Hawaii Shark Diver and Surfer Shares Tips for a Safe Shark Season

The shark attacks continue. There's been several in Hawaii, California, and Australia lately.

Today we reported that a shark chomped a surfer's thigh on the North Shore yesterday. Last week in Kauai, a surfer fought off a 12 to 15-foot tiger at Hanalei Bay. Before that, there was a shark attack in Maui.

Since "Sharktober" is real (we explain below), Ocean Ramsey, a North Shore-based free-diver and shark conservationist, took to social media today with a public service announcement on shark safety.

Ramsey posted her PSA on Instagram which you can view here, and captioned it:

"Annual fall PSA. Enjoy, stay safe. Best wishes to all above and below sea level. Mālama I ke kai."

At the top of the video, Ramsey says:

"It's a friendly reminder that it's tiger shark season here in Hawaii."

That's because female sharks are coming closer to shore to birth their pups.

She offers some tips on shark awareness:

• Constantly turn your board in different directions when waiting for a wave. You're less likely to be approached when doing so because you appear more like an active predator.

• Moving around makes it more obvious that you're a living, healthy, animal, and not just floating as if dead or unaware.

• Be conscious of your surroundings. Stay close together and as close to shore as possible

• Don't float in deep channels between surf breaks.

• Avoid surfing in murky water, which makes it harder for a shark to see what you are.

• Avoid surfing near flowing river mouths that release dirty water, which can contain dead and decaying animals.

Ramsey says that other dangers like other surfers, waves, currents, jellyfish, and hitting the reef, should be more of a concern.

According to Andrew Rossiter, director of the Waikiki Aquarium, "Sharktober" is a real thing.

"Tiger shark attacks are known to be more abundant during this month because October and November are when the large females migrate down from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands," he told Hawaii News Now.

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