Sharks...?

i dont know about real sharks, but when we were on tortolla on wednesday, there was a kids day camp happening on brewers bay. all of a sudden, a herd of elementary school kids came hurtling towards us on the beach. they were yelling shark!!!! and so we ran out of the water, too. a quick trip out with a dinghy proved it to be a very large barracuda...no real sharks, but it got my heart racing!

I heard there were hammerheads schooling off Megan's Bay back in June/July.

Lobsters are around.

Sharks are not a problem in the Virgin Islands...

That is one of the reasons I love being here.

I worried about sharks in California...cold water (48 degrees) is more of a problem than the big "great white's".

I worried about sharks in Hawaii....Not a big problem, but still something to consider...

I worried about sharks in FLORIDA...The shark attack capitol of the world (ok maybe south Aferica)...But Florida should be avoided at all cost...

But I love the Virgin Island waters because they are relatively shark free and have only a handful of shark encounters in 50 years.

Swim happily...

The fact that the waters are relatively shark free, is the one thing I don't like about STX. I love to watch sharks when I'm diving. Not Great Whites, Tigers, or Bull sharks, but I do love the others. They are so graceful.

I'm with you Terry. I am really hoping to do some shark-viewing while diving - they really are the most graceful creatures! The fact is, we are a much greater threat to the sharks than they are to us. Most sharks, including the whites, tigers, and bulls will steer clear of humans if possible. I've been told there are some tiger sharks that hang around the Hovensa outfall pipes, so I would recommend staying clear of that area (I don't think you can get in there anyway, right?). There are reports of other "regulars" around, but no problems with them bothering people.

Jasmine - do a search on this board for "sharks", I think Islander, or someone, gave statistics on shark attacks in the area a while back. I really don't think it's something you have to worry about.

Here is the address for the International Shark Attack File: http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Sharks/ISAF/ISAF.htm
They have some fascinating statistics about the dangers of shark attack. You are much more likely to be killed riding a bicycle than by a shark in Florida, and the majority of shark attacks happen in Florida. The last unprovoked attack in the VI resulting in a death was in 1963.

"Jaws" did no one a favor- human or fishy.

Yeap - here is what I had written:

Sharks - I had read in a dive book about the VI that over the past century only 4 shark attacks had been reported in Virgin Islands waters. When you ask residents on St. Thomas they typically can only recall one - the one mentioned below.

"On April 20, 1963 a 10-foot ridge-back carcharhinid shark attacked and killed Lt. John Gibson, USN who was swimming at the surface in Magens Bay, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands without swim mask or flippers. This is apparently the first authenticated shark attack in the Virgin Islands..."

Hey All,
THANK YOU so very much for all of your insight. Angela will be pleased to see the proof that she will not turn out be a snack for one of our ocean friends. No news on the lobster?? Does anyone know if that is possible...( as far as diving for them...also...what sort of fishing license do you need to fish for your own food.... ISLANDER...Can you help me out?
Thanx again everyone for your help.

* Jasmine *

There are Caribbean Spiny Lobsters, Spotted Lobsters, and Slipper Lobsters in the waters around St. Croix. If you dive the popular dive sites, you will rarely see a lobster. If you explore locations that are not on the dive excursion list, you may be able to catch your dinner. They are wily about holding tight inside their homes under ledges. You need to be patient and skilled to tease them out of their holes far enough to catch them. Be sure you have a goody bag along or they will definitely get away before you get to shore.

Sometimes you see lots of little lobsters and you leave them to grow up. Sometimes you find females with egg sacks attached to the underside of their belly & tail and you leave those, too. If you are very fortunate, you may catch a 2-4 pound male lobster and your dinner that night is going to be delicious!

You can find lobsters in some locations where you dive from shore. There are also uprisings one to three miles off the south shore where the fishermen go to scoop up lobsters in larger quantities. You can search a long time, though, if you don't have GPS coordinates to locate the right spots.

Good Luck!

(and don't worry about sharks around here.... I've seen only one 10 foot hammerhead in the past 16 months and a few baby black tips now and then. Even the baracuda, which are in abundance, don't want to eat you. Just leave them alone and they go on their way. The spotted eels and moray eels would prefer that you not poke at them, too. They get an attitude if you do.)

Hello Jasmine,

You can find fishing regulations on our sister site. Click on this link: http://www.vinow.com/general_usvi/more_info/fishing/usvifishingregulations.php

--Islander

o.k. I found a diver yippee! let's talk diving-tell me can you see forever in the h20 around st.croix? what can be seen there-are there a lot of divers?

Dive "The Wall" you'll love it !!! Also Fred'sted pier!
St Croix diving is Excellent!!

st croix diving is the best. it is pretty much untouched by the mass majorities. you can see a variety of underwater life - reef, fish, and creatures included. some of my favorite is the black coral. yes... we do have a little black coral here. just few people know about it.

i prefer the west end of st croix to go diving. it's on the leeward side of the island, so we rarely have waves and/or current. the west end is calm 90-95% of the time, so it feels like you're on a huge lake when boat diving. also the pier is my all time favorite. i've dove it over 50 times and i still can't get enough.

-adam