The Dorsal Fin

The Toronto Star recently reported that Nicole Moore, the Canadian woman who, in January, was involved in a bull shark attack in Cancun, is sharing the story of her recovery via her new blog mooretolife.ca.

In addition to chronicling Moore’s recovery process, the blog also has a page that gives Moore’s first-hand account of her shark encounter. Various accounts of Moore’s attack appeared in the news media, which Moore describes on her blog as having “made a debacle of the entire incident.”

Best wishes to Mrs. Moore as she continues her journey down the road to recovery.

According to a National Post article, a Canadian woman who was the victim of an apparent shark attack in Cancun, Mexico is recovering from her injuries and has “all her limbs intact.” This news is in contrast to earlier reports that the woman had lost an arm as a result of the shark attack.

The victim’s father, Alberto Baldassari, told the National Post that his daughter was “doing relatively well,” after undergoing surgery to repair “severe wounds” to her arm and leg. He went on to say that some of the reports regarding his daughter’s attack were “grossly exaggerated.” The victim plans to return to Canada via “an air ambulance” as soon as her condition allows travel, according to her father.

In what seems to be a bizarre related bit of news, an iNews 880 is reporting that “media reports” are claiming that the victim was attacked by a female bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) who was giving birth prior to the attack taking place. The iNews 880 report goes on to quote a “spokesman for Mexico’s National Commission of Natural Protected Areas” as saying that the incident was an act of “self defense” on the shark’s behalf and not a “shark attack.”

The details surrounding the iNews 880 story seem sparse, so it should probably be taken with a grain of salt.

According to an article in The Telegraph, research performed by a team from the University of Western Australia and the University of Queensland has revealed that the 17 species of sharks (which included bull sharks and tiger sharks) involved in the study are effectively color blind. Examination of the retinas of the 17 species indicated that only one type of cone was present, which would allow the sharks to only be able to discern shades of light and dark. In comparison, humans have three types of cones which correspond to the ability to distinguish red, green, and blue.

Based on the research, The Telegraph article states that wearing light colored swimwear would reduce contrast with the water, implying that the reduced contrast might result in a decreased chance that a shark would attack. The article also claims that the study “backs up” shark attack statistics which indicate that a “vast majority of attacks happen to divers and surfers wearing black wetsuits.” Unfortunately, the article fails to mention that a vast majority of wetsuits are black, so the probability of a surfer or diver wearing a wetsuit that is black is going to be pretty high regardless of whether they are attacked by a shark or not.

The article goes on to discuss how this finding may be applied to surfing, swimming, and diving apparel. Nathan Hart, the lead author of the study, contends that “brightness contrast is more important for detecting and identifying objects” for the color blind sharks. Additionally, Hart is hopeful this research might be applied to the design of longline fishing hooks to make them less likely to attract sharks and reduce the mortality rates of sharks as a result of longlines.

Australia’s Ten News is reporting that a “shark warning” has been issued as a result of heavy rains in Queensland, which are washing bait fish down toward river mouths and attracting bull sharks to these areas, according to Trevor Long of Sea World.

Long advises swimmers to avoid canals and river mouths, especially where there is low visibility in the water. Instead, he encourages people stick to protected beaches and netted areas in the broadwater.

Ten News recently ran a feature about a shark tagging program aimed at increasing safety at Australia’s beaches. The program involves catching, tagging, and releasing sharks in order to track the movement of the sharks to better understand shark behavior. Bull sharks, tiger sharks, and great white sharks are mentioned in the report as targeted species of the study. The report also makes a couple of “monster” shark references for good measure.