Shark Week Teaches You How To Survive a Shark Attack
There's nothing like a day of fishing on the open ocean with a beer in your hand... until your boat randomly catches fire and explodes and you fall into shark infested water. Tonight, Shark Week taught you how to survive.
[There was a video here]
Most of the information given tonight was common sense and given in an overly dramatic tone, but some things are worth remembering.
If you're stranded in open water:
- Stop any bleeding if you can, because in case you weren't aware, sharks are really good at sensing blood in the water. Also, chum. Stay away from chum!
- Use an empty water bottle as an underwater viewing window so you'll know when a shark may be trying to bite at your feet.
- Sharks may actually be able to hear boat distress and be drawn to shipwrecks by their natural curiosity, so if you're sinking, do it quietly.
[There was a video here]
If you're near the shore or in shallow water:
- Shark attacks can happen in even less than 2 feet of water (a teenager fishing in Texas lost his leg last year in knee deep water)
- Apply a tourniquet to prevent bleeding for any serious limb injuries, because blood is nasty to look at.
- Sharks can pull you along, whether it be away from shore and out to sea or deep underwater. They don't tell you how to survive this, they just kind of let you know that it would suck pretty badly.
- Don't spearfish, ever, period. It's the number one way to attract sharks and is probably an overrated activity anyway.
Tonight's episodes were more sensationalistic than educational, and the guy hosting this show may be on the dumber side of brave. It's one thing to be a chunk of fish and blood in shark infested waters than to be a swimmer in the surf. But something tells me you're going to be trying to remember this show the next time you dive into the ocean on vacation.
