(CNN) — Shark attacks were up last year, according to the University of Florida, but before you put that New Smyrna Beach timeshare on the market, please realize the numbers, statistically, are kind of meaningless.

Then why on Earth is CNN writing about this, you ask? Because research shows you like sharks and are prone to consume stories about their more violent sides.

What is less clear is why. Despite the popularity of shark attack stories, the actual odds of a hammerhead latching on to your midsection during a morning swim are minuscule, especially when you consider that your toilet and the neighbor’s dog pose far more risk to you.

You should also consider that if sharks had fancy news websites like CNN.com, their pages would likely be rife with (“Jaws”-dropping?) headlines about the estimated 30 million to 70 million of them that we kill every year.

To be sure, sharks killed seven of us worldwide last year, according to Monday’s UF report.

“Shark attack as a phenomenon is extremely uncommon, considering the millions of hours humans spend in the water each year,” George Burgess, director of the Florida Program of Shark Research at the state’s Museum of Natural History, said in a news release.

Let’s have a look at the numbers, and we’ll get back to the dangers of that toilet.

There were 80 unprovoked attacks last year worldwide. An unprovoked attack is one in which the shark strikes first, as opposed to a provoked attack that often comes when a fisherman is trying to land one of the beasts with a hook or net.

Eighty marked a slight uptick from 2011. However, in the United States, there were 53 attacks, the most since 2000. Also concerning to researchers is that for consecutive years there have been multiple attacks in western Australia (five in 2012) and off Reunion Island (three in 2012), located about 400 miles east of Madagascar.

Another startling statistic is that of the four attacks in South Africa last year, three were fatal. That’s a 75% fatality rate, as opposed to a 22% rate worldwide and a 2% rate in the U.S., where most shark attacks occur.

It’s not that South African shark varieties are any fiercer; the numbers are more likely a product of “superior safety and medical capabilities in the U.S.,” Burgess said.

Here is a rundown of the U.S. attacks:

–Florida led the way at 26, with Brevard and Volusia counties tallying eight and seven, respectively;

–Then came Hawaii with 10;

–California and South Carolina were next with five each;

–North Carolina registered two;

–And Georgia, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon and Puerto Rico each had one.

“The numbers from an international standpoint were on target for the last couple of years because, in theory, each year we should have more attacks than the previous year owing to the rise of human population from year to year,” Burgess said.

Most of those attacked, 60%, were surfers, while swimmers and divers composed another 30% of the incidents.

That doesn’t mean you need to hang up your longboard or regulator.

“Shark attacks are rare and it doesn’t matter whether you call them attacks or bites or bumps — your chances of having any of them are slim,” Burgess said.

How slim? The Florida Museum of Natural History has a host of phenomena that are more likely than a shark attack, and National Geographic in 2011 put together a list of things that are more likely to injure you. Among them:

–Since 1948, those in any U.S. state with alligators had a better chance of being killed by one of the reptiles, which had killed 18 people as of 2005, than they did of suffering a fatal shark attack. Conversely, those folks still had a slightly better chance of a nonfatal shark attack.

–Between 1985 and 2010, Floridians were almost 21 times as likely to be killed by a tornado (125 deaths) as by a shark (six). Between 1990 and 2009, the state also saw 2,272 bicycle deaths, compared to four from sharks.

–In the coastal U.S., lightning killed almost 76 times as many people (1,970) as did sharks (26) between 1959 and 2010.

–From 2001 to 2010, dogs killed more than 26 times the number of people (263) than did sharks (10) in the U.S.

–Between 1984 and 1987, New York City had almost 1,600 incidents annually of humans biting other humans. That’s not really germane to this story so much as it is plain odd.

–Sand-hole collapses aren’t generally considered among the greatest threats in the U.S., as they killed only 16 people between 1990 and 2006 — but that’s still five more people than sharks killed.

–In 1996, toilets injured 43,000 Americans, buckets and pails hurt almost 11,000 and room fresheners were responsible for 2,600 injuries in the nation. Sharks injured 13 people that same year. (There are a variety of toilet-related injuries: Seats can fall, smashing boys’ genitalia mid-micturition; cracks in toilet seats can pinch a user’s buttocks; and, as the ladies have explained time and time again, gentlemen, leaving the toilet seat up can cause folks to crash into the toilet bowl, damaging their buttocks and/or tailbones.)

While it can’t always be said that you have a better chance of winning the lottery than being the victim of a shark attack — it depends on which type of lottery and how many people are playing — it seems certain you’re better served watching out for that commode than for fins on the water.

