Jersey Shore Shark attacks!

[stripercrazy]

Most bloodthirsty sharks in the ocean, I think they are worse than great whites. Wasn't that a bull shark that attacked that child in one of the jersey bays in the early 1900s?

[jonthepain]

another shark attack in NC yesterday, knee deep surf. i think that's 4 so far this year.

boyfriend of victim said it was a 6 footer, but who knows

[DarkSkies]

Tis the season, Jon, the warmer water and bait migration means sharks will be closer than most of us think. Thanks for the info, we need to promote awareness of the danger, that should take precedence over the tourism angle. Some towns don't like it to be known they have sharks around.

It's a fact of the time of year, almost every town on the coast now has sharks swimming near or through it. For the most part you would never know those sharks are there because they are really not keyed in on humans.

But the bull sharks, they scare me more than great white sharks, as has been said here. They have no natural aversion to humans or the noise and activity that keeps other sharks away from the surfline. They are deadly because they are so unpredictable. And everyone should be aware of this, without going into a panic mode.

There is no reason not to take that vacation just because you hear about sharks. They are everywhere, even great whites off the coast of NJ. Things like not swimming in the surf if it is too murky from a storm, and not being in a position where you were splashing or thrashing the water too much, are all things that are good to be aware of.

[captnemo]

Wasn't that a bull shark that attacked that child in one of the jersey bays in the early 1900s?

Probably, here is the story -




Over a 10-day period during July 1916, five shark attacks occurred along the New Jersey shore. Four of the victims died and the fifth was seriously injured. This extraordinary cluster of attacks was almost certainly the inspiration for JAWS and is among the most notorious events in the long and grim history of shark-human interactions.
The particulars of each attack — who got bitten, when, where, and how badly — have been told and re-told many times in popular shark books and documentaries. These facts are well established and most of them need not concern us here. What does seem in need of a more thorough investigation is whether one or more sharks were involved in these attacks and of what species was — or were — most likely responsible.

White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) — since the infamous series of attacks seemed to stop with the capture of a young White Shark, reportedly with human remains in its stomach, it was widely assumed this animal was the culprit; other researchers are not so sure.

Two days after the fifth attack, an 8.5-foot (2.6-metre) shark was caught in Raritan Bay, some 4 miles (6.5 kilometres) away from the mouth of Matawan Creek. It was identified as a White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) by Dr. Frederick Lucas, who was director of the American Museum of Natural History at the time. Upon examining its stomach contents, Lucas found "the shinbone of a boy and what appeared to be part of a human rib". Since the animal's gut contained incriminating evidence and no subsequent attacks occurred, it was widely assumed that this individual was the shark responsible for the recent spate of attacks. No one seemed to be bothered that the three most recent attacks occurred 2.5 miles (4 kilometres) up tiny Matawan Creek, a very unusual habitat for a White Shark.
Nearly 60 years later, artist-author Richard Ellis uncovered some intriguing evidence that made him seriously question many long-standing assumptions about the identity of so-called 'New Jersey Man-Eater'. In his 1976 Book of Sharks, Ellis points out:

• the first two attacks took place in the ocean, 70 and 25 miles (113 and 40 kilometres), respectively, from Matawan Creek; to assume that these distant attacks were perpetrated by the same shark that attacked three swimmers in Matawan Creek is stretching the 'rogue shark' theory beyond reasonable limits
• the White Shark is relatively rare in New Jersey waters and is not known to enter brackish or fresh water; conversely, the Bull Shark (Carcharhinus leucas) is more abundant in New Jersey waters than the White Shark and is well known to haunt river mouths and to penetrate far up freshwater rivers
• two days after the Matawan attacks, the New York Times reported that "the man-eating shark that killed [two swimmers] . . . was trapped in the upper reaches of Matawan Creek", a most unusual habitat for a White Shark but quite common for the Bull Shark
• the same edition of the New York Times went on to say that, "Matawan Creek . . . was alive with sharks yesterday, according to the score of men who went out to hunt them with rifles, shotguns, boat hooks, harpoons, pikes and dynamite", implying that more than one of them may have been involved in the attacks there
• three days after the Matawan attacks, the New York Times reported that, "a giant shark plunged through the chicken wire net that penned it in at Matawan Creek and escaped into the ocean last night", demonstrating that at least one shark swam between the Creek and the Atlantic Ocean
• Six days after the attacks, a 7-foot, 230-pound (2.1-metre, 105-kilogram) shark was caught in Matawan Creek; Ellis suggests that this is a reasonable length-weight ratio for a carcharhinid shark, such as the Bull Shark, taking this as evidence that such a shark occurred in the Creek

