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Shark Attack?

(@rnblade)
Posts: 33
Eminent Member
Topic starter
 

At Breakfast today someone told me that a lobster diver got killed by a shark a couple days ago on STX. Any truth to that?

 
Posted : March 17, 2016 5:16 pm
(@speee1dy)
Posts: 8867
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have not heard about that. any details about where, time ???

 
Posted : March 17, 2016 5:29 pm
(@rnblade)
Posts: 33
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Topic starter
 

No sorry very limited details. I assume it's just a rumor since it seems
like it would be big Island news but figure if anyone knew it would be this group.

 
Posted : March 17, 2016 5:32 pm
(@speee1dy)
Posts: 8867
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lets hope that is all it was

 
Posted : March 17, 2016 5:33 pm
(@Courtney)
Posts: 29
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The St. Croix Source had a news article about it. Google: Body Found in East End Marine Park Waters

That must be it!

 
Posted : March 17, 2016 6:46 pm
(@rnblade)
Posts: 33
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Topic starter
 

Thanks that does sound like it is the right story.

 
Posted : March 17, 2016 6:53 pm
(@rnblade)
Posts: 33
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Topic starter
 

The article mentioned.

The body of a man authorities believe was fishing illegally in the St. Croix's East End Marine Park over the weekend was found Monday drowned.

The V.I. Police Department had not released any information as of Thursday evening. The man's name has not been released.

According to a source at the Department Planning and Natural Resources, the man's body had "undergone an encounter with something big."

The area where he was found is a "no take" zone. No fishing, spear fishing, conch harvest or lobster catch is allowed in the area off the east end of the island in an effort to rebuild fish populations.

A person who was with the deceased over the weekend has admitted that they were fishing, the DPNR source said, and said the man was last seen Saturday afternoon.

 
Posted : March 17, 2016 6:58 pm
(@caribstx)
Posts: 546
Honorable Member
 

It was not a rumor....I read it in The Avis earlier in the week...maybe Monday.

It was a local lobster fisherman out on the South Shore. He and his partner were diving some ways away from each other. Both went down but only one came back up. Apparently the body was pretty chewed up.

In fact, there were TWO shark stories mentioned in The Avis that day. The other mention was that missing 23 yo Nina Guandolo's DNA was positively identified from the torso that washed up at Enfield Green. The story said it was obvious that the body had been bitten by a shark but they were unsure if that was the actual cause of death.

My son and a friend once saw a hammerhead on the other side of the reef just west from Point Elizabeth. He never went spear fishing again after that.

 
Posted : March 17, 2016 7:03 pm
(@rnblade)
Posts: 33
Eminent Member
Topic starter
 

Yes Nina had been missing for awhile though (I believe) . I would expect if a body has been in the water for a a while something would chew on it. It's the ones that get you while you are still moving I worry about. To hear about shark bite here is pretty rare so I was curious. Thanks for the information.

 
Posted : March 17, 2016 7:17 pm
(@AandA2VI)
Posts: 2294
Noble Member
 

Lets NOT get crazy here. It is their home - not ours. You're more likely to be killed by a vending machine, statistically. The rip currents and poor water conditions were INSANE all week - I am betting he got caught up in his own line or into a cave and got stuck.

In what I estimate close to 1,000 days in the water in the last 3.3 years I have never once seen a shark big enough to kill, not to mention all the sharks I encounter (mostly carib reefs) - which are quite a few - they see us and bolt... except the cane bay sharks. People gotta stop feeding them. I love when they come close but it can be VERY dangerous for less experienced divers - panic wise.

We don't need to give anyone a reason to go on a shark killing spree.

 
Posted : March 18, 2016 3:47 am
(@caribstx)
Posts: 546
Honorable Member
 

I am betting he got caught up in his own line or into a cave and got stuck.

That sounds like something that would come out of a Dept. of Tourism press release.

Only friendly, vegan sharks here!

 
Posted : March 18, 2016 11:21 am
(@the-oldtart)
Posts: 6523
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And where has it been confirmed that either of these were shark attacks?

 
Posted : March 18, 2016 12:00 pm
(@alana33)
Posts: 12366
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The last confirmed shark attack was in the late 50- early 60's in Magens Bay.
http://www.best-virgin-islands-guide.com/Virgin-Island-shark-attacks.html

 
Posted : March 18, 2016 12:55 pm
(@JohnnyU)
Posts: 465
Reputable Member
 

What???

 
Posted : March 18, 2016 1:22 pm
(@caribstx)
Posts: 546
Honorable Member
 

And where has it been confirmed that either of these were shark attacks?

I read it in The Avis so it MUST be true!

 
Posted : March 18, 2016 1:31 pm
(@the-oldtart)
Posts: 6523
Illustrious Member
 

What???

