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Shark attack
Just seen post on adelaidebrits that a diver was taken of the Glenelg/westbeach coast this afternoon :scared:
any one heard anything!! Di |
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:scared:
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Re: Shark attack
A diver is presumed dead after a shark attack witnessed by two friends off Adelaide's most popular beach.
The diver was in the water about 2km off Glenelg Beach, in the city's west, when a shark took him at about 4.10pm (CST) on Wednesday, police said. He and another man were scuba diving when their two friends aboard a boat saw the shark, but they were powerless to stop the attack. A search was underway on Wednesday night for the shark and the missing man, but he was presumed dead. "Two people in the boat did witness the attack," Acting Superintendent Jim Jeffery said. "We are making every attempt we can to locate the person. "The indications to us though are that it will be very doubtful that we will find the person alive." Media reports said the man's oxygen cylinder has been found. Glenelg Beach is just one kilometre from West Beach, where another fatal shark attack occurred last December. In that incident, 18-year-old Nick Peterson was killed while surfboarding with friends behind a boat. The waters off South Australia are a favourite hunting ground of the feared great white shark, which has been blamed for several fatal attacks in recent years, including that on Mr Peterson. Police said the two people on board the boat, who saw the large shark approach, raised the alarm and pulled one of the divers out of the water. But the shark took the other diver while he was still underwater. "... it was the one that was still underwater, he was taken," Supt Jeffery said. "One of the divers had been pulled back on to the boat as the other one was taken." Police have recovered some of the missing diver's equipment, including the oxygen tank and a buoyancy vest. Supt Jeffery said police were unsure what type of shark was involved in the attack, saying the traumatised witnesses had only described it as "large". Local shark expert Andrew Fox said it was likely the shark was a great white - the same type of shark blamed for the fatal attack on Mr Peterson just over eight months ago. "As far as determining the species of shark it's very likely that, other than a bronze whaler shark, the great white shark is really the only large predatory shark that's capable of actually taking a diver," he told ABC radio. Mr Fox said he doubted the shark involved in Wednesday's attack was the same one that took Mr Peterson. "There's always speculation after any shark attack around the world of a rogue shark, or a shark gone bad, a shark that likes the taste of humans," he said. "But there's actually, in the International Shark Record, there's never been any evidence that this has ever occurred." A search involving water police and the SA Sea Rescue Squadron was called off on Wednesday night and will resume on Thursday. Police have ordered other recreational boat users out of the water in the vicinity of the attack - a coastal area about 10km from Adelaide's central business district. |
Re: Shark attack
Originally Posted by harveyhare
Just seen post on adelaidebrits that a diver was taken of the Glenelg/westbeach coast this afternoon :scared:
any one heard anything!! Di Search under way after shark attacks diver A major search is under way in the waters off an Adelaide beach this evening for a man who has been taken by a shark. The man was diving with three others when he was attacked two kilometres off Glenelg Beach, just after 4:00pm ACST. Acting Superintendent Jim Jeffery says water police and a helicopter will continue to look for the missing man for as long as possible tonight. "The tacks and some of the other equipment has been recovered," he said. "We're in the process now of searching for the missing diver and for any other clothing or any other equipment that may still be out in the water." Local shark expert Andrew Fox says it is likely the shark involved in the attack is a great white. "As far as determining the species of shark it's very likely that, other than a bronze whaler shark, the great white shark is really the only large predatory shark that's capable of actually taking a diver," he said. It is the second fatal shark attack in the area in eight months. In December 2004, 18-year-old Nick Petersen was killed when he was taken while riding a surfboard behind a boat off nearby West Beach. But Mr Fox says he doubts it is the same shark. "There's always speculation after any shark attack around the world of a rogue shark, or a shark gone bad, a shark that likes the taste of humans but there's actually in the International Shark Record there's never been any evidence that this has ever occurred," he said. |
Re: Shark attack
Originally Posted by harveyhare
Just seen post on adelaidebrits that a diver was taken of the Glenelg/westbeach coast this afternoon :scared:
any one heard anything!! Di |
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Re: Shark attack
Originally Posted by marco121068
Why do you say he's only got himself to blame?
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I took the kids the the Melbourne museum a while back and they posted some stats about sharks.
