============
"Kiteboarder killed by sharks in rare deadly attack"

By BRIAN SKOLOFF
The Associated Press
Thursday, February 4, 2010; 11:05 AM

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Sharks killed a kiteboarder off South
Florida's Atlantic coast in the state's first deadly shark attack in
five years, authorities said.

A lifeguard spotted Stephen Howard Schafer, 38, in distress about 500
yards off the beach Wednesday. When he paddled out, he found Schafer
bleeding and surrounded by several sharks. Schafer was taken to a
hospital and died a short time later, according to Rhonda Irons,
public information officer for the Martin County Sheriff's Office.

Authorities are investigating what types of sharks may have been
involved.

Meanwhile, beaches remained open Thursday in the area about 100 miles
north of Miami.

Shark attacks, especially fatal ones, are extremely rare, said George
Burgess, a leading shark expert who directs the International Shark
Attack File at the University of Florida's Museum of Natural History.

The attack on Schafer was the 14th deadly one in the state since 1896.

"Internationally, we've been averaging four fatalities per year,
despite the fact that there are billions and billions of human hours
spent in the sea every year," Burgess said Thursday. "Your chances of
dying in the mouth of a shark are close to infinitesimal."

The U.S. leads the world in the number of unprovoked shark attacks,
some deadly, some not, with about 1,032 documented since 1670,
according to the International Shark Attack File. Of those, 50 were
fatal. Florida leads the world with more than 600 attacks.

The last fatal shark attack in the state was in 2005 off the Florida
Panhandle, where a 14-year-old Louisiana girl was attacked while
swimming on a boogie board about 100 yards off shore.

"Florida as a geographic entity has more than any other place in the
world," Burgess said, noting that most attacks are minor, "the
equivalent of a dog bite."

While attacks are rare, Burgess said, people still need to be careful
in the ocean.

"We need to respect it. When we enter the sea, there are certain risks
that we should expect," he said.

However, Burgess noted that this time of year there are typically
fewer shark attacks in Florida because temperatures are cooler and not
as many people are in the water.

He said sharks are lining "up in South Florida getting ready to move
north" as temperatures begin to warm.

"The sharks gradually move their way northward and disperse," Burgess
said. "The message to take home is this is a rare and unusual event.
It should put the antennae up for people, in terms of, 'Yeah, we need
to be careful when we enter the sea, but we need to do that every time
because we're never guaranteed safety 100 percent of the time when we
enter a wild world.' "

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/04/AR201...