ATLANTIC CITY -- A state trooper said Monday that he threw a punch at a shark that was swimming toward him over the weekend.
Sgt. Paul Mallick, 41, was surfing off the Atlantic City beach Saturday when he saw a dorsal fin coming at him from about 75 feet away.
"The thing is not changing direction - it's making a beeline right toward me," Mallick said. "I thought, if this thing's going to try to take a chunk out of me, I'm going to hit it first."
Mallick said as the 5-foot brown shark got near him, he punched it in the gut, and the shark then retreated.
Mallick said he thinks the shark was probably attracted to the area because of the warm waters brought in by then-Tropical Storm Charley.
"Mallick said he thinks the shark was probably attracted to the area because of the warm waters brought in by then-Tropical Storm Charley."
Ummmmm, ok..... That's the first time I've heard that theory . Since when do land-based hurricanes bring in warm water? If anything, the warm water already here was stirred up and possibly cooled by Charley. I could see if the water was 65* and the strong NE blow brought in some 70*+ gulf stream waters from an ocean-based storm, but not a storm entering the area from over land when the ocean temps were up in the high 70's to begin with.
I've also never heard of a brown shark attacking someone like that, but then again, it may have wanted a snack .
I saw this guy interviewed on the news and the story was a little odd. What did he do call the tv and the newspapers?? Don't surfers and fishermen see these brownies in the shallow water all the time? Still must have been scary as hell.
C: "The thing is not changing direction - it's making a beeline right toward me," Mallick said. "I thought, if this thing's going to try to take a chunk out of me, I'm going to hit it first."
"Mallick said as the 5-foot brown shark got near him, he punched it in the gut, and the shark then retreated."
Sounds to me like he thought it was a brown shark coming to attack him. Am I missing something??
How exactly do you punch a shark in its gut? Where is its "gut" located? Was it one of those lazy, overweight beer swilling pizza eating sharks with a gut?
GOING TO ATTACK?? THERE ARE MORE SHARKS IN CLOSE THAN NORMAL,IN BOTTOM DWELLERS ABOVE ANOTHER INSTANCE OF SHARKS IN CLOSE.THEY ARE ALWAYS THERE BUT SEEMS THERE ARE MORE THAN USUAL IN CLOSE AND ONE MILE OR 5O YARDS THEY DON'T HAVE RULERS.
Im sure he saw the fin, and the fish was swimming towards him, but doubt it was attacking. It was probably more curious than anything as to what was floating in the water. Ive been wade fishing before and swimming and had smallish brown sharks investigate. There generally pretty harmless but I dont blame the guy for whcking it if got that close. The story seems a tad overblown however. Most shark attacks from below and had the fish wanted to bite him, he never would have it seen it coming.
If people knew how many sharks were out there along the beaches they would not go swimming. before the fall run i grab my snorkel and fins and swim the beaches looking for structure(boulders that have rolled away from jetties, wood blown in from storms,etc). the sharks are there early(6-7am) looking for breakfast. i have seen more than a dozen upto 7ft and not one has bothered me. it does get the juices flowin but no big deal.
i saw one of those rays bump a guy last month, he was standing in 2 ft of water and this thing brushed his leg...this dude ran on water! how he didnt see it in gin clear water is beyond me.
funny stuff.
SOMEONE CALL PETA! CALL THE ACLU! CALL THE BLACK MINISTERS COUNCIL!
I call it "pelagic profiling"! How did the trooper know the sharks intentions? I believe the shark was just traveling south to north on a normal NJ throughway. He wasn't going to bite anyone. He wasn't trafficing short fluke.He wasn't bugging anybody. Wasn't breaking the law. How dare the NJSP violently attack the poor victim shark for no reason.
Originally posted by filletone: How exactly do you punch a shark in its gut? Where is its "gut" located? Was it one of those lazy, overweight beer swilling pizza eating sharks with a gut?
FLY TY R.
"THOUGHT" being the key word here. He "thought" the shark was going to attack. Not the shark "attacked" him.
Don't get me wrong if I saw a fin making a B-line towards me I would punch, poke, kick and gouge my arse off. But I would not say it "attacked" me, unless of course it takes out a chunk. But after all that kicking and gut punching I wouldn't blame him for taking a bite, if I "attacked" him first.
Now do you see the point????? of attack?? Sorry could resist, LOL
The person being attacked was a ?State Police Man".
They would never lie or distort the truth. I wonder why it was a BROWN shark. Is that part of profiling.
I was out doing what I normally do,,,,swimming. I see some comotion in the surf and check to see what's going on. All of a sudden, BAM, some guy punches me in the gut...WTF? There goes the neighborhood.
i'm inclined to believe the shark--whats he got to gain except this big guy with his hachet in a white boat trying to cut his head off to make fish and pizza in italy and england.
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