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I know that swimming, snorkeling and scuba are very popular in the USVI.
But are there any sharks? What types? How dangerous? Recent attacks?
AC
Don't know if it is accurate or not, but I heard a tour operator telling his group yesterday that there had not been a shark attack on STT since the 70s.
I saw several small sharks on Dec 14th but they were at Coral World. (smile)
By no means is there any reason to be worried about shark attacks! However, check out this article...
http://tnew.onepaper.com/stthomasvi/?v=d&i=&s=News:Local&p=66517
I was stung (attacked) by a jellyfish...but I shouldn't have been swimming at night I suppose. 😉
In case anyone has trouble with the link, here is the "meat and potatoes" of article.
Chances of a shark attack
The chances of being killed by a mountain lion are greater than those of dying in the jaws of a shark -- and when compared to being killed by a deer, the factor rises exponentially.
For every 0.4 shark fatality in an average year during the 1990s, 130 people were killed in crashes with deer on the nation's highways and 18 people were killed by dogs, according to ISAF.
And in Puerto Rico between 1959 and 1994, lightning killed 30 people while one person was attacked by a shark – and the shark attack was not fatal.
"The ISAF investigated 86 alleged incidents of shark-human interaction occurring worldwide in 2002. Upon review, 60 of these incidents represented confirmed cases of unprovoked shark attack on humans," the Web site states.
ISAF defines unprovoked attacks as "incidents where an attack on a live human by a shark occurs in its natural habitat without human provocation of the shark"
The ISAF has documented only three attacks ever in the Virgin Islands -- one in 1963 that was fatal, one unconfirmed in 1972, and one in 1992 that was non-fatal.
The fatal attack was by a Galapagos shark, according to Alexie Morgan, research assistant to George H. Burgess, director of the ISAF and the Florida Program for Shark Research.
As for types of sharks - here are a few; nurse sharks, black tip, lemon, reef, hammerhead sharks...
--Islander
Thanks everyone for your great info. I have been snorkling with Captian Nautica from a cruise excursion and had a great time. (Didn't see any sharks) But afterwards I started wondering if I had risked my life !! Great to know that I did not !!
aqua
