Shark alerts issued

[Tigermike 3,040]

Be carefull, they are watching you.

Shark alerts issued

Flights spot high number of predators off Gulf beaches Saturday, July 17, 2004

By GUY BUSBY

Staff Reporter

ORANGE BEACH -- After aerial surveys found Gulf waters teeming with nearly 10 times more sharks than expected, officials issued notices Friday warning swimmers to be careful.

Observers in flights conducted by the Ala bama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources on Thursday found large numbers of sharks off the Gulf Shores and Orange Beach coastlines, said Vernon Minton, Marine Resources Division director.

"Marine Resources saw 30 to 35 sharks of mixed sizes between the first and second sandbars between the Gulf State Park fishing pier and Little Lagoon Pass," Minton said. "Three to five is the normal number."

Minton said a second flight was ordered Friday morning. At that time, observers saw 25 to 30 sharks off the beach southwest of Perdido Pass in Orange Beach and another 18 between the state park and Little Lagoon.

He said Marine Resources officials conduct routine flights to check fish populations and activity by anglers. Since the July 2 shark attack on a swimmer in Gulf Shores, flights have been increased and observers directed to keep a closer watch for the predators.

The area between the Gulf State Park and the pass at Little Lagoon, a distance of about four miles, includes the Gulf Shores public beach area where a 7-year-old Arkansas boy was attacked by a shark July 2.

Trenton Martin underwent surgery at South Baldwin Regional Medical Center in Foley after being bitten on the leg in waist-deep water. Trenton is expected to make a full recovery.

Minton said large numbers of small fish killed by low oxygen levels in the last several days may be attracting the sharks to the beach.

"Sharks are scavengers," he said. "We may be having the concentration of these animals as a result of the availability of free groceries."

Minton said most of the sharks observed both days were south of the first sand bar off the beach and beyond the area where most swimmers are in the water. No encounters have been reported between swimmers and sharks since the pre-Fourth of July holiday attack, but officials issued the announcement Friday to let people know that the sharks are just off the beach in larger numbers than usual, he said.

"A lot of people down here are not from this area. They don't realize that this is where sharks live," he said. "Sharks do not attack people by nature. It's not energy efficient. They don't feed that way."

Minton said many shark bites occur in water with poor visibility when the animals mistake people for prey fish. He said bright objects, such as jewelry, can sometimes lead to attacks if the shark thinks the reflection is a small fish.

He said other fish in the Gulf, such as blue fish, can also bite swimmers if they mistake bright areas on swimsuits or appendages, such as fingers or toes, for food.

The warnings came two days after another swimmer was attacked in fresh water by a different type of predator. Kevin McLain of Foley was injured by an alligator while swimming in Lake Shelby, just across Alabama 182 from the Gulf State Park fishing pier.

Officials said following the July 2 attack that only two other people have been injured by sharks off Baldwin beaches. Chuck Anderson and Richard Watley were attacked off the Gulf Shores public beach in 2000. Anderson lost part of his right arm in that attack.

On Friday, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach officials told lifeguards and public safety workers to watch beaches, but did not close the waters to swimmers.

"When we received the information yesterday after Marine Resources made the observations, we notified all of our officers, dispatchers, the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the lifeguards at the public beach so that they would be aware of the situation," said Gulf Shores Police Chief Arthur Bourne.

Asked if police or city lead ers in Gulf Shores should have issued public warnings after the attack on the child, Bourne said officials had nothing more to say on that issue. Officials said at the time that they could not confirm that Trenton's injuries were caused by a shark.

At the Alabama Gulf State Park, officials hoisted red flags on the beaches Friday to warn swimmers of potential dangers in the water, said Hugh Branyon, park director.

"We've got rangers on four-wheelers patrolling the beach and we've got the red flags up right now," he said. He said swimming is not being prohibited, but employees are telling visitors that increased numbers of sharks have been seen in the area.

"Our guys have met with them," he said. "They're being very careful not to panic anyone, but we are letting them know what's going on."

Pat Ledlow, an employee at the park's fishing pier, said anglers and workers have been seeing increased numbers of sharks for several weeks.

"They've been out here all summer," she said. "You see them all the time and it's been a bad summer for sharks. That's why we don't allow shark fishing because we don't want to bring them in."

Ledlow said some visitors to the pier have been surprised to see the predators off the beach.

"We have some tourists who are surprised," she said. "Some of them don't think that they're out there, but that's where they are."

Orange Beach officials are also increasing beach patrols, said Jeff Moon, city administrator. He said pilots of aircraft flying advertising banners and the Civil Air Patrol's dusk "Sundowner" flights along the beach are also being asked to watch for increased concentrations of sharks and any other unusual activity in the Gulf.

MOBILE PRESS

[Guest AuNuma1]

Wow, I was there last week...

[Ranger12 46]

We go down to Orange Beach at least twice a year and stay at one of the Phoenix condos. I will be at the beach again in November, so hopefully those bad boys will be making their way somewhere else.

[TrueTiger 0]

I usually go to destin or panama city.. My parents were down there during the 4th and they saw a shark in the water...