Happy surfing.

A private detective employed to follow me about my daily chores – in and out of Jumbo, Agora bookshop, Espace Fraicheur, Death Star Jean Hinglo – ,or indeed any lowly onlooker in my vicinity – the woman with the plastic bag of Granny Smith pommes, or the suspicious side-street dweller with a metal detector – might just have caught me at it this week; wanting to go home. Sometimes the island on which we are tangibly marooned feels about the size of a Heinz baked bean, and very often the people on it, having been swimming around their tropical fish bowl for a small eternity, appear to be made out of Heinz baked beans. I only half know what I mean by this.

The climax of this particularly violent bout of Heimweh arrives on a Sunday. Sunday is the witching hour of the week in Reunion; just as the most popular time of the day (or night rather) for ill or very elderly  humans to die is 3am, the body being, mid-sleep, at its weakest and most vulnerable, Sunday is the day that you’re most likely to snuff it in Reunion. Snuff it from the metaphorical gonorrhea of boredome, that is. The itchy, clammy boil of too much free time which comes as unshakeable smallprint with a desert island.

Picture the desert island of Looney Tunes, or of Taz the Tazmanian devil. It’s a perfectly yellow, perfectly three-sixty, sand nork sticking out of perfectly blue, matt waters infested with the odd two-dimensional shark fin. In the middle of the island there is one solitary palm-tree under which, if you’re lucky, you might find a treasure chest. Taz looks like he’s having a good time, doesn’t he? Yes. This is because the episode lasts twenty minutes. The minute the credits begin to roll at the end, Taz breathes off the stitch earned from running around breaking things, and then begnis to wonder what to do next. What the television consumer doesn’t realise is that, while Eastenders begins many hours, a day at school, and Mum’s fish fingers  later, providing entertainment of a vastly closer to home variety, Taz is still stuck on that island. Twiddling his thumbs.

Back to Sunday. I decide to get out of the house to ease both my having-nothing-to-do and my hunger. I walk the streets – a cowboy in a Western, hands on hips, eyes darting from deserted flat-houses street to flat-houses street – remembering that of course, for some reason, noone on the island does anything on a sunday.

The restaurant ‘Quick’ is open; France’s answer to McDonald’s. On this particular occasion, wanting only something light and fully aware of the putridity of their burger selection, I opt for a ranch salad. Ranch salads, as well as all other salads, are sold out, I am told. Eyes roll. Apparently everyone has been coming to fast-food joints for salads recently. I select the Le Long-Bacon Avec Cheese and throw myself down onto a stool to ingest it. A children’s birthday party is unraveling to my right. Mother’s watch on from their fast-food stools as their children play, dressed in high heels, flamenco dresses and with lips for sale in letterbox red. Gangnam Style plays on repeat, exhausted, whilst the children are engaged in a game of limbo. The party organizer – here the gaunt, older kind of fast-food worker with the many stars on her badge which one revers greatly when a tot – is standing lovelessly next to the tape player, looking almost out of breath with the effort of presses the play and stop buttons. As the limbo instrument, she is using a dirty wet mop. A dirty wet mop. Happy Birthday, kids!

I wipe ketchup from my jowls, then leave in a flurry of theatrical misery. I find myself screaming ‘I hate it here! I hate it! I am so bored! What is this dreadful purgatory on which I am stranded!’ before stomping home.

 Thankfully, this is a paddy short lived. And it is a paddy that I know to arrive at the four month mark when staying in a country other than your own. I might name it ‘The Four Month Angries’, and I’ve experienced it just about anywhere I’ve stayed for a certain amount of time.

A self-help group is soon founded, in which fellow boredom sufferers gather to find strategies out of the dirge. We establish a ‘Come Dine With Me’ on Friday nights, begin swimming with vengeance (in a wonderful pool in St Paul, not dissimilar to one at which Tom Cruise loses his son in the film ‘Minority Report’, out-doors, beneath palm trees, and practically on the beach) and are signing up for Arabic and history lessons, upon which we will even be examined! We decide that it is depressingly capitalist of us to be bored on a Sunday just because things ‘aren’t open’. We mourn the error of our ways, label those who speak ill of the island quotidian as ‘Neggy Nellies’ and herald the arrival of ‘Pozzy Pats’. I, for example, sent a text this week saying ‘What a lovely day it is, and indeed what a wonderful time I’m having at school today with the children!’ Whilst this sentiment of course might have exploded a lie-detector, rather than just bringing it to the beep, I was praised as a born-again Pozzy Pat. A compliment that lead me to purr like a kitten in lazy, warm victory.

