# Another Solution Looking For A Problem



## GaryM (Oct 22, 2013)

This is from your local news.



Myrtle Beach is looking at taking steps to make sure sharks stay away from the city’s shore.
Myrtle Beach City Council on Tuesday will consider an ordinance that would prohibit fisherman from throwing fish parts into the water.
“It’s an effort to make sure that we aren’t even accidentally attracting dangerous fish into our swim zone,” city spokesman Mark Kruea said.
There have been a number of shark bites reported at beaches as nearby as North Carolina in recent weeks and Kruea said the city, though it already has a law on the books that prohibits fishing for sharks, wanted to take additional steps to keep beachgoers safe.
Kruea said sometimes fisherman will clean the fish they catch while still on the pier.
“This takes away the accidental feeding that could occur either when fishermen clean fish and throw parts into the ocean or chum for food,” he said. 
The ordinance, if passed, would require owners of piers in city limits to post signs telling those fishing about the new rule and provide a container to dispose of fish parts.
Operators of 2nd Ave Pier and Pier 14 could not be reached for comment on Monday.
City Manager John Pedersen in a note with the ordinance also will request that City Council ask the Coastal Alliance to consider the initiative as well. Coastal Alliance is a group that represents cities and towns along the Grand Strand and Horry County.
If passed on Tuesday, the law would take effect upon second reading of the ordinance, which could occur at the next City Council meeting July 28.
Read more here: http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/local/article27164200.html#storylink=cpy


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## Captainfirebeard (Aug 22, 2014)

I am sure these fish parts containers will smell wonderful... Baking fish guts in the sun. :beer:


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## bigjim5589 (Jul 23, 2005)

They should post signs out about 3000 yards telling the sharks to stay away! That would be as effective at keeping them away from the beaches IMO! 



> and provide a container to dispose of fish parts.


So, I guess they would rather deal with the smell & possibly the rats this might attract? Better to have rats biting people than sharks I guess! 

opcorn:


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## scsharker18 (Oct 9, 2012)

This is all to keep this a good looking "tourist" town. But the poor people down wind on the beaches and the ones walking on the pier will have to deal with rotten fish carcass smell all day. Next they will be saying all we can use for bait is fish bites since our pieces of cut bait are like "chum". I wish one of these clowns discussing this ordinance actually knew something about fishing, or marine biology in any way.


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## MECrim (Jun 25, 2012)

The sharks typically hang around piers because of the easy meals they can get from scraps around the cleaning tables. Do they expect the sharks to vanish because their snack is now prohibited? 

I am no scientist, but it seems to me that this would cause the race to get that fish above the water and over the rails that much more of a pursuit. Wouldn’t this cause the sharks to veer from their usual hangouts around piers (where swimmers technically are not supposed to be swimming or surfing around anyway)? Wouldn’t this cause the sharks to patrol more area in search of their now missing snack from the skin of that ole Spanish or whiting bones, and cause them to venture out amongst the swimmers even more than they already do, possibly resulting in more shark and tourist “encounters”? The sinks drain directly back into the ocean! The bloody water will still attract anything that is hungry with our without the scraps accompanying it. 

There is no fix for sharks being around. This is nothing new. It is just brought into the limelight more now because of the media. I have since finished college and regretfully moved away from the coast back inland, but during my time on Springmaid, there was ALWAYS about 5-6 decent sized sharks lurking, waiting for those scraps. Again, nothing new. 

There is nothing that can be done to eliminate sharks around coastal areas. Myrtle Beach City Council just looks like the good guys by trying to implement preventative measures.


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## GaryM (Oct 22, 2013)

“It’s an effort to make sure that we aren’t even accidentally attracting dangerous fish into our swim zone,” city spokesman Mark Kruea said."

This comment reminds me of the saying "A mind is a terrible thing to waste". Mr. Kruea, you are truly a clueless individual. I don't fish the SC piers anymore for other reasons, I head to NC to fish so this is no skin off my nose, but crap like this is just maddening. Can you imagine the pier with no cleaning stations? Because that's the pier operators only option, to turn off the water. Then what follows will be fish cleaning with no water, and guts left in piles or thrown over the rails. What a friggin mess these people are about to create...and for no good reason. I suggest that the clueless Kruea take a quick couple passes up and down the beach in a low flying aircraft to see all the sharks that are already in his precious swim zone. Friggin idiots...I feel for you people, good luck with these clowns.


