Annual Shark Frenzy
Or should we call it the Annual Media Frenzy! Every year from December to April during peak tourist season an international media frenzy occurs on the east coast of Florida. Swarms of sharks, spectators, and reporters flock to east coast beaches, all in search of their next meal or thrill. And as a result:
- Beaches ban swimming.
- Tourists flock to the shore to see the excitement.
- Vendors sell their wares.
- Reporters arrive from around the globe.
- Small planes fly up and down the coast.
- And the locals just shrug and say "not again!"
Annual shark migrations are nothing new, it's what sharks do - migrate to the warm tropical waters in the winter then turn around and swim up north for the summer months. Schools containing thousands of sharks come down the east coast to as far south as north Miami.
Humans aren't the only "snow birds." Birds and other fish species migrate too. We aren't telling you something you don't already know but it's funny to listen to the news reports that make it sound like this mass swarm of sharks is a strange event.
Shark migrations happen all around the world too. So why are Florida's migrations so widely publicized? We think it is because our waters are so clear that you can easily film the sharks in the water from above. Plus they come very close to shore in search of food so you can clearly see them in the waves just 200 yards from shore. And it is tourist season here in March so there are more visitors on our beaches than in summer months - maybe a lot of news reporters vacationing too so they report the swarms as they happen.
Every year spinner and blacktip sharks migrate from warm tropical waters northward as the Gulf Stream warms up. They travel in huge schools of 15,000 to 20,000 individuals creating quite a site and cause a human frenzy.
Today on March 7th most beaches in Palm Beach County are closed to swimming yet the beaches are full of spectators witnessing this wonderful annual migration. I even heard today on a national business channel an upcoming news report teaser "before you vacation, find out where the sharks are so you don't become their lunch." This is NOT good for Florida's tourist industry. So I was motivated to write this short piece to hopefully clarify the fact that this is a normal annual event in Florida. And for the record, we aren't scared either.
The sharks present this week off Palm Beach County are not dangerous sharks. Blacktip sharks only account for about 20% of Florida annual unprovoked shark attacks and Spinner even less. Usually someone is bit by a shark because they were swimming in a school of bait fish, shark lunch! So a word of advice, never, ever swim in a school of bait fish!
In Southwest Florida we catch blacktips all the time, they are very prevalent along our beaches. Every time you swim, a blacktip is undoubtably in the water nearby and they rarely get close to us. We also have a lot of hammerhead sharks in our waters, especially in the 10,000 Islands where they breed. It is not uncommon to see large schools of hammerheads in the summer months down here.
We all have to remember that we are visiting their home every time we swim. Sharks are always in the waters of Florida but most of us never see them because sharks generally stay clear of humans, we are not very tasty to them.
Swimming with Sharks
So you want to go swimming with the sharks? We don't advise it. But if you do decide to swim when sharks are migrating in the area, we suggest you swim very close to shore near a life guard station and do not wear silver, gold or yellow colors as sharks are attracted to them. Never swim near schools of bait fish. And never provoke a shark, even the most docile shark will defend itself when threatened. Remember, sharks are as afraid of you as you of them.
Learn more about Spinner and Blacktip Sharks visit our Sharks page.
Liz Lombardi, March 7, 2013
This information is provided only as a courtesy and there are NO guaranties, warranties, express or implied, or representations as to the accuracy of this content. Florida Go Fishing assumes NO liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in the information contained here. If you find an error or omission in the data, please feel free to contact us with the correct information and we will verify the error or omission and correct it as soon as possible.
