Do Sharks Attack Us?

[sterbo]

:Sigh: We're the local watermen and aren't remotely 'phobic': we're well reasoned and smart.
You may be a non believer, overly skeptic (and, I think, missing the point) but still, if you ever venture this way, give me a heads up and our crew will do what we do daily with each other - watch your back.
Not that you need it of course
lol...

The point is not that other things are more dangerous, it's that 108 attacks in 114 years is an incredibly small number compared to even the most trivial accident. With the vast number of people in the water of the west coast throughout that 114 years, the answer to the question "Do Sharks Attack Us" is "not really".

Lol, Ok, I give up. Sharks don't really attack us because, depending on the geographic location, the times that they do (I mean don't) are arguably common enough to be of concern - even though those persons who have been severely wounded and/or died - weren't, and didn't really.
My bad. You win

Sterbo, thanks for the invitation, I might take you up on it when I make my way back up the coast after my usual Battle Of The Paddle trip..............
 I suspect our differences would not exist if they were shared over a beer. At the very least, like all my other friends, they wouldn't matter once you knew how full of shit I am.

Pono, I couldn't agree more. Well, except for the 'full of shit' part
You're one of the main reasons I joined this forum. Lot's of cool and intelligent folks here but a couple of months ago after browsing here for quite a while and learning a lot, I read yet another of your rather prolific postings and thought to myself - 'This guy is smart, writes well, embodies a lot of my core beliefs and has a good sense of humor: we would likely become good friends if we were hanging out.

Here's to ya brother...

[spirit4earth]

There's nothing wrong with phobic fears individually, as long as you understand what they are. Unfortunately as a society, our phobic fears have consequences. We don't care that millions of sharks are finned every year--serves them right. We don't mind building coal plants, destroying the mountains of Appalachia and dumping vast amounts of carbon dioxide and pollutants into the air, because we have a phobic fear of developing nuclear power. Unfortunately nothing really changes those phobias, they are part of our psyche. And it's almost impossible the change society's mind about anything important.

So it goes.

Right on.  This extends to xenophobia as well.

[eastbound]

gat a room!

[dpmaui]

ummm, yeah, I think they do.

[PonoBill]

Your opinion doesn't count--too biased by reality.

[dpmaui]

I think that's what I want on my tombstone, "Biased by Reality"

[pdxmike]

That's probably better than "I told you it wasn't a dolphin".

[SUPcheat]

I am deluded, therefore, I am.

[pdxmike]

I am deluded, therefore, I am.

You just think you're deluded.

[Weasels wake]

Why do shark threads like this last so looooooooooooooooooooooooooong?
I just hope to get to the beach and back w/o getting in a fu(king car accident!

[SUPcheat]

I am deluded, therefore, I am.

You just think you're deluded.

I am probably deluded about thinking I am deluded, because I am an equal opportunity delusionary.

[OUTSIDEWAVE]

if you think of all the unfound missing swimmers  " due to currents"  I think the  rate is substantially higher  but still probably less likely  than getting  attacked by bear in yellowstone or Montana in general.  but more likely than seeing a big foot in Washington.   

[BigSlaveDave]

I didn't read this whole thread, but here's my deal:

I'm a surfer, free-dive spearfisher, kayak fisher, sea kayaker, and now SUP surfer-- all in NorCal. In my thirty-five years of doing this stuff on this coast, I've been chased by whitey twice, and have 2 or 3 "drive-by's".  Two of my kayak fishing friends (on the Norcal Kayak Anglers Forum) have had their boats (like 15' boats) attacked by the "Landlord" so hard they were ejected from their boats and narrowly escaped with their lives.  You can read about it on that forum.

And about 6 years ago, not far from my town (Fort Bragg, CA) an abalone diver had his head bit off--to be found three weeks later (the head) by a beachcomber.  I was surfing 1/4 mile away when that happened.

Do I hate sharks? No.  Am I scared shitless of them?  You fucking bet I am.

Maybe it has to do with where you live.  You don't have to be a PhD statistician to think that I might have a higher probability of getting hit by a GWS than an Iowa corn farmer.

[stoneaxe]

I just think my bro is a bit numb to sharks....though I have to admit he did scramble back up onto his board like a 13 year old upon hearing a tiger was headed for his ass.....

[robon]

I agree the chances of shark attack being extremely low, but it would be interesting to know what the percentage of "missing" swimmers around the worlds oceans were shark attacks or not? Third world countries with ocean coast lines don't have any accurate means of recording shark attacks as far as I know, and how many people in these areas get bit or go missing every year? I have no idea of how many people go missing in coastal environments per year, or how many unrecorded shark attacks there are, but I'm willing to bet it would substantially increase the yearly totals for both fatalities and bites if we knew more about third world country shark encounters, and missing swimmers around the world in general.

One thing that gets pretty interesting in these conversations and always gets brought up is the exploratory bite behaviour of sharks, which is true, but if you get bit, then you are still getting f*cked up. An attack is an attack and while we usually aren't meant to be on the menu, an exploratory bite by even a small shark can cause massive damage or death. I'm not meaning to sound like I'm anti-shark, or trying to perpetuate fear of sharks, but just food for thought