GWS Warning

First of all thanks for the warning, I am not actually denying the fact that there are GWS, its actually a factor when I was trying to get a kayak, "What if" thing, but after experiencing the mere fact of getting attack by a shark is almost the same chance getting hit by a car.. that made me do it, but it never escape my mind the when we go out there we are just ocean spacer and definitely will get visit by the landlord

The odd of getting attack by a GWS is much much less than getting hit by a car!  Here are some statistis and facts about the GWS:

About six people are killed by sharks every year. Some 50,000 people die of snake bites. Elephants kill 500 people a year. So why are great whites so feared?
At around 20 feet in length, great whites are the largest predatory fish. They're actually grey on top with a white underbelly. This coloring pattern helps them hunt because it makes them difficult to spot from above and below -- the white belly blends in with the sky and the dark back blends in with the rocks below.

The distinctive coloring also distorts shark attack data and fuels the great white myth.

"They're the most often documented shark attacks, but not necessarily the most common," says George Burgess, curator of the International Shark Attack File. "Great whites are easily identifiable and any attack by one is sure to be documented. Attacks by other sharks are often not recorded because the species was not identified."

The oversized creature in the movie stuck to a steady diet of beachgoers, but in real life, sharks don't eat people.

"This whole idea that they are a man-eater is very wrong," Klimley told LiveScience. "They spit out humans. Humans aren't nutritious enough to be worth the effort."

True, some people get bitten, but it is rare that anyone is consumed by a great white!

Do you feel better now? 

I have to admit, I fish sometimes when GWS are sighted in the area, but I am more careful. I try to make less noise paddling, don't hang fish in the water, try to keep blood in the water to a minium, watch the sea lions and seals to see if they are leaving the area, etc. On a five day trip to Guadalupe Is. in Mexico I saw an 18 foot GWS take a hooked 25 lb. yellowtail on the surface like a large-mouth bass hitting a surface lure. It is not something I would like to experience, if possible.

The odd of getting attack by a GWS is much much less than getting hit by a car!  Here are some statistis and facts about the GWS:

About six people are killed by sharks every year. Some 50,000 people die of snake bites. Elephants kill 500

I stand to be corrected Thanks Sonny!

The elphant statistic is amazing, had no idea. Interesting stuff.

I hear ya Darius, im facinated by them myself. I love to read about them. Interesting creatures.

its their home, they are there, and they do eat seals.

seals = shark chocolate

I was hangin out in the garage at capitola boat and bait all day and we all agree kurtis has a white shark painted on his glasses he said one brushed up against his whaler

Dude, if I even see one elephant out there I'm gone!!

Yup, me too.

Those stats are good, but remember:  we're in the water many many times more often than your average pedestrian, and there are way way less of us than peasants in elephant country...  It's like this, my chances of getting attacked by a GWS are 1,000,000 times more likely than being attacked by an elephant!   

When people get all Ubu-Dinky-Dao about a GWS just tell them to stay out of the ocean - it's getting too damn crowded out there anyway!   

I was hangin out in the garage at capitola boat and bait all day and we all agree kurtis has a white shark painted on his glasses he said one brushed up against his whaler

I was just watching tonights news and there reorting on this.

Did he land a bunch of stripers while he was out there?

I check the sharkresearchcommittee website daily for shark encounter info on the pacific coast. Work on the marin county coast and have had to personally shut down stinson beach when whitey shows up. The NPS takes no chances. We've had 2 attacks on our beach. Marin county coastline(especially tomales point and it's vicinty)is ground zero for whitey biting people. The vicinity of tomales point has had more whitey attacks than any other single  location on planet earth. Biologists for Point Reyes National Seashore stated last winter they had cataloged 40-50 individual whiteys using the area.

Have tried to keep up on the research and the experts say a group of whitey's migrates to the area around the Guadalupe Islands in Mex., while another group heads for the deep sea off the haiwaiian islands. There have been  a butt load of sightings/encounters off So Cal in the last sixty days. I think it is the northern migration of the Guadalupe Island group. The sightings and encounters seem to be high this year. I think we are overdue for someone to get chomped up here. Would expect it will happen this year.

Eric made a great point in that we(divers/kayakers)are way outside the norm based on statistics. Don't let those skewed stats lull you complacency.  Complacency in our world will lay you low. Only the dead can afford oblivion. Stay aware, stay informed. Don't dive in likely whitey spots during august, sept. or early Oct. If you don't believe me, ask Rodney Orr, one of two known men on earth to have survived TWO GWS attacks on the Nor Cal coast.


SRJ

Just gotta accept it. It's their ocean and they are the apex predator. 

How are they more apex than Humans.....the only reason they still exist is cause we made it illegal to kill em....at least here. 

I seem to recall that they typically show up around the Farallones around Sept/Oct...  snacking along the way...

Usually start hearing about them about mid August...I wouldn't doubt if they're here already.  Already heard a story of one picking a seal off the washrock in steamer lane.

The odd of getting attack by a GWS is much much less than getting hit by a car! 

What are the odds of getting in an accident and walking away unscathed vs getting slashed up with hundreds of razor sharp teeth....causing irreparable damage to body and life by ripping flesh, nerves and cartilage cause a shark was just checking you out?







I know we're all "enlightened" to the plight and misunderstanding of sharks because of the discovery channel programming but I'm still a caveman.  They command alot of attention and interest based strictly on their size and ability to acrobatically kill sh*t but that doesn't mean I want them increasing their presence here. I guess you can put me in the Anti-PC Shark Hippie camp cause if they all suddenly disappeared I probably wouldn't miss them.



And....knowing that they're present hasn't, and likely will not in the future, prevent me from diving or surfing but I don't try to downplay them by thinking I'm more likely to be struck by lightning while driving a car and getting stung by a bee at the same time. 

Fish story time.
 A fellow NCKA member and I were paddling early sunday morning (7/25) from MBK over to the monterey beach hotel to try for some buts. There were 3 yaks including mine along for the trip and one of us was paddling around 20 yards or so if front of the other two. I was one of the back two. Midway between my position and the guy in front a fin popped up. The other yakker with me saw it immediately as it was closer to his boat. The fin came up for maybe 5 seconds and went back down for about 3 and came up again for maybe 5 seconds. It was clearly gray and triangular shaped maybe 10" high and 6 or 8" long though this is a rough estimate. No tail fin and after that it disappeared. Although I can't say what kind of shark it was, I sure felt like a 13' swimbait.   

The odd of getting attack by a GWS is much much less than getting hit by a car!

Don't your odds of getting hit by a car/truck increase dramatically if you're running around on the freeway every weekend?

I was planning on hitting PSL on Saturday - I'll let you know if I see or hear anything else about it. 

I fished Avila / PSL 4 times last week - on the 21st and 22nd there were seals , pelicans and everything else that lives in that water chasing bait fish - went back on the 24th and you couldn't find any action anywhere in the harbor.  I doubt the two are connected but who knows.

If anybody else cares to join me on Saturday send me a PM

JK