PART C. STUDIES OF SHARKS IN RELATION TO MAN 



1. Nature and Significance of Hazard to Man 



a. Introduction 



Although statistically infrequent, shark attack remains a significant 

 physical and psychological problem for naval personnel. The circumstances 

 under which sharks constitute a threat are primarily the following: 



(a) Survival situations (air and sea disasters) 



(b) Swimmer/diver operations 



(c) Recreational swimming and diving 



An indirect personnel hazard could result from shark- inflicted damage 

 on deep-sea navigational buoy moorings or surveillance equipment (see 

 Part C, Section 2) . 



Assessment of the problems requires collection and analysis — on a 

 continuing basis — of accurate data. The effectiveness of. such as assess- 

 ment is largely dependent on the availability of objective reports. 



In the past the Navy supported, through ONR, the establishment and 

 maintenance of such reporting procedures by means of the Shark Attack File. 

 In 1967 support for this program was terminated, and no systematic collec- 

 tion of incidents has been possible since that time. The final report from 

 this project (Baldridge 1973, 1974) resulted in the most complete analysis 

 of shark attacks yet produced. 



Emerging from the purposes of the Shark Attack File was Bureau of 

 Medicine Instruction 6400. 2A which required a world-wide reporting of shark 

 attacks on naval personnel and civilians under naval jurisdiction. No 

 reports of attacks on naval personnel have resulted, although independent 

 documentation has indicated that personnel covered by that instruction 

 have indeed been victims of shark attack. An effective reporting procedure 

 is seen as mandatory (a) because of the need to identify possible causative 

 and predictive factors of attack on man, (b) to provide an enlightened 

 basis for development of anti-shark measures, (c) to identify changing 

 trends in location and pattern of attacks, and (d) to provide information of 

 such nature and accuracy as to allay unnecessary fears about shark attack. 



b. Hazards 



1) Physical Hazard 



Shark injuries are often massive and usually characterized by shock, 

 trauma, and loss of blood, not unlike combat injuries. The treatment pro- 

 cedures are virtually identical in both situations. It is only in recent 

 years that the importance of immediate on-site preliminary treatment for 

 this type of injury has been recognized. The work by Davies and Campbell 

 (1962) has dramatically demonstrated the value of having plasma available 

 for immediate use on the beach before transporting the victim to a facility 

 for more intensive care. 



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