Enough of this natter, back to the glorious frivoloties that took place during England’s winter. As I remember, I have just arrived back from Madagascar and am eagerly awaiting the arrival of The Parents Dalton the very next day.

____________________________________________

Taga Da, Taga Da, Voilà Les Daltons! (Y a plus personne…)

I watch from the observation platform as the Air France Boeing 737 – 300 sinks comfortably back into the runway. It arrives entirely out of nowhere – from out of the metal vein running down between the two huge bay windows – and is at least seven minutes early. It’s completely silent from here, yet the sudden explosion of speed brakes to be seen on the wings and reverse thrust on the engines, throwing the aircraft’s inner workings to the sight of all onlookers like a Parisian prostitute spontaneously hoisting her petticoats above her head, betray the true humpf with which the beast comes to rest.

Severe pointed nose, jet-black pupils and shark-tipped wings; the aircraft is all front. Yet inside it are hundreds of people now turning on their mobile phones, regardless of whether the plane has ‘come to a full stop’ or not, stuffing sweet wrappers into the seat pocket in front, putting shoes back on, doing belts back up, waking up. Some will be breathing a sigh of relief, ungurding four or five pebble-hard loin knots hard, to be on solid ground whilst others will be regretting that the flight is over, and that now they have to face not just passport control, but maybe also the unknown of a new life they’re not entirely sure about, or the continuation of an old life they had momentarily been escaping on the continent. Having landed on the Roland Garros runway three times now, I can confess to having felt variations on these feelings. But also constipation. Flying always gives me constipation.

Amongst all of those sweet wrappers, smelly feet, signs of the cross – head to belly, shoulder to shoulder – sit Colin and Rosie Dalton; Mum and Dad. I wonder exactly which shape the lump of human mass sitting in Mother Dalton’s seat has taken, and whether it resembles at all the mass that boarded the aircraft at the beginning. The woman has never been known for her ease with air travel. In fact, this is the first time in a good fifteen years that her feet have left the ground. Dad recalls one of our first family holidays when, upon take off, he looked to his wife whose fingers were burying further and further into the armrest and who appeared ready to spring out of her seat and run up and down the aisles screaming at any  given second. I pray that Air France went heavily on the wine this time, and that the in flight entertainment has been more inspiring than Justin Timblakes ‘Friends With Benefits’ that I myself endured on the way here.

We wait patiently before the double doors of Arrivals, a small radio at our feet tuned into ‘Kreol FM’ in lazy attempt at an authentic island welcome. The flower-necklace shop was unfortunately closed this morning.

They are amongst the first to exit. With their matching, stork-neck-handled, wheely carry-ons and quick march, they could easily be members of the cabin crew. Mother Dalton’s face blinds us all, skin of artic winter and long-haul eyes. Father Dalton is showing an adaquately holiday amount of chest hair. The news that the flight has passed without even the first bulb-sprout of hyperventilation comes as a pleasant shock, like when you step into a hot bath after a snowball fight and you scream slightly. The news that Mother Dalton not only enjoyed the flight but is in fact now ‘addicted to the thrill of take-off’ is even more surprising.

The rental car has fallen through, and Father Dalton begins the first traditional humpf of the holiday. French administration has once again triumphed, the ever victorious pedant, lulling its victim into an early death which would, of course, itself warrant a fair amount of paperwork. The argument is that Father Dalton, whilst having said ‘I look forward to using the car next week’, ‘we will pick up the car next week’, and other positive affirmations of car desire, neglected to use the golden word ‘confirmed’. The rental of the car was therefore never confirmed and has been given to another customer.

Lucy, another long-suffering English assistant, arrives to the rescue equiped with her bottle green Peugot. It is a ‘special edition’ 106 which in this case means that the entire interior is fashioned from Jeans Denim. This is a Quentin Tarantino vehicle, and my how she roars.

The hotel is everything our wildest dreams might ever have imagined. A castle of hanging baskets and balconies on the sea front, drizzled with palm trees and with waiters with cocktails. Holidaying residents hobble around the corridors, step for step, in white dressing gowns, wearing big, dark sunglasses. Whilst this looks like paradise, it also looks uncannily like The Priory; home to many the middle aged celebrity undergoing treatment following life-shattering metal breakdowns. Behind the anonymous shades lie an untold cerebral collapse.

