in defense sharks

[puurri]

Probably mackerel tuna or maybe kingies. Lotsa fish big and very big.

[Haz]

I could be wrong about this but a mate who is a dives regularly around the Port Phillip Heads, Westernport Reefs and Phillip Island for crays reckons that sharks don't go on vision. He's seen plenty of sharks too I might add and hates them more for the fact that they often eat the fish he kills and attaches to his buoy as opposed to whether they might have a go at him. He reckons it goes like this:

First sense is sonar which picks up electromagnetic fields around their prey
Second is their scent which picks up smells
Third is their teeth
Fourth is their eyes.

So basically the color you're wearing means sweet FA. If the shark deems you worthy of a closer look it will come in and it may bite you if it thinks you could be a nice snack. But 99% of the time once it's teeth go in and it realises that you're not full of nice fat and flabby flesh it lets go. If it really wanted to eat you it would sink it's teeth in, twist and rip, and take off a massive chunk, wait for you to bleed to death and finish the job. Or it might not wait at all.

Some sharks are more aggressive than others, Bull's and Tigers will attack and eat almost anything as they come in close to shore and are nasty little bastards, others such as Threshers and Nurse's will pretty much ignore you unless they think you're a threat.

Also Sharks are pretty intelligent, they're much more inclined to attack something that won't put up a fight, humans generally do so they don't bother. My mate reckons that most sharks who actively target humans may be pregnant, unwell or near starving as well.

But neither he nor I are marine biologists so this summary is probably open to debate

Yeah agree completely, heard their visions absolutely shocking. Sonar's their number one sense... Maybe someone's been wearing a H-Bomb around Sydney the last couple of days

You based around Westernport Hatchman?

[lessormore]

Shit,I hope they don't like rabbits-or I might be next!

Not even man eating, widow making sharks would sink that low.

That must be why we're not extinct,like um, some other teams!

[Nick Carroll]

Didn't seem to be a pattern at the time, but I wonder if some smart researcher could go back and look at the weather through the sharky years and the not-so-sharky, and find some pattern there. Like, sharky years featuring systemic northerly winds (the upwellers) in mid January, not so much in Nov or Dec. Or sudden heavy periods of rainfall in the weeks preceding attack binges.

I'm pretty sure any serious fisherman would tell you something similar. Currents, water temps, swell size can all affect the amount of nutrients in the water and give rise to good, bad or ugly fishing prospects so it makes sense that the sharks are not too far behind.

Yes but I have to say, I do not trust anecdotal evidence here. There's been some ferocious bullshit slung around recently based on crap like "I've never seen this many sharks in... " or "I coulda told you these attacks would happen because..."

I see sharks pretty much every year -- there's a bit of anecdotal evidence for ya -- yet there's almost never any attacks around the Sydney region.

There's quite a few alarmists too out there, whose livelihoods revolve around a perceived public fear of sharks...and they're busy beating every drum they can find. (Hey mr professional shark fishermen, or mr aerial shark patrol entrepreneur...)

The antidote to all that is actual information which helps us find patterns over longer periods. If you actually give a rat's arse about what's been going on, as opposed to having a spaz reaction or trying to make a buck out of it, that's really the only path to walk.

[Nick Carroll]

Yeah agree completely, heard their visions absolutely shocking.

Most species of sharks have excellent eyesight -- including all the big ones.

There's some evidence (as a result of tank tests etc) that sharks are attracted to warm colours, especially yellow.

[vb]

Yeah agree completely, heard their visions absolutely shocking.

Most species of sharks have excellent eyesight -- including all the big ones.

There's some evidence (as a result of tank tests etc) that sharks are attracted to warm colours, especially yellow.

I think there's sharks and sharks ... some of them should be wearing coke bottle specs maybe ... also re the patterns/ seems to me they're more prevalent in economic downturns ... shocking run in the 30's

[Kunji]

Sharks have excellent vision. The Great White will poke its head up to see its usual prey of seals when they are leaving their colonies. Sharks dont have sonar. They have electroreceptors on their heads that allow the detection of microscopic amounts of electricity. All living things radiate electricity and this helps them in realitively close proximity to their prey.

[steve shearer]

The electro-receptors are called ampulla of lorenzini and are also found along the lateral line.
They may also detect temperature changes.
There's plenty of evidence that sharks, especially bull sharks (whalers) will circle and bump potential prey items, perhaps to assess the size and fitness of the animal.(via it's electrical charge).
As far as sharks go, Greenough told me yesterday that he reckons there are more around than years past.
take that for what it's worth, he's caught plenty off the beaches here in the last couple of weeks (and years).
I've certainly changed my morning routine, which is on the rocks before dawn to fish for tailor/jew, then a surf with plenty of fish slime and blood on just after sun-up. It's one or the other now.(got a nice jew this morning Fong).
Alot of hardgut mullet and whitebait in the water at the moment around here.
Last years attack around here was subsequent to a summer of flood rainfall and a lot of locals were expecting an attack due to that fact.
Again, this is just anecdotal but we do seem to be seeing more great whites in this part of the world. Perhaps due to the increasing numbers of humpbacks. Great whites seems to follow the humpbacks down in spring to feed on sick or injured calves. Maybe they are getting as far south as Sydney where increasing numbers of kingfish are providing them with enough prey.

