Stab Magazine | This week in sharks: Here’s our new reality!

Live Now: Chapter 11 Mini-Documentary With Dane Reynolds

336 Views

This week in sharks: Here’s our new reality!

Shark attacks are becoming so regular now that they’re on news websites every single week. Or are there just more news websites looking for shark attacks to report on every week, and the number of attacks is in fact the same as ever? Excuse the meta, but it’s hard not to wonder. Especially when “Shark […]

news // Mar 8, 2016
Words by stab
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Shark attacks are becoming so regular now that they’re on news websites every single week. Or are there just more news websites looking for shark attacks to report on every week, and the number of attacks is in fact the same as ever? Excuse the meta, but it’s hard not to wonder. Especially when “Shark attack” encompasses everything from someone getting a nibble on the hand/foot to someone losing a limb, or their life. Either way, it’s real, they’re in the ocean, and this is our new reality. Here’s three instances from the past few days to add to the paranoia:

– On the weekend, north of Zuma Beach, a Kayaker was attacked by a Hammerhead. Granted, Dylan Marks and Kyle Hudgins were fishing for yellowtail off their kayaks two miles off the coast when they noticed the 10-foot hammerhead circling. It disappeared for a few minutes, at which point Marks thought it’d be a good idea to dangle his foot in the water. Obviously, his foot was then bitten. Hudgins called 911 and Coast Guard rescuers brought them to shore. Marks was flown to Los Robles Hospital in Thousand Oaks and underwent surgery. Luckily, he didn’t lose his foot. Which all seems chill, except that Chris Low, director of Cal State Long Beach Shark Lab says hammerheads are coming closer to the Southern California coast due to El Nino patterns.

Source.

– On Friday in Oz, 65-year-old David Quinlivan was knocked off his surf ski at Black Head Beach (north of Forster) and bitten on the leg and foot. Being the only one in the water, he had little choice but to paddle himself in. Paramedics at the scene reported severe lower leg injuries, including cuts to his lower calf and a bite down to the bone on his left ankle. The Westpac Rescue chopper flew him from the beach to Newcastle’s John Hunter Hospital to undergo emergency surgery. NSW Premier Mike Baird said: “These attacks unprecedented, they’re extraordinary. They’re going to require action.”

Source.

– And just this morning… 42-year-old Justin Daniels was bitten on his hand and shaken from his board at Shelley Beach on the NSW Central Coast at about 6:15am. “It easily could have taken my hand or arm or come back for me,” Daniels told the ABC. “I am lucky. It was frightening.” Despite the attack taking place close enough to shore that it could easily have been a swimmer, Daniels said he had thoughts of Mick Fanning’s J-Bay encounter, given the fact he was knocked off his board and had to swim for it. Luckily his injuries weren’t life-threatening… but it certainly ain’t what you need during an early surf.

Source.

Comments

Comments are a Stab Premium feature. Gotta join to talk shop.

Already a member? Sign In

Want to join? Sign Up

Advertisement

Most Recent

Watch: What Happens When A Brand Takes Its Youth Team To A CT Event?

A: Good things, typically.

Mar 29, 2024

Full Frame: Scandinavia Is Surfing’s Next Frontier

A 30-hour drive, bathymetric maps, and 10 years of searching yield surfing's newest discovery.

Mar 29, 2024

Watch: João Chianca Had A Remarkable Hawaii Season Before His Injury

Plus an update on his condition.

Mar 28, 2024

Pittar’d And Feathered

Do the WSL judges deserve the internet's wrath? We asked the man of the hour.

Mar 28, 2024

Robbo, Pickles, And Tyler Wright Become The Underdogs Breakfast At Uninspiring Winkipop

The foreboding blade sharpens and inconsistent judging prevails on Day Two in Torquay.

Mar 27, 2024

“I Don’t Always Win Heats, But When I Do, I Try To Beat John John”

Slater shines and the axe begins its descent on Day 01 at Bells.

Mar 26, 2024

Back Against The Wall: The Ramzi Boukhiam Redemption

Morocco's first CT surfer on speaking six languages, having no coach, and snatching Fil Toledo's…

Mar 25, 2024

Will Kirra, Babies or JJF Stop a GOAT Winning at Bells?

Bluesky BOAG advice from a Superman specialist and former Trials winner.

Mar 25, 2024

Bells Preview: The WSL’s Victorian Sword Dancing Equinox Ritual

Will a Brazilian crack the Top 10 at Bells?

Mar 25, 2024

69 Shin Bones Later + the Anticlimactic State of Big Wave Record-Breaking

Lucas Chumbo might have surfed the biggest wave ever this year. But how will we…

Mar 23, 2024

Watch: ‘Fresh and Fried’ Ft the Quik Kids

How taxing is it to tackle the Gold Coast’s Triple Crown in a single day,…

Mar 23, 2024

The Popular Vote: The People’s Stab In The Dark With Kolohe Andino Champion

Which board looked best — to you —under Kolohe's talons?

Mar 22, 2024

Six Key Learnings From Portugal

Three CT events in, what do we know? 

Mar 21, 2024

‘Zipper’ Is Going On Tour, Here’s Where You Can Watch It  

Dates, times + locations for the Venice, Encinitas, Sydney + Byron premieres.  

Mar 20, 2024

Dane Reynolds On His Future, His Past, And Chapter 11’s Raison D’être

Our 9-minute plunge into the collective psyche of Ventura's pillar(s).

Mar 20, 2024

From ‘Blue Ribbon Cross Country Runner’ to Vogue – How Steph Again Is Back With A Rip Curl Remix

Everything we know about the she-GOATs sponsorship boomerang.

Mar 18, 2024

Stab Interview: Darren Handley Explains Why You Can’t Buy The Winning Stab In The Dark Model

And his decades-long standoff with Slater.

Mar 17, 2024

Griff Embraces Portugal’s Eternal Time Loop To Vanquish Medina + Ewing, Defay Delays The Inevitable

A redeeming closing act at Supertubos.

Mar 16, 2024
Advertisement