The Daltons arrive at Boucan Canot beach, home of the recent shark deaths

A Bloody Mary and A Sunset

Lucy is treated as quite the homecoming hero, following her Christian ways with the denim Hot Wheels. She enjoys a communal bubble-bath in the jacuzzi in front of Octopussy and then stays for cocktails on the beach for sunset (Father Dalton picking the most potent of sundowners whilst I dare my first Bloody Mary, each beverage arriving made up to the nines, true show-pony affairs straight out of the 80s with pinapple, littles umbrellas etc, and without doubt something that Mrs Doughtfire would be only too willy to imbibe), and then for dinner. We sit on the restaurant’s balcony, facing into the warm sea breeze, and over looking the soft glow from the candle lit tables below. Of course, The Parents Dalton demand that the entire menu is translated, and creative renderings of the French lead to the announcement of ‘Aspergis Pigeon In Basilic’, which Lucy proceeds to throw herself at. Mother Dalton imagines a group of Trafalgar pigeons having problems forming relationships, and decides to instead go for the Ocean Salad.

Bubbles with Octopussy

The following day, Lucy will become so enamored with her role as unpayed hotel guest that she will use the gym, hammam and log sauna, before wondering whether to fill in a suggestions form.

__________________________________

A jump back to the present. The menu for this week’s Come Dine With Me In Reunion has just arrived. A message of excitement spreads like forest fire through the contestants. Webcams are turned on, and each reaction to the first spread of the season (Lucy after her name was to appear first from the hat) is caught on webcam.

“Lucy’s Menu:

Let’s take a trip to Morocco:

Starter

Roasted red peppers stuffed with couscous

Main Course

Spicy Moroccan meatball tagine served with rice

Dessert

Chocolate Nutella crepe cake

& Moroccan spiced oranges”

The camera rolls. I sit smugly before the Moroccan theme, safe in the knowledge that it will never top the ‘Filius Fog’s Around The World In Three Courses’ that I have planned for the third week of the season, and voice concerns about the pairing of the couscous and rice, being two consecutive simple carbohydrates. I don’t neglate to state too that, for me, Nutella is a breakfast spread and should by no means feel at home on the dinner guest’s plate.

We are all overcome with excitement. Rachel even claims to be ‘living for Come Dine’. 

Recently I read an article about Great White Sharks being tracked along the east coast of America, this is nothing new but it is always interesting to see a certain mammoth shark’s movements. What I found interesting about the article was that someone had decided to turn this tracking information used by scientists into an app.

All surfers can now download an app that shows them where great white sharks are swimming and see the likelihood of surfing with these monster or not. There are a few things that immediately jump out at me in the creation of a shark app, firstly it is showing you the movement of a few sharks and only when they break the surface – there must be thousands of other sharks that live on the east coast that aren’t tagged. Secondly do you really want to check an app and see where a shark is every time you want to surf?…seems a bit pointless – if you create an app showing where sharks are who is the target audience apart from surfers?

Finally and this is the key point I want to make is why hasn’t someone spun this idea on its head, why not build an app that shows you where dolphins are, man I would be sprinting out of work knowing that I had a chance to surf with dolphins and a pod was close to my local surf spot – Sorry rant over….I’m just saying scare tactics like shark tracking is boring and will cause more anxiety amongst sharks and surfers but dolphin tracking would just be plain cool!

If I have missed the point I would love someone to explain it to me….let me know your thoughts!

He argues the shark has been unfairly portrayed as a man eater and makes a convincing case.

Check out his article here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/sharks-reputation-as-man-eaters-is-unfair-and-threatens-the-species-authors-say/2013/02/04/5b7b6542-6bd7-11e2-bd36-c0fe61a205f6_story.html

Nuevo Altata, Sinaloa, Mexico

Lifeguard Fernando Cárdenas García, 32, died in hospital from his wounds after being attacked by a shark as he tried to free his rubber dingy which had become entangled in rope in high surf. He’d dived overboard to cut the rope when the shark bit him on the leg. The wound extended to his buttock and calf.

The incident occurred around 11.30am on November 22, 2012 off Nuevo Altata, Sinaloa, Mexico.

The lifeguard was rescued by his companions and taken to hospital, but he succumbed to his wounds.

No other details were reported.

