Possibilty of San Francisco Bay Shark Attack

[h2oshots]

At a cove near SFO known as North Access, back in the 80's during low tide, a guy stepped on a 4'-5' leopard shark while sailing, the shark in turn started chasing him in the thigh deep muck. Some others caught it on film and the series of shots was hanging on the walls of a couple board shops for a while... DY87 had an eye to eye encouter with a great white directly under the GG Bridge in the 1990's....

With all the seals and seal lions hanging out at Pier 39, I'm surpised the
big fish have not established residency, but the reality is they don't seem to like murky water and fighting currents.

Fishermen routinely catch 4'-6' leopards all over the South Bay, but unless you step on one, chances of getting bit are greater on shore from an over protective dog chained to the owners vehicle than on the water...

[diannesf]

Eric,

I can't figure out what's funnier....that you remember that I saw that shark and was so freaked out that he 'rolled over and looked at me!!', which, for anyone wondering if you are just telling tall tales, well, believe me, it is really, really true....OR, that I would happen to be looking at the iwindsurf forums at 8:00 at night on a rainy Sunday and would see your post. Wow. Seriously, I still think about it, especially when I'm stalled under the gate. Especially if I FALL under the gate. Every single time!! But he (or she) wasn't that big...probably not that much bigger than me. OK, bigger than me, but I'm not that big. So it just makes for a good story...not anything life-threatening, although extremely startling and memorable. It does give meaning to the phrase, "Are you looking at ME???", that is more personal than the great movie starring DeNiro.

I think the point really is, that, of course there are sharks, and whales, and porpoises, and sturgeon, and jellyfish, and all sorts of creatures down there...it's their home! We have to share. The likelihood of an actual shark attack in the Bay has to be extremely low, so low that we shouldn't worry about it at all. So many other things to worry about....and perhaps many things that we can actually do something about....right??

Peace,

DianneSF, aka, DY87 from a long time ago!

[dabull1]

[theq]

[mac]

I'd heard of a fatal attack in San Francisco Bay, but it doesn't show up on this data base or a simple search. http://by.optimost.com/go/289-98/a00d01m07g252dh0b671ke252gh09367k664e/?oplink=http%3A//www.sharkattackfile.net/spreadsheets/GSAF5.xls -

The odds are much higher of drowning.

[naylor]

[madspaniard]

[h2oshots]

[SWE106]

No need to worry anymore, the economic crisis has taken care of the nr of shark attacks:

AP
updated 11:53 a.m. PT, Thurs., Feb. 19, 2009
Shark attacks drop; expert cites ailing economy
Fewer beach trips likely a factor, he says; so are declining shark numbers

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Shark attacks dipped to the lowest level in five years in 2008, a change that might have happened because the ailing economy kept cash-strapped vacationers away from beaches, a leading shark expert said Thursday.

There were 59 shark attacks around the world last year, compared to 71 in 2007, said George Burgess, an ichthyologist and director of the International Shark Attack File at the University of Florida's Museum of Natural History.

"I can't help but think that contributing to the reduction may have been the reticence of some people to take holidays and go to the beach for economic reasons," Burgess said in a news release.
Burgess said he expects the economy to help cause another decline in attacks in 2009, but over the long term, he expects a gradual increase from one decade to the next.

While the economy is a possible explanation, shark populations also have declined due to commercial fishing. In some areas, the number of sharks is down to 10 percent of the original populations.

"We've got a lot less sharks than in the past," Burgess said.

There were four fatal attacks in 2008, which is about average, Burgess said. Only one death was reported in 2007, a two-decade low. Two of the deaths were in Mexico, one was in Australia and one was in the United States.

The number of shark attacks in the United States dropped from 50 in 2007 to 41 last year, Burgess said. Of those, 32 were in Florida, the same as the previous year, followed by North Carolina and South Carolina with three each; Hawaii with two and California with one. Surfers accounted for 57 percent of the attacks, followed by 36 percent for swimmers and waders and 8 percent for divers, Burgess said.

Volusia County, Fla., continued its dubious distinction of the world's shark bite capital with 22 attacks, its highest yearly total since 2001. Most of them were in the surf haven of New Smyrna Beach on the central Atlantic coast.

SOURCE: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29283441/

[johnl]

H2oShots,

They have a video contest every basketball game for the best dressed CAL dog. You might want to enter yours. I get 15% of whatever you win