Bull Shark (Carcharhinus leucas) — this species is notorious for entering fresh water and attacking people there,
a reputation that makes it an obvious suspect in the Matawan Creek attacks.

In truth, 230 pounds is about 35% too heavy for a 7-foot carcharhinid and about 15% too heavy for a 7-foot White Shark. Thus, the length-weight ratio given is more consistent with that of a White Shark — but fishermen are notorious for overestimating the weight of their catches and none of the foregoing proves that this shark, captured in Matawan Creek nearly a week after the most recent attack there, was responsible for any attack on a swimmer either in the Creek or along the New Jersey seashore. Another possibility is that a Tiger Shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) may have been involved in one or more of the attacks, perhaps even in Matawan Creek. This carcharhinid species is well known to be dangerous, to enter river mouths during summer months in North Carolina and other coastal states farther south along the east coast of North America, and to travel northward along the Atlantic seaboard during summer months, regularly riding the Gulf Stream to New Jersey and even as far north as Nova Scotia, Canada.

Tiger Shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) — could this species be the New Jersey Maneater? It seems possible but unlikely.

So what are we to make of all this? Only that large sharks along the New Jersey coast - and even in such unexpected places as Matawan Creek — are not that unusual. The capture of an 8.5-foot White Shark in Raritan Bay two days after the spate of attacks nearby may merely be a coincidence. Although its stomach contents appeared to contain human remains, these could easily have been scavenged from the body of a drowning victim. Even during the early part of the 20th Century, dozens of drownings occurred along the New Jersey shore each year. An 8.5-foot White Shark is about 4 years old and, at that life history stage in the western North Atlantic, feeds primarily on bottom-dwelling fishes such as searobins, hakes, and skates. It seems unlikely that it was the shark responsible for all five attacks in New Jersey during July 1916. Analysis of the wounds on the victims suggest that at least three, different-sized sharks were responsible for these attacks. Based on the available data, the White Shark shows little or no inclination to enter brackish or fresh water (although a close relative of the White Shark, the Porbeagle [Lamna nasus], has recently been reported in brackish water in Argentina). So it seems unlikely that a White Shark was responsible for any of the attacks in Matawan Creek. In short: the case against the 8.5-foot White Shark captured in Raritan Bay as the sole perpetrator of the July 1916 attacks in New Jersey is entirely coincidental and, ultimately, unconvincing.
In the final analysis, it seems highly unlikely that a single shark perpetrated all the attacks blamed on the New Jersey Man-Eater. Whether the attacking sharks included a Bull, Tiger or White Shark cannot be concluded at this time, and may well remain forever open to speculation and debate. But what seems most remarkable about the evidence turned up while investigating the New Jersey Man-Eater is this: while large sharks — including species known to be dangerous — regularly occur along the New Jersey shore and in some of its tidal creeks, attacks against humans are surprisingly rare. After all, if these sharks really were inclined to attack people, incidents like that of the New Jersey Man-Eater would be commonplace and unremarkable. The notoriety — indeed, celebrity — of such incidents is due largely to their rarity.




http://www.elasmo-research.org/educa...j_maneater.htm

[jonthepain]

i'm staying on shore

[mick2360]

This is one of those nightmare scenarios that we all think about when we are waist deep in the deep of night. Not enough to make me stop fishing but I wouldn't drag caught fish around with me (I've heard of sharks taking them off of tethers attached to belts....yikes) or stand in the middle of a blue fish swarm.