Sources:
The Mazatlan Messenger

PIC source:
Playas de Altata

Dave Peterson of Maui shows off the bite mark from the shark attack on his SUP board

Dave Peterson, 55, had his board bitten by a shark while Stand-up Paddle Boarding off Kahana Beach Park, Maui, Hawaii. The incident happened at about 7.30 am on Thursday 18 October 2012 about 300 metres off shore.

Peterson said he was waiting for another wave when all of a sudden the shark hit his board and knocked him into the water.

He landed on the shark, hit it with his paddle, and pushed it away. He then crawled back up on his board and never saw it again.

He was quoted as saying: “I was actually mad because I thought it was a friend of mine pushing my board out from underneath me.”

Officials did not identify the shark but reckon it was about 6-8 feet long.

Peterson was not injured.

Source:
Maui Now

PIC Source:
Maui Now

Details are a bit sketchy, but she is quoted as saying: “Shortly after I started bathing, I felt a sharp cut on my right leg and I screamed for help. The screaming drew the attention of my brethren who were also in the river and they came to my rescue.

“I was immediately taken to a nearby patent medicine shop, where I was given 12 stitches before I was later taken by my husband,  to a private clinic at Bomadi, for proper medical treatment.”

No other details were reported.

Sources:
Vanguard

The opinions expressed in this news summary are mine unless otherwise stated.

HEADLINES:

Shark attack victim recovering on Oahu.

Police arrest murder suspect.

Pahoa roundabout could save lives.

Plastic shopping bag ban in effect.

Hawaii Island legislators work to repeal controversial bill.

DETAILS (with sources cited):

(Stephens Media).  Forty-three-year-old Paul Santos is alive thanks to volunteers who rescued and treated him after he was reportedly attacked by a tiger shark at Kiholo Bay Wednesday afternoon.  Aaron Walters, a chef for Earl Bakken, told reporters Chelsea Jensen and Erin Miller that volunteers rushed to Santos’s aid after he was bitten by the 15- to 16-foot shark.  Walters said when he arrived at the beach, “they were trying to make a tourniquet…we used the surfboard leash and tied it around a bicep.”

North Hawaii Community Hospital spokeswoman Krista Anderson said Santos was flown Wednesday evening to The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu.  Santos was later transferred to the Kaiser Hospital.  DLNR officials told reporters Miller and Jensen that Santos was surfing about 200 yards offshore when the shark bit him on the right arm.  Santos also sustained injuries to his knee.  Santos was able to paddle to shore where bystanders and residents rendered aid.  DLNR reopened the beach around 1:30 p.m. after a helicopter search failed to find the shark.

(Hawaii Tribune-Herald).  Hawaii police have arrested 30-year-old Claude Keone Krause of Kurtistown because of his alleged involvement in the disappearance and possible murder of 44-year-old Dante Peter Gilman of Hawaiian Acres.  According to reporter John Burnett, Krause was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder.  As of Thursday evening, Krause had not been charged.  He is being held at the Hilo police cellblock pending further investigation.

Police Lt. Greg Esteban of the Criminal Investigations Section, told reporter Burnett that “we’re pursuing the investigation and that’s all we’re going to disclose at this point..we’ve got a lot more work to do.”

(Hawaii Tribune-Herald).  Approximately 50 people met with state Department of Transportation officials Wednesday night in Pahoa to discuss the merits and disadvantages of installing a roundabout in lieu of a traffic signal at the  intersection of the Keaau-Pahoa Road and the Old Government Road.

Engineers from the state Transportation Department told reporter Colin Stewart that the traffic circle will prevent accidents and could save lives.  State Highways Administrator Alvin Takeshita told those at the meeting that he studied the intersection and decided that a single-lane roundabout was the “most appropriate” solution for that piece of the highway.    Takeshita said the roundabout would force drivers to slow down as they approach the intersection, “thereby preventing the head-on and broadside collisions that have plagued the intersection.”

However, several vociferous speakers rejected Takeshita’s premise, calling the roundabout plan “lunacy” and an invitation to “drive right through it and hit somebody.”

According to reporter Stewart, the $5 million project will be supported by both federal and state funds and “will involve the conversion of the existing T-intersection to a single-lane roundabout.”  The design phase should continue through this February.  Advertising for bids will continue through April, followed by construction by this summer.  The project could be finished within a year.

(Hawaii Tribune-Herald).  Hawaii Island shoppers are taking the ban on plastic shopping bags in stride.  Hawaiian Paradise Park resident Jan Smith seemed resigned to the new policy, telling reporter Hunter Bishop that “it’s just another law,” as she remembered leaving some spare bags in her car.  Although shoppers who want plastic bags for their groceries may still get them at many retail outlets, store owners must charge a fee for the single-use bags until 14 January 2014, when the plastic bags will be banned at checkout areas.