[Kilkeary]

Hey guys
Just to clarify something, unlike dolphins, sharks don't have sonar ability. They have a unique system to detect electrical impulses, which probably gives them more useful information about their prey than a sound based sense. Most elasmobranchs also have a well tuned olfactory system (smell).
I think a major point that has been missed so far is the variety of shark species from different habitats. Different species have different niches within the ecosystem and different environmental responses. I have read a study that suggest some warm-water sharks (tigers and possibly some whalers) are more inclined to investigate (with their teeth!) brightly coloured objects. This may be due to the highly varied diet in this habitat, since tropical ecosystems are more diverse than those found in temperate or polar habitats (due to the constant environment and subsequent competition and specialisation, colder climates tend to contain more 'generalists'). On the other side of the coin, sharks such as great whites eat seals, which require a instant (reflex?) surprise attack at high speed to achieve a kill.
It was also mentioned that sharks are generally very unpredictable. Combine this with the varying behaviour patterns of different species and it could happen anytime for no particular reason...
Personally I would go out and buy some lotto tickets if i was ever attacked, see if the odds will stretch that far...

[ric_vidal]

There's some evidence (as a result of tank tests etc) that sharks are attracted to warm colours, especially yellow.

Wasn’t there a test done in the Caribbean? Anyway there was a documentary I saw some time ago and yes, as I recall yellow was slightly more favoured.

Don’t know how reliable this information is...

The color yellow - called by shark attack experts "Yum Yum Yellow". Need I say more? Okay, so contrasting colors in some of our stylish bathing suits for guys as well as for gals also make an interesting pattern that means lunch too. Look at it from a shark's view - colorful food makes for a Galloping Gourmet appetizing dish! Source: http://www.dbooth.net/internerd/sharks.cfm

Ride the black & white one, Fong

[Surfin Turf]

as great whites eat seals, which require a instant (reflex?) surprise attack at high speed to achieve a kill...

kilkeary ... do you know from that study if the fast aggressive attack on the seals is based on a learning by the sharks in that area ... or if it's a breeding trait ... I've read that in different parts of the world there are a varying behavioural traits ... some experts talk about the behaviour being learned which would make sense in the seal feeding example , but some talk about sub breeds of GW sharks that behave differently depending on what part of the world they come from ... there never seems to a definite answer ... just curious what it says in what you read ...

[Haz]

Ah, ma bad, electrical impulses, that's what I meant. Seriously, I mentioned the H-Bomb, I meant it!

I saw someone wearing a water proof ipod the other day... You reckon that might attract em?


Well I stand corrected about the eyesight thing.

(taken from http://www.everwonder.com/david/sharks/anatomy/)

It was once thought that sharks had very bad eyesight, and were nearly blind. It is know known that sharks have very good eyesight, some better then ours. Like cats, a shark's eye contracts or expands to alter the size of the pupil, according to how much light there is. In the back of the eye there is a layer of cells known as the tapetum lucidum. The cells reflect light back onto the retina. This is where images are focused, making good use of light. Due to this a sharks can see in dim light, and the eye "glows" like a cats when light is shined on them. With pigment layers a shark can protect it's eyes on sunny days. The shark's eyes also have cells called rods, and cones. The rods work in dim light and are sensitive to changes in light. The cones may allow sharks to see color. We humans have rods, and cones. Fish lack eyelids because they don't need to blink and clean their eyes due to their watery environment. During attack some sharks use their nictitating membranes (translucent eyelids) to protect them from the thrashing animal. Sharks that have no nictitating membranes, like the great white for example roll their eyes into the back to their heads. The size, shape, and overall look of a shark's eye depends on their environment. Deepwater sharks have large eyes to take in more light, while smaller eyes are on sharks that live closer to the surface. It was once thought that great white attacks on surface were cases of mistaken identity, but researchers now know that this theory is not likely for a few reasons. Reason one is because white sharks have excellent vision and can probably tell the difference between a human on a surfboard, and a seal. The second reason is this; when a white shark attacks a seal it makes one huge bite, and kills the seal on the spot. When humans are attacked the shark usually takes one small bite and swims off. If the shark thought we were seals then it would do to us what it doses to the seals.

[PeepeelaPew]

...

[Grooter]

I stand corrected on the eye-sight, I honestly thought their vision wasn't all that good.

beachbanga Not based in Westernport mate, I live in Mornington and surf the Pt Leo to Flinders stretch or Gunnamatta and Rye Back Beach (wherever the swell is good or not - as was the case at Flinders last weekend!). Board is a Miller V-Skate, tangerine orange, black stripes on the deck, come and say g'day if you see me out there.

[danw]

if sharks grow legs, humans will be screwed. think about that huh

[mustkillmulloway]

Shit,I hope they don't like rabbits-or I might be next!

Rabbit.jpg

nice board mate

great see the team looking the goods...

broncos and cowboys looking like shit

and how about those west-tigers

DIDN'T THEY START THERE SEASON WITH A BANG

[Trev]

broncos and cowboys looking like shit

Your visa has been revoked.
Please leave the State immediately.
Do not pass go.
Do not collect $900.
Do not vote.
Rabbits are a noxious pest up here.

[Kunji]

Rabbits are a noxious pest up here.

Dont worry, they are down here too, Trev.