It was something like 50 people have been killed by sharks in the last 158 years, but each year 24,000 Americans are killed on their roads. So, statistically speaking, it is safer to swim 2km out in the sea than it is to drive in the US. I know where I'm going to be from now on. Lets hope that the sharks don't learn to drive.... :scared: |
Re: Shark attack
Originally Posted by Amazulu
The sea belongs to the creatures that live in it. We can use it, that's fine, but we do it to their rules & if they decide to eat us then that's part of the rules.
Off to the gym now. Look too much like a seal in my wetsuit :D |
Re: Shark attack
Originally Posted by marco121068
Totally agree. I was just wondering if you thought perhaps he'd provoked the attack in some way.
Off to the gym now. Look too much like a seal in my wetsuit :D |
Re: Shark attack
Originally Posted by Amazulu
That would be insane!. Shark attacks are very rare though. In South Africa you can do cage diving with sharks, which to me is just plain wrong. Why tease these magnificent animals?. Conservationists are warning that it is encouraging sharks to come inshore & it won't be long before they start taking surfers & swimmers.
The sea is the sharks world and we just share it , be aware be careful you guys Sheila |
Re: Shark attack
Originally Posted by Amazulu
That would be insane!. Shark attacks are very rare though. In South Africa you can do cage diving with sharks, which to me is just plain wrong. Why tease these magnificent animals?. Conservationists are warning that it is encouraging sharks to come inshore & it won't be long before they start taking surfers & swimmers.
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I read a very interesting article that said that due to the number of companies taking people out cage diving to see Great White sharks, there probably will be a higher number of attacks. The companies chuck fish guts, etc. into the water to attract the sharks - so the sharks are learning to associate boats and divers with food.
Scary stuff - and Im a diver myself! W. :scared: |
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Perhaps he was a young man with a wonderful sense of adventure, yet with maturity and sensitivity towards his work. Perhaps he had a great sense of respect for the sea and the creatures that live there which is probably why he was involved in research. Don't we all just love reading about wildlife, the sea and admire the new and wonderful things that are discovered on a daily basis? This is a man who was living his dream and working hard to make it possible. How tragic that he should be 'taken' in such a way. He is someone's son, someone's lover, someone,s joy. Please, please just a little sympathy and respect for the man wouldn't go amiss.
We don't say that the hundreds of people killed in a plane crash were to blame - they chose to get on the airplane, after all the sky belongs to the birds. We don't say the poor child who got bitten by a snake in his back garden was to blame. Yes these things happen and the creatures should not be to blame as it is their habitat we are invading - but a tragedy or accident affects so many no matter where the blame lies. My son is about to embark on going to university to study and live his dream. I hope for his happiness, safety and along, long future ahead of him. |
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I dont think anyone is saying they dont feel sypmathy, just that it's a risk you take when you get into the water.
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We had just arrived in Sydney when the shark attack in December occurred. It scared the living daylights out of my daughter who refused to the dolphin swim with us when we went to Sorrento Bay in Melbourne. She just sat on the edge of the boat looking down and simply refused to get in. She was also petrified that I was going to get eaten, poor thing. We have spoken about it a lot since then and have urged her to try to get used to swimming in the sea again (which was never a problem before). We have said (rightly or wrongly) that the water is too cold for sharks in Victoria, so the chances are very slim of a shark attack. Hearing this news is going to make her even more afraid, despite the chances being very slim.
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Re: Shark attack
Originally Posted by coxfamuk
We had just arrived in Sydney when the shark attack in December occurred. It scared the living daylights out of my daughter who refused to the dolphin swim with us when we went to Sorrento Bay in Melbourne. She just sat on the edge of the boat looking down and simply refused to get in. She was also petrified that I was going to get eaten, poor thing. We have spoken about it a lot since then and have urged her to try to get used to swimming in the sea again (which was never a problem before). We have said (rightly or wrongly) that the water is too cold for sharks in Victoria, so the chances are very slim of a shark attack. Hearing this news is going to make her even more afraid, despite the chances being very slim.
Whenever I swim in the sea, I swim parallel and very close to the shore (basically where I can still stand up if I need to). Sharks don't come *that* close to the beach. And your daughter won't be swimming 2km out at sea, I should think. Gina |
Re: Shark attack
Originally Posted by GinaUK
One thought I'm holding on to: In this shark attack, the diver was 2km out to see (and in the one with the bloke on a surf board being towed there were also out at sea).
