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Old 04-03-2015, 08:54 PM
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Default Free Diver Attacked By Shark Off Jupiter

Reportedly two and perhaps three commercial spearfishermen were free diving shooting cobia with Hawaiian slings (more likely spearguns), off Jupiter this afternoon in 50 ft. of water. Two divers were returning to the boat with a cobia. Once the fish had been dropped over the gunnel into the boat, a bull shark reportedly attacked one of the divers. This was indicated to have been said in Spanish to a person acting as interpreter at the dock.

It was reported bit the man's shoulder area and torso. The call came into Palm Beach County Emergency Services at about 1 pm today, April 3, 2015. Paramedics were quoted in one news report as saying the man was also bitten "slightly" on the head suggesting multiple bites may have occurred. The 18 ft. boat was said to show signs of considerable blood from the mans' wounds. The victim was awake, sitting upright and talking at the marina.


Traumahawk helicopter inbound


The boat came into Jupiter Inlet to meet an ambulance at the U-Tiki restaurant he was in turn transferred to a Traumahawk helicopter for transport to St. Mary's Hospital.


Bull shark
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull_shark

Related content:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/ne...inlet-o/nkmXF/

http://www.wpbf.com/news/1-person-ai..._source=Social

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/pa...403-story.html

...

Cobia can swim with sharks, particularly bull sharks even large rays in the interest of picking up table scraps. Here is a video from 2013 showing spear fishermen from Lake Worth, FL chumming and placing drift lines with fish attached to bring in bull sharks and their side kicks, cobia in order to shoot them from directly beneath the sharks as they swim by. In this case reportedly one bull shark had 30 cobia in tow.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-n_3oAIXk2o

"Ryan, Lars, Kegan and I departed the Lake Worth Inlet on March 17, 2013 to go slay some cobia. We set up our drifts in 100-120' in areas where the bull sharks have been present. We used flashers and kept a steady flow of chum with frozen sardines. Within 10 minutes of getting in the water Ryan spots a bull shark 65' down with 30 cobia in tow. He dives down, shoots, and scores a nice one. On the following drift I jump in the water first and start deploying the flashers. While doing so I spot a bull below me. I made a tough dive (no time to breathe up) and chased the shark as he is swimming away. I was unable to close the distance but decided to take a hail mary shot anyway and miss. Later on Lars and I spot another bull with 3 cobia in tow. Lars sets up on the fish but there is delay in taking a shot. Turns out there was an issue with his gun that cost him a couple seconds. Not knowing this I decide that I'm going to take a shot. We pull the trigger on the same fish at the same time, but Lars does so a fraction of a second before me. He scores a nice fish. Now I've got 2 misses on fish and am more determined than ever to get one. I end up spotting a bull 65' down and make my dive. I had plenty of time to breath up and was feeling great. I started my dive, spotted the fish I wanted, got within range, placed my shot and scored. I quickly swam back up to the surface. The sharks weren't too aggressive on the fish we shot this day but I wanted to retrieve my fish as fast as possible. As can be seen in the video there was a shark that swam towards my shot fish, but the most spectacular thing about that was all the cobia the shark had in tow! My fish was the last of the day as our crew had our limit of one per person. Kegan was also along and shot a nice cobia too, however I was driving the boat at the time so there is no footage. But the cool thing about his fish was that it was the first time he pulled the trigger on his new Koah speargun and he lands a great fish - nice job."

It is not known at this time if the spearfishermen today were employing similar tactics or not. It is worth noting that the commercial fishing regulations for cobia are quite strict, Minimum Size Limit 33” fork length and Daily Bag Limit 2 fish per person per day, maximum 6 per vessel. I guess attracting the sharks is fairly reliable and the cobia often follow along, still it seems a lot of risk for just two fish each? It looks like cobia retails for about $17. per pound. So, you catch a 40 pounder, end up with 14 lbs. after cleaning? Say wholesale is $6. per pound, you end up at about $90. per fish? Throw in fuel, time, medical insurance deductible and there are more reliable ways to make a better buck and in my experience enjoy your time in the water. Or maybe it is just getting amped up with the chance of getting chewed on which is the big equalizer?

...

Here is another example in which an FAU student in the spearfishing club there shot a 60 pound cobia swimming directly beneath a good sized shark.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Fr_TD1kBlg
"Diving into water with a school of 12-foot plus bull sharks is crazy. I don't even feel safe being in a boat when bull sharks are in feeding mode.

For Farrell Tiller, diving with bull sharks means cobia. As the East Coast of Florida migration of cobia passes along Palm Beach, he goes out in search of bull sharks, because cobia swim with the aggressive bulls. When the cobia are swimming with the sharks, Tiller heads into the water to get a shot.

"When I see the fish my worries go away," Tiller explains. "We've been doing this long enough we can get a good feel of the sharks body language and how they are going to act and react with us in the water. That being said, they are wild animals and there's no telling what they may do."

To watch each others backs, Tiller heads into the water four divers at a time. Everyone looks a direction to make sure no one is at risk of being attacked from behind. Many of Tiller's friends are in the FAU Spearfishing Club who also partake in the cobia carnage. Pictured with Tiller (left) are Chandler Beck, Colin Page, Roberto Ruiz.

