HammerHead Shark • Tracking Sharks

Big sharks. Inhabitants of the abyss or residents of the shallows?

October 17, 2018October 17, 2018 Kevin McMurray

It’s not surprising that when many people think of a large shark, the first image that comes to mind is likely that of a mature great white shark lurking in the depths. It’s also not surprising to see the reactions of stunned beach goers when they see an 8-foot-long bull shark, 10-foot-long tiger shark, or 12-foot-long great hammerhead in water so shallow that their backs are barely covered. While it is true that many of the largest great white sharks ever recorded have been found near Guadalupe Island where the…

Searching for great hammerheads the Bimini Adventure p3

June 26, 2018June 26, 2018 Christian Kemper

In Part 3, we now return to our search for great hammerheads in the Bahamas as the group prepares to dive. The next morning, we drive to our dive site—only 50 meters from the beach. A plastic bag floats in the sea. A small purple-blue shimmering one with tentacles, a Portuguese man o’ war (Physalia physalis)! There was nothing in the travel catalog about this. These jellyfish are an ugly-beautiful whim of nature. It looks like a designer plastic bag, but Mother Nature filled that plastic bag with deadly poison.…

Searching for great hammerheads the Bimini Adventure p2

June 15, 2018June 26, 2018 Christian Kemper

We pick back up on our search for great hammerheads in the Bahamas as the group approaches North Bimini Island. At dusk we enter the small harbor of Alice Town. A boat for deep sea fishing is located next to us. We turn on the boat lights and see in the approximately three-meter deep harbor water several large Tarpon. The Atlantic Tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) is highly sought after by sea-anglers for its spectacular battles. Its meat is marketed fresh or salted. In Colombia, the fish are kept in aquaculture. The…

Searching for great hammerheads The Bimini Adventure p1

June 7, 2018June 7, 2018 Christian Kemper

Christian_Kemper_Seaching for great hammerheads bimini_2

The weather forecast dictates the departure for Bimini in the morning. From January to April you have the chance to get a great hammerhead shark (Sphyrna mokarran) to the bait box. Of the instantly recognizable organisms in the animal kingdom, the hammerhead shark is probably among the top three. That distinctive skull design, molded by 400 million years of evolution, gives the large coastal shark its perfectly suited name. But many a tarpon fishing guide in the Bahamas can also instantly identify a hammerhead shark by its tall sickle-shaped dorsal…

Protected hammerhead shark pulled onshore in Florida

February 12, 2018February 21, 2018 Kevin McMurray

hammerehad_shark_singer_island_palm_beach_florida

Updated 02/21/18 Video showing a protected hammerhead shark being pulled onshore in Florida has been shared on social media. The video filmed February 8 on Singer Island shows a group of fishermen with a large hammerhead shark. Leigh Cobb spotted the group from her boat and began filming the encounter. “I was screaming at them to get it back into the water because every second that shark is not in the water, that shark is dying,” Cobb told WPBF television. “You could see them trying to get the hook off…

Sharks filmed off beaches in Panama City, Cocoa Beach and Gulf Shores

June 26, 2017December 5, 2018 Kevin McMurray

Several videos of sharks coming near the beaches in Panama City and Cocoa Beach, Fla., and Gulf Shores, Ala., have been shared on social media. The first report comes June 1 from Alicia Dufrene, who was on her balcony in Panama City when she spotted a hammerhead shark swimming in circles near shore. She was able to film the 4- to 5-foot shark as it left the shallows, about 20 feet from the beach. Dufrene shared her video with the shark reporting app Dorsal, and said the shark “zig-zagged in…

Second shark bite of 2017 for New Smyrna Beach

April 5, 2017September 5, 2017 Kevin McMurray

2017-Shark_attack_bite_New_smyrna_beach_florida_Melanie_Lawson

The second shark bite of 2017 for New Smyrna Beach, Florida reported on April 4. Melanie Lawson was in four feet (1.2m) of water around 1 p.m. near the Esther Street Beachfront Park when she was hit hard on the side and knocked into the water. The 51-year-old woman from Georgia was bitten on her thigh by a five foot hammerhead shark. The shark had left bruises and part of its tooth in Lawsons leg, who was taken to a local hospital for treatment. She said she will go back…