June 30, 2015 — If the number of shark bites along the North Carolina coast the past three weeks seems high, that’s because it is.
Six swimmers have been bitten recently, including two last week along the Outer Banks. The previous four cases were farther south near Wilmington. Two of those cases involved loss of limbs.
None of the victims has died.
But the number of incidents already is more than in all of 2014, when there were four recorded bites in North Carolina, according to the International Shark Attack File, a database compiled by the Florida Museum of Natural History.
“I definitely see this as an uptick,” said Jack Musick, a faculty emeritus shark and turtle expert with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. “It seems like only one of those cases was an actual attack, whereas the others were just bites and the animal stopped.”
Musick said it is difficult to put together “environmental reasons” for the increase, but there are some factors in play.
“The water warmed up quicker this year, and that means more swimmers in the water than usual at this time of year,” he said. That could also lead to more turtles — a food source for sharks — closer to shore, he added.
“And the shark population is on the rise. It’s made a remarkable recovery since all of the over-fishing nearly wiped out many species.”
Read the full story at the Virginian-Pilot