Whenever I swim in the sea, I swim parallel and very close to the shore (basically where I can still stand up if I need to). Sharks don't come *that* close to the beach. And your daughter won't be swimming 2km out at sea, I should think. Gina |
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Originally Posted by Amazulu
Some sharks very much do come in that close. Surfers have been taken 50m offshore. Some smaller sharks, though not necessarily dangerous sharks, can come in really close, say 2m water depth.
Gina |
Re: Shark attack
Originally Posted by GinaUK
If they're small and not dangerous, then I have nothing to worry about, do I :mad:
Gina |
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With Australia being the third most dangerous place for shark attacks, does anyone know what part of oz gets more attacks. I know that when i last went to Brisbane there were 2 attacks the week we got there.
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Re: Shark attack
Originally Posted by karenjc
With Australia being the third most dangerous place for shark attacks, does anyone know what part of oz gets more attacks. I know that when i last went to Brisbane there were 2 attacks the week we got there.
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Re: Shark attack
Originally Posted by karenjc
With Australia being the third most dangerous place for shark attacks, does anyone know what part of oz gets more attacks. I know that when i last went to Brisbane there were 2 attacks the week we got there.
http://sharks-attacks.netfirms.com/a...scuba/All2.htm As you can see - attacks are VERY rare. |
Re: Shark attack
Originally Posted by Amazulu
I think it's WA & SA. Just watched the report on BBC News24. They still have not found the body & don't think they will. One guy managed to get back into the boat. They think it was a great white. Tragic.
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Re: Shark attack
Originally Posted by karenjc
As some has said, it is there domain so i hope they don't go on the rampage and try to go after it. Is it true that bull sharks kill more people than any other shark
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Re: Shark attack
Originally Posted by marco121068
Totally agree. I was just wondering if you thought perhaps he'd provoked the attack in some way.
Off to the gym now. Look too much like a seal in my wetsuit :D what are you hoping to look like in it after youve been to the gym? a veggie burger?? :D |
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I used to dive in South Africa a lot and even had the privilege of shark-diving during the ragged-tooth mating season (you are not in cages) and to be honest, it never really scared me (well, the shark dive did have me p-ing in my wetsuit, but every other time I dived, it was ok). Shark attacks are very rare in SA (although they are becoming more common in the Cape where great white bating, i.e. cage diving, occurs). However, I think I would be very nervous about diving in Australia. The warm open waters are just what sharks like and to them, humans are just as fair game as any other sea creature. It is simply a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and your chances of getting chomped are increased slightly because the australian waters probably carry more sharks than elsewhere in the world. Also, SA has shark nets that protect the swimmers. This is a debatable practice though as other creatures get caught in the nets (turtles, rays, even dolphins) and die. I don't know if Australia has these, sounds like they don't.
I suppose you could look at it and say that when it's your time to go, it's your time to go. My first husband died doing a routine dive on his advanced diver's course. A cross current caught him off-guard and pushed him into a rock very hard, he fell unconscious and drowned - not a shark in sight. The sea is a formidable force of nature and every person that enters it needs to treat it with the utmost respect, regardless. |
Re: Shark attack
Originally Posted by Rooksie
what are you hoping to look like in it after youve been to the gym? a veggie burger?? :D
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Re: Shark attack
Originally Posted by marco121068
Here you go
http://sharks-attacks.netfirms.com/a...scuba/All2.htm As you can see - attacks are VERY rare. |
Re: Shark attack
Originally Posted by Amazulu
Read my post properly. Surfers/swimmers have been taken 50m offshore not 2km. Don't worry anyway, shark attacks are extremely rare, although I know someone in South Africa who lost a leg to a shark.
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Actually statistically if you are worried about sharks, I would simply be terrified about going out in the storm since you have more chance of being struck down dead by lightning. Of course, dont go near a road since you have about a x1000 times the chance of being killed in a road related death.
