Serenity Bay, sharks?!?

[disneygatorfan]

On my recent cruise (12/11-12/18), when we were at Serenity Bay we saw not one, but two small sharks in the water... they were within 3 feet of the shore. They were about 3ft long...Never seen them in my previous 5 cruises... seen lots of sting rays, baracuta or two, but never sharks! Has anyone else ever seen sharks??

 

[inkkognito]

Yes, I have seen them too. They were probably the same two nurse sharks that I've seen before. They don't bother anyone; they just glide along.
Barb

 

[HooKooDooKu]

Here's the picture of the shark I encountered while snorkeling Serenity Bay. As best as I can recall and judge at the time, I was about 100 yards from shore in about 6 feet of water. The shark was about 20 feet away as it swam by (paid me no attention) and seemed to be about 6 feet log. Someone else here in the forum that's seen the picture said they believed it to be a common reef shark.

 

[UGAFan0829]

Here's the picture of the shark I encountered while snorkeling Serenity Bay. As best as I can recall and judge at the time, I was about 100 yards from shore in about 6 feet of water. The shark was about 20 feet away as it swam by (paid me no attention) and seemed to be about 6 feet log. Someone else here in the forum that's seen the picture said they believed it to be a common reef shark.

Shark Picture

Call me crazy, but I don't see a shark in that pic!

 

[bratray]

me either

 

[disneyohdisney]

It's there, left side of the picture, just below the middle. As you go down the left side of the picture, first you see the water surface (waves), then a plain dark blue area, then lighter blue as bits and pieces of the bottom of the ocean appear. The shark is just at the bottom of the plain dark blue area. I can just make out the dorsal (top) fin, a lighter color, and the right pectoral fin, a darker color, drooping down from the shark. Once you see it, it's an awesome sight...must have been interesting (!) when 100 yards out.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

Call me crazy, but I don't see a shark in that pic!

Sorry, I should have specified that the shark is located at about the 9 o'clock position in the picture.

It is very difficult to make out if you don't know where to look. It was taken with one of those $10 underwater cameras, and as you can see, he blends into the background very well. So well, in fact, that I only saw him for less than 5 seconds before I lost him in the blue of the background as he kept swimming along.

As for how far from shore I was, I no longer remember. I've ventured out as far as those orange floats, and at the time of this picture, I was closer to the orange floats than the shore line.

Anyone know how far out the orange floats are from shore?

 

[Magic_Fan_Bruce]

I know most people that are reading this thread have the theme from Jaws playing in the back of their head, so I just wanted to address some of the anxiety before people start canceling their cruises because of sharks. I’ve been Scuba diving off the Florida coast and in the Bahamas for over 30 years, and people being bitten by sharks is extremely rare. Most of the sharks are Sand Sharks or Nurse Sharks that are not at all aggressive and are more like big cat fish than sharks.


Here’s a run down on Animal-Related Fatalities During the 1990s
Animal and Average Number of Fatalities Per Year

Deer (Vehicular Collisions) = 130
Dogs = 18
Snakes = 15
Mountain Lions = 0.6
Sharks = 0.4
(Copyright International Shark Attack File)

 

[Annae]

I couldn't even open the shark photo

 

[goofyforlife]

Haven't seen the shark.....

But we did saw a larger sting ray right at the water's edge during the last trip.

I've seen them further out alongside the boat but never that close.

 

[mickeyfanmom]

Hi- I saw one of the teens that had been on a recent cruise post that the family beach was shut down on his cruise due to "the shark nets being ripped."

Does anyone else know anything about this statement?

 

[MrsMork]

Hi- I saw one of the teens that had been on a recent cruise post that the family beach was shut down on his cruise due to "the shark nets being ripped."

Does anyone else know anything about this statement?

Yes, this was on the 10 day Christmas cruise. The nets were blown out by wind the night before we arrived, so they did not let anyone go into the water. All the excursions were canceled.

 

[mickeyfanmom]

Well that makes me feel better that there are even nets in place to begin with. Thanks for replying!

 

[TooPure4u]

I see the shark....its a ways down on the photo but there is def a shark there....

 

[CPM]

wow, I had no idea they had shark nets. I wonder how effective they are?

 

[HooKooDooKu]

wow, I had no idea they had shark nets. I wonder how effective they are?

The main lagoon (paddle boats, snorkle lagoon, family beach, teen beach) is protected by the combination of the water break (that long line of rocks) and nets. They do not keep every thing out as I have seen small stingrays and frequently heard of several baracuda that frequent the lagoon. How ever the nets should keep out any "large" fish.

However, the adult beach (Serenity Bay) is open to the ocean without any protection. I have been fortunate enough to see the shark above as well as large stingrays while snorkeling in Serentiy Bay.