yea, we ride there sometimes, occasionally see sharks when riding ...but attacks on people are pretty rare
How big? We don't see them at all in New Hampshire but we have a lot more seals and sea lions at low tide on the rocks at the harbor mouth - a perfect sport for them to hunt and where we ride the surf
Do you think they are attracted by the motor sounds / skis hitting the water after jumps? Do they take off when they see you? How do you see them their fins or deeper in the water?
The two I have seen while on ski (one in surf one in open water) have both shot off when I tried to go get closer and saw their fins first sticking out,
Thats good to know - I had some communications with a shark expert here in the USA and she thought the slapping sounds of the skis hitting the water could attract the sharks as it may be similar to the slapping the shark tour boats do to get the close for the cage dives.
Here is what she said: "Sharks will hunt seals but its pretty infrequent and if there are only a few seals it shouldnt be too much of an issue. That being said if the seals are around I would avoid the area, sharks like to hunt dawn and dusk so stay out of the water then, though keep in mind they are opportunistic and will hunt whenever. Also, dont swim alone." I have also asked: 1. In as video I have seen where people are shark diving the people running the tour were slapping the water with big paddles. The video said it seems to attract the sharks. If this is true I assume the same could be inferred from humans hitting the water from a windsurfer fall or surfing fall. Would you say the sound of hitting the water woudl attract sharks? 2. Motor sounds. Do boats / jetski moto sounds attract or repel the sharks? "Splashing and noise can attract sharks, they might want to see whats going on, perhaps consider it a wounded animal. But at those ecotourism places they kind of "train" the sharks that that means food. That doesn't mean wild sharks would respond to that so quickly. Motor noises might attract them again cause they may associate it with food (from fishing boats)." I asked: depth - the water right around the area we are in is between 3 to 25 feet depending on tide. Are the sharks less likely to be in shallow water? Reply: Not really, they can be wherever they want most attacks are in knee deep water.
