Hammerheads, tourists mingle
By Paul Bowers
The Post and Courier
Wild Dunes resort on the Isle of Palms, vacationers cross between the beach and a sandbar with caution, eyeing one of several hammerhead sharks that has been seen in the area in the past week.
ISLE OF PALMS — In scenes more reminiscent of "Finding Nemo" than of "Jaws," vacationers at the Wild Dunes resort have been sharing the water with some non-paying guests: sharks.
Over the past week, several beachgoers say they've seen hammerhead sharks, ranging from 2 to 4 feet in length, often traveling in schools of three or four. North Augusta native Pam Tabor, who brought her family to the resort, recalls her first shark run-in near the resort's Beach Club Villa condominiums on Saturday.
"I'm about knee-deep, the water's feeling good, and I look over and there is a shark as long as my leg, and probably it's six inches wide," Tabor said. "I could have reached down and touched it, but I instead squealed and ran away."
Jake Leysath, 12, of Sacramento, Calif., was crossing to a sandbar with his mother when he encountered a shark.
"A shark about 4 feet swam right by me," Jake said. "Its fin barely touched my ankle, so it was kind of cool."
Ken Roper, 57, of Windsor, Col., said he could identify the sharks as hammerheads because of his diving experience. He described them as "pretty docile" and said nobody seemed to be in danger.
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MP (anonymous) says...
Hey, sharks have to eat too! :-)
June 11, 2009 at 6:48 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mb300sl (anonymous) says...
Docile sharks...doesn't sound right!
June 11, 2009 at 8:12 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wildlife (anonymous) says...
Some people just don't get it. #1 Hammerhead sharks are not to be touched. #2 Hammerhead sharks eat meat. #3 People do not understand nor respect nature as they should. How much do you want to bet people are throwing food in the water. Last.....Yes these people are too big for the sharks, but their toes could serve as appetizers. And by the way.....Hammerheads are not docile....they are one of the 5 most dangerous sharks.
Has anyone checked to see if shark signs have been posted? Oh yeah...that might hurt business.
June 11, 2009 at 8:28 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
timjisland (anonymous) says...
I'll catch this bird for ya'. but I value my neck a lot more than $5000.00. I'll find him for five, but I'll catch him, and kill him for 10. For that you get the head, the tail, the whole damn thing.
June 11, 2009 at 8:41 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
maeko (anonymous) says...
would signs really be needed? maybe. i have had tourists ask me the strangest questions. "are there sharks in the water?".......uhh...it's the Atlantic Ocean, probably. "is it always windy?".....the beach is pretty windy most of the time.
i just don't find small hammerheads in the shallows to be a news flash. probably bonnetheads, anyway. right alongside the sharpnoses, bulls, tigers, silkys, and finetooths. i'm more afraid of stepping on glass.
June 11, 2009 at 8:57 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
TRODI (anonymous) says...
One of the Hammerheads favorite foods are stingrays .no surprise that a few would be swimming around shallow.
June 11, 2009 at 9:12 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
TRODI (anonymous) says...
Actually maeko there was a dnr siminar in d.i. about our local shark population the otherday.tiger sharks are and doing well we are in there breeding territory,duskys are in trouble as well as sand bars.hammers up to 6ft or so are common in shore .he said greater{the very large ones} hammerheads are rare.there studies havent caught many bulls either.which means they have a small presence.and that more and more great whites are off our coast during winter.
June 11, 2009 at 9:32 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
amembersid (anonymous) says...
You want to see sharks, then build a big pier and fish off of it with a lot of bait, and go swimming around it. Oh wait, Isle of Palms park has already done that.
June 11, 2009 at 10:10 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
TRODI (anonymous) says...
Its the ocean sharks are there its their home.maybe we should stay out if we dont want to see them.
June 11, 2009 at 10:26 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jammanofdi (anonymous) says...
You're right maeko - we see a good many while fishing and 99% of the people will incorrectly call a "Bonnethead" shark a "Hammerhead". A smaller, docile, hammer-looking shark swimming in the shallows is almost always more likely to be a Bonnethead.
June 11, 2009 at 10:51 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
CombatCoastie (anonymous) says...
Yeah, I fish and surf off IOP daily (obviously more fishing than surfing) and I'm pretty confident they were seeing bonnethead out there.
June 11, 2009 at 12:29 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Squidward (anonymous) says...
timjisland, thanks for the memories, Capt. Quint!
June 11, 2009 at 12:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
TRODI (anonymous) says...
Nothing a surf rod , blue crab hot oil and flour cant fix.
June 11, 2009 at 2:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
fantasy5 (anonymous) says...
I third the bonnethead talk. Go to a small barrier island a little farther off the coast where there is a larger drop-off from the island and more likely deeper holes and you will find a beaucoup of bonnetheads...
June 11, 2009 at 3:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
CWL922 (anonymous) says...
People do not realize how many sharks they are swimming with while out in the ocean. Stand on the piers and watch how many the fishermen catch.
June 11, 2009 at 3:27 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
PalmettoDP (anonymous) says...
A charter captain from Edisto caught a 1000+ pound Tigershark off the coast of Otter Island last summer. He won the shark fishing competition based in Bennett's Point.
June 11, 2009 at 4:40 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
TRODI (anonymous) says...
I saw the tourney pics lotta big shark caught within a mile of land.off our coast is the breeding grounds for tigers.also the smaller finetooth.edisto is a good place for catching sharks. off of bulls bay is good as well.blacktips can be caught in the surf around 5ft or so.sharks dont really bother you it is mostly mistaken identity .or being in a pool of bait fish around dawn or dusk.i have seen people get bit by schooling blue fish think it was a shark bite.there was a actual hammer head off of breach inlet last year cruising the shallows up to the first bar.he was 6ft +.was a hammer for sure.was a magnificent creature to watch.you could see the effortless power with every bend as it was going by.
June 11, 2009 at 5:03 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wonderdog (anonymous) says...
timjisland, we're going to need a bigger boat.....
June 11, 2009 at 7:39 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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