Great white shark surfaces off coast
WANCHESE, N.C. — The great white shark known as Katharine has surfaced off the coast of North Carolina.
The 14-foot 3,200 pound predator first “pinged” off the North Carolina coast on Friday afternoon, according to tracking data provided by shark researchers at OCEARCH. She was still there on Sunday, just north of Rodanthe.
OCEARCH is a nonprofit research organization that monitors the migratory patterns of sharks including great whites. Katharine is one of the sharks they’re monitoring.
A satellite tag was attached to the shark’s dorsal fin in August 2013. The tag sends coordinates of her position via satellite whenever she breaks the water’s surface.
Katharine has surfaced several times in North Carolina waters. She was tracked off the Cape Fear Coast last year and surfaced off Pea Island and in the surf off Kitty Hawk the year before that.
Maybe people vacationing in the Outer Banks want to make good use of the shark personal safety cage prototype invented by a Richmond couple. It’s called the Block Jaw, PSC One. CBS 6 interviewed the creators of it after their spoof creation went viral on social media.
Sandi and Scott Bergman created a spoof called the personal safety cage.
“Here’s the thing, it’ll keep me safer from sharks than it’ll keep you safe from sharks being outside of it,” Bergman said, laughing. “That’s the way we look at it.”
In all seriousness, it’s been a summer to practice safety in the ocean.
Summer of shark attacks along popular tourist destinations
Earlier in June and July, there were several attacks within a short period of time.
On July 6,a male victim was treated after being bitten in Surf City.
On Wednesday, July 2, a 68-year-old man was pulled under the water by a shark in the Outer Banks on Ocracoke Island.
At the end of June, two people were bitten by sharks near Cape Hatteras.
On June 26, a 47-year-old man was bitten by a shark in the leg and back while trying to get children and another adult out of the water near Avon.
On June 27, an 18-year-old was swimming with other people near Waves when the shark bit his calf, buttocks and both hands.
Both victims were rushed from the beach and underwent surgery.
In South Carolina, a shark attack also took place Friday morning at Hunting Island State Park. The male victim was taken to Beaufort Memorial Hospital for treatment. No further information was available about the victim or the extent of his injuries.
On June 24, an 8-year-old boy in Surf City suffered what appeared to be a shark bite. Police said the wounds were superficial and the injuries were minor.
On June 14, 12-year-old Kiersten Yow from Archdale and a 16-year-old boy from Colorado both lost their arms in shark attacks at Oak Island.
Yow lost her left arm below the elbow and suffered injuries to her left leg. Hunter Treschl lost an arm.
A 13-year-old girl was bitten while boogie boarding off Ocean Isle Beach on June 11. In that incident, the victim suffered non-life threatening injuries, but the shark took bites of her boogie board.
