Sting Ray kills women in FL Keys

[concernedperson]

~snip
Hunter's report noted she suffered ``multiple skull fractures and direct brain injury resulting in sudden death,'' said Jorge Pino, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

She was not stung by the ray's poisonous barb. The collision knocked Zagorski backward, onto the floor of the boat, Pino said.

``The force of that impact was dramatic,'' he said.
http://tinyurl.com/2cdb54

Thanks for the article, TG. This I what I thought from the beginning.

 

[Tom'sGirl]

Thanks for the article, TG. This I what I thought from the beginning.

YW cp!

 

[KarlK]

That is such a cool picture!!!!!
When I was a child living on Cape Cod my Dad and uncles would go out to the shark tournaments (popular after the movie Jaws!)
They once came in 2cd or 3rd with a 6 foot Maco

People don't realize how many sharks live in the North Atlantic, in fact waters between the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the mouth of Chesapeake (an area that includes Cape Cod obviously) have one of the densest shark population in the world in summertime. Fortunately for swimmers most temperate/cold water sharks, which tend to be very large in size, usually avoid shallow waters. It wouldn't be a good idea to fall overboard though. Fishermen often report large sharks trailing their boats. The huge mako in the picture was hooked off Cape Breton and won its captors a first prize in a shark fishing contest held in Nova Scotia. It is truly exceptionally large, must have been quite a challenge to reel in. I would have kept my hands way back from its mouth.

Did you know that often Maco Shark is served as Sword fish in higher end restaurants??

I did not but it doesn't surprise me, makos hang around the same waters as swordfish do, on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and vicinity. Swordfish fishermen must catch a lot of makos and well, why not make a living off those as well if they taste ok?

In the movie The Perfect Storm which takes place on the Grand Banks there is a rather ridiculous scene where a hooked small mako (according to the script) attacks the crew. However the shark used in the movie looks like a generic shark made of rubber. Even small makos have very long teeth, not small triangular ones like in the movie.

I did not know that Maco's attack.
(ps. My dad was a shark fisherman)

Not many people swim with them

Seriously, mako sharks were not considered dangerous until the 1950's when attacks originally attributed to other species (great white) were found to have been perpetrated by large makos, which are opportunistic eaters even though not suicidal ones like great whites.

The level of dangerousness posed by any particular cold water shark species is difficult to assess and this was even more so before the advent of scuba diving and the wetsuit. Makos dwelling in the Pacific are somewhat sluggish, smaller and usually harmless unless provoked (they will defend themselves with deadly force if they feel threatened but not attack at random) and thus it was assumed that all makos were relatively safe. But Atlantic makos, which are larger and not sluggish at all have been reclassified as man-eaters after a series of fatal and near-fatal encounters in the St. Lawrence river and off the coast of New England half a century ago, and it was theorized that other attacks hitherto attributed to great whites mainly due to the reported size of the attacker had in fact been committed by large makos. In the photo above it's pretty obvious that anyone seeing a shark of that size in the water could assume it's a great white based on bulk alone. There are more like it out there.

The victims of the mako attacks were fishermen and a shipwreck diver who was attacked while exploring the wreck of the Empress of Ireland at the bottom of the St. Lawrence river. Being a diver myself a few years ago I applied for a permit to survey the Empress with a friend and that's when I learned about this (we were denied the permit and didn't complain much lol). Good thing is makos are not coast-hugging sharks so encounters are rare but let's just say they are better left alone. Many experts believe that after the great white the Atlantic mako is probably the most aggressive shark species towards humans.

ETA: Grilled Maco Fillet, fresh caught that day, is OMG to die for!!!

You're making me hungry now, I love seafood

 

[KarlK]

~snip
Hunter's report noted she suffered ``multiple skull fractures and direct brain injury resulting in sudden death,'' said Jorge Pino, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

She was not stung by the ray's poisonous barb. The collision knocked Zagorski backward, onto the floor of the boat, Pino said.

