More Shark Stories

I am not a huge fan of sharks but have never found it necessary to prove my courage by going and searching one out for a close encounter of the toothy kind! However, it seems that once you hit on one story then more on the same theme pop up all over the place.

The last couple of shark stories have focused on Australia. However, this little ripper comes from the US of A. To be specific the story comes out of Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, which ironically enough also happens to be where they shot the classic film, Jaws.

Edgartown was the location of an unconfirmed sighting of a great white shark. Obviously, these sharks like to do the rounds of the world's oceans because this is the same type of shark that was reported to have made its way into a lake and estuary system in Australia.

The sighting forced the closures of a couple of beaches in the area and a spotting plane was launched to try an locate the shark. But the shark had obviously chosen to go hunting elsewhere as it was not spotted in the area again.

Shark attacks are apparently rare in that part of New England however I am pretty sure that I would not want to be a statistic that started a new trend towards more frequency.

I still love to swim in the ocean. I guess the law of averages catches up to all of us sooner or later!

Sharks in Lakes

Nothing like a shark story to scare the masses. A report out of New South Wales says that a seven-metre great white shark was netted and released into a Tuggerah Lake on the Central Coast of NSW. The shark was netted by a commercial fisherman and it is this fisherman that reported the release.

Tuggerah Lake is a popular swimming spot. So, the idea of a big shark in the lake is a matter of considerable concern. The police have said they have no reason to doubt the fisherman's account of what happened and have therefore issued a warning.

The fisherman himself has no intention of talking to the media about his close encounter. It seems that the fisherman has a long-standing distrust of the media.

Postscript:

A question from one of the people who commented on this post sparked a renewed search on this matter.

The lake system is not saltwater. Great white sharks do not tolerate non-salt water environments very well. So, most experts agree that if there is a shark in there then it is likely to be hanging around the entrance to the lake looking to get back out to the ocean.

Apparently the entrance to the lake is only about 30cms deep in its deepest part. Therefore, it seems inconceivable that a seven metre shark made its way across that bit of water.

Perhaps the commercial fisherman's distrust of the media is warranted in light of these most recent revelations.

Maybe this is a fishy tale after all!