Pat Dollard | Young Americans

Shark attacks are generally “seasonal”, as sharks follow the schools of migrating fish they feed off of, in addition to weather patterns and changing temperatures in the water currents.

While I never surfed in Hawaii, I understand the height of shark attacks happen in the November and December months … which is their “spring” season. (Remember, the southern hemisphere of the Earth is reversed in its seasons from the northern hemisphere … winter up here, summer down there). It is also the time in Hawaii when surfing is prime … the big pipe is at its best in the late fall and winter months.

We’re in our spring to summer change in fish patterns and warm water current shifts. Also, folks are heading back into the water, so that increases the (although slim) odds of tangling with a shark.

So far there have been three shark attacks in the last few days in the Atlantic Ocean off New Smyrna Beach, Fla.

Which makes sense, as that is where the Gulf Stream flows. Come the top of the summer season you will see the ‘hit-and-runs’ (and they are generally bite and release “attacks” on swimmers) begin and increase in the Gulf waters.

Bu-u-u-u-t … give it time, and another attack or two, and you will have the global warming boo-bug on TV claiming it is unusual and it MUST be a sign global warming is on the dangerous rise … {GASP!}

Either way … it’s Bush’s fault!

ACAPULCO, Mexico — A U.S. surfer was killed in a shark attack off Mexico’s southern Pacific coast, officials said Tuesday.

The San Francisco man bled to death on Monday after a gray shark bit his right thigh, leaving a 15-inch (38-centimeter) wound, the Guerrero state Public Safety Department said in a statement.

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico could not immediately confirm the man’s name, but local authorities identified him as a 24-year-old who was surfing with a fellow American. The other man was not injured.

The attack occurred at the Troncones beach, near the beach resort of Ixtapa.

The statement said the victim suffered wounds “that reached from the hip to the knee, exposing the femur.”

The man died a few minutes after reaching the hospital from loss of blood, according to the government statement.

Shark attacks are relatively rare in Mexico. In 2006, the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History reported only one attack in Mexico, which was not fatal.

(AP)