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## Wingbone (Jun 8, 2014)

Never mind the fact that people have doing the same thing for years and it has only suddenly become a problem this year.


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## ez2cdave (Oct 13, 2008)

GaryM said:


> Myrtle Beach is looking at taking steps to make sure sharks stay away from the city’s shore.
> Myrtle Beach City Council on Tuesday will consider an ordinance that would prohibit fisherman from throwing fish parts into the water.
> “It’s an effort to make sure that we aren’t even accidentally attracting dangerous fish into our swim zone,” city spokesman Mark Kruea said.


Umm . . . Isn't ANYTHING, but an Artificial lure or imitation like Gulp or Fishbites, "Fish Parts", which would INCLUDE "CUT BAIT" and "LIVE BAIT" ???


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## Foggy1 (Sep 22, 2009)

Damn Bikers lol!


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## wvdave107 (Jul 12, 2015)

Spend quite a bit of time on SS pier when I'm down there and I ALWAYS see plenty of sharks. They seem to make laps from the end of the pier back past the breakers ( and swimmers) and then back looking for snacks. I get that fish guts are a great and easy food source for these sharks, but what about the small fish that are thrown back. On several occasions I've had and seen sharks surface to get these small fish that are discarded back into the ocean. Seems it's just the natural order of things....small fish attract big fish and big fish attract bigger fish. I'm not an expert by any means, but I'm pretty sure there will always be sharks in the ocean, especially where people are fishing. I do think that this new ordinance will deter some people from utilizing piers then prices start to rise. The mess this will create is unimaginable. Buckets of fish guts strewn up and down the piers is going to smell horrible. Not something I would want to have around.


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## SmoothLures (Feb 13, 2008)

It was declined by the MB City Council.


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## RoryGoggin (Jan 6, 2005)

Sort of reminds me of this radio caller's logic


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## joek (Jun 1, 2015)

Been reading these shark threads and felt the need to add my thoughts.

For a chum slick to work it has to be continuous and unbroken. 
break the slick and sharks can no longer follow it.
Fish remains from a cleaning table will not establish an unbroken chum slick.
the only fish it will attract are already in the area.

Will putting bait in the water attract fish ?
I hope so. But again only if they are already there.

If the people in power had half a brain they might come to the conclusion
that whats holding sharks near piers are the piers themselves.
the piers are the best structure on the strand.
lots of hiding places and food for small bait fish attracting larger fish and sharks to come to dinner.
You cant build artificial reefs or structure and then blame fisherman cause they hold fish.

The surf is structure in its own right and there will always be sharks and blue fish and other predators
cruising for and easy meal..

If they need to blame something for he sharks in the area my bet is on the piers and surf.
do away with BOTH of them and no more shark problem.

one more thing. i dont believe for a minute that sharks are man eaters.
If sharks considered people as food everyone that stepped in the ocean would be eaten.
We are soft, no spines or teeth to fight back with, clumsy and easy to catch,
you would think the perfect dinner item for a shark.
it seems they dont really like the way we taste. they take one bite and spit us out.
i think shark bites on people are either accidents or self defense not a feeding bite.

I feel better now.


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## bigjim5589 (Jul 23, 2005)

Rory, I had that in mind with my post above about signs! 

She might be on the city council in Myrtle Beach!


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## Digger54 (Sep 11, 2012)

bigjim5589 said:


> They should post signs out about 3000 yards telling the sharks to stay away! That would be as effective at keeping them away from the beaches IMO!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I agree, a restraining order is the solution.


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## bigjim5589 (Jul 23, 2005)

> I agree, a restraining order is the solution.


There you go! That's what they have lawyers for! Lawyers & sharks can certainly see eye to eye!


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## bluefish1928 (Jun 9, 2007)

A: there are sharks in the ocean....big news!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
B: you can't fix the ignorant!


thankfully, it did not pass


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## tiretread (Aug 9, 2014)

Common sense broke out? Say it ain't so.


