Young teen bitten by shark; 4 incident in last week

CAM WESH TWO NEWS LEE SHARK STORIES ARE USUALLY SOME OF OUR MOST POPULAR STORIES ONLINE. LUCKILY, EVERYONE WHO WAS BITTEN APPEARS TO BE OKAY, BUT WE WANT TO KNOW A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHY AND HOW THIS IS HAPPENING. SO TONIGHT WE’RE JOINED BY SHARK EXPERT DOCTOR MICHAEL HEITHAUS, AND HE’S A MARINE ECOLOGIST AND EXECUTIVE DEAN AT FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY. DOCTOR, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US TONIGHT. FIRST OF ALL, LET’S TALK ABOUT HOW DESPITE THERE BEING THREE INCIDENTS IN LESS THAN A WEEK, SHARK BITES ARE ACTUALLY NOT THAT COMMON. YEAH, I MEAN, GLOBALLY, THERE MAY BE 70 UNPROVOKED ATTACKS EVERY YEAR. SO IF YOU THINK HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE IN THE WATER, THAT’S REALLY A VERY, VERY SMALL CHANCE OF OF HAVING ONE OF THESE NEGATIVE INTERACTIONS. DOCTOR, A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO I DID A STORY ON A THING CALLED THE SHARK BAN. YOU PUT IT ON ONE LIMB AND YOU HOPE THAT YOU’RE NOT BITTEN ALL OVER. WHAT TYPES OF THINGS CAN SWIMMERS DO TO AVOID BECOMING MORE ATTRACTIVE TO SHARKS? WELL, YOU KNOW. YEAH. SO SOME OF THOSE REPELLENTS WORK A BIT. BUT YOU KNOW, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO BE AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS. IF YOU’RE WORRIED ABOUT SHARKS, DON’T SWIM IN MURKY WATER. TALK TO LIFEGUARDS. YOU KNOW, SEE IF THERE’S SHARK ACTIVITY IN THE AREA OR IF THEY’RE FISH OR PEOPLE FISHING. YOU KNOW, MAYBE AVOID DEEP CUTS BETWEEN THE SHORE AND SANDBARS THAT MIGHT CHANNEL SHARKS IN. BUT, YOU KNOW, VOLUSIA COUNTY IS A BIT OF AN EXCEPTION WHERE WE HAVE MORE BITES THAN JUST ABOUT ANYWHERE ELSE. BUT YOU KNOW, USUALLY YOU DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT SHARKS, BUT YOU FOLLOW THOSE FEW RULES AND YOU’LL REALLY REDUCE YOUR CHANCES EVEN MORE. DOCTOR, YOU MENTIONED LOOK OUT FOR FISH ACTIVITY. WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT? WELL, YOU KNOW, IF YOU’VE GOT BIG SCHOOLS OF BAIT FISH OR YOU SEE FISH HITTING THE SURFACE, THAT’S THE PREY FOR THESE SHARKS. AND YOU KNOW, THE ATTACKS YOU HEARD ABOUT ARE PROBABLY BLACKTIP SHARKS. SO THOSE AREN’T SUPER BIG SHARKS. YOU KNOW, THEY’RE NOT LIFE THREATENING INJURIES. AND THEY’RE PROBABLY MISTAKING A HAND OR A FOOT FOR PREY. BUT, YOU KNOW, THEY’RE IN THESE SHALLOW WATERS A LOT OF TIMES TO FEED. SO IF YOU SEE THEIR FOOD, MAYBE AVOID THAT AREA. WE OBVIOUSLY DON’T HEAR ABOUT A LOT OF LIKE MAJOR DEATHS, YOU KNOW, THANKFULLY. SO AT LEAST ON OUR COASTLINE, BECAUSE OF THE SIZE OF OUR SHARKS. BUT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE THAT ARE SCARED TO GET INTO THE WATER. WHAT’S YOUR MESSAGE TO THEM? WELL, AGAIN, LOOK OUT FOR A FEW OF THOSE SIGNS. YOU KNOW, GO TO THE GUARDED BEACHES AND TALK TO THE GUARDS. BUT, YOU KNOW, IN MOST PARTS OF THE WORLD, IT’S MORE DANGEROUS TO DRIVE TO THE BEACH THAN TO GET IN THE WATER. AND EVEN IN THE WATER, THINGS LIKE RIP CURRENTS ARE A LOT MORE DEADLY THAN SHARKS. SO, YOU KNOW, YOU WANT TO BE AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS, BUT A FEAR OF SHARKS SHOULDN’T KEEP YOU FROM ENJOYING THE OCEAN. THAT’S A REALLY INTERESTING WAY TO THINK ABOUT IT, THAT DRIVING TO THE BEACH AND THE RIP CURRENTS ARE ACTUALLY MORE DANGEROUS. I THINK WE’RE JUST MORE SCARED OF THE SHARKS BECAUSE MOVIES LIKE JAWS, MOVIES LIKE JAWS DID KIND OF A DISSERVICE TO SHARKS BACK IN THE DAY, BECAUSE THERE’S A LOT OF OTHER THINGS IN THE WATER THAT COULD ALSO IMPACT YOU AS WELL. OBVIOUSLY, THIS IS A SEASONAL THING. IT SEEMS LIKE AS FAR AS FLORIDA GOES, WHEN IS SHARK BITING SEASON KIND OF OVER? WELL, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE BIGGEST FACTORS IS HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE IN THE WATER. SO THE WARMER IT GETS, THE MORE PEOPLE WE HAVE IN THE WATER. AND THAT INCREASES THE RATE OF ENCOUNTERS. BUT AS THE WATERS WARM UP, YOU KNOW, IN JULY, AUGUST, SEPTEMBER, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE MORE SHARKS AROUND BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, JUST LIKE PEOPLE, THEY KIND OF HAVE THEIR RANGE OF TEMPERATURES THEY LIKE. AND THAT’S WHEN IT TENDS TO BE IN THAT SWEET SPOT FOR A LOT OF SHARKS IN OUR COASTAL WATERS. SO, YOU KNOW, NOW IS WHEN WE’RE MORE LIKELY TO SEE BITES. BUT AGAIN, THEY ARE REALLY, REALLY RARE. OKAY, DOCTOR, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US. AND CLEARING UP SOME OF THAT INFORMATION FOR US. STAY SAFE OUT THERE. IF YOU ALSO GET IN OUR WATERS,