Here’s our favorite shark stories from the last year on the SWELL Blog. Celebrate 25 toothy years of Shark Week by tuning into the Discovery Channel on Sunday 8/12/2012.
1. France hunts Sharks in Reunion Island Marine Sanctuary After Attacks on Surfers
In a highly controversial decision to protect surfers and tourism in Reunion island, professional poachers were commissioned to kill off the local shark population to deal with the ongoing shark attack problem. Reunion Island is home of Pipemasters Champion Jeremy Flores who joined the controversial culling of sharks in the marine sanctuary, by tweeting “And now that they’ve tasted human blood, they love it,and they will charge any humans crossing their way!” The debate is far from over.
2. Dusty Payne Spots Shark at Rip Curl Pro Search Ocean Beach
After spotting the 12ft great white shark, Payne warned Jordy then quickly surfed his way to the sand during the 2011 Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco. The threat was serious enough to make him forget about the $425,000 and was visible spooked all day. Read more here.
See Dusty get spooked at 1:48
3. iPhone App Tracks Great White Sharks
If you’re ever wondering if there’s a shark in the line-up, well… there’s and app for that. The Expedition White Shark App tracks tagged Great White Sharks in real time all over the world. It also tell you if there’s been an attack at the beach you surf, and other helpful info about “the man in the grey suit.” Keep you friends close and your enemies closer for only $3.99. Read more here
4. Cardiff Kook Statue Spoof
In the most ornate culture jamming attack on The Kook” to date, an anonymous local built a 25 ft paper-mache Carcharodon carcharias (aka Whitey) around the loathed statue that cost the city of Cardiff over $125,000. The bronzed surfer is officially named “The Magic Carpet Ride” and is frequently yet harmlessly vandalized for its surfing pose that lacks the style and/or accuracy of any surfing era. Read more here.
5. Freedivers Encounter a Grey Reef Shark in Maui
A group of lifeguards from Laguna Beach were free diving about 300 yards off the coast of Ka’anapali, Maui and captured this amazing footage with their GoPro HD If you listen closely you can hear the humpback whales singing in the background and then at 1:20 the boys have a close encounter with a grey reef shark.
6. Viral Shark Memes: True or Farce?
Thanks to Spielberg nothing gets people’s attention like a good shark scare, and clever photoshoppers are cashing in on our eagerness to witness a close encounter with our favorite apex predator. Even Yahoo has falsely posted doctored shark photo.
Can you guess which shark meme is real? 1) Saffa Kite Surfer on the Run. 2) Shark tank bursts into lobby. 3) Shark “tails” Kayaker.
7. Chuck Patteron SUPs with Sharks
SUP champ and international waterman legend, Chuck Patterson sent a shiver down every San Clemente surfer’s spine when he filmed a close encounter with 2 Great White just past the break in San Onfre. Watch Chuck stick his GoPro in the path of the kelp cruising predators, and they give him a warning tail whip.
8. Shark Researcher Falls Overboard onto 14ft Great White
Friend of SWELL Jeremy Fridmond was working as a Shark Week Researcher off the coast of South Africa when he got bucked onto the back of an enraged Great White. See how the ex-Laguna Beach lifeguard escaped certain death in the interview here.
9. Shark themed apparel now available on SWELL here
