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American Morning

Are America's Beaches Safe From Sharks?

Aired July 17, 2001 - 09:37   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: The question this summer is, are our beaches dangerous? Recent shark attacks at Florida beaches have some people watching and wondering. All the experts insist the unprovoked shark attacks are rare. And we have one of those experts with us to talk about shark attacks and what you can do to prevent one, George Burgess. He is with the -- he's the director of the International Shark Attack File and he's joining us from the University of Florida at Gainesville, Florida.

George, good morning. A safe good morning to you.

GEORGE BURGESS, INTERNATIONAL SHARK ATTACK FILE: Good morning.

KAGAN: What is happening off the coast of Florida?

BURGESS: What's happening is that it's summertime and there's sharks and people in the water at the same time and under these circumstances, periodically we have an interaction. Happily, most of them result in minor injuries. Unfortunately we did have one that was quite serious.

KAGAN: But, George, there have been people off the coast of Florida going to those beaches for years. Why are we seeing so many attacks right now, do you think? Is it because there's more people or are people not behaving properly around the sharks?

BURGESS: Well, actually, we're not seeing more. Right now we're about on target for what our norm was for last year. But each year we would expect more attacks than the previous year based on the fact that human populations grow and there's more people entering the water. More people, more chances to meet a shark.

KAGAN: All right, I'm a beach lover so you're not going to tell me not to go to the beach and not to go in the ocean. So let's talk about some tips. What are some tips people can do to avoid shark attack when they do go swimming?

BURGESS: Well, of course, your chances of being attacked are very slim, indeed. But if you want to reduce that already minuscule chance of meeting a shark, avoid dawn and dusk hours, nighttime hours when the sharks tend to be more active and feed. Certainly stay together in groups as much as possible. Avoid situations where there are known opportunities for sharks to be present, such as schooling fishes in the water, diving sea birds and sort of avoid areas where sharks tend to congregate, like the areas between sand bars in the surf zone or along the edges of channels.

KAGAN: Are there certain things that beachgoers might wear that they might not think about but to a shark it looks like an invitation to come on over for dinner?

BURGESS: Certainly minimize your jewelry when you're entering the water. The light glinting off shiny jewelry looks like the sun reflecting off the scales of fishes, their normal food items.

KAGAN: All right, let's talk about the very rare occasion that just perhaps, maybe you are attacked. If you don't completely panic, if you can keep from doing that, what should you do?

BURGESS: Well, clearly, the first thing you want to do is get out of the water if you see a shark and unfortunately some people see sharks and still stay in the water. So get out. Do it gracefully. Try not to panic. Swim gently and smoothly or walk carefully. If the shark actually is approaching you, it's wise to pop it on the nose but keep in mind that that nose is very close to the mouth so you need to be very careful when doing so.

KAGAN: Yes. Boy, that sounds like your best tip of all, just try to avoid it, especially at those times, dawn and dusk, when sharks are simply being sharks and feeding themselves.

BURGESS: That's correct.

KAGAN: George Burgess, thank you so much for joining us and thank you for those tips. Appreciate it.

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