Shark Attacks Said Likely for Summer

By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID
.c The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - With the return of summer vacation season millions of Americans will head for the oceans, and the possibility of shark attacks.

"Like summer thunderstorms, there will be more shark incidents this summer,'' Robert E. Hueter of the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Fla., said Tuesday.

Shark attacks have been increasing in recent years, in parallel with the increasing number of people going to the beach, added George H. Burgess of the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville.

Hueter noted that last summer shark attacks drew widespread attention after young Jesse Arbogast had an arm bitten off and his uncle wrestled the shark out of the water in July.

Despite all the attention, however, shark attacks in 2001 were actually down from the previous year. There were 76 unprovoked shark attacks around the world last year, compared to 85 in 2000, according to statistics collected by Burgess' International Shark Attack File.

Shark attacks in waters off the United States increased by one to 55. Florida, which leads the nation, had 37, one fewer than in 2000.

Nonetheless, sharks remain a presence and Burgess told a news conference that most people who have swum in the ocean have been within 15 feet of a shark without knowing it.

In general, sharks prefer to feed on smaller fish and sea creatures and avoid people, the panel of shark researchers said.

But, Burgess added, ``Every time we enter the sea we have to understand it is a wilderness experience.''

Burgess offered tips to reduce the risk:

• Avoid waters with effluents or other discharge.
• Don't enter the water if bleeding.
• Stay in groups.
• Avoid the water in darkness or twilight.
• Don't wear shiny jewelry.
• Avoid water being fished or with bait fishes.
• Avoid murky water.