(Archyde.com)
Vacationers swim in some urban waters but within a short distance of them sharks move without realizing it, according to a study by the University of Miami that tracked the movements of predatory fish off the south coast of Florida.
As part of the study, three different species of sharks, namely the bull shark, the brooder shark and the great hammerhead shark, were tracked by attaching small transmitters to their bodies and monitoring their movements for several years. The researchers expected the sharks to stay away from crowded areas like larger land animals would, but instead they found that they spend a lot of time in waters that people like to swim in.
“Although this might make you a little nervous, it proves to me that sharks don’t really want to attack people, and that, in fact, they tolerate them and tend to to avoid them.”
Hammarschlag advises beachgoers to avoid swimming in times of poor visibility and in areas where people are fishing, but says the study raises more concern for sharks because they face threats from fishermen and pollute beaches. “I would say this news is probably much worse for sharks than for us humans,” he said.