IOver the past two months, several people have been attacked by sharks in Florida, Hawaii and Texas. And while some of these occurrences may not be uncommon, they still create an element of fear for those who want to go to the beach during the hottest months of the year.
In early June, two separate shark attacks left three people injured along Florida’s Gulf Coast, prompting authorities to warn citizens about the danger of sharks in the water and urge them to act with caution when swimming in the ocean. . A few weeks ago, there was another shark attack in Hawaii, which killed a lifeguard surfing off the island of Oahu. And during the Fourth of July festivities, at least four people have been bitten by sharks in Texas and Florida.
Instances of shark attacks, trends and interactive maps for the curious are recorded in the International Shark Attack File (ISAF) at the Florida Museum of Natural History – a comprehensive database of all known shark attacks beginning in 1958.
So what do you do if you encounter a shark? An expert shares with TIME what to do if you spot a shark and how to best prepare to avoid injury.
See more information: Are shark attacks increasing? Here’s what the data says
Baited fish warn to evacuate
According to Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Shark Research Program and ISAF, people can often be in close proximity to sharks, although swimmers often don’t realize it, as sharks swim within 100 to 200 meters of water. coast. Sharks typically try to avoid people and keep to themselves, according to Naylor.
But when they come close to shore — typically looking for food in fish bait — there are multiple ways people can “find” a shark in the water, and each of these cases requires different approaches. If people see baited fish jumping out of the water, that’s a good indication that a shark is nearby and they should evacuate, Naylor says, especially if the waters aren’t clear.
“If the water is very turbid and [the sharks are] fishing, and they’re looking for bait fish, and they’re walking through a swamp of people, so obviously they’re more likely to make a mistake,” Naylor tells TIME.
If a shark attacks, fight back
It is important to pay attention to the shark’s behavior and see if its movements are erratic, if it is moving back and forth, circling or just has a swimmer in the center of its attention.
If the shark manages to attack you, Naylor says hitting the shark’s nose too hard usually scares the animal.
“They have a lot of receptors on their snout, so if they’re really alarmed, it changes direction and disappears,” continues Naylor. “That happens nine times out of ten.”
If that doesn’t work, and a shark tries to bite a swimmer — or even has a limb in its mouth — Naylor says the best course of action is to poke the shark hard in the eyes. Then, you must reverse out of the water, maintaining visual contact with the shark and being careful never to leave your back facing the animal until it is back on the beach.
Different bodies of water, different shark threats
In terms of prevention and preparedness, Naylor says this often depends on the waters you are in and therefore the sharks that swim in those waters.
“People say ‘Don’t pay attention to your shiny jewelry.’ Well, of course it helps if you’re worried about Blacktip sharks, because they feed on schooling fish,” Naylor said. “But if you’re in Australia, whether you’re wearing jewelry or not, it makes a blind difference to a great white shark because they feed on seals.”
According to Naylor, this year’s attacks in Florida specifically are not uncommon, with thousands of sharks and millions of summer tourists. Still, in 2023, the ISAF confirmed just 69 unprovoked shark bites on humans and 22 provoked shark bites, a slight increase from the most recent five-year average of 63 annual incidents, but a number they still classify as “extremely low” as expected fluctuation.
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This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
