Outdoors
UNC professor: Despite 3 shark bites in 3 weeks, rip tides are still more fatal
People in the water at North Myrtle Beach were unaware sharks were just inches away from them.
Posted — UpdatedBy Julian Grace, WRAL anchor/reporter
NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Images of sharks inches away from swimmers at North Myrtle Beach have captured the attention of beachgoers everywhere.
Ginger Gilmer shared the photos on her Facebook page from the 15th floor of a resort.
But Joel Fodrie, a marine sciences professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said people shouldn’t be worried.
“In record history there have been less shark fatalities in North Carolina than the number of people that have drowned in rip tides just this year,” he said.
Fodrie said birds diving in water and people catching fish can be an indicator of nearby sharks.
“If you see a lot of biological life, birds diving in the water nearby, and people catching a lot of fish, sharks will follow that prey and try to feed,” Fodrie said.
- Stay in groups and don't wander too far from shore – this would isolate you and decrease your chances of being rescued
- Don't go in the water early or in the dark when sharks are most active
- Don't go in the water if you're bleeding
- Don't wear shiny jewelry or bright-colored clothing in the water. The colors can look like fish scales – like food – to a shark.
- Don't splash too much
- Don't go in the water if sharks are known to be present
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