(Hawaii Tribune-Herald).  Some of Hawaii’s laws may be repealed by the 2013 state Legislature.  According to reporter Tom Callis, “several bills have been written to undo past legislation that critics say takes away local oversight over development.”

The prime candidate for reversal is the newly established Public Lands Development Corporation, which has been a deep concern for Hawaii Island legislators.  Callis says Hawaii Island state representatives Faye Hanohano, Nicole Lowen, and Cindy Evans have sponsored two bills to repeal Act 55, which established the PLDC.  There are three other measures that seek to repeal or amend portions of the act.

When the bill was enacted in 2011, the state Legislature expressed its desire to “spur development of state lands through public-private partnerships.”  But, that’s not the way the act was perceived by the voting public.  Over the past two years, the PLDC has been criticized for its exemptions to local zoning rules and land use regulations.  Several counties, including Hawaii County, and environmental groups have asked for the elimination of the Corporation.

In addition to repealing Act 55, there is a move in the Legislature to stop Act 97, which “eliminated geothermal subzones, designated areas previously established to host geothermal projects.”  Critics contend that this repeal effort “essentially allows such projects to occur anywhere…Hawaii County has also raised objections to the legislation, saying it eliminated references to county authority over permitting for such projects.”

HAWAII ISLAND WEATHER THROUGH SATURDAY, 19 January 2013:

Hilo and vicinity–Partly sunny with a few isolated showers.

Kailua-Kona and vicinity–Partly sunny with a few upslope showers.

Highs near 79.  Lows near 63.  Winds shifting to the northwest, 10 to 20 mph, by Saturday.

Sunrise Saturday–6:58 a.m.  Sunset Saturday–6:06 p.m.  Total hours of daylight on Saturday–11 hours, 07 minutes, and 20 seconds.

HAWAII ISLAND TIDES FOR SATURDAY, 19 January 2013:

Hilo High Tide–8:01 a.m./11:32 p.m.  Hilo Low Tide–3:48 a.m./3:33 p.m.

Kailua-Kona High Tide–8:39 a.m./(only one high tide on Saturday).  Kailua-Kona Low Tide–4:25 a.m./4:10 p.m.

HAWAII SURF FORECAST THROUGH SATURDAY, 19 January 2013:

A High Surf Warning remains in effect for west-facing shores through 6:00 p.m., Sunday, 20 January 2013.

Hapuna Beach breaks–1 to 3.  Kona and Banyans–3 to 5 feet.  Ka’u and Pohoiki–2 to 4 feet.  Hamakua–2 to 4 feet.  Hilo and Honolii–1 to 2 feet.

A FEW REMINDERS:

For more Hawaii Island, state of Hawaii, and national news, check out the blog sidebars.  These news feeds are updated throughout the day.

Several times a week, I’ll run special news reports from the “Scoop.it” Network.  These updates will be issued as separate posts.

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You can follow our blog community with a free email subscription or by tapping into the blog RSS feed.

Thanks for being part of our day!

Russ Roberts, site administrator

PRG HAWAII NEWS WITH RUSS ROBERTS

A big ole crocodile head washes ashore in Australia. What led to the croc head being bit off. Those in the Youtube video seem to believe that some shark cleft the croc in two.

I dunno, but given the size of the croc head, I don’t see a shark pulling that off. Unless the croc was already long dead.

If there was ever a classic example of hyper-sensationalised reporting on the existance of sharks in Australian waters, then go no further. Descriptives such as “terrifying tally” and “monsters” being “lured close to shore” set a scene to then justify the killing of a pregnant female resident shark.

Photo by WIlly Volk

So much for any kind of imminent threat. Please let’s not forget that, according to the Australian Shark Attack File, there have been only 50 unprovoked shark fatalities in Australia the past 50 years – not bad considering over 100 000 000 people visit the beach each year!

There’s no doubt that sharing the water with tiger sharks may be a little risky. They are an inquisitive species, are responsible for a significant proportion of shark-related incidents and will attempt to consume virtually anything. That doesn’t, however, mean they attempt to eat everything – there’s a subtle difference. Check out this amazing footage taken by Gold Coast based Dive Girls, who swam with tiger sharks in Bega Lagoon, Fiji. Apparently one of the divers had her hair nibbled by one of the tigers!

