How to Reduce Your Risk of Shark Attack at the Beach

Reduce Your Risk of Shark Attack at the Beach

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This article is a concise, easy-to-follow tutorial on how to reduce your risk of being a shark attack victim while at the beach, whether you're surfing, swimming, boogie boarding or kayaking.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Step1

TALK TO THE LIFEGUARD: If there is a lifeguard at the beach, don't be afraid to start a conversation with him or her. They'll know whether any sharks have been sighted recently, and they'll also know about any conditions that exist that may increase the risk of shark encounters. For example, I recently spoke with the lifeguard at Zuma Beach, in Malibu, and in the course of the conversation, he told me that there have been numerous whales and sea lions buried about 100 yards up the beach from my location. This is not public knowledge, and buried marine mammals are a known attractant to white sharks.

Step2

DO A BRIEF, INTENSE VISUAL INSPECTION OF THE AREA: The following things mean an increase in the likelihood of shark activity: Fishing boats close to the beach; large amounts of baitfish near shore; congregated, excited diving birds, such as seagulls, swarming a given area of ocean nearby; dead or injured marine mammals on or near the beach. NOTE: The presence of dolphins does not necessarily indicate an absence of sharks nearby.

Step3

USE THE FOLLOWING RULES WHEN ENTERING THE WATER: Do not wear shiny jewellery or other flashing trinkets; do not enter the water with an open, bleeding wound; swim with smooth, clean movements and avoid heavy splashing, jerking or other awkward movements; do not urinate in the water if in white shark territory (white sharks are thought to follow the scent of mammalian urine to hunt; avoid heavily-contrasted bathing attire, as sharks see, and may be attracted to, contrast particularly well; don't linger in deep shore channels, such as those caused by riptides, as these are often used by sharks to hunt for fish near shore.

Tips & Warnings

Shark attacks are rare, but attacks, when they do happen, are not necessarily "accidents" as they are sometimes called by conservationists. While most sharks are harmless to humans, about a dozen species can, and sometimes do, deliberately attack a person, and about a handful of species are particularly opportunistic and capable of severely injuring or killing a person. For more on this subject, please visit: http:sharkconspiracies.net