When it comes to sharks, Karen and Jimmy Goff would rather not tempt fate.
That's why the Chattanooga, Tenn., couple decided to enjoy the beaches of Tybee Island from their lounge chairs -- and not the water -- Tuesday.
Reducing the Risk
The relative risk of a shark attack is very small but risks should always be minimized whenever possible in any activity. The chances of having an interaction with a shark can be reduced if one heeds the following advice:
* Always stay in groups since sharks are more likely to attack a solitary individual.
* Do not wander too far from shore -- this isolates an individual and additionally places one far away from assistance.
* Avoid being in the water during darkness or twilight hours when sharks are most active and have a competitive sensory advantage.
* Do not enter the water if bleeding from an open wound or if menstruating -- a shark's olfactory ability is acute.
* Wearing shiny jewelry is discouraged because the reflected light resembles the sheen of fish scales.
* Avoid waters with known effluents or sewage and those being used by sport or commercial fisherman, especially if there are signs of bait fishes or feeding activity. Diving seabirds are good indicators of such action.
* Sightings of porpoises do not indicate the absence of sharks -- both often eat the same food.
* Use extra caution when waters are murky and avoid uneven tanning and bright colored clothing -- sharks see contrast particularly well.
* Refrain from excess splashing and do not allow pets in the water because of their erratic movements.
* Exercise caution when occupying the area between sandbars or near steep drop-offs -- these are favorite hangouts for sharks.
* Do not enter the water if sharks are known to be present and evacuate the water if sharks are seen while there. And, of course, do not harass a shark if you see one!
-- Source, www.flmnh.ufl.edu
"The ocean is the sharks' home," Karen Goff said. "I'll stay on my land and they can have their ocean."
With two fatal East Coast incidents over the Labor Day weekend, concerns about shark attacks are on the rise, even though bees, wasps and snakes are responsible for far more fatalities each year.
While there have been no shark-related deaths in Georgia -- and only nine recorded bites between 1670 and 2000 -- some beachgoers are still wary.
Paula Defore and her mother, Helen Hale, were keeping a close eye on Defore's four children as they waded near the Tybee shore.
"We've been watching them very carefully," Defore said. "You just never know."
Hale used to swim in the ocean, but after hearing about more and more shark attacks over the past few years, she stays out of the water.
Drew Moren, who was fishing at the pier, said he saw a man catch a large hammerhead shark off the pier. Moren has a fear of sharks and thinks the people he sees swimming far offshore in proximity to the pier are "idiots."
Matt Gilligan, a professor of marine science at Savannah State University, said these types of reactions are common because shark bites tend to make headlines, but he doesn't think shark bites are a trend. With a larger population and more people living in coastal areas, there are more opportunities for shark attacks, he said.
"It isn't really a reason to change your behavior," he said. "If the risk (of shark bites) bothers you, don't go in the water, but statistically, there's no cause for alarm."
Fifty-two shark attacks have occurred worldwide this year, including three fatal ones, said George H. Burgess, coordinator of museum operations for the Florida Museum of Natural History, which maintains the International Shark Attack File ( www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Sharks/ISAF/ISAF.htm) . Twenty-nine were in Florida waters.
Last year, there were 84 shark attacks worldwide, 53 in the United States, Burgess said.
The most recent Tybee shark incident was in 1995, when a 13-year-old boy playing in the surf was bitten on the foot and the hand by a 3- to 4-foot shark. There were two reported shark attacks in Beaufort County this year, one off Hilton Head Island and another off Fripp Island. Neither was fatal.
"Sharks don't prefer people, they prefer fish," Gilligan said. "But they are opportunists and if they think they can get an easy meal, they will."
Tybee isn't an area known for big sharks. The coast off the island is relatively shallow and sharks -- especially larger sharks -- tend to stick to deeper water where they can find an abundance of bigger fish to feed on. If sharks can't find food offshore, that's usually when they come in closer.
Only in places like California, where there are large sea lion colonies, do sharks normally prey on large non-fish, which means there is a much greater chance of a large shark coming into fatal contact with people, Gilligan said.
That's not to say that one couldn't be found close to the Tybee shoreline.
"If you stay in one place long enough, you might see anything," Gilligan said.
Most of the sharks in this area average between one-and-a-half and 3 feet in length. If these smaller sharks do bite a human, which is extremely rare, it is usually a mistake and they will typically let go once they realize they've sunk their teeth into something much larger than themselves.
Even though your chances of being bitten by a shark are relatively small, there are a few safety precautions you can take. There are a few basic ways to reduce the risk of running into trouble: Swimming in groups, avoiding the ocean during twilight hours when sharks tend to be most active and not swimming if you have an open wound.
But not everyone is buying into the shark frenzy. Tim McCarthy was helping his 4-year-old son Hal catch a few waves on a boogie board near the pier. Sharks were the last thing on his mind.
"I'm not really worried," he said. "I've been here all my life and I've never heard of a shark attack."
McCarthy likens the current shark scare to what happened when "Jaws" was released in 1975.
"They're there and they've always been there," he said of the sharks. "I think they're more afraid of us than we are of them."
The St. Petersburg Times contributed to this report
Features reporter Jaymi Freiden can be reached at 652-0328 or at firstname.lastname@example.org.
There are about 20 "common" and occasional shark species in Georgia coastal waters in the summer months. Only a few of these are potentially dangerous to people. They are the tiger, great hammerhead, bull, and white sharks. Most of the others, while theoretically capable of biting humans, are small (newborns and juveniles) when found in sounds and along beaches where people normally swim, or are not particularly aggressive toward humans. These others include Atlantic sharpnose, bonnethead, nurse, scalloped hammerhead, blacktip, sandbar, finetooth, dusky, lemon, smooth dogfish, spiny dogfish and spinner sharks
-- Source, Matt Gilligan, professor of marine science at Savannah State University