Sharks just off SE Texas coast -knee deep -Bmt men catch one

[southerngale]

It may be pretty common near Florida, but not here!


Picture of 4 of the 5 Beaumont men who made a big catch Sunday morning, a 9 foot shark


Park officials at Sea Rim State Park are telling beachgoers to stay alert and not to let children swim alone this holiday weekend.
The warning comes after a tourist spotted a school of about 6 to 8 sharks on the east border of Sea Rim State Park.
Bob Clayton of Rusk is spending the weekend at the beach, and he tells KFDM News he saw the sharks Saturday morning swimming in knee-deep water about 10 feet from the shore's edge.
He says they ranged in size from 6 to 8 feet.
Clayton says a 7 1/2 foot shark washed ashore on the beach.
Sunday morning, five Beaumont young men caught a 9 foot shark off the coast of McFaddin Beach, just west of Sea Rim.
Sally MacDonald will have much more on the shark sightings Sunday night on the Weekend Report at 5:30 and 10 p.m.

http://www.kfdm.com/engine.pl?station=k ... local.html

[southerngale]

I've been in the GOM soooo many times and I've never seen a shark. Freaky!


Bob Clayton walks within ten feet of what appears to be a bull shark swimming in the surf. According to the International Shark Attack File, you should refrain from splashing too much when a shark is near.

KFDM News Crew Spots Bull Sharks In Surf Near Sea Rim State Park


Park Rangers are urging visitors to watch out for sharks this 4th of July weekend after fishermen reported seeing schools of sharks in the surf, from just east of Sea Rim all the way to McFaddin Beach. The water is still open to swimmers. The fishermen believe the sharks are bull sharks, the same kind experts say killed one teenager and injured two others off the coast of Florida in three separate incidents last week. Sally MacDonald reports tonight, while the fishermen say bull sharks are common in the Gulf of Mexico this time of year, they've never seen so many swimming so close to shore.

Group of Men:
"Nine feet, one inch."
It's no fish tale. Five men reeled in this nine foot bull shark early Sunday morning.
Rickey Di Dio/Caught Bull Shark:
"This is an eye opener for someone who goes out there."
The men weren't miles out into the Gulf. They caught this shark in knee deep water off of McFaddin Beach.
Bob Clayton/Shark Fisherman:
"If that guy caught a nine footer, I'll assure you it's nearing a record."
Bob Clayton is a longtime shark fisherman. He and his brother are seeing more sharks than usual from their beachfront property just east of Sea Rim State Park.
Bob Clayton/Shark Fisherman:
"We counted six or eight right in this area."
Sally MacDonald/KFDM News:
"Clayton noticed this 7 1/2 foot bull shark Saturday morning. Of course it's not the dead ones you need to be worried about."
Bob Clayton/Shark Fisherman:
"Right there! Right there! C'mon! Get your camera!"
Clayton spots what appears to be a bull shark feeding in the surf. It's not uncommon to see bull sharks in the summer, but meteorologists say the water is warmer than normal this July, perhaps making the Gulf an even more attractive vacationing spot for sharks.
Bob Clayton/Shark Fisherman:
"When a mullet would go in front of him, he'd hone in on it like he had radar and then, pop!"
Clayton says a shark doesn't care what the bait looks like, as long as he satisfies his hunger.
Bob Clayton/Shark Fisherman:
"That's the danger. I think down here the water is so muddy, they don't know if it's a human, a kid, a baby or a mullet."
Clayton splashes the water to try to get the shark's attention. The shark swims within ten feet of him before turning the other way.
Bob Clayton/Shark Fisherman:
"Here's Sea Rim. You can't tell me they're not all the way down that beach line."
Clayton wants visitors to on alert throughout the summer and into the fall.
Bob Clayton/Shark Fisherman:
"I don't see them leaving until the bait leaves. It's just like people at a barbecue. They're not going to leave until it's over."
In Jefferson County....
Bob Clayton/Shark Fisherman:
"He'd bite a kid. He'd kill a kid."
Sally MacDonald KFDM Six News.


A Park Ranger at Sea Rim says he's never closed the beach because of sharks. He says if there was a large school of 15 to 20 sharks, the park would consider making the water off limits to visitors.

http://www.kfdm.com/engine.pl?station=k ... local.html

[sunny]

The sharks sure are coming very close to shore!

[GalvestonDuck]

We were out yesterday and out of our group of a dozen, two got mild stings from jellyfish and one stepped on a bullray. Another lady out that day said that there were tons of rays in the water on Friday.

I've only seen one shark in this area (well, two if you count the one at the aquarium ) and that was a small one caught in a fishing net off the Flagship Hotel pier.

