Tips from the Shark Wrangler

NUMBER ONE RULE FOR SHARKS

To stay safe around sharks, avoid sharks completely while in the water.
Contrary to a ton of Youtube videos and so called experts, you are NEVER 100% safe from ANY predator in the wild!  Avoidance is the most effective safety measure as borne out by the recent shark kills in Israel where swimmers are picking on sharks and LOSING their lives.  RESPECT fellow apex predators in their home ALWAYS.

Respect Their Hunt

Do not enter the water if you have open wounds or are menstruating to avoid attracting sharks.

Get away from bait balls or schools of bait fish!  That is, 
Don't get in the sharks way!

Respect shark habitats and feeding areas to reduce the risk of encountering them during their hunting and feeding.

A fin at the surface is a dead giveaway of a shark on the hunt!  
PAY ATTENTION before you get into the water.

Stay Alert

No Feeding! EVER!

Any time you see a shark, slow down, make deliberate moves and leave them alone!  You should never interact with sea animals.   Their fear of us keeps them alive.  Feeding any animal in the wild weakens it and opens a door for infections and conditions them to associate humans with eating (DANGEROUS training for us for sharks to have).  

They hunt to live, let them hunt their own food.  Notice that Ken was in the cage during the baiting and feeding of those sharks.  Predators can lull you into a sense of security that is FALSE.  A sandtiger can lunge 2 body lengths in a fraction of a second with 1, ONE, swipe of their tail fin!  You are not that fast in the water!  No one is.   

Don't do what you see guys doing on TV or in videos.  They have to sell advertising, so they do things with animals that are not good for them or you.  Nature has gotten along with out us forever, so don't think it is up to​ you to save a shark or play with one!

Avoid pulling sharks out of water

If you catch a shark, do not pull it backwards or out of the water.  Pulling it backwards can damage the gills.  If you are not going to eat it but want to release it safely, use a DEHOOKER or cut your line as short and safely as possible and let the hook rust out.  Sharks are tough.  

Pulling a live shark out of the water and into the confined space of a boat deck is a recipe for injury!  Don't boat a shark to release it.

And if you are keeping it to eat, get away from it for a while until it wears out or pull it into your cooler or boxed in (Isolated section) of your boat.  The man who trained Ken was bitten by a Lemon Shark that had laid in the sun on the deck of the shark boat for at least an hour in the Carolina heat.  It rolled up and bit him in the butt cheek.  NOT fun!  (Though it may have made for a funny video in spite of the injury.)

If you are harvesting the shark to eat it...

Don't pull any animal by its tail,
unless you want to get bit!

Sharks can touch their tails with their snouts.  The tail is directly connected with the muscles moving the head and gives the shark the leverage to bite you in a fraction of a second.
Holding the tail is the most dangerous thing you can do!

While swimming where sharks could be present

Stay Alert

Watch your surroundings in open water.  Barracudas and other predators can give you a bad day, not just sharks!  Have fun but pay attention.  Masks are a plus.

Never swim alone!

Avoid swimming alone and stay in groups as sharks can be put off by large groups of swimmers or even multiple swimmers.  While they sometimes will chase bait fish around you ignoring you, groups are a threat to them and scarry for many sharks.  However, lone swimmers can attract attention or the shark's ​ curiosity.

DO NOT SWIM AT NIGHT

Many if not most large predatory shark species prefer to hunt at night and early morning (prior to sunrise) when they have the absolute advantage over their prey.  
This is "sensation only" hunting not visual hunting and your aura is visible to them and they are invisible to you!

DO NOT SMELL LIKE PREY

Don't get in the ocean around sharks with open wounds or bleeding or menstruating when sharks could be present.

They can taste you without biting you and you don't need to attract them or their attention.

GET AWAY FROM THEIR PREY

If bait fish are moving around in your area, give them the area.  Where there is prey,  there are always predators!

Sharks can hit you accidentally while biting at prey.  The sea is their kitchen.  Respect their area and be safe.  You can check with local fisherman or the pier to find out if the bait migration or shark migration is going on.

DO NOT SWIM NEAR PIERS

Structure is nature's fish hangout.  And as stated before, prey hangs out around piers making them great places to fish for everything especially sharks.  Also, the sharks are conditioned to chase the hooked fish to the surface and if they miss them, the sharks get a second shot if the fishermen toss them back into the water.  Sharks are therefore conditioned to feeding around piers.  Three or more decent size sharks will cruise any given South Carolina fishing pier all summer.

If you encounter a shark in the water

Stay Calm

Stay calm and avoid sudden movements. 

Keep Distance

Stay back from the shark and enjoy the view.  See about creating distance carefully.  Show off your ability that they shark lacks...YOU can swim backwards facing the shark.  That can flat rattle many predators.

Avoid Sudden Movements

Avoid swimming alone and stay in groups as sharks are less likely to approach groups.

Two More Tips...

When it comes to dealing with sharks or other wild animals, if you don't know how to do it, don't act like you do.  A little knowledge is dangerous.

AND, Always talk to someone who is in the field before jumping into something new.  Benefit from the years of experience they have.  If you want to know how to work with a particular animal, make sure the person you are asking has all her fingers and toes FIRST.   Then you are probably getting good advice.

Tips and warnings on this page cannot protect you from being injured.  You are responsible for your safety and as stated repeatedly, being in the vicinity of a predator can result in injury.  There is no 100% safe situation with wild animals.

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