Category Archives: Biology

Fishes, New Smyrna Beach, Surfing News, Uncategorized

Riley Petrovich Was Attacked By A Shark

Shark attacks are surprisingly common on the east coast of Florida near the armpit of the state at a beach dubbed the shark bite capital of the world, a spot that has more shark attacks annually than any other spot on the planet. This is thanks to the many surfers playing at a spot known as shark feeding grounds. Every year most shark attacks happen during one month according to shark bite record keeping. Those attacks occur in the month of August.

This year one of our own have felt the pressure of a medium sized shark clamping down its jaws. Near the beginning of the month during a surf trip to New Smyrna Beach Riley Petrovich was attacked by the hungry predator. He had a lot to say about the experience.

According to Riley the bite happened quick. It wasn’t something he could see coming. The shark didn’t circle him, he didn’t see any fin swimming near him. He was standing in the water on the inside of the sand bar closer to the beach when suddenly something quickly clamped down. I asked, did you punch it in the nose like they say to do? It was just way to quick, he said. It bit then let go; it was just instantly gone as fast as it happened. It wasn’t a thrashing around where his life flashed before his eyes. It just quickly bit, and let go. It was like a taste test, and he wasn’t something the shark liked very much.

He was very fortunate, just a case of mistaken identity. He didn’t sustain any major injuries like torn muscles or missing toes. He says that he feels like this was a good experience, that instead of being afraid to get back in the water he feels confident that the fish in the water aren’t very dangerous, and that he knows what could happen, a mental preparedness. And after this experience, he’s not afraid of those little fishes that swim around at the beach.

Fishes, Research

CMERA Shark and Ray Research Vessel

Image

The CMERA shark and ray research vessel was on the water the other day. They conduct research on sharks and rays in the area. They collect data, tag sharks, and release the fish unharmed. While they were trying to research them, I was trying to eat them. I’ve never had blacktip shark before, but I hear it’s good. Publix had it in their fresh fish area, so it must be okay. I wouldn’t mind doing some research like this. It sure is fun pulling a big shark up on the boat. They didn’t catch anything on this day. There were no low tide sharks roaming these flats for the 20 minutes they had their net in the water.

Adverse Weather, North Pinellas, Plants, Surf's Up Surf Report

Surf’s Up Surf Report: Wed, June 19, 3:30pm, 8pm, & 8:30pm Sunset

Gallery

3:30pm: I rolled up to the beach. Right behind me in came a car and an FWC officer pulling a teenager over. Apparently he had blown right through a stop sign according to the park staff making the accusation. The officer couldn’t write him a ticket because he didn’t see it happen, he said. They got off with a warning. I chatted with the park staff. At least one was a certified botonist (plant specialist). They said the small bush that looks like a smaller palm like the sabal, but doesn’t look like one, was in fact a sabal, and that the average growth size was just above bush size. The full tree sized trees aren’t the normal size. Interesting, right? I said, “I could have sworn those have been the same size since I’ve been coming here.” They said, there are many different varieties of sabal palm. Another interesting fun fact: the sabal palm is classified as a grass. The surf is small. It’s rideable. It’s consistently knee high. The storm might pass soon. Low tide is at sunset. Go surfing.