[Stratosphere747]

We were out yesterday and out of our group of a dozen, two got mild stings from jellyfish and one stepped on a bullray. Another lady out that day said that there were tons of rays in the water on Friday.

I've only seen one shark in this area (well, two if you count the one at the aquarium ) and that was a small one caught in a fishing net off the Flagship Hotel pier.

GDuck...Not sure if the seaweed is as bad in Galveston as it is here in Surfside/Freeport, but it has been attributed as a reason for the amount of stingrays that have been seen.

[GalvestonDuck]

Yup, it's the worst I've seen in my 6 years living here! Usually, there's a line of it along the coast, just beyond the surfline, but it's usually nothing more than a narrow speedbump to step over. Lately, it's been in piles at least 4 to 6 inches deep and 10 to 12 feet wide. And when it's dry and hard, it's a pain in the...er...feet to have to walk over it to get to the water, especially when a person is weighed down with a kayak or surfboard.

Thanks for the explanation! I'll have to let my friends know about that also.

[HurryKane]

I've been in the GOM soooo many times and I've never seen a shark. Freaky!

I read somewhere (wish I could recall the source) that over 90% of people who have gone into the water in a gulf or ocean have been within 10 feet of a shark and just never knew it. I'll see if I can dig up the quote.

[Lindaloo]

Hurry, that is on the shark attack file website and it is 15 feet, not 10.

[Stratosphere747]

Yup, it's the worst I've seen in my 6 years living here! Usually, there's a line of it along the coast, just beyond the surfline, but it's usually nothing more than a narrow speedbump to step over. Lately, it's been in piles at least 4 to 6 inches deep and 10 to 12 feet wide. And when it's dry and hard, it's a pain in the...er...feet to have to walk over it to get to the water, especially when a person is weighed down with a kayak or surfboard.

Thanks for the explanation! I'll have to let my friends know about that also.

Spate of stingrays moving off coast

By Lucretia Fernandez
The Facts

Published July 2, 2005

Beachgoers in Surfside Beach claim the stingrays have taken over the water, but officials said Friday there seem to be fewer now than there were earlier in the week.

The accumulation of seaweed along the Gulf Coast comes every spring and this time it picked up numerous stingrays on its journey from the Caribbean to the Texas coast, said Rich Tillman, marine extension coordinator for Brazoria County.

The seaweed breaks loose from its base in the Sargasso Sea and the buoyant seaweed drifts slowly through the Gulf of Mexico.

“Imagine the Gulf of Mexico is a desert,” Tillman said. “The stingray thought the seaweed was an oasis and made a beeline for it.”

The stingray schooling inshore are young ones that were spawned this spring. As the seaweed begins to drift away, Tillman expects the stingrays will follow it.

“When the restaurant leaves, so will they,” Tillman said.

While the stingrays remain, Surfside Beach is informing residents and visitors to be careful around the stingrays. The village has distributed safety information at the entry to the beach, to police and to rental agencies, Mayor Larry Davison said.

“There were stingrays as far as the eye could see. People should be warned to stay out of the water,” Surfside Beach resident DeeDee Smith said. “I’ve been here for years and I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Freeport EMS has only received one stingray-related call after a man stepped on a stingray and was stung, said John Stanford, Fire and EMS chief. If a person is stung and the stingray barb gets deep under the skin’s surface, the person might need to go to the emergency room to remove the barb, he said.

Stanford suggests that if someone discovers a group of stingray, that the person move to another part of the beach.

But a drive out to Surfside Beach and Bryan Beach on Friday didn’t reveal many stingrays, Stanford said.

“It’s getting better,” he said.

It is always safe to enter the ocean water by doing the stingray shuffle, Tillman said, meaning sliding the feet to move instead of taking steps. If a person bumps into a stingray, it is the animal’s instinct to flee. If someone steps on a stingray, it feels attacked and it will sting the person.

The stingrays and the seaweed are not all bad news, Tillman said.

“An old wives tale says that a lot of seaweed means a good shrimp crop,” Tillman said. “The shrimpers in Freeport should be excited.”

The seaweed began accumulating in May and it should be gone by the end of this month, he said.


Scott

[HurryKane]

Hurry, that is on the shark attack file website and it is 15 feet, not 10.

Thanks Lindaloo! Fifteen feet is still too close for my Jaws-fearing hiney.

[southerngale]

I've been in the GOM soooo many times and I've never seen a shark. Freaky!

I read somewhere (wish I could recall the source) that over 90% of people who have gone into the water in a gulf or ocean have been within 10 feet of a shark and just never knew it. I'll see if I can dig up the quote.

That gives me chills!! Aaaaagggghhhh!!!