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## steelerfan (Jul 15, 2013)

It didn't pass? Thank goodness. Heading down on the 23rd and was worried if they stopped feeding the Sharks at the piers, they would wind up eating the last few fish left in the surf. I know, should not have went there. Can't wait to wet a line and watch the sunrise.:fishing:


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## hambone111 (Jun 4, 2015)

Thank goodness somebody has some sense


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## FishingAddict (Apr 21, 2005)

How would beachgoers feel if an ordinance was proposed to ban all swimming within 1000 feet of any structure on the beach just to be sure that no swimmers are injured by the presence of sharks or fishing gear, and that they do not disrupt fishermen?

Beachgoers and uninformed officials need to understand that the Atlantic Ocean is a multi-use resource that cannot be managed for any one single type of use. Many of us (locals and vacationers) enjoy fishing, swimming, surfing, etc. but fully understand that no single use of the resource should take precedence over others.

Unfortunately, we live in a world where irresponsible media (can no longer call the nightly news journalism at this point) will run with and sensationalize any story that will increase viewership and profits. Therefore, it's almost never mentioned that massive increases in uninformed beachgoers each year lead to a larger number of shark encounters each year. It's that simple. Shark attacks are NOT on the rise. What is on the rise is the number of people that enter the ocean and put themselves at risk. It's unfortunate and sad that the typical news viewer simply can't comprehend this simple fact of probability.

What would go a long way towards preventing shark attacks is educating beachgoers about how to protect themselves instead of proposing uninformed ordinances. To that end, here are the simple tips that will significantly reduce your probability of ever being attacked by a shark. Note that I say "attacked" because anyone knowledgable about sharks understands that sharks are present around swimmers all day, every day, without incident. Teach beachgoers the following things and they will stay safe:

1) Do not swim from dusk to dawn
2) Do not swim in or near an inlet
3) Do not swim in a turbulent or high current area
4) Do not swim where there are large schools of baitfish present (e.g. mullet, menhaden)
5) Do not swim near any structure (e.g. piers, groins, jetties, etc.)
6) Do not swim near fish cleaning stations (e.g. marinas, piers, seafood processors, shrimp boats, etc.)

Follow those rules and your chance of being attacked by a shark are close to zero! There is no need for additional laws or ordinances to protect people from sharks. What we need is for intelligent people to protect themselves from sharks (there is no hope for the morons that simply don't care to be educated).


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## ez2cdave (Oct 13, 2008)

FishingAddict said:


> How would beachgoers feel if an ordinance was proposed to ban all swimming within 1000 feet of any structure on the beach just to be sure that no swimmers are injured by the presence of sharks or fishing gear, and that they do not disrupt fishermen?
> 
> Teach beachgoers the following things and they will stay safe:
> 
> ...


(7) Do not blame "Fishing" and/or Fishermen for your own STUPIDITY !!!


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## "ReelDeal" (Dec 27, 2014)

Well said FishingAddict! When I was at Sunset a couple of weeks ago, I went down to the pier to see how the fish were biting. The beach was covered up with folks wading, swimming and playing in the surf right beside the pier. There were beach patrols all around but they never made anyone move away from the pier. I quess it was because this area was the local beach access and it is too inconveinient for folks to walk a little ways down the beach!?!? I understand the fact that no one wants to see anyone get bitten but I feel it has gone way to far.
R/D


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## bigjim5589 (Jul 23, 2005)

> What we need is for intelligent people to protect themselves from sharks (there is no hope for the morons that simply don't care to be educated).


Well said! It's a fact they can't regulate or legislate stupidity anyway! As Forrest Gump said "stupid is as stupid does"!

Unfortunately, it's not so much intelligence that's at issue, but lack of knowledge. Way too many folks who venture out into nature, have a total lack of understanding about anything that goes on in the world of the nature around us. Some of this should be common sense, but we know how that goes these days. Your average tourist these days have no clue about sharks or anything else that could cause them harm, except from what they see or hear in todays media, which as we all know is skewed. 

How many folks drown each year because they don't wear a PFD's? How many times do we hear in the news about idiots having to be rescued or have drowned because they drove their car into flood waters? How many folks are seriously injured because they come in contact with the various stinging jellyfish, or worse such things as Man O Wars, simply because they don't know? The list goes on & on, and regulation, laws or ordinances will not change that!


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## mitrrek (Jun 26, 2011)

Perhaps we should put the sharks in a traffic loop.


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