One day after a fatal shark attack off of Stuart Beach, sightings of large schools of sharks off of nearby Palm Beach are being reported.

According to WPTV.com, the number of sharks spotted off of Reef Road was “easily more than a hundred.”
The species of sharks seen in the video was not reported.

At the time of the WPTV.com report, lifeguards were monitoring the migrating sharks to determine whether or not beach closings would be necessary.

Juvenile great white sharks (Carcharodon Carcharias), though rare, can be found off the coast of Florida during the winter months, along with several other shark species.

The Palm Beach Post has a cleverly crafted article with a headline “possibly” identifying the species involved in yesterday’s fatal shark attack of a Stuart, Florida kite boarder. The headline, Expert: Young great white sharks possibly involved in fatal Stuart attack, is followed up with the statement credited to Grant Gilmore noting that “young great white sharks — the fish of Jaws notoriety — are among suspects in Wednesday’s fatal attack off Stuart’s coast.” However, if you read far enough into the article, it states that Gilmore would NOT guess which species was involved, since the only available information about the attack was early news reports.

The article goes on to discuss yesterday’s shark attack and mentions three other species common to the area that are cited as being “known to attack humans” but notes that these three species (bull sharks, tiger sharks, and great hammerhead sharks) prefer warmer waters and tend to leave the area in the winter.

Despite the tendency for these species to leave the area in the winter, tiger shark sightings were reported just last week at Riviera Beach, approximately 35 miles north of yesterday’s attack. In addition, a shark which at least one news source identified as a great hammerhead, was also caught on Riviera Beach last week. That same report indicates that bull sharks are common in the area this time of year.

While there is nothing dishonest, per se, about the story’s headline identifying a “possible” suspected species, the nudging of the reader towards the idea that great white sharks (“of Jaws notoriety,” no less) were behind the attack is fairly prominent, despite no evidence being available at the time of the report to indicate the species. So, while the article is not necessarily dishonest, I find it a bit misleading at best. Other news agencies are eating up the Palm Beach Post article and running their own similar stories, including the LA Times article,
Young great white sharks may have killed Stuart surfer, expert says.

While it may turn out that great white sharks were, in fact, involved in this tragic attack, running headlines based on a few statements suggesting a possibility that great white sharks were the culprits is simply irresponsible reporting. Given the limited information that was available when the statements were made, speculation by news agencies falls outside of the realm of objective reporting, and is irresponsible journalism, at best, especially considering the fact that the expert who was questioned on the subject specifically stated that there was not enough information to even guess the species.

According to multiple news outlets, a 38-year-old Stuart, Florida man died after suffering multiple shark bites while kite surfing near Stuart Beach. A lifeguard spotted the man in distress and paddled out to him where he was being circled by several sharks, according to WFLX.com. Despite the rescue efforts of the lifeguard, the man was pronounced dead after being rushed to the hospital.

While an attack of this nature is almost unheard of in Florida waters, particularly this time of year, the loss of life is no less tragic. My thoughts go out to the victim’s family and friends.

The presence of whale sharks along the coast of East Java, Indonesia are causing an increase in local tourism. The migration patterns of the whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) take them through the area between January and March, and locals are paying up to 5,000 Indonesian Rupiah (which amounts to about $0.53 US, according to the NTD World News report) for boat trips taking them in close proximity of the sharks.

While it’s great to see a positive interest in these animals, the interview with one of the tourists about her fears towards being near a “shark” (despite it being a filter feeder) is indicative of some of the common misconceptions that are out there when it comes to sharks, in general. Then again, the fact that the news anchor referred to the fish as “mammals” might serve as a better example of the lack of understanding towards these animals. My only other major complaint with the report is that the “tour guide” featured in the video is shown apparently attempting to ride a whale shark.

While the report might be a be off on a few “facts,” it’s good to see a generally positive shark story in the news. It’s even more refreshing to hear the sharks referred to as “friendly fish.”

According to South Florida’s WPTV.com, Riviera Beach on Singer Island was closed for multiple days last week due sightings of a large number of sharks in the area.

A majority of the sharks were identified as spinner sharks, but the report states that a few tiger sharks were also spotted, as well.

Check out the aerial footage to get an idea of just how many sharks were in the area at the time.

Leave it to the media to turn an estimated 4m (13.1′) shark into a “MONSTER SHARK!!!” According to The Manly Daily, a “monster” shark was spotted at Avalon (NSW, Australia) on Sunday. (In case you were wondering, the Manly Daily is not a periodical for Sylvester Stallone fans. Manly is actually a suburb of Sydney, Australia.) Several surfers spotted the shark at the same time, which witnessed placed being within 5m (16.4′) of some of the surfers. Volunteer lifesaver, Kurt Magnus, was packing up for the day, when the surfers alerted him of the shark sighting, which prompted Magnus to sound the shark alarm and clear the water. There were no further incidents between the shark and any bathers or surfers.

While the shark is designated a “Monster Shark” in the report’s headline, the article also goes on to refer to it as a “mammoth shark,” as well. I’m not sure if this implies that mammoths are also monsters or not, although I’m guessing monsters sell more newspapers the mammoths.

According to Time.com, Jacques Perrin’s sea-life documentary, Océans, opened to a warm reception in French movie theaters last week. Océans drew in 105,000 viewers in the first 48 hours, in France.

The film which will be released internationally in the coming months, took 2 years of planning and 4 years of filming to complete. Advanced underwater-breathing equipment which allowed divers to film without expelling air bubbles into the water and new underwater filming technology were employed throughout the filming of the documentary which hopes to set a new standard for nature films. The film features marine life of all kinds, including footage of cage-less human and white shark interaction. Oceans also features footage of several other species of sharks including some great whale shark footage and some amazing schooling hammerhead footage.

Disney Nature will be bringing Oceans to the big screen in the U.S. on April 22, 2010.