Sharks in Hallandale Beach and Hollywood Beach. When is the best time to swim to avoid sharks? (Miami: movies, schools)

[Pear Martini]

I love swimming and wading in the ocean and rarely go deeper than waist deep...i am 5'4 but I just had an encounter with a shark. The shark looked like a bull shark and was swimming about in crotch deep waters here in Hollywood and was only a foot away from me. It looked to be about my height but massively fat.

Everyone ran out of the ocean..this was around 5pm on a nice warm August day. Is it possible they come out more around 5 and later? Can they be avoided in the mornings?


Every few months I also hear about people getting bit by small sharks around hallandale beach but these shark are much smaller than the one I saw.

What could be driving these animals so close to Shore? I wonder if they were trying to feed on the heaps of seaweed on the shoreline but I didn't see any fish swimming around them.


Help!!! I want to enjoy swimming in the ocean again ����

1. Is there certain time of day to swim or not swim to avoid being near Sharks?

2. Why was this massive shark doing in 2.5 feet of water?

3. Is it a seasonal thing? Perhaps more sharks are driven to this area during the late summer months or rainy season?

[ruski]

This is the first year in my memory (I have been in South Florida since 2000) that there are so many shark encounters in our waters.

I saw a small shark bite someone right in front of me last summer, and now this summer it seems like there are more sightings and bites.

Not sure what brings them here - we don't have that much fish to hunt by our beaches.

[WrongStreet]

They like our beaches just like the humans do! Let them enjoy!

Just kidding, I have no idea what drives them close to our shores, it might have to do with changes in ocean temperatures.

However, I do notice that sightings in shallow water are more common right around this time of year from around late July to end of September. Maybe there is some correlation with Hurricane season?

[ruski]

BTW there was a small nurse shark swimming literally between my feet a few weeks ago at the Lauderdale-by-the-Sea beach.

[Pear Martini]

Wow...i had no idea how present they were.

Do nurse sharks bite?

A man was bit on both legs in July at hauliver beach. I was reading that at New Smryna Beach and Boca and Delray there are more shark sightings than other parts of Florida.


I might wait to get back in the ocean until hurricane season is over.

[ruski]

Originally Posted by Pear Martini

Wow...i had no idea how present they were.

Do nurse sharks bite?

A man was bit on both legs in July at hauliver beach. I was reading that at New Smryna Beach and Boca and Delray there are more shark sightings than other parts of Florida.


I might wait to get back in the ocean until hurricane season is over.

Yes, sharks usually prefer beaches to the north.

[Marc Middleton]

Originally Posted by Pear Martini

Wow...i had no idea how present they were.
. I was reading that at New Smryna Beach and Boca and Delray there are more shark sightings than other parts of Florida.

New Smyrna is the Shark Bite capital of the U.S.

Its mostly due to the surfers though near the jettys.

Miami Beach is rare to see sharks and hollywood is as well. When the life guards see them, normally they are further out.

Once in a while some shark will come close to a human on shore and maybe a bite or two will happen (like the Haulover guy).

We go to the beach all the time (every month a few times) and I can't think of the last time I've seen a shark.

On the West Coast we see stingray almost every time...dolphins, manatees, etc. much more marine life.

[HotandHumid]

More people than anywhere else in the world get bitten each year by sharks in Florida. If you want to avoid being bitten by a shark, stay out of the water and use the beach showers to cool off if they are provided at the beaches you frequent.

In countries like Australia, you can safely swim in the ocean at some beaches with the swimming area surrounded by nets that keep the sharks from entering the swimming area but sadly for the sharks, they sometimes become entangled in the nets and drown.

It's unfortunate that the state of Florida does not post signs on the beaches to warn swimmers that sharks may be present but that's Flori-duh government for you.

You can reduce your risk of being bitten by a shark by swimming in areas where lifeguards are posted who can warn swimmers to get out of the water if they sight a shark in the area but unlike what the movies depict, most sharks do not swim at the surface with their dorsal fins exposed when they attack swimmers so most people don't even see the shark coming at them before they are bitten.

[kateskouros]

sharks feed at night. i stay out of the water from dusk until dawn.

[shamrockfisher]

End of summer into Fall is when migratory baitfish swim south for warmer waters. Particularly, mullet. You will see large mullet schools heading south near the beach and in the Intercoastal every year at this time. Great fishing off the beach for Tarpon, Shark, Snook, etc... Early morning and dusk is when the bite is on!

I fish heavily this time of year off the beach. Swim? Not so much.