystanders showed the shark had torn off one of his arms and bitten off a large chunk of flesh out of his leg. ...
FULL STORY: https://www.ibtimes.com/drunk-man-k...-after-he-went-waist-deep-sea-urinate-3250783
 
The urine attracted the shark.
 
The urine attracted the shark.

We thought, as kids in the sixties, that peeing in the water after sighting a shark, was a bit of a deterent against a shark attack - the other one was that if you were swimming, and a shark came at you, the answer was to dive to the bottom, because sharks needed to turn over onto their back to take a bite...

Nobody mentioned holding your breathe until the shark went, which, I suppose, shows a kids thinking that they are indestructible.
 
Newly published archaeological / forensic research describes what is believed to be the oldest known shark fatality. It occurred in Japan circa 3,000 years ago.

FULL STORY: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-06/uoo-3sa062321.php

Maybe we have an older incident.

When news broke that the oldest known case of a person killed by a shark involved a member of Japan’s Jōmon culture around 3,000 years ago, two researchers took special notice (SN: 7/23/21).

Back in 1976, bioarchaeologist Robert Benfer of the University of Missouri in Columbia and Harvard University anthropological archaeologist Jeffrey Quilter had participated in an excavation of a roughly 17-year-old boy’s skeleton that bore signs of a fatal shark encounter. The boy’s left leg was missing and his right hip and right forearm bones displayed deep bite marks characteristic of those made by sharks, the scientists say.

“Successful shark bites usually involve tearing off a limb, often a leg, and ingesting it,” Benfer says. An unsuccessful attempt to ward off a shark presumably resulted in the boy’s arm injuries.

Radiocarbon dating indicated that the teen, whose remains were discovered at a Peruvian village site called Paloma, died around 6,000 years ago before being placed in a grave unlike any others in his community, says Benfer, who directed investigations at Paloma in 1976 and in three more field seasons that concluded in 1990. That could make the teen the oldest known shark attack victim. ...

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/peru-skeleton-oldest-known-shark-attack-victim
 
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