Does anyone know anything about the shark spotted off Lamma today? Which beach was it seen off? I've heard of tiger Sharks in this vicinity before .Not getting very far with finding news off the web.

http://rthk.hk/rthk/news/englishnews/20 ... 852081.htm

Beaches are closed according to RTHK

We were on HSY beach at around 4pm when there were some completely unintelligible announcements in chinese & english, the only part of which we could hear was "we advise leave the water" - we were sitting on the rocks and would certainly have heard the word "shark".
The first time it was announced about a third of people left the water but most people probably didn't hear it and the life-guards didn't look too bothered so everyone went back in and the rest of the anouncements were ignored.
We noticed that there was what looked like a shark flag, a red flag and a red & yellow flag.
Wiggy xx

I went for my usual swim about 6:30, a guy who's friends with the life guards said that there had been a sighting of a 4 metre tiger shark about 1 km offshore.

I thought the shark net was safe enough, at least I'd notice if a shark jumped over it, and went in, along with a few dozen others. As the saying goes, you don't have to outswim the shark, just the slowest person it's chasing.

There was a fishing trawler dragging the bay just off the beach too. I think a shark would stay well away unless they were dropping chum in the water to try to catch it.

The problem is that they "raise the red flag" for anything at all. They issue obviously stupid and unnecessary "warnings" to cover their own arses, so if there ever is a real danger, no one will take any notice of them. Six inch high waves that toddlers are happily splashing in, it's "Dangerous waves: stay out of the water" recorded messages every 5 minutes.

And despite plenty of people still in the water on summer evenings, they promptly shut up the lifeguard station at 6 or 7 pm, showing that bureaucratic procedure is the guiding motivation, not safety.

(I'm not criticising the lifeguards themselves, they probably think the same, but they have to do what they're told.)


TIGER SHARK
Tiger sharks are named for the dark, vertical stripes found mainly on juveniles. As these sharks mature, the lines begin to fade and almost disappear.

These large, blunt-nosed predators have a duly earned reputation as man-eaters. They are second only to great whites in attacking people. But because they have a near completely undiscerning palate, they are not likely to swim away after biting a human, as great whites frequently do.

Tiger sharks are common in tropical and sub-tropical waters throughout the world. Large specimens can grow to as much as 20 to 25 feet (6 to 7.5 meters) in length and weigh more than 1,900 pounds (900 kilograms).

That means I just missed all the excitement yesterday. See my photo below from 3:10pm, when I was walking by the beach on my way to the finals of the Sok Kwu Wan dragonboat races. Looks all peaceful and not too crowded, much less crowded than Sok Kwu Wan with over 100 dragonboat teams and their supporters, plus all the North Lamma luminaries handing out trophies.

Remind me NOT to walk or bike the Family Trail on a holiday ever again, being blocked by crawlers, poked by umbrellas, ding-dinging bike bells, frequent pedestrian jams, it all feels a lot like walking YSW Main Street on a holiday .... for an hour! But the pictures I snapped along the way and high above Sok Kwu Wan made it all worthwhile.

But an actual shark sighting during a dragonboat race would make for a fantastic photo opportunity. The poor shark would be so pummeled by the dragonboaters' paddles if it ever ventured too close!

I missed another similar headline as there was a shark sighting not far from Discovery Bay before Saturday's (June 23) Dragonboat races, I believe. The Lamma Dragons (dressing up as zombies) taking home 3 trophies:
"Shark Attack in DbAY - Lamma Zombies Bite Back!"

When was the last actual shark attack resulting in injuries in HK waters? Decades ago?

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Has anyone got an SCMP account?
Found this report, but can only read the start and get the photo:

http://www.scmp.com/vgn-ext-templating/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=15e65d009a248310VgnVCM100000360a0a0aRCRD&s=news&ss=hong%20kong

Family tells of terror after shark shuts down beaches
Danny Mok, Helene Franchineau and Jolie Ho
Jul 02, 2012
A woman has described the terrifying moment when she saw a huge shark as she swam with a group of children off Lamma Island

-- If the shark wasn't tempted by kids splashing around, I think I'm pretty safe inside the net.
And of course, they're closing the beaches a day after the shark was sighted.

Another Lamma wildlife tale to scare the yuppies away. Wild boars, tiger sharks, cobras, centipedes, packs of rabid feral dogs, drug-crazed hippies.....

I don't have an SCMP online account as it costs almost as much as the webhosting of this forum for one year.

But I've got a fine scanner, bought in a garage, er, garden sale in our free classifieds last year.

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So they saw a totally harmless whale shark and were filled with "terror"?

Overseas pleasure boat operators organise expensive tours to get close and even swim with these huge whale sharks. According to nature documentaries that must be an amazing experience. Can we expect the same to happen on Lamma, or will these "Shark! Shark" cries of terror in the newspapers keep tourists away from our beaches? Only time will tell....

But I wonder about the legality of this and other pleasure boats - like the one described in the SCMP story - entering Sham Wan "Turtle Beach" bay and even swimming there? The beach is completely forbidden to visitors all through the summer months and permanently guarded by wardens staying just outside the beach.

So it's legal to be in the water all the way up to the beach, but you can't step onto the beach without being (theoretically) fined?

Sham Wan bay has usually at least 1 fishing trawler and 1 pleasure boat, even during week days, several boats on holidays, but not quite as many as this flotilla of pleasure boats yesterday, just in the next bay over from Hung Shing Yeh beach.

Many people were swimming there, all outside the shark nets, even going to the beach in row boats. I wonder if any of them has spotted the tiger shark off Hung Shing Yeh beach as it must have been pretty close to their boats?

So this explains the black police boat below (slowly moving from boat to boat, like a stealthy shark!) probably warning them of the shark sighting so close to them? It didn't seem to deter them much from entering the waters.

See photos taken from the Family Trail yesterday, 3:30pm. Not great quality as shot with an up to 86x digital zoom in a pocket camera on a walking stick/monopod. I had no idea of the shark warning when these photos where taken, they were just throwaway shots on my hike to the SKW dragonboating, being surprised about the large number of boats.

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Whale shark or Tiger?

A huge difference. Whale sharks are completely harmless, Tiger can be mankillers.

I'd be worried about a Whale shark choking on bits of plastic if there really was one cruising around here.

The fin on the photo looked quite appetizing.....

No, of course, I am just joking. I am happy sharks still survive.

I was no a kayak on Sunday. Passed by two guys swimming far from coast between Hung Shin Yeah and Power Plant beach. Also, someone on surf-sail. Today again went on kayak short trip. When back home I read all these stories. I suppose 900 kg shark may not hesitate to try small kayak. Better to suspend until sea gets colder.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJD_1IHMfa0

Have a watch

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I did not have sex with that woman!

Expect to see more marine animals (both naughty and nice ones) when the trawling ban comes into effect!

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Sabe 1