What what? There was one reported attack in 2008 off STX (Elizabeth Riggs) but there seems no data to indicate whether this was ever confirmed.

 
Posted : March 18, 2016 1:38 pm
(@rnblade)
Posts: 33
Eminent Member
Topic starter
 

No one went crazy or said it was the sharks fault. I asked if anyone heard of a shark attack and no one had but this article was mentioned which was probably the story the person was telling me about. The article said he drown and ran into something big. Deliberately vague probably but still all the facts we have on the subject. So some will think he drown and some will think a shark helped him drown and neither will ever know unless more facts are given.

 
Posted : March 18, 2016 1:43 pm
(@JohnnyU)
Posts: 465
Reputable Member
 

There was shark attack fatality in the 70's on STX

To state that there hasn't been an attack since the 50/60's is wrong

 
Posted : March 18, 2016 1:49 pm
(@watruw8ing4)
Posts: 850
Prominent Member
 

The last confirmed shark attack was in the late 50- early 60's in Magens Bay.
http://www.best-virgin-islands-guide.com/Virgin-Island-shark-attacks.html

Bret Gilliam would probably take issue with that. But that was probably due to unusual circumstances. Cane Bay STX, early 70's.

 
Posted : March 18, 2016 1:57 pm
(@the-oldtart)
Posts: 6523
Illustrious Member
 

Bret Gilliam would probably take issue with that. But that was probably due to unusual circumstances. Cane Bay STX, early 70's.

http://www.liquisearch.com/list_of_fatal_unprovoked_shark_attacks_in_the_united_states/1970s

 
Posted : March 18, 2016 2:18 pm
(@alana33)
Posts: 12366
Illustrious Member
 

Listen kiddos, I was a child when the attack and death in Magens Bay occurred.
They caught many sharks including the one that killed the man and hung it up in front of the fire station in STT.
They closed Mavens Bay down.
I saw it.
I've been in these waters most of my life,
I've seen many sharks as a diver and dive master, 5 out of 7 days a week, swimming, snorkelling and constantly being in the water.
If you have a fear, stay out of the water.

 
Posted : March 18, 2016 2:27 pm
CruzanIron
(@cruzaniron)
Posts: 2533
Famed Member
 

2008 Buck Island, STX.

Not fatal

 
Posted : March 18, 2016 2:35 pm
(@JohnnyU)
Posts: 465
Reputable Member
 

Listen kiddos, I was a child when the attack and death in Magens Bay occurred.
They caught many sharks including the one that killed the man and hung it up in front of the fire station in STT.
They closed Mavens Bay down.
I saw it.
I've been in these waters most of my life,
I've seen many sharks as a diver and dive master, 5 out of 7 days a week, swimming, snorkelling and constantly being in the water.
If you have a fear, stay out of the water.

No ones calling for the wholesale slaughter of sharks, only pointing out that you were incorrect.

 
Posted : March 18, 2016 2:46 pm
(@mtdoramike)
Posts: 955
Prominent Member
 

Lets NOT get crazy here. It is their home - not ours. You're more likely to be killed by a vending machine, statistically. The rip currents and poor water conditions were INSANE all week - I am betting he got caught up in his own line or into a cave and got stuck.

In what I estimate close to 1,000 days in the water in the last 3.3 years I have never once seen a shark big enough to kill, not to mention all the sharks I encounter (mostly carib reefs) - which are quite a few - they see us and bolt... except the cane bay sharks. People gotta stop feeding them. I love when they come close but it can be VERY dangerous for less experienced divers - panic wise.

We don't need to give anyone a reason to go on a shark killing spree.

I hate to disagree, because my home is where ever I make it. So if they got a problem with that then they need to move over or become shark sandwiches.

 
Posted : March 18, 2016 2:48 pm
(@the-oldtart)
Posts: 6523
Illustrious Member
 

Excerpted from
http://wizardofbaum.blogspot.com/2011/05/history-of-reported-fatal-shark-attacks.html

LTJG John W. Gibson, 25 April 20, 1963 Galapagos shark Gibson was attacked at about 1:30 p.m. roughly 33 yards (30 m) from shore while attempting to swim across Magens Bay, Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Water conditions were calm with a temperature of approximately 82.4 °F (28 °C) and a depth of 40 feet (12 m). A vacationing tourist acquainted with Gibson, Donna M. Waugh, 25, aided him in swimming to shore, but he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at 2 p.m. Gibson's wounds included a dismembered right hand, a mangled left shoulder, and a badly bitten right thigh and hip (including a severed femoral artery). The next day a 10-foot (3 m) male Galapagos shark was baited and hooked in the bay, its stomach containing Gibson's missing hand and other human remains; the shark's jaws are now on display at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez's marine laboratory. This is the first authenticated attack in the Virgin Islands.

 
Posted : March 18, 2016 2:53 pm
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