The reality is that shark attacks are extremely rare and occur usually as a matter of mistaken identity (the shark considers the surfer a seal - its natural prey in some species), working the sharks up to frenzy (baiting, filming or group tours) or simply blind stupidity on the part of a diver (trying to touch the sharks...). Sharks have a very bad rep which is ill deserved and many species have been driven by man to the point of extinction. I have over the years had the privilige of filming and studying sharks and even hitting one to discourage it a bit with a video housing(!). I hate it when an incident happens with a shark, not only a very sad occassion for the victim and the family, but these stories make headlines which effect peoples perception of such an amazing animal. When put into perspective compared to the land environment the sea is a very safe place to be ;) |
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Whenever someone is killed by a shark in OZ someone always starts a thread about it on this forum. Around 3 people are killed by sharks each year compared to 1,600 on the roads and 600 drowning, but no one ever starts a thread about the dangers of roads or the danger of drowning in OZ. :confused:
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Re: Shark attack
Originally Posted by wombat42
Whenever someone is killed by a shark in OZ someone always starts a thread about it on this forum. Around 3 people are killed by sharks each year compared to 1,600 on the roads and 600 drowning, but no one ever starts a thread about the dangers of roads or the danger of drowning in OZ. :confused:
Andy |
Re: Shark attack
Coxfam, sorry to tell you, but great whites live predominantly in the southern waters of Australia, they like the cold water. Most of the sharks in the warmer waters (with exception of bull sharks, which mainly live in canals & waterways & feed between dawn & dusk) arent considered to be "man eaters". Tigers & Grey Nurse are really the only 2 others that are considered dangerous to man, but not to the same degree as Great Whites. Thats why there are more people taken in SA, Vic etc than in Qld (especially when compared to the number of people in the water ;) ) .
Up here in Qld you have to worry about the crocodiles :D . PS. Hi Andy, nice to see you posting, havent seen you for a while :) . |
Re: Shark attack
Originally Posted by MrsDagboy
Coxfam, sorry to tell you, but great whites live predominantly in the southern waters of Australia, they like the cold water. Most of the sharks in the warmer waters (with exception of bull sharks, which mainly live in canals & waterways & feed between dawn & dusk) arent considered to be "man eaters". Tigers & Grey Nurse are really the only 2 others that are considered dangerous to man, but to the same degree as Great Whites. Thats why there are more people taken in SA, Vic etc than in Qld (especially when compared to the number of people in the water ;) ) .
Up here in Qld you have to worry about the crocodiles :D . |
Re: Shark attack
Originally Posted by coxfamuk
Damn, I guessed that might be the case!! Well, no harm in hoping, I guess. When was the last time anyone was taken in Victoria then? And to think I was swimming with seals in december - aren;t they a delicacy for great whites? :scared:
Seriously as everyone else has said, you are at a far greater risk of being run over by a bus or killed in a car accident or even drowning than you ever are being taken by a shark. When at the beach, swim between the flags & always on patrolled beaches & you lessen the extremely small risk even more considerably :) . |
Re: Shark attack
Originally Posted by Amazulu
The sea belongs to the creatures that live in it. We can use it, that's fine, but we do it to their rules & if they decide to eat us then that's part of the rules.
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Re: Shark attack
Originally Posted by renth
So, do you feel the same whay when a smoker dies of lung cancer or when someone falls of a horse?
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Re: Shark attack
Originally Posted by renth
So, do you feel the same whay when a smoker dies of lung cancer or when someone falls of a horse?
If you mean.....is it a smokers fault if they die of lung cancer, then yes....i believe it is. Its largely unlucky true, but they would have probably not got the luncg cancer if they had not smoked. Horse riding....again, you can't fall off a horse if you are not on one. Shark attacks.....you can't get attacked if you are not in the sea. You could definatly put all these down to bad luck, for sure. However, it is the situation these people put themselves in to make themselves suseptable. I dive for crays and abalone (well....for these 2 i snorkle), and i am fully aware of the risk. For what its worth the risk is very small, but its only a risk when im actually in the water. I don't "need" to be there. |
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Originally Posted by andy thomas
Couldn't have put it better myself and you saved me the trouble. When you all get out here you will be taking your lives in your hands everyday cos they cant drive for toffee over here. It's not uncommon for there to be a road death everyday around Melbourne and a majority are Car v Tree/Pole or to put it another way Complete tosser driving like a dickhead eventually comes to a stop after the inevitable.
Andy Road deaths: EU comparison, 2001: Social Trends 34 Not a lot of difference in the 2001 rate 6.1 : 9.0 UK : Aus. Australia is on par with Germany. Similar ratio per km: |
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