TREASURE COAST BOATING
“INDIAN RIVER LAGOON
Considering there are millions of people in the
water with them and there are no unprovoked
attacks, I do not consider them dangerous in
estuaries and coastal waters of Florida.”
— Dr. R. Grant Gilmore, Jr., shark expert and senior scientist
with Estuarine, Coastal and Ocean Science Inc.
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“Unfortunately, my comments were taken
out of context,” says Gilmore. “For instance,
when asked how many bull sharks are in
coastal waters around Florida, I said, ‘thousands,
but considering there are millions of
people in the water with them and there are
no unprovoked attacks, I do not consider
them dangerous in estuaries and coastal waters
of Florida.’ Note that that would have
killed the program hype and the shock they
were giving Floridians. So, they only used
‘thousands.’ ”
Gilmore says he was “shocked” by the
final show, “particularly after spending so
many years — four Discovery, National
Geographic and Audubon International
programs — trying to show people how
harmless sharks are relative to the drive to
the grocery store.’’
According to Gilmore and scientist
Douglas H. Adams with the Florida Fish
and Wildlife Conservation Commission, bull
sharks have always been in the IRL. “This is
one of the few shark species that may also
inhabit fresh water, sometimes venturing
hundreds of miles inland within coastal
river systems throughout their range,” says
Adams, who has examined 30 years of bull
shark data taken from the lagoon. “Juvenile
bull sharks frequently occur in freshwater
river and creek habitats within the IRL sys- >>
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CAMILLE YATES
Scientists have studied bull sharks in the Indian River Lagoon for 30 years using catch and
tag techniques.
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