Don't swim with dead fish and other common sense

Media attention on shark attacks have been escalating this summer with recent attacks in Florida, Vanuatu, and South Africa. The incidents somewhat differ but the media paints the same picture.........innocent bystander enjoying the aquatic world and then boom out of nowhere here comes Jaws. Any accident whether it's aquatic or on land is a tragedy, but the media persists in hyping up the attacks. The shark is always at fault.......or is it? As humans we should give a little more respect to the ocean and the sea life in it. Unlike the attack upon the little girl in Vanuatu, most of these shark attacks could have been prevented. Shark attacks seem to happen more often to spearfishermen, like the diver killed off the Cape Town coast, because they are spearfishing near their catch. The diver killed early this June had a speared fish attached to his marking buoy and was allegedly swimming in waters that were known to contain Great Whites. That can't be smart. A similar speculation is being made about of 16-year-old Craig A. Hutto of Lebanon, Tennessee who was attacked while fishing in chest-deep water off Cape San Bliss, Fla.

"There's a good chance that the fact that they were fishing played a role. It's speculative at this point, but they might have had a bucket of bait in the water or even caught fish on them, " George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File in Gainesville, Fla told National Geographic News.

You see, we get into a car and we know that there is danger out there on the road. We know there are possibly inexperienced or drunk drivers. We know there are people just simply not paying attention. So we drive defensively with caution, and respect for the road. Is entering the ocean any different? Maybe it's not this simple, but common sense has to be a start.

Sharks are not waiting off the coast to attack humans, however, they are animals who act on the instinct to find food. If you look or smell like food, then isn't it reasonable to believe the shark might want to explore a taste? Unfortunately, a taste can be fatal. As aquatic revelers we can use our common sense and do things to prevent being attacked.

1) Don't swim out too far from shore. Sharks tend to hang out off sand bars and sharp drop offs.

2) Swim in a group. Sharks usually attack lone individuals.

3) Avoid wearing shiny jewelry. Sharks are attracted to the jewelry because it looks like shiny fish scales.

4) Avoid the water at dusk and at night. Sharks tend to be most predatory at night. (OK OK....so I love night diving too, and since the Caribbean Reef Shark in the Turks & Caicos Islands left me alone, I am willing to take my chances!)