How to stay safe while surfing after four reported bites from ‘marine life’

Images courtesy of mother of child bitten by marine life in Virginia Beach.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVES) – Four people were bitten while swimming in the Sandbridge area of ​​Virginia Beach in the past week.

After looking at a photo of one of the victim’s injuries, Skylar Snowden has no doubt it was a shark bite.

“Yes, that definitely looks like a shark,” Snowden said.

Snowden is senior curator of fish, invertebrates and herpetology at the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center, so she knows sharks.

She said in the ocean off Virginia Beach we have sandbar sharks, tiger sharks, blacktip sharks and bull sharks. There’s no telling who sunk their teeth into the 10-year-old last week, but Snowden is confident it did no harm.

“Almost everyone who is bitten by sharks survives,” she said. “There’s a reason for that. That’s because after one bite the shark realizes it has made a mistake.”

It could be our own faults, she said, inviting the sharks to join us. Here’s what Snowden says not to do:

• Avoid swimming at dusk or dawn: the main feeding time for the sharks.
• Don’t wear shiny watches or jewelry; sharks can be mistaken for a fish scale.
• Do not wear swimwear with bright contrasts, such as black and white or orange and black; that will be noticeable to sharks.
• Do not swim near schools of fish or dolphins

“Dolphins are not as innocent as everyone makes them out to be, that’s for sure,” Snowden said.

Dolphins and other marine life can also bite or sting.

If you’re walking on the bottom of the ocean, do what’s called the “stingray shuffle.” Shuffling your feet creates vibrations in the sand that signal the stingrays to run away. Also keep your eyes open for jellyfish and of course sharks.

“If you see one coming towards you, the best response is no response, so stay completely calm,” she said.

It may be easier said than done, but remember that you are not what they are looking for.

“If we were really on the sharks’ menu, we would never go into the water,” Snowden said. “We wouldn’t stand a chance.”