How To Avoid A Shark Attack

This post is about how to avoid a shark attack. One of the number one ways, is to avoid wearing bright colors or intense patterns. The colors look like fish and the patterns look like coral. If they sense the electrical impulse of your heartbeat, and you're wearing colorful and/or intensely patterned shorts, they may mistake your leg for a fish. Sharks may have excellent eyesight in the dark, but during the day, the light is much harder on their eyes making it easier for them to mistakenly attack humans.

The second most common way is swimming during a shark's feeding hours. If you're in the Great White's territory, stay closer to shore and you'll be okay almost anytime. However, if you're in the territory of any other shark, do not go into the water between the hours of 4:00 p.m. and  8:00 a.m. Studies show that most attacks occur during that time. This is because for almost all sharks, this is their prime feeding time.

Another big factor is swimming alone. Sharks want the easy prey, not the kind they have to fight for. If you're swimming alone, a shark is more likely to come to you than if you're swimming in a group. So, if you end up stranded without a boat, stay with a group, not alone.

Never go into the water when you're bleeding or have wounds of any sort. Remember, sharks can smell one drop of blood up to several miles away. So it's best to take that time at the beach and get a nice tan instead of risk an attack.

Never wear anything shiny when swimming in the ocean(s). Sharks are attracted to shiny. It may resemble their prey or bring them to be curious. Sharks feel things with they're mouth so they bite to find out what it is they're curious about.

If you like to spear fish, be extremely careful not to be too far out from shore. With how easily a shark can smell blood, how quickly they can move, and how well they can sense the changes in the fish's electromagnetic pulse, they'll be there quickly.

Another way to avoid attacks is to stay away from drop-offs. Sharks hang around the drop-offs a lot. This may be because they have a diet that consists of some smaller coral and reef dwellers and some bigger ocean dwellers. So I'd recommend staying away from the drop-offs as well.


Do not splash obnoxiously or erratically. Sharks may sense this to be a dying fish and come to check it out. You can have a little fun splashing, but don't continue or a shark is usually bound to come and investigate.


Don't go diving with sharks alone or in chummed waters. In either of these cases, sharks may have a mistaken snack... *JAWS theme begins playing* If the water is chummed, this means there are dead fish or other dead animals floating in the water. The most commonly used chum if dead tuna fish (and blood) cut up and frozen in a garbage bucket and released for experiments.
And for swimming with sharks alone, this is dangerous anyway, but to go alone is worse. Let's say you're swimming with a shark and it decides that for some odd reason it wants some food or it starts to act strange from an illness it may have. You get a good bite and you're probably not gonna make it out alive. They'll be no one there to call for help or pull you out of the water.


Always get information on where you're swimming. Some smaller bays on the smaller island coasts are used for dumping waste. In some cases, the waste is meat. On an episode of shark week, a 17 year old girl had gone swimming in a smaller bay just off the coast of an island. She and her brother were splashing around a bit. He decided he was done swimming for a while, but she wanted to take a lap around the boat. Next thing she knew she was being pulled under. This was because she had been thrashing around and the bay they were swimming in was a waste area for old or unused meat.


The last way is to keep your eyes open for sharks. Always be aware and alert, but don't be ridiculous about it either because than you'll end up afraid of the water and you'll always be paranoid.


These are just some of the many ways to avoid a shark attack. So remember, be aware, not paranoid. Hope this comes in handy for all you surfers, swimmers, and sailors out there :)