"We've never had any serious injuries, but have lost a few fish and shafts to sharks," Tiller says. "Gain more experience spearfishing and free diving before trying this. It is a dangerous sport and there's a lot that can go wrong.""
http://outdoors360.com/article/spear...o#.VR9Rb7rfjww

...

Here is another clip involving spear fishermen luring in sharks, this time a nice sized tiger shark in order to plink the accompanying cobia. The cobia may hang below the sharks like remora waiting for some stray food to show up. In this case they are shot for their trouble. The following still shot from taken from the video clip.


Cobia being shoot off a good sized tiger shark.
https://www.facebook.com/KoahSpearguns/



https://vimeo.com/40968486


...


I came across a video clip of scuba divers spearfishing on a deeper ledge off Jupiter with a subsequent encounter with a bunch of bull sharks while shooting some schooling jacks. In this instance the sharks had a chance to take a bite and with some vigor.


"01/11/13 Jupiter Deep Ledge Bull Sharks attack spear gun and speared fish"


.
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Last edited by ricki; 04-04-2015 at 07:07 AM.
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Old 04-08-2015, 10:07 PM
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The 70 year old spear fisherman is interviewed about his accident and shows his injuries from the encounter. He said he was struck at about 40 ft. beneath the surface in poor visibility.

"JUPITER, Fla. (WSVN) -- A South Florida man bitten by a shark in Jupiter is speaking out after the attack.

Rick Neumann was spear-fishing off the coast of Jupiter, last Friday, when a shark chomped down on his neck and back 40-feet under water. "I think the shark got confused," said Neumann, "and he just lashed out and hit me like a freight train." Neumann had to be airlifted to the hospital. "I knew that I was bleeding a lot," he said, "and I felt around, and I knew that part of my ear was hanging off."

Neumann now has 200 stitches and a re-attached ear. He has a few months of healing ahead of him, but he said he is looking forward to getting back into the water."



CONTINUED with informative video interview at:

http://www.wsvn.com/story/28740785/s...g-shark-attack
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Old 04-15-2016, 09:22 PM
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Sounds like another free diver has been attacked by a 7 ft. bull shark while shooting cobia off sharks off West Palm Beach.

"A West Palm Beach man described as an experienced diver and fisherman remained hospitalized Thursday after he was bitten by a bull shark Wednesday off Singer Island.

Kyle Senkowicz was taken to St. Mary's Medical Center, where he was in fair condition, hospital spokesman Ryan Lieber said.

Authorities say Senkowicz was spearfishing for cobia with other divers in the waters off Singer Island in Riviera Beach. Bystanders at Sailfish Marina, where Senkowicz was brought, said he appeared to be severely injured.

"You could see the blood coming through the gauze," said Mark Linsky, who was eating at a nearby restaurant when the rescue crew arrived, in an interview with Sun Sentinel news partner WPEC-Ch. 12. "He probably got bit pretty bad."

Reid Fleming, a friend of Senkowicz's, described Senkowicz as an experienced diver and fisherman.

An acquaintance of Senkowicz's, Michael Sember, 34, of Delray Beach, said he was last with Senkowicz during a September spearfishing trip in the Bahamas. Sember said he didn't know the details of how Senkowicz was bitten, but said that some spearfishers follow bull sharks while hunting cobia.

7-foot bull shark attacks diver off Riviera Beach; injuries 'significant,' officials say
7-foot bull shark attacks diver off Riviera Beach; injuries 'significant,' officials say
"It's a known proven technique that the bull sharks swim with the cobia and vice versa," he said. "The problem is when one person shoots the cobia, the bull shark senses there's a free meal in the water. That's when other divers try to fend off the sharks."

When he spearfished in the Bahamas with Senkowicz, Sember said there were hundreds of sharks around them.

And while shark bites get a lot of attention when they happen, Sember said the stories sometimes get overblown.

"People are giving way too much attention because they bite human beings, but they don't do it on purpose," Sember said. "It's usually a mistake or there's blood in the water."

Diver attacked by 7-foot bull shark at Sailfish Marina
A diver was bitten by a 7-foot bull shark near Singer Island on Wednesday. Authorities say the diver suffered bites to the arm and is being treated at St. Mary's Medical Center.
George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File, said sharks detect the blood and movement of a thrashing, speared fish.

He added that all shark bites involving spearfishing are classified as provoked attacks.

"While the injuries the person suffered are no less nasty, it's something that we basically cause ourselves because it's attractive to the shark," he said.

Bull sharks, which can grow up to 11 feet, have broad, triangular teeth, similar to a great white's and designed for shearing, Burgess said.

"They mean business when they bite," he said.

Last year, there were 30 shark bites in Florida, with two in Palm Beach County and one in Broward County, according to the University of Florida. The counties with the most bites in Florida were Brevard with eight, followed by Volusia with seven.

Staff researcher Barbara Hijek contributed to this report."
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/pa...414-story.html


A photo of the diver and his wetsuit (his Facebook page):





A photo of the bite injury:


From: http://www.spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=188459


A comment made on the Spearboard:

"Only thing I will say as it could save a Spearo making same mistake tomorrow is that I heard they where on the notorious "ANDI wreck" out of Palm Beach inlet (in 200 ft. of water). Try not dive that wreck much any more and if i do usually only once, although good the Sharks are very teratorial there. Obv that is where Anthony got bit a couple years ago. So if going there give pause please." http://www.spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=188459
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Last edited by ricki; 04-15-2016 at 09:56 PM.
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