ROLLING HARBOUR  “WHERE IT’S SAFE TO DIP YOUR TOES IN THE WATER…”

Shark attack data for Abaco Islands, Bahamas

FIND A SEARCHABLE DATABASE  WITH DETAILS OF ALL RECORDED ATTACKS HERE

ATTACK MAP FOR 2017

LATEST STATS TO END 2016

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‘INTERNATIONAL SHARK ATTACK FILE’

World Locations with the Highest Shark Attack Activity

Revised and updated January 2015 (old system)

1749-2013 MAP OF THE BAHAMAS AND THE ANTILLES

CONFIRMED UNPROVOKED SHARK ATTACKS

I have updated the map and stats up to 2014. Abaco score: unchanged thankfully. I realise that ‘unprovoked’ is a grey area… Does it include spearfishing-related incidents (dying fish – ‘distressed’ movements – blood); or shark attraction to shiny things (‘Rolex flashing’); or the controversial and increasing incidence of ‘chumming’ which anyone – oh, apparently not – might think would encourage sharks to associate yummy food with humans..?

On the topic of shark-feeding, check out the discussion on Abaco Forum HERE

Any views on chumming? By all means use the COMMENT link, in tiny writing (hey! designer!) at the end of the page.

STOP PRESS JANUARY 2015 

The stats shown below for Bahamas, and Abaco in particular, have suddenly changed, because a woman at Tahiti Beach, Elbow Cay, has had the misfortune to be attacked by a shark – presumed to be a tiger shark. She has been flown to Fort Lauderdale Fl. where she is undergoing operations and recovering in Hospital. The early report is here http://m.local10.com/news/tourist-bitten-by-shark-in-bahamas-flown-to-fort-lauderdale/30558404 There is a suggestion that shark feeding has been occurring close to the recreational area, which may be an explanation for the attack… That’s a controversial area that I suspect is becoming more of an issue.

UPDATE JAN 9 An upbeat news report of the unfortunate woman’s recovery on Florida’s excellent LOCAL10 NEWS

UPDATE JAN 14 A report from the hospital with video of the woman recounting her ordeal at WFAA

UPDATE JAN 20 A further progress report post-surgery can be found at CARIBBEAN360

1749-2013 Map of the Bahamas’ and the Antilles’ Confirmed Unprovoked Shark Attacks (N=70)

1749-2013 Map of the Bahamas’ and the Antilles’ Confirmed Unprovoked Shark Attacks (N=70)
	Territory	Total Attacks	Fatal Attacks	Last Fatality		Territory	Total Attacks	Fatal Attacks	Last Fatality
	Abaco Is.	6	0			Cuba	11	7	1931
	Grand Bahama Is.	5	0			Puerto Rico	10	2	1924
	Andros	3	0			Virgin Is.	4	2	1972
	Bimini	3	0			Haiti	4	1	1921
	Exuma	2	0			Jamaica	3	2	2013
	New Providence	2	0			Dominican Republic	2	2	1963
	Cay Sal Bank	1	0			Cayman Is.	2	0
	San Salvador	1	0			Netherland Antilles	2	0
						Turks and Caicos	2	0
	Rum Cay Island	1	0			Antigua	1	0
	Unspecified	1	0			Martinique	1	0
						St. Martin	1	0
	BAHAMAS	26	0			ANTILLES	44	16	2013

5 and above

3 – 4

1 – 2

0

Last updated: February 20, 2014

 © International Shark Attack File
Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida

A great deal of useful information can be found at the ICHTHYOLOGY shark section (FMNH), covering such aspects as habitat, behaviour, sensible precautions… and how to deal with an apparently threatening situation without making it worse.

