Experts Offer Advice on Avoiding Shark Bites
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ELizabethHoffmann/iStock/ThinkStock(VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.) — A string of shark bites off the coasts of the Carolinas recently have beach town officials across the country trying to figure out the best ways to prevent shark attacks.
Sharks are looking for food, but they’re not looking to humans as a food source, according to Beth Firchau of the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center.
Experts recommend swimming in groups and going in the water during the time lifeguards are on duty. “Try and avoid dawn and dusk, those are what I call sort of the ocean’s rush hour where critters are looking for their dinners, their breakfasts,” says Firchau.
Firchau also points out, “when we go into the ocean it’s not like going into your neighbor’s or your grandma’s swimming pool. It takes a lot of respect to go into the ocean because you are going into a wild environment.”
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