The Sunday Mail managed to stretch this “story” across its first three pages yet what was the actual news? For me, the most frustrating aspect was the allusion that the article was about “protecting swimmers” yet no opportunity was taken to educate readers about avoiding shark-related incidents. The journalist tells us that the killing “sparks a warning for those taking a dip in the warmer months … to know the rules that reduce the risks”, but doesn’t go on to outline those rules. Further on in the article, aforementioned Associate Professor Daryl McPhee is quoted as saying funding would be better directed towards educating the public about safer swimming, but once again the concept of “safer swimming” is not explored.

The Australian Shark Attack File provides the following information relating to minimising a shark-related incident

Swimming in the ocean poses risks, but let’s face it, you’re much more likely to be killed in a car crash on your way to the beach, or even drown, than fall victim to a shark.

You just got shark bit! Deal with it.

Perth – A horrific incident struck the capital of the Western Territory last Wednesday. Two divers were torn to pieces by a fully grown bull shark. Seconds prior to the bloodshed, a picture of the scene was taken.
Close to the west coast of the red continent a group of divers had been watching the leatherback turtles’ migration in the Indian Ocean. Before it got dark, most of the people had returned to the boat except for Henry McFadyen, his wife Ruth and their friend Daniel Elester, who remained in the water. All of them were in there early thirties and came from Rockingham to spend the week in Perth. Non of them was expecting what later hapend in the water.
“The crowd on the boat was cheery, we had made amazing turtle observations. Nobody recognized that there was a shark coming close to the boat.” said Susan Geller she was one of the divers.
Even Daniel Elester, who took the photograph, didn’t notice the 10-foot shark. “I was looking through the underwater camera, then I snapped the photo. Only after I lowered the camera and saw this huge shark. He must have swum straight towards Henry and Ruth. I tried to warn them, when Henry turned towards the shark. The beast snatched him instantly. My instincts told me to strike out for the boat.
The divemaster Lisa Kingsley (45) heard Daniel screaming and hurried to help him. The rest of the divers on the boat stared at the ocean, which turned red with blood.
“It was like in a horror movie, so much blood” Kingsley confirmed. A passenger informed the coast guard, who arrived few minutes later. But they just found that the bull shark had not left much of the couple and had gone.

Bull sharks are considered extremely dangerous to humans. They share first place with tiger sharks and the great whites in the ISAF (International Shark Attack File) rankings.
No one knows why the shark was so aggressive and why it was swimming so near the coast. The Australian government is considering a security scheme along the coasts.

Plot: A freak tsunami traps shoppers at a coastal Australian supermarket inside the building – along with a 12-foot Great White Shark. (via IMDB)

Cast: Xavier Samuel, Sharni Vinson, Julian McMahon, Alice Parkinson, Phoebe Tonkin

Directed by Kimble Rendall

Written by Russell Mulcahy, John Kim

Rated R for bloody violence, some grisly images and language

Release Date: September 9th 2012

Runtime: 93 min

Shark attack myths, according to The Telegraph:

MYTHS

• They bite once and let go. That’s what surfers like to believe. But the reality is that sharks usually bit more than once and may try to eat you.
• Dolphins means no sharks. They usually feed together. So if you see dolphins, you can bet there are sharks underneath too.
• Shark nets work. No net stretches across an entire beach. Sharks can simply swim around it.
• Swimming dogs attract sharks. There aren’t too many stories of sharks attacking dogs.
• Sharks are attracted to certain colors. Sharks see only one color. So yellow, red, black wetsuit, it’s all the same to them.
• Human urine attracts sharks. Feel free to pee away.

Allan lost the majority of his index finger on his left hand during the attack.

bron: http://www.sharkattackfashionblog.com/

 “ Zo kan ik mensen ontmoeten die mijn stijl wél appreciëren” 

Krizia Schiavone, de 22-jarige uit Maasmechelen met Italiaanse roots, blogt op Shark Attack over mode, trends en events. Via haar blog uit ze haar passie voor mode, iets wat ze in haar dorp nooit voluit heeft kunnen doen. 

Shark Attack is een van de bekendere Belgische modeblogs. Haar online modedagboek zorgt ervoor dat ze regelmatig goodie bags krijgt opgestuurd en gaf haar onder meer toegang tot de Paris Fashion Week. Wie is Krizia en hoe is ze zover geraakt? Het interview … 

Wat is Shark Attack?

