Attack in Va. Beach was likely from 1 of 2 shark species

VIRGINIA BEACH

When Jack Musick heard that a teen had been bitten while surfing off Sandbridge last month, he immediately got to work trying to pin down the culprit.

Could it have been a bull shark?

Probably not, concluded Musick, a professor emeritus at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science who investigates shark attacks. They're uncommon in Virginia.

How about a sandbar shark?

Not likely. They're not very active and prefer to feed in deeper water.

Maybe a blacktip shark?

Bingo. According to Musick's report, which he's submitted to the International Shark Attack File in Florida, the attacker was probably a small blacktip or spinner shark, maybe even two.

Those species often visit Virginia's waters in September, he wrote. They're also active feeders and have been implicated in similar nonfatal attacks here, in Florida and elsewhere. The circumstances also fit, Musick said.

Caleb Kauchak, 18, was wading in chest-deep water next to his surfboard the afternoon of Sept. 24 when something latched onto his ankle, shook him and let go. He jumped onto his board and felt another bite, on his knee.

He needed 51 stitches. While his injuries have healed almost completely, the scars still draw lots of attention, Kauchak said.

The attack - in murky water during the time of day when sharks start to feed - was most likely a case of mistaken identity, Musick said. The shark probably thought Kauchak's leg was a fish, and let go when it realized its mistake, he said.

"The shark was too small for it to have been a predatory attack," Musick said. "Also, if that had been a large shark, the damage would've been a lot greater. It probably would have removed a limb or something."

Shark attacks are rare in Virginia. In 2001, however, a shark fatally attacked a 10-year-old Richmond boy as he surfed with his father off Sandbridge, not far from where Kauchak was bitten. A 9-1/2 foot bull shark is believed responsible.

Whatever bit Kauchak was much smaller.

Blacktip sharks can get up to 5 feet 9 inches long and tend to live in shallow coastal waters from New England to Florida, according to the Virginia Institute of Marine Science website. Spinners can grow up to 9 feet 10 inches long and visit southern Virginia's waters on occasion.

Those two species have been linked to 58 attacks on humans in the past 50 years, according to estimates by the International Shark Attack File, which tracks all shark bites worldwide. One, in 1973 involving a teen being bitten in the elbow while snorkeling and spearing crabs south of Sandbridge, was similar to the attack on Kauchak, Musick said.

With just three or four shark attacks in Virginia in the past 40 years, and millions of people in the water here over the years, Musick said the "probability of a shark encounter is miniscule."

Kathy Adams, (757) 222-5155, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com