Sharks are not uncommon along North Carolina’s coastline, but that shouldn’t keep beach visitors from heading into the water to surf or swim.
Caution, not fear, is the best approach when entering the ocean on your next trip to the beach, said Teresa Thorpe, a research biologist at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington who studies sharks.
A recent report of a shark biting a 10-year-old girl at North Topsail Beach brought attention to potential risk but Thorpe said that such incidents are very rare. Traveling to the beach, she said, poses more of risk.
“You are far more likely to get into an accident driving to the beach than you are being bitten by a shark while you are at the beach,” Thorpe said.
The International Shark Attack File, housed at the Florida Museum of Natural History, is a compilation of all known shark attacks and provides information such as statistics, trends and safety tip on its website.
The ISAF says shark attack is a potential danger to be acknowledged but should also be kept in perspective.
According to its information, the annual risk of death in the United States from lightning is 30 times greater than that from a shark attack. Bees, wasps and snakes are responsible for far more fatalities each year.
In 2010, the ISAF investigated 115 alleged incidents of shark-human interaction worldwide, with 79 confirmed cases of unprovoked shark attacks. Of those, 36 were in the United States, which remained near the annual average of 38.6 from 2001 to 2010.
Within North Carolina there were five shark attacks in 2010. Between 1935 and 2010, there have been 41 confirmed shark attacks in North Carolina, with Onslow and Carteret counties seeing eight each during that time.
Only three fatal attacks have been recorded for North Carolina, including one in Onslow in 1935, one in Carteret in 1957 and one in Dare County in 2001.
The ISAF said the 2010 total of 79 unprovoked attacks worldwide was higher than the 63 in 2009 and follows a trend of shark attack numbers steadily rising each decade.
But according to the report, that does not necessarily mean there has been an increase in the rate of shark attacks.
“The growth in the shark attack numbers does not necessarily mean that there is an increase in the rate of shark attack, rather it most likely is reflective of the ever-increasing amount of time spent in the sea by humans, which increases the odds of interaction between the two affected parties,” the new report states.
While these confirmed incidents of interactions with sharks were not provoked by humans, Thorpe said it doesn’t necessarily mean a shark was intending to go after a person.
While the use of the word attack conjures up images of sharks preying on humans, Thorpe said more often than not a shark has interpreted that splashing in the water or shiny object as fish to feed on. And when a shark is investigating something it hears or sees in the water, it does so by bumping or mouthing it.
“There are sharks all around but there are very few interactions with people and when there are, it is often an investigatory bite or just mistaken identity,” she said.
Thorpe said sharks can be found off the North Carolina coast year-round. During the summer months as the waters warm, more tropical sharks move up into to North Carolina. Blacktips, bulls and spinners are among them but the most common shark found along the coast over the summer months is the Atlantic sharpnose, which grows to about 3 and a half feet and isn’t known for being aggressive.
According to the North Carolina Sea Grant publication Shark Sense, more than 40 species of sharks inhabit the Atlantic and Gulf regions and many shark species use coastal bays and estuaries for pupping and nursery grounds.
Thorpe said sharks play a vital role in balancing the ocean’s ecosystem and overall shark populations are being impacted by overfishing and loss of habitat.
“They have more to fear from us than we have to fear from them,” she said.
While human interactions with sharks don’t happen often, along the Atlantic and Gulf Coast beaches the No. 1 species for biting is the blacktip shark. Other sharks involved in encounters on the East Coast include spinner, blacknose, bull and tiger sharks.
Thorpe recommends following a few safety tips to reduce the chance of any interactions.
For one, she doesn’t suggest swimming in inlets after a heavy rainfall. Sharks are more likely to be in the areas after a rainfall scavenging for food and waters may be murkier during that time.
“They can’t see you very well and you can’t see them,” she said.
Also avoid swimming in the ocean at down or dusk, which is when sharks are more active; and do not enter the water if bleeding or menstruating.
Swimmers should also refrain from excessive splashing and avoid wearing shiny jewelry, which can resemble the sheen of fish scales.
Caution, not fear, is the best approach when entering the ocean on your next trip to the beach, said Teresa Thorpe, a research biologist at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington who studies sharks.
A recent report of a shark biting a 10-year-old girl at North Topsail Beach brought attention to potential risk but Thorpe said that such incidents are very rare. Traveling to the beach, she said, poses more of risk.
“You are far more likely to get into an accident driving to the beach than you are being bitten by a shark while you are at the beach,” Thorpe said.
The International Shark Attack File, housed at the Florida Museum of Natural History, is a compilation of all known shark attacks and provides information such as statistics, trends and safety tip on its website.
The ISAF says shark attack is a potential danger to be acknowledged but should also be kept in perspective.
According to its information, the annual risk of death in the United States from lightning is 30 times greater than that from a shark attack. Bees, wasps and snakes are responsible for far more fatalities each year.
In 2010, the ISAF investigated 115 alleged incidents of shark-human interaction worldwide, with 79 confirmed cases of unprovoked shark attacks. Of those, 36 were in the United States, which remained near the annual average of 38.6 from 2001 to 2010.
Within North Carolina there were five shark attacks in 2010. Between 1935 and 2010, there have been 41 confirmed shark attacks in North Carolina, with Onslow and Carteret counties seeing eight each during that time.
Only three fatal attacks have been recorded for North Carolina, including one in Onslow in 1935, one in Carteret in 1957 and one in Dare County in 2001.
The ISAF said the 2010 total of 79 unprovoked attacks worldwide was higher than the 63 in 2009 and follows a trend of shark attack numbers steadily rising each decade.
But according to the report, that does not necessarily mean there has been an increase in the rate of shark attacks.
While these confirmed incidents of interactions with sharks were not provoked by humans, Thorpe said it doesn’t necessarily mean a shark was intending to go after a person.
While the use of the word attack conjures up images of sharks preying on humans, Thorpe said more often than not a shark has interpreted that splashing in the water or shiny object as fish to feed on. And when a shark is investigating something it hears or sees in the water, it does so by bumping or mouthing it.
“There are sharks all around but there are very few interactions with people and when there are, it is often an investigatory bite or just mistaken identity,” she said.
Thorpe said sharks can be found off the North Carolina coast year-round. During the summer months as the waters warm, more tropical sharks move up into to North Carolina. Blacktips, bulls and spinners are among them but the most common shark found along the coast over the summer months is the Atlantic sharpnose, which grows to about 3 and a half feet and isn’t known for being aggressive.
According to the North Carolina Sea Grant publication Shark Sense, more than 40 species of sharks inhabit the Atlantic and Gulf regions and many shark species use coastal bays and estuaries for pupping and nursery grounds.
Thorpe said sharks play a vital role in balancing the ocean’s ecosystem and overall shark populations are being impacted by overfishing and loss of habitat.
“They have more to fear from us than we have to fear from them,” she said.
While human interactions with sharks don’t happen often, along the Atlantic and Gulf Coast beaches the No. 1 species for biting is the blacktip shark. Other sharks involved in encounters on the East Coast include spinner, blacknose, bull and tiger sharks.
Thorpe recommends following a few safety tips to reduce the chance of any interactions.
For one, she doesn’t suggest swimming in inlets after a heavy rainfall. Sharks are more likely to be in the areas after a rainfall scavenging for food and waters may be murkier during that time.
“They can’t see you very well and you can’t see them,” she said.
Also avoid swimming in the ocean at down or dusk, which is when sharks are more active; and do not enter the water if bleeding or menstruating.
Swimmers should also refrain from excessive splashing and avoid wearing shiny jewelry, which can resemble the sheen of fish scales.
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