| Q |
Where did the incident occur? |
| A |
South Beach Park in Vero Beach. |
| Q |
What happened the day of the incident? |
| A: |
I was in the Lifeguard tower at South Beach when I noticed a large crowd forming about a half a mile south of the park. This usually indicates that there is some type of problem, so I jumped down from the tower and went to investigate. A fisherman was fishing off the beach and hooked a shark in the belly by accident. He had apparently struggled for over forty-five minutes trying to pull the shark in. When I arrived, I asked the fisherman if he was going to keep the shark. He said no, so I asked if I could release him back into the ocean. He agreed and I called for my friend Todd to help. Todd arrived with a pair of plyers and cutters he retrieved from his truck. I held the shark down while Todd snipped the back of the hook. He then pulled the hook from the sharks skin with the plyers. Once the hook was out, we both lifted the shark to the waters edge and released it. The shark slowly swam away. We watched to make sure it was ok, and the shark disappeared out of sight without incident. |
| Q |
What type of shark was it? |
| A: |
It was a 5 to 6 foot Blacktip (if you look closely at the picture above you can see the black markings on one of the fins). |
| Q |
Did the shark struggle when you held him down? |
| A: |
Surprisingly, he stayed fairly calm. |
| Q |
Do you think that the shark will live? |
| A: |
We watched him swim away, and then waited for quite awhile. He never surfaced, so I believe it was ok. |
| Q |
How many people were on the beach that day? |
| A: |
It was a weekday, and there were probably 200 to 300 people on the beach. |
| Q |
Did you get the swimmers out of the water once you realized that a shark was caught a half mile from your protected area? |
| A: |
No we didn't. We felt that the incident occurred far enough out of the park not to be a hazard. |
| Q |
What were the water conditions? |
| A: |
We were flying the yellow caution flag. The ocean was flat, but it was rough the day before, so the water was murky with no visibility. There was also a drop off and there were bait fish present. |
| Q |
When is bait fish season in Florida? |
| A: |
There are two main seasons in Florida. One in the fall that starts at the end of the summer and lasts through November, and one that starts in early spring and lasts sometimes into June. It really depends on the water temperature. I believe the bait fish follow the warm water currents north or south depending on the time of year. |
| Q |
How long have you been a lifeguard and how much ocean experience do you have? |
| A: |
I=ve been a guard for 13 years and was just recently promoted to captain for the City of Vero Beach. I also surf, dive and swim on a regular basis. |
| Q |
Do you feel that there are more shark attacks now than in the past? |
| A: |
No, not really. I believe that there is definitely an increase in people visiting our parks, and the relationship to the amount of attacks is proportionate. Last year we had over 500,000 visitors to our guarded beaches in Indian River County, and that number I'm sure will increase next year. |
| Q |
Do you think the beaches in Indian River County are safe. |
| A: |
Definitely, but you still have to respect the ocean. |
| Q |
Have you helped shark attack victims while working as a lifeguard? |
| A: |
Yes I have, but most of the attacks have been small bits or nips to the feet or hands. |
| Q |
What advice can you give to beach goers? |
| A: |
Probably the most important advice is to swim near a lifeguard and follow the basic ocean safety rules, such as: use caution in murky water, when there are bait fish, or when any other hazardous conditions are present (see safety tips). |
| Q |
How do feel about sharks? |
| A: |
I don't have a problem with sharks and I think we need to respect them. |