Krizia Schiavone: “ Shark Attack is een blog over mode, beauty en lifestyle, geschreven door mezelf: Krizia Schiavone, een 23-jarig meisje uit Maasmechelen. Het is een online dagboek over alles wat ik meemaak op het gebied van deze drie dingen: mijn outfits, reviews van producten en items die ik uittest, nieuwe collecties enzovoort.”

Hoe lang bestaat jouw blog al? Waarom ben je eraan begonnen?

Schiavone: “Mijn blog werd in oktober 2009 geboren. Ik woon in een relatief klein plaatsje in Limburg: Maasmechelen. Hoewel we hier toch enkele bekende winkels hebben (Fashion Point, Maasmechelen Village), is de gemiddelde Maasmechelaar het niet gewend om iets nieuws op modevlak te zien.

Mijn stijl valt hier wat uit de toon, dat was al zo sinds het eerste middelbaar en ik heb er héél vaak opmerkingen over gekregen.

Ik begon de grote blogs zoals The Chic Muse en Sea Of Shoes te ontdekken en toen dacht ik: “Dat kan ik ook!”. Zo kon ik mijn stijl met de rest van de wereld delen en kon ik zo mensen ontmoeten die mijn stijl wél kunnen appreciëren.”

Je was uitgenodigd op de Paris Fashion Week. Vertel!

Schiavone: “PFW was echt geweldig. Ik was door het Flanders Fashion Institute uitgenodigd om de showroom van het opkomend Belgische talent te ontdekken. Die voorstelling vond ‘s avonds plaats, dus had ik nog de hele dag om in Parijs rond te hangen. Mijn papa en ik besloten om een kijkje bij Dior te nemen. Toen de show gedaan was en het publiek naar buiten kwam, heb ik o.a. Anna Dello Russo, Emanuelle Alt, Natalia Vodianova… gezien. En toen we een wandeling over de Champs Elysées namen, kwamen we Liv Tyler tegen. Echt super!”

Ben je een bekende blogger?

Schiavone: “Ik krijg wel regelmatig producten opgestuurd of eens betaald voor een advertorial te schrijven, maar het is nog lang niet zo dat ik ervan kan leven zoals bv. Chiara van The Blonde Salad. Ook word ik niet gevraagd voor een editorial in de Vogue, haha.

Maar hier in België ben ik, denk ik, toch wel bij de ‘bekendere’ groep bloggers. En als ik de website she.be mag geloven, ben ik de bekendste en meest invloedrijke blogger in Limburg.”

Wat zijn jouw toekomstplannen, voor je blog en voor jezelf?

Schiavone: “Natuurlijk hoop ik dat ik ooit van mijn hobby mijn job kan maken. Dat zou echt geweldig zijn. Van thuis uit werken en bloggen over mijn grootste interesses lijkt wel een droom. Ik blijf realistisch, natuurlijk. Ik heb een diploma voor leerkracht secundair onderwijs voor de vakken Engels en geschiedenis, dus daar kan ik altijd op terugvallen.

Mijn doel is om ooit voor de Chanel-show op Paris Fashion Week te worden uitgenodigd, maar ik besef maar al te goed dat dit zeer moeilijk zal zijn!”

Wat doe je als je niet aan het bloggen bent?

Schiavone: “Zoals ik al eerder zei, heb ik gestudeerd voor leerkracht secundair onderwijs (Engels en geschiedenis). Momenteel vervang ik een leerkracht op de Middenschool in Maaseik.

Buiten bloggen lees ik heel graag en heel veel en kijk ik graag films. Verder heb ik ook nog een ongezonde obsessie van Jim Morrison, de overleden zanger van The Doors.” 

Heb je nog genoeg vrije tijd?

Schiavone: “Het bloggen neemt toch wel een aantal uur per dag in beslag, maar als ik te druk bezig ben met werk of ik gewoonweg niet kàn bloggen, dan ga ik niet mijn schema verschuiven om toch nog iets te kunnen posten.

Ik ken bloggers die elke dag iets schrijven, terwijl het kwalitatief op niets trekt. Dan blog ik liever wat minder, maar dan kan ik wel degelijke posts afleveren. Als ik een outfitpost online zet, ben ik zeker een 4 à 5 uur bezig met het maken van foto’s, de juiste foto’s eruit te kiezen, de blogpost te schrijven, mijn social media te updaten met info over de nieuwe post, emails te beantwoorden, comments achter te laten bij andere bloggers…

Het neemt veel tijd in beslag, maar ik doe het graag en zou het voor geen geld ter wereld willen missen!”

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