(Enter Jaws theme music here).
This week we celebrated the 25th anniversary of Discovery Channel’s Shark Week. As a broke college kid, I can’t afford cable television but I was able to catch a few shows at friends’ houses. Joan of Shark had to be my favorite – and 18 ft. Great White FEMALE shark! That’s right – girls rule and boys drool.
Recently, there have been a lot of shark attacks on the east coast. On June 15th, there were TWO shark attacks in one day on Ocean Isle beach. You can watch as much Shark Week as you want, but nothing will prepare you for a shark attack. We’re swimming in their territory, obviously giving us a huge disadvantage already.
I’m from Pawleys Island, SC, a small coastal town, which is more similar to a peninsula than an island, but Pawleys Peninsula sounds kind of funny. Am I right? Anyway, I’ve lived in Pawleys Island my entire life until moving to Rock Hill for college. In all those 18 years, we never had a shark attack. And I’ll tell you why I think that is: most people come to Pawleys Island to sit on the beach and relax. The pier is not open to the public and not many people fish from the pier. It is not very often that you see people fishing from the beach either. In my opinion, fishing is what attracts the sharks. People don’t get rid of their fish guts and such properly, and sharks love that stuff! They’ll come right up in water less than a foot deep – where your little ones play.
Follow these tips to avoid shark bites this summer:
- Don’t swim after heavy rainfall – sharks are known to frequent shallow waters following a rain shower
- Watch the way the schools of fish around you are acting – if they seem to be darting away, chances are they’re running from something (a shark)
- Don’t take your dog swimming with you – sharks see the splash from dog paddling and have their next meal planned before you even know it
- Avoid wearing flashy bathing suits, shiny jewelry, anything that will make you resemble a fish
- If you have an open wound – avoid the water at all cost!