SHARK ATTACK DATA: ABACO

“Timeline Of Unprovoked Incidents Since 1900”

A somewhat diffferent – and more specific – picture emerges from the Abaco webpage of S.A.D., where both stats and details of each incident are given. It makes for interesting reading, suggesting one historic fatality and one ‘provoked’ attack. You will also see how often spear-fishing and associated activity is involved. To go straight to all this info, CLICK HERE 

ABACO’S HIGHEST POINT

Maps. Images. The intrepid expedition to pinpoint the summit of Abaco can be found HERE

LONGITUDE AND LATITUDE OF THE DELPHI CLUB, ABACO, BAHAMAS

The precise Longitude and Latitude coordinates of the handsome locally carved PINEAPPLE on the centre of the roof of the Delphi Club are, respectively, –77.1787834167480  and  26.20450323936187  Click link above to find out more – much more – about the fruit, its symbolism and social history.

MAYDAY MAYDAY…

THE MAIN SHIPWRECKS OF ABACO, BAHAMAS

EIGHT SHIPS AND TWO TRAINS (yes, really)

• USS ADIRONDACK – a wooden steam- and sail-powered  Federal gunboat. She ran aground in 1862, 6 months after she was launched
• ‘BARGE’ – an old landing craft
•  BONITA – a British WWII transport vessel
•  DEMIRA – a steel-hulled freighter, sunk in a hurricane in 1928
• USS SAN JACINTO – a Civil War gunboat that was both steam- and sail-powered…Until she ran aground in 1865
• SAN JUAN EVANGELISTA
• THE VICEROY – a steamship wrecked around 1900
• HMS MERMAID – driven onto a reef in a storm and wrecked in 1759 (undiscovered until 1987)
• LOCOMOTIVES X 2 – not actually driven into the sea, but fell off a ship while being transported

NEW ENTRY

• THE WILLIAM & MARY wrecked off Hole-in-the Wall 1853. For report CLICK HERE or in pdf form

Wreck of the William and Mary pdf

• SS HESLEYSIDE (Schooner Bay). You’ll find a detailed post about this wreck HERE

CHECK OUT Cap’n Dan Berg’s  ABACO SHIPWRECK DIRECTORY for more details

[PS I have only just noticed, and emphatically deny responsibility for, the embedded ads for Bikini-Expo.com  Think of them as a bonus, if you wish]

Here is the ‘SHIPS DISCOVERY’ MAP of five early 16th century wrecks in ‘Lucayan Islands’ configured in a way that makes the precise locations rather hard to identify… 

ABACO IN NUMBERS

1 highway (130 miles long)

1 roundabout (near Marsh Harbour airport)

1 set of working traffic lights (in Marsh Harbour)

0 wild Abaco Barbs (Colonial horse originating from Spain) remaining (5 when I first posted this…). The last survivor, Nunki, died in 2015, bringing to an end the line.

1 airfield (Sandy Point)

2 international airports (Marsh Harbour and Treasure Cay)

2 main lighthouses (Hole-in-the-Wall, Hope Town – there’s also the remains of one at Little Harbour)

5 National Parks (terrestrial and marine)

5 main inhabited Cays (Walker’s, Green Turtle, Great Guana, Man-o-War, Elbow)

5 the number of known species of marine turtles (out of 7) found in Bahamas
waters (Green, Loggerhead, Hawksbill, Leatherback and Olive Ridley turtles)

101 steps to climb inside Hope Town lighthouse

106 miles north of Nassau

134 feet – the highest point above sea level of Abaco

175 miles east of Palm Beach Fl.

200 square miles covered by The Marls

210 feet – the highest point in all the Bahamas

776 square miles total area

900 the approximate number of Abaco-registered vehicles

1973 the year of Independence

1976 the year of the first Abaco licence plates

3000 Abaco parrots

♦  ♦  ♦  ♦  ♦  ♦  ♦  ♦  ♦  ♦  ♦  ♦  ♦  ♦  

OTHER RANDOM TOPICS

ABACO FOOD & DRINK      CLICK HERE

PHILATELY                           CLICK HERE

‘BAHAMA YELLOW’            CLICK HERE