``The force of that impact was dramatic,'' he said.
http://tinyurl.com/2cdb54

Yes I was about to post an update after reading the latest report. It appears the ray catapulted out of the water at great velocity and hit the victim head-on in the face, knocking her backwards and causing her to bang her head. It is not clear from the article if the collision with the ray caused extensive injuries but the fatal injuries appear to have been sustained when her head smashed against a metallic object on the deck.

This is one of the freakiest of freak accidents I have ever heard of. Odds of winning the lottery twice are probably greater. A small boat is a speck on the ocean, but as the ray's -and the victim's- bad luck would have it the fish chose that exact spot to get airborne. Amazing. They would put such a scene in a movie and people would say "no way this could ever happen in real life".

 

[Elphaba]

Ever heard of the Red Triangle? it's an area in the Northern California waters that is a huge draw for great whites.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Triangle_(Pacific_Ocean)

 

[Amraann]

People don't realize how many sharks live in the North Atlantic, in fact waters between the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the mouth of Chesapeake (an area that includes Cape Cod obviously) have one of the densest shark population in the world in summertime. Fortunately for swimmers most temperate/cold water sharks, which tend to be very large in size, usually avoid shallow waters. It wouldn't be a good idea to fall overboard though. Fishermen often report large sharks trailing their boats. The huge mako in the picture was hooked off Cape Breton and won its captors a first prize in a shark fishing contest held in Nova Scotia. It is truly exceptionally large, must have been quite a challenge to reel in. I would have kept my hands way back from its mouth.

I did not but it doesn't surprise me, makos hang around the same waters as swordfish do, on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and vicinity. Swordfish fishermen must catch a lot of makos and well, why not make a living off those as well if they taste ok?

In the movie The Perfect Storm which takes place on the Grand Banks there is a rather ridiculous scene where a hooked small mako (according to the script) attacks the crew. However the shark used in the movie looks like a generic shark made of rubber. Even small makos have very long teeth, not small triangular ones like in the movie.

Not many people swim with them

Seriously, mako sharks were not considered dangerous until the 1950's when attacks originally attributed to other species (great white) were found to have been perpetrated by large makos, which are opportunistic eaters even though not suicidal ones like great whites.

The level of dangerousness posed by any particular cold water shark species is difficult to assess and this was even more so before the advent of scuba diving and the wetsuit. Makos dwelling in the Pacific are somewhat sluggish, smaller and usually harmless unless provoked (they will defend themselves with deadly force if they feel threatened but not attack at random) and thus it was assumed that all makos were relatively safe. But Atlantic makos, which are larger and not sluggish at all have been reclassified as man-eaters after a series of fatal and near-fatal encounters in the St. Lawrence river and off the coast of New England half a century ago, and it was theorized that other attacks hitherto attributed to great whites mainly due to the reported size of the attacker had in fact been committed by large makos. In the photo above it's pretty obvious that anyone seeing a shark of that size in the water could assume it's a great white based on bulk alone. There are more like it out there.

The victims of the mako attacks were fishermen and a shipwreck diver who was attacked while exploring the wreck of the Empress of Ireland at the bottom of the St. Lawrence river. Being a diver myself a few years ago I applied for a permit to survey the Empress with a friend and that's when I learned about this (we were denied the permit and didn't complain much lol). Good thing is makos are not coast-hugging sharks so encounters are rare but let's just say they are better left alone. Many experts believe that after the great white the Atlantic mako is probably the most aggressive shark species towards humans.

You're making me hungry now, I love seafood

Karl Thank you for taking the time to post all of that.
I love seafood too!!!

Elphaba, the link says there is no article for the Red Triangle.

 

[KarlK]

Karl Thank you for taking the time to post all of that.
I love seafood too!!!

Elphaba, the link says there is no article for the Red Triangle.

It's here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Triangle_(Pacific_Ocean)

Fortunately for swimmers these waters attract marine mammals (and the sharks that prey on them) mainly in winter when few people swim in the cold water. But in the last few decades the advent of the wetsuit has allowed dedicated surfers to practice their sport even in the winter months, putting themselves at risk, and attacks have occurred. The same caution should be exercised in northern CA during winter than in the North Atlantic during summer. When it comes to cold water shark behavior we still have a lot to learn and unfortunately some will pay a very high price for our "education".