I'm sure that many of you have heard about the shark attack this week.  The way the media grabbed onto this story...you'd think that it was chomping down on beach visitors.  That was totally not the case.  This was a tragic event and the sad part is that the diver actually died.  I do wish to say that my thoughts go out to his family in this difficult time.

Now lets get to the facts....First of all, the attack happen about 50-60 miles out. That's pretty far out there...50 miles?? Some of the reports even say it was off the coast of the Bahamas. (I guess "off the shores of South Florida" gets better TV ratings.)

Second...the guy was on what was called the "Great Hammerhead and Tiger Shark Expedition" by a 'Scuba Adventures' company. The name of the adventure alone tells you this isn't like the 'Discovery Cove, swim with the dolphins' attraction.  Sharks are natural predators and when you are out in such deep water (50 miles from shore for example)..you need to take extra precautions. 

Third...this 'expedition' goes into the open water...while others usually stick to reefs and shallow water (smaller sharks usually stick to shallow water and they tend to be less aggressive).   Open water so far away from land?  That is just asking for trouble.

Fourth, they dump dead fish and other bait to lure the sharks for a more 'satisfying experience' for their customers. Come on...that's just plain dumb.   That is basically teasing a shark...and not the kind of shark you see pictured above either. 

The final piece of stupidity? This was known as a 'cage less' shark encounter. The cage being that 'dive cage' you've seen in almost every Deep Sea documentary, where the diver is protected in a cage under water from the sharks jaws. So this means that the divers were just swimming around in the deep seas with bait all around and hungry sharks.

So unless you plan to swim 50 miles from shore with a bag of bloody fish (ok..maybe even 5 miles out)...you probably don't have much to worry about. While there is a shark attack every so often here in South Florida...this one was nowhere near the beach and was not your typical diver or beacher.  You have a better chance to get stung by a jellyfish. (Oh, and if you saw that 'Friends' episode where Monica got stung...you know how to ease the pain of a sting.)