Shark Attack: Every Week Is Shark Week in South Florida
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Shark attack: Every week is shark week in South Florida June 22, 2016, 6:26 PM SHAAARKS! They're everywhere in South Florida. Look around and you'll see these torpedo shaped visitors taking a bite out of our culture. Why do they hook us in so many ways, from TV and radio to books and academia? "Sharks are interesting because people are both terrified of and fascinated by them,'' said Kimberly Taylor, an associate professor of marketing at Florida International University. "And given that Florida, and South Florida in particular, is such a water- based community, people here have a healthy respect for the sea and its dangers, including predators like sharks. And personalizing them with some of these Twitter accounts and making them mascots certainly can help make them seem more fun and less scary." With the Discovery cable network's annual "Shark Week" series running June 27 through July 3, we decided to pay homage to all things sharks in the tropics. See if you've noticed these subtitle and not-so subtle hat tips to the ocean's deadliest predator. School of sharks Nova Southeastern University is the home of the … sharks! Specifically, the mako shark, which has been the school's official mascot since 2005. He's known as Razor. "Sharks are today what dinosaurs were to a generation or two ago,'' said Joe Donzelli, associate director for the office of public affairs at NSU. "Fascination with them continues and, thankfully, a growing understanding that they are a much needed member of the marine environment." Sharks are everywhere on campus. Sharkapalooza is the name of the annual tradition of activities to welcome back students. There's a 17-foot-tall mako shark sculpture inside a fountain in front of the Don Taft University Center, a popular spot for selfies. And the Taft Center arena, where many of the university's teams play, has a fishy nickname: Shark Tank. Radio sharks Last summer, "The Shark" was born on WSFS (FM 104.3), replacing WAXY's The Ticket sports talk. At the time, the station went with the "The Shark" name because "it's kind of edgy and gritty. Who isn't enthralled by sharks?" said Doug Abernethy, vice president and market manager of Entercom South Florida. But don't expect to hear the Jaws-theme here. The station plays more alternative rock from Nirvana to Fall Out Boy. But you will hear the Jaws-theme playfully used during the "Fernand R. Amandi Show on WIOD (AM 610) when Donald Trump comes up in discussion. TV sharks Discovery Channel's annual ode to sharks begins June 27 with 16 new episodes, including "Nuclear Shark" and "Return of the Monster Mako." And the SyFy network's "Sharknado 4: The 4th Awakens" will be broadcast July 31. But you don't need cable to catch sharks on TV. Local newscasts report anything shark-related from unfortunate attacks to the frequent sightings of thousands of black tip sharks off the shoreline during their annual winter migration. Looking for warmer water and food, the sharks usually spend between mid-January to mid-March off South Florida, according to Stephen Kajiura, a professor of biological sciences at Florida Atlantic University. Social sharks There's a sea of Tweeting sharks. Really. The accounts are inspired by their real shark counterparts with names such as @Shark_Katharine and @MaryLeeShark. Their human handlers Tweet about their locations in the Atlantic such as when they surface off the Florida coast and answer fans' questions on Twitter. Shark Club The South Florida Shark Club is for real shark hunters. They say they were inspired by the late Rene de Dios, a shark fisherman who was featured in various news stories for his catches off the South Beach pier in Miami Beach and for his fishing seminars, which he shared how he used barracuda to bait sharks. Check out southfloridasharkclub.com. Literary sharks They're in books, too. Before it terrorized moviegoers, "Jaws'' was a 1974 best- selling book by Peter Benchley. Locally, Boca Raton resident Steve Alten broke into literary fame in 1997 when he published his suspense thriller "MEG," about an albino prehistoric cousin of the great white shark. The New York Times best-seller spawned a series of books. His latest, released June 14, is called "MEG: Nightstalkers." Shark park You're more likely to find alligators and deer on the 15-mile road in Shark Valley, in Everglades National Park in west Miami-Dade County. The park's name refers to the Shark River, which serves at the main source of fresh water here. Early settlers were said to have spotted fins of bull sharks in this river. Shark art Sharks bedeck people's arms, backs, torsos and legs as tattoos. "All over the body," said David Robinowitz, a tattoo artist at A Stroke of Genius Tattoos in Boca Raton, where he has created shark tats for his customers. Designs have ranged from shark teeth to a dorsal fin breaking a wave to a mean shark gushing blood. A scuba diver and spear fisher, Robinowitz said that after people see a shark during an underwater excursion, "once they have that experience, they feel like it's a part of them and they want to get a tattoo." Shark records South Florida has taken a bite out of some shark records, according to the International Game Fish Association in Dania Beach. In 1977, Bill Peacock caught a 335-pound hammerhead shark on a 12-pound line off Miami. In 1993, Heidi Mason caught a 463-pound hammerhead shark on an 80-pound line off Key Largo. Staff writer Steve Waters contributed to this report. .