[buckethead]

This guy knew what he was doing and it still took his leg.

[seamonkey]

Wow, awesome catch!



Seven-foot shark captured off Ocean City beach

August 16, 2012|By Sam Wood, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

• [IMG]http://media.philly.com/images/600*450/ssh.jpg[/IMG]

"Shark Tony" stands next to his catch on the 58th Street beach in Ocean City,… (Mark Miedama/ Special to…)


A South Jersey man on Wednesday pulled a seven-foot thresher shark from the waters just off the shore of Ocean City.
Just in time for Shark Week.

The man, known as "Shark Tony," landed the 7-foot long beast after hooking it from a kayak and backpaddling to the beach near the 59th Street Pier.

Mark Miedama, who worked as a member of the Ocean City beach patrol this summer, was sitting on the sand with friends about 7:30 p.m. waiting for Shark Tony to return to shore. Miedama noticed him struggling with a big catch.

"It was pretty frisky," Miedama said.It took three men to bring the beast out of the water, Miedama said.


"It didn't want to be beached, for sure." Miedama said. "I helped him pull it up."

Nearly every night at dusk, Shark Tony paddles out into the ocean on his kayak with a bucket of chum, Miedama said.
Usually, Shark Tony's catch is limited to small sand sharks.
Not Wednesday.

"That's the biggest he's pulled up," Miedama said. "It was pretty intimidating."
Distinguished by a long tail fin used to stun prey, thresher sharks are solitary creatures and known to leap out of the water. Threshers are not considered dangerous to man and attacks are exceptionally rare.
Bill Kazmarck, a lifeguard who watches over the 58th Street beach and Miedama's friend, said it's common knowledge that sharks swim off the shore.

"It's their home, too," Kazmarck said. "People ask all the time if there are sharks out there. I'm honest with them. Of course there are. But if they wanted to attack, they'd attack every day
"They don't."

The waters remain safe, said Lt. Brian Booth of the beach patrol. The beach on Thursday remained crowded with vacationers and sunworshippers taking in the last days of summer.

"There were people in the water all day today because it was gorgeous," said Booth. "There's absolutely no cause for concern. There's fish all through the ocean and sharks are part of it. We went in today, so I'm not worried about it."
Kazmarck isn't rattled by the prospect of a shark encounter.

You don't give 'em much thought," he said. "Otherwise, you'd scare yourself right out of the water."
Miedama concurred.
After Shark Tony released it back into the ocean, there was only one thing left to do.
"We went swimming," Miedama said.


http://articles.philly.com/2012-08-1...rks-shark-week

[jigfreak]

nice

[baitstealer]

Look at the teeth on that thing!

[fishinmission78]

Nice shark but thats a sand tiger. Protected species.

[surfstix1963]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iar44...yer_detailpage
Maybe some tuna next break out the big rods.

[DarkSkies]

That's some great footage, Surfstix...thanks for posting....

[Monty]

One of the most awesome fishing videos I have ever seen.

[surfstix1963]

I've heard rumors they have been in close in NY also,the bait supply must be getting short offshore or the gulf stream is pushing in real close but on the other hand the ocean is very warm this year.

[DarkSkies]

Surf, guys have been getting them, on and off, right from the surf in the Breezy and FI areas.

I agree, this is definitely an unusual year.

[bababooey]

Sharks are all over going after the spot and kingies as you said. Hoo rah! Catch em up!

[paco33]

That is an awesome video. Inspired us to ge out sharking last night in nomoco. 1 brown and 3 dogfish. Lost the brown in the wash. Thanks for posting surfstix.

[clamchucker]

Very nice work. Tom Lynch is a regular at Island Beach. There have been sharks and dolphins feeding on large bunker all week.

[jigfreak]

Tommys a good dude. The video went viral, it now has over 142000 views. Was on the news too. wtg Tom.