The Undetected Swimming Buddy Accompanying You on Your Beach Vacation

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Florida is known for its beaches, and the Fort Lauderdale area is no exception.

Locals, tourists, and even American snowbirds all head to this paradise to soak up the sun’s rays and enjoy some beach time, or to escape the cold winter weather back home when it starts getting them down.

Busy shores and people frolicking near the water’s edge are a common sight during peak tourist season in southern Florida. But apparently, the waters just offshore are also busy—though with a different kind of activity.

According to Dr. Stephen Kajiura, a biologist and researcher at Florida Atlantic University, Blacktip sharks also migrate south during the winter to enjoy warmer water temperatures, just like humans head south to enjoy warmer weather.

In fact, he says the largest shark migration in U.S. coastal waters is that of the Blacktip shark, and he’s been studying it for years, often flying along the coasts of southern Florida in a small plane to survey their presence and record his findings. He and his team also take basic measurements and DNA samples, and have put wireless transmitters on select sharks so they can track their movements and learn more about their behavior.

On his flights, Kajiura says he’s seen tens of thousands of Blacktip sharks traveling along the coast, and sometimes, they’re only 20-30 yards from shore, in the shallows. He’s also recorded up to 800 sharks per square kilometer of ocean.

“What that means is, someone standing in the water would have a shark within about a 60-foot radius around them,” Kajiura says.

This distance is only about four car lengths away, which definitely seems a little too close for comfort.

So if there are potentially thousands of them and they’re not that far offshore, you might be wondering why you haven’t spotted them. Well, for starters, it’s difficult to see what’s in the water when you’re in the water as well, no matter how clear it may be. It’s much easier to spot them from directly above, when you have a bird’s eye view like Dr. Kajiura does from the plane. They also rarely swim near the surface, so you’re unlikely to spot the black tips on their fins traveling above the water.

If all this makes you feel a little uneasy, you’re not alone.

Sharks have long been feared by humans and seen as deadly predators that are constantly trying to target us for a vicious attack. But despite what the movies portray, they’re not the human-hungry killers they’re made out to be.

So before panicking or making any rash decisions to never go swimming in the ocean again, it’s well worth taking a look at the facts.

The Florida Museum of Natural History actually keeps an International Shark Attack File, which is “the world’s only scientifically documented, comprehensive database of all known shark attacks.”

The ISAF’s data shows that in 2020, there were only 57 “unprovoked” shark attacks worldwide, only 10 of which were fatal. When you consider the billions of people participating in water sports around the world each year, 10 total deaths is an incredibly low number.

In fact, National Geographic has stated that more people are killed by falling icicles, dogs, and even cows than by sharks each year! The ISAF also provides a list of “18 Things More Likely to Kill You Than Sharks,” which you can check out here.

If you look at statistics specific to Florida and specific to this species of shark, records show that between 1900 and 2020, only two known unprovoked attacks on humans occurred, and neither one was fatal. Blacktip sharks simply don’t pose a large threat to humans, and the Florida Museum has characterized them as “timid.”

If you’re still hesitant, though, one thing you can do to decrease your chances of an unwanted shark encounter that’s easy enough to do is take off your jewelry before getting in the water, as shiny objects can be confused for fish scales shimmering in the sun beneath the surface. And obviously, if you see a shark swimming near you, get out of the water.

For those tempted to let their fears take over, Dr. Kajiura has this to say:

For people who say, ‘Wow, I’m never getting in the water again if there’s that many sharks,’ I try and point out to them, you’ve been swimming with them for years without even realizing they were there. They were surrounding you the whole time. So don’t worry about it. Go out and have a good time. The sharks aren’t going to bother you; they’re just going to swim away.

He makes a good point.

They may not be the swimming buddies you hoped for, but they’re also not the monsters they’re made out to be.

So enjoy your beach vacation in peace as you’ve always done, and let the sharks enjoy theirs, too.

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