It is always very interesting that although there are shark attacks year round, as soon as summer comes around that is when we see all of the news stories covering shark attacks. As if these attacks do not happen all of the time. Maybe it is the association between tourism and the beaches, but this is strange to me.
It seems like of all times, the time you would not want to advertise that sharks are attacking people would be in prime tourism months such as the summer. Interestingly enough "shark week" is also a summer event. Personally being from Florida I used to go home every summer and it always seemed like I was at the beach when shark week aired which sometimes made me more weary about going into the water even though this is what I grew up around. I know that shark attacks do increase over the summer because there is usually more going on around the beaches to draw them closer in at this time, but this does not seem like something you would want to advertise.
The reason I bring this up is because shark attack news is very popular, and earlier today I saw a news report about a 16 year old boy who got his arm ripped of by a shark while he was only in knee deep water. To some this is shocking because "sharks aren't supposed to come in that close", but the reality is that they do. When I was younger I had a surfing incident where a shark knocked me off of my board and I wound up with a tooth in my knee. I was only in about waist deep water when this happened.
I think that it is also important to recognize that not all of the news that is out there around sharks is negative, such as the video that just got released within the last week or so of "Big Blue".
You made a really good point; I never thought about news of shark attacks and when they occur. Although I agree that these news reports don't help tourism, it's not the tourism industry that posts them. The media will always have its reasons to focus on certain subjects more than others, whether it be for hits or political purposes.
ReplyDeleteThe video you posted was not only incredible (I cannot believe that diver was OUT of the cage), but a great example of both sides of the media! Like you say, not all news of sharks are bad, and yet you would be hard pressed to find a video like the one you posted on CNN.
Also, sorry to hear about your accident - glad that you walked away from that! :) I have to ask though... did you keep the tooth?
Yes! I do still have it! I cleaned it up, and hung it on a string and it hangs in my room!
DeleteThat is a crazy story! I am glad you made it out ok!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! There's quite a bit of research going on about the increase in shark encounters being closer to shore. If I remember correctly, it had to do with the warmer waters possibly being breeding grounds. Warmer water just unfortunately collides with busy beaches. Fantastic video too!
ReplyDeleteSorry about your encounter, but I'm glad you made it!
Wow! you got lucky and you must have tough knee. What part of Florida was this? I've swam in Daytona Beach quite a bit.
ReplyDeleteI noticed that there were a lot of posts about Sharks lately!! I literally was in Galveston swimming not that long ago and then saw some post about a giant shark near that area. Super scary!
ReplyDeleteThat's crazy that happened to you - glad you're ok!