TAMPA, Fla. — After a 21-year-old college student was attacked and killed by three sharks while vacationing in the Bahamas, marine biologists are offering tips to stay safe should swimmers find themselves in shark-infested waters.
Eric Hovland, a marine biologist with the Florida Aquarium says shark attacks are rare, but he has suggestions for swimmers to try and prevent an attack.
"Don't swim alone, avoid murky water, avoid really flashy jewelry and don't go out too far," he said.
Hovland also suggests swimming in groups and avoiding the hours of dawn and dusk.
"Don't go out at dusk or dawn, those later hours, that's when activity on the reef and near shore, that's when sharks are out looking for their food," said Hovland.
Hovland notes that there have been more sightings of large sharks near popular vacation spots in Florida. But he attributes the rise in sightings to the increase in cell phone cameras.
"We do see more of those sightings simply because we have more tools to capture those images," Hovland said.
Hovland cares for sharks at the Florida Aquarium and has also gone diving with great white sharks in Mexico.
His advice comes after 21-year-old college student Jordan Lindsey was killed by sharks Wednesday while snorkeling near Rose Island in the Bahamas. The sharks bit Lindsey on the arms, legs and buttocks and detached her right arm.
Lindsey's family created a GoFundMe page to raise money for her funeral expenses.
This story was originally published by Julie Salomone on
WFTS.
