Nope, nothing at all to be worried about here...this ain't Florida! haha! The last time there was a recorded attack by a shark on a human was 1971, and the shark was later caught in Magens Bay and found to have been gashed by a propeller on it's back. The gash had become infected and the infection traveled to it's brain, causing it to be where it was when it attacked a U.S. Navy Seal who was snorkeling off the tip of Peterborg. You may SEE some sharks here, like Nurse Sharks, but you are not their primary food source, so you have nothing to worry about. The waters here are so abundant with food for the sea life , that humans may enjoy the water as much as they like, with no thoughts of harm to them...unless you step on a sea urchin, or rub against some fire coral...but, if you are practicing proper snorkeling etiquette, this won't happen, as you should only "look" at things in the water...never 'touch'. Come on down and enjoy all that the warm, clear water here has to offer! However, if you go deep sea fishing and get into a school of tuna near the North Drop, for example...this would NOT be a good place to decide to take a swim! haha! Caribbean Reef Sharks get into a feeding frenzy out there and they may decide to take a big chunk out of you...but, what are the odds that you'll be snorkeling 20 miles off the North coast? Absolutely nothing to be concerned about here.

Thanks Marty.
That makes me feel sooooooooooooo much better.
Kinda have a little phobia about sharks.
I am really looking forward to getting down therre sometime and hitting the water.

Sharks freak you out? Wait til you see a barracuda hover a few inches from your face. A bit creepy but harmless.

Also, the tarpon get pretty darn big and can give you a bit of a fright. Totally harmless just big.

My husband saw a 6 ft nurse shark in Leinster Bay. You shouldve seen his face. It was absolutely harmless which makes it funny, now....... : )

Lysa I dont know who told you that barracudas were harmless??? However they were mistaken, they can be quite aggressive especially towards fingers, necks, wrists that have shiny metal on them... aka rings necklaces,bracelets... tarpon, harmless

Call me crazy, but I would pay EXTRA to see a shark. It's a dream of mine to dive with the Great Whites off of S. Africa. Tell me where the sharks are and I'll be there!

We love to see all of the marine life and the past few years have a check-off sheet and my trip is not complete without seeing:

Turtles, Rays, Moray eels, Octopus, and of course Sharks. We have found much success at Waterlemon and Whistling Cay (by Boat) where we have observed many of the above and in abundance. We have only seen Nurse Sharks around STJ. Some people hiking back from Waterlemon said they saw a number of Black tipped reef sharks this past August there but we did not encounter them.

Although the sharks are relatively harmless unmolested, they still get the heart pumping a bit for the awe factor. Very cool creatures.

Good Luck

Any shark sitings in St. Croix? That's where we'll be spending Christmas. (And remember, I take shark sitings as a GOOD thing) I have only seen a nurse shark before, and we think it was injured.... not quite the awe factor I was hoping for!

Hey lip: Yes, one should not wear sparkly jewelry around the barracuda but I've never heard of one biting off fingers or biting necks! I assume you mean that IF they go after the shiny jewelry, they MIGHT bite (?).

Barring poking or provocation, there are very few reports of barracuda attacks (I just googled it).

I've been face to jaw with a few of them in the waters of VI and all they do is stare and intimidate. And lots of it.

Back in 2004 I read in the VI Daily News of a youngster on STX having a toe bitten off by a barracuda going for a toe ring. The toe was reattached in Florida.

Glad I wasn't wearing jewelry when the first thing I saw off St. John was a 3 foot barracuda. I almost fainted but after a hard stare, he just left me alone. It was so cool!!!

Sharks and barracudas, oh my! My DH and I were snorkeling in St Lucia-it was just the two of us and all of a sudden, we were surrounded by barracuda. We were in between the barracuda and a school of fish. Got my heart pumping but they just stared at us.

We have also been in the water with lemon sharks, nurse sharks and dozens of black tip reef sharks. The most scary was the black tip reef sharks in French Polynesia because they chum the water right in front of you and all of a sudden there are lots of sharks fighting for the food. As long as you are not chumming, you should be fine.

Great whites, no way, we are not that brave! Seeing them on TV is enough for us.

I truthfully cannot remember his name, but a pro diver based in the BVI during the late 80s took a plastic bag full of bread down with him one day. He tore off the bottom of the bag and spun it around to empty it, unfortunately a barracuda saw the flashing of the plastic, and nearly tore his hand off. He had to have well over 200 stitches.

Last time I dove the Rhone, with my brother, one that was about 6' approached him. I swam directly at it, and it took off. They are frightened easily.

This is one more reason NOT to feed the fish!! Leave them alone and they will leave you alone.

There was a reef shark hiding among the rocks on the west side of Little Lameshure when we snorkeled there in late July of this year...probably about 5 feet in length.

Hi,

My husband and boys swam over a harmless 7ft. nurse shark, with babies at trunk bay . They are harmless. My 6 yr. old son though it was just a BIG FISH. They were on the North side of the little Island off of Trunk Bay. Can't wait to go back over springbreak!

KJ