News
Two Shark Attacks On California Coast Over Fourth Of July Weekend
Two shark bites were reported on the California Coast over the Fourth of July weekend.
On Saturday, two men surfing near the Oceano Dunes encountered a shark who bit a chunk out of one of their boards. They were not injured.
Further down the coast, in Manhattan Beach, a man was attacked by a great white shark while swimming near the pier. Witnesses say the shark may have been provoked.
It had been hooked by a fisherman on a nearby pier and was thrashing in the water for more than 30 minutes before biting Steven Robles. He is out of the hospital and recovering.
Shark experts say while these incidents may be unnerving, there is no cause for alarm. Shark bites and attacks are still rare.
According to research, there were 39 reported shark attacks in California from 2001 to 2013.
The last fatal shark attack in California happened in 2012 at Surf Beach. Two year’s earlier a UCSB student was killed by a shark in the same area.
Dr. Chris Lowe is a Professor of Marine Biology and Director of the Shark Lab at Cal State Long Beach.
“Once you get north of Santa Barbara, once you get around point conception, we see typically see sub-adult and adult sharks coming in close to the shoreline. In some cases, there is greater a likelihood of shark interaction in places that are less populated by people,” he said.
Lowe says while great white attacks have increased at a steady rate since the 1990’s, the rate is still lower when compared to the number of people using the ocean.
“We are putting a lot more people in the ocean than we did ten, twenty, thirty years ago. Even though the number of sharks going up, the rate of shark attacks isn’t mirroring that rate,” Lowe said.
In fact, most marine mammals are making a comeback because of ocean conservation efforts. Lowe said, “One of the things people need to realize is that the big animals are coming back. The seals, sea lions, dolphins, and the sharks.”
The bottom line is people need to get used to sharing the ocean with them.
“It’s exciting to see these animals come back. We’ve spent a lot of time and a lot of money to bring these populations back. What it comes down to is we have to learn how to share the ocean with them. Obviously we don’t want to go back to where we were, when we had a predator-less ocean,” Lowe said.
The Director of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center in Santa Barbara agrees.
Amanda Allen said, “Sharks are definitely important animals in our ecosystem. We want those top predators to be there. We want a healthy ocean ecosystem and healthy oceans have sharks in them.”
Source: www.keyt.com
Blogs
Discover Curaçao with the Ultimate Dive Vacation Guide – 2024 DEMA Special Edition
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News
Santa Divers take the Plunge for Charity
Ho Ho Ho! Vobster Quay’s recording-breaking charity Santa diving event returns on Sunday 15th December 2024 for another round of festive fundraising frivolities. Run in aid of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and Help For Heroes, this ever-popular annual fundraising event aims to raise sack-loads of cash for these two very deserving charities.
Divers of all levels are invited to grab their Santa outfits – and as much festive cheer as they can muster – and head down to Vobster Quay near Mells, Somerset for a mass sponsored Santa dive in aid of charity. In previous years, the event has attracted divers from the far corners of the UK to join in the festive merriment for a final festive dive before the Christmas and New Year break. Back in 2015, the event smashed the world record for the most Santa divers with 188 divers taking to the waters donning their festive finery – a record that remains unbeaten to this day!
Vobster Santas isn’t just about setting records – it’s also about raising some serious cash for charity. Vobster Quay encourages all divers to get into the spirit of the season to raise much-needed funds for two very deserving charities – the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and Help For Heroes.
Through individual sponsorship and online donations, divers can invite their friends, family and work colleagues to sponsor them to plunge into the balmy waters of Vobster Quay dressed in full festive finery. Since the very first Santa dive in 2007, the event has raised over £52,000 for charity. “It’s been over 17 years since the very first charity Santa dive took place at Vobster Quay and every year the event just keeps getting bigger and better” enthused Vobster Quay owner, Amy Stanton.
“Vobster Santas is a great way for divers to say a massive thank you to the both the RNLI and Help For Heroes – two very deserving charities close to our hearts. We’re immensely proud of all that Vobster Santas has achieved and hope that even more divers will join this year’s event on Sunday 15th December. I’m confident that we can make Vobster Santas 2024 the biggest yet!”.
Divers wishing to participate can get involved by simply registering their attendance at
www.vobster.com/event-vobstersantas.php.
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