If you've been watching the news these past few days, you may have heard about the three recent shark attacks off Maui waters.
What on earth is going on?? I'll tell you - very simply, murky water. We did just have Hurricane Ana pass through which sent us a lot of rain (though to my knowledge no storm damage). Rain runs off into the ocean, creating murky water (washing things into the ocean you probably don't want to swim in either). Additionally a storm passing through will whip up the water, creating weird currents and what-not.
Noone was injured in these shark attacks, the sharks left bite marks on the surf/stand-up paddle boards involved.
Please please please let this be a reminder, do not go out in murky water. You may be fine (shark-wise), but you may be asking for trouble. If you get in trouble, someone will (hopefully) rescue you, putting their own life at risk.
When in doubt, please do not go out.
Should you worry about sharks (other than in murky water)? Honestly, there is a much greater chance of you having a car accident while on Maui than being bitten by a shark. Do use common sense and if you are concerned, stay at beaches that have life guards (who keep an eye out for sharks and can help you).
More information on ocean safety.
A year ago scientists tagged a number of tiger sharks off Maui to track their travels - check out this website (unless you are prone to worrying, then don't). Please keep in mind, this is not real-time information, so don't use this as a tool to see where the sharks are. Additionally, they did not tag all the sharks swimming in Hawaii waters, just a few off Maui's waters. It sure is interesting to see where these sharks have traveled. Some have stayed close, while others have explored great distances.Labels: adventure, animals, beach, life on Maui, Maui to-do
