28 October 2023 , 11:23
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Nail-biting footage shows the moment surfers and swimmers plunge heedless into a shark feeding frenzy.
Every year sharks descend on Singer Island, in the US state of Florida, to devour the mullet making their migration south. But the island is also a holiday hotspot – making for some hair-raising close encounters when surfers and swimmers enter the water.
Paul Dabill, an experienced diver who recorded the scene with his drone, said coming between a shark and its meal was a risky enterprise. He said: “If you’re in the path of one of these sharks when it’s in attack mode during one of these frenzies you could accidentally be bitten, for sure.
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A shark swims below the waters surface as two people on surf boards paddle nearby (Credit: Paul Dabill/Pen News)“I don’t hear of it happening a whole lot but it does happen. In fact, I would say that’s the number one way that shark bites occur in Florida. Typically there’s poor water quality with low visibility, there’s bait fish, there’s sharks trying to eat the bait fish, and there’s surfers in the water.
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“You can’t see what’s going on, the shark will charge the bait fish, somebody’s leg might get in the way and – there you have it – they get bit.”
A shark hunts for mullet as beachgoers swim nearby (Credit: Paul Dabill/Pen News)In Paul’s footage, the huge school of mullet looks almost like an oil spill when seen from a distance. But as the drone closes in, innumerable fish appear – with blacktip sharks and tarpon prowling for a meal among their ranks.
Then surfers and swimmers plunge heedless into the water, and at times there’s only a few feet between them and the feeding sharks.
Mr Dabill, 49, reckons only a tourist could be oblivious to the risk. He said: “I would say if there’s a tourist from out of town, they probably had no idea.
Bathers with the sharks nearby (Credit: Paul Dabill/Pen News)“But if the surfers were local and grew up here, then yeah, they’re aware that there’s definitely always sharks present in our waters and especially during the mullet run.
“There’s definitely some extra risk but the local surfers tend to go out even inside of a mullet school.”
Paul also had some advice for beachgoers considering diving into a school of fish. He said: “I like to get into these schools to photograph and film the fish but I won’t do it unless the water is clear. The water is really not clear in this particular video, there’s been a lot of swell lately and it’s churned up the water.
The deadly predators just metres away (Credit: Paul Dabill/Pen News)“So I have not been in to film the fish because it’s very low visibility, you have no idea really what’s going on around you, and it’s pretty sketchy. My advice would be to only do it with clear water and probably go in with a buddy that knows what’s going on.
“And keep your eyes open, because there is elevated risk with the mullet run and the sharks around.”