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The media has gone cuckoo over sharks again. Near-rabid coverage of shark bites/attacks/sightings. Another one today:
Dear Media: Get a life! Supposedly responsible publications like National Geographic and CNN -- well, scratch that, CNN is never responsible, but at any rate -- are reporting, for example, that North Carolina is a "perfect storm" for shark attacks, which both organizations aver are "on the increase."
Uh, not so fast. Go to 2015 Shark Attacks and you will see there have been 31 such attacks this year worldwide, counting this morning's which isn't posted on that site yet. How many are there on average worldwide?
So at 30 incidents on the halfway through the year mark, we're actually significantly lower this year than the 10-year average. True, there have been more off the North Carolina coast, but Florida has had only seven this year, and averages 23. Maybe the Florida sharks moved north?
Anyway, it's all absurd. And do you remember the last time this happened? It was off the Florida Gulf Coast. It was September of 2001. When the 11th arrived, the sharks suddenly stopped biting. Hope that's not what it takes this year.
[/tongue-in-cheek]
Former Boston Herald editor injured in North Carolina shark attack
A former editor-in-chief at The Boston Herald suffered serious injuries after he dramatically tried to fight off a 7-foot shark Wednesday off the coast of North Carolina.
A former editor-in-chief at The Boston Herald suffered serious injuries after he dramatically tried to fight off a 7-foot shark Wednesday off the coast of North Carolina.
Uh, not so fast. Go to 2015 Shark Attacks and you will see there have been 31 such attacks this year worldwide, counting this morning's which isn't posted on that site yet. How many are there on average worldwide?
How Many Shark Attacks Are There Each Year And Where Do They Occur?
According to the International Shark Attack File, a division of the Florida Museum of Natural History, there were 118 alleged incidents of shark-human interactions worldwide in 2012. Upon review, ISAF found 80 of the incidents to be valid and confirmed cases of “unprovoked attacks,” which it defines as “incidents where an attack on a live human by a shark occurs in its natural habitat without human provocation of the shark.”
According to the International Shark Attack File, a division of the Florida Museum of Natural History, there were 118 alleged incidents of shark-human interactions worldwide in 2012. Upon review, ISAF found 80 of the incidents to be valid and confirmed cases of “unprovoked attacks,” which it defines as “incidents where an attack on a live human by a shark occurs in its natural habitat without human provocation of the shark.”
Anyway, it's all absurd. And do you remember the last time this happened? It was off the Florida Gulf Coast. It was September of 2001. When the 11th arrived, the sharks suddenly stopped biting. Hope that's not what it takes this year.
[/tongue-in-cheek]