Interesting article on AL.com

I was just reading an interesting article on AL.com about Orange Beach closing the beaches due to a shark infestation for lack of a better word. Does a tourist have to be bitten before shark fishing policies are changed. I hope this does not hurt the cities tourism this summer but maybe. if it did our local politicians would actually do something about the problem. I was on the pier 3 weeks ago and saw at least 3 sharks measuring over 3 1/2 feet. Just wanted to share this with anyone who feels the same way I do

Was it the article from June 2014

Must have been an old article...there hasn't been anything on AL.com about OB closing beaches in the past month (that's as far back as I searched). And there's not a shark infestation...if you've ever been in the Gulf water, I can guarantee there was a shark within 50 yards (if not closer). Fly over the area in a helicopter and you'll see sharks all over the place.

Sounds like it was from last year when they closed them for a week or so.

It's not the heat, it's the STUPIDITY!
2014 report about sharks on Alabama?s Gulf Coast being shared a year later on social media | WHNT.com

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2014 report about sharks on Alabama’s Gulf Coast being shared a year later on social media

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https://www.facebook.com/whntnews19/...096045/?type=1


lessons to learn here:
1. check sources
2. check date of source

People on the beach need to worry more about rip currents, sun burn and dehydration than they do sharks.

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Originally Posted by CarlF

People on the beach need to worry more about rip currents, sun burn and dehydration than they do sharks.

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... and lightning!

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Originally Posted by goodoleboy12

I was on the pier 3 weeks ago and saw at least 3 sharks measuring over 3 1/2 feet. Just wanted to share this with anyone who feels the same way I do

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I've been on the pier and have seen several (more than I can remember) a LOT bigger than 3 1/2 ft. Many years ago (summer of '90 I believe) I was on the old pier and a guy hooked, fought, and decked a hammerhead shark that stretched longer than 3 of the concrete slabs that made up the old pier (can't remember if they were 3 or 4' wide which would have made the shark over 9 or 12' long). I don't know if there was any truth to it or not, but I was told that the guy won the OB shark fishing tourney they held that year...with the shark caught from the pier that day.

I've also witnessed someone fishing on the sandbar east of the old pier wade fishing with a stringer of spanish tied to his belt loop...until someone hollered to the wade fisherman that there was a shark circling him, getting closer with every circle made. Shark was 8' long, if not longer. I've only known of 1 person in history to actually walk on water, but I'd swear the wade fisherman made it 2 that day.

2 summers ago, Henry Hammerhead Sr. and Henry Jr. stayed at the pier collecting hooks & leaders. I estimate that Sr. was very bit of 10'+ and Jr. was around 8'.
I had the pleasure of having Sr. lead me around the pier for 5 minute before I broke off and let him have the leader.
Yep, 2 sharks that big right next t the beach and yet I don't recall single tourist being eaten the entire summer.....

Just for perspective, cows kill many times more people every year than sharks, so ..........don't know what to think about that. Just sayin'.

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Originally Posted by bodebum

Just for perspective, cows kill many times more people every year than sharks, so ..........don't know what to think about that. Just sayin'.

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As do vending machines! I love those stats.

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Originally Posted by Pierless

As do vending machines! I love those stats.

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Vending machines hasn't killed me yet but boy do they make me fat

I worked at the Quality Inn Beachside down west beach in the 80's and used to go up on the top floor of the tower and go out and look down at the water. From that perspective you usually could see down in the water from a ways up and down the beach. I always saw sharks. There would be people swimming and a little away from them there would be a shark. No harm, no foul. The people never knew it. Last summer however in June, I had to get out of the water twice due to sharks (for the first time in my life).