Tourists along the Grand Strand continue to swim in the ocean even after catching sharks in swim zones.
After a number of shark attacks on swimmers off the North Carolina Coast, Governor Pat McCroy says he looks to see if there could be a pattern connected.
One thing being considered is restricting shark fishing in areas where people swim.
From North Myrtle Beach all the way down to Garden City every municipality, including the county, has restrictions banning shark fishing.
However, that does not mean sharks are not being caught.
“It’s a crazy fight. Those sharks are just so big. It’s like nothing I’ve seen before,” said Kyle Stanifer.
Stanifer was fishing off of the Surfside Pier.
Even though shark fishing is prohibited, unintentionally sharks seem to be what is caught pretty often.
“It’s always fun catching sharks,” he said.
Stanifer, who is visiting from Tennessee, caught at least two sharks himself.
Even though he is catching the smaller ones, he says he knows that is not all that is out there.
“Yeah we’ve been out in the water and we’ve seen some of the bigger sharks out here so we’ve been a little bit more wary about it,” he said.
Maybe wary in the ocean, but when a shark gets reeled in on the pier it is the center of attention.
You may think the people fishing would stay out of the water, but the ones News 13 spoke to say they will catch a shark at night and go swimming right by the pier during the day.
“You don’t hear very many shark attacks in this area. You think you would hear more with all the sharks that are out here,” said Stanifer.
Whether you are fishing for them or not, sharks are always in the water.
While it may still be a scary reality, reports say you are more likely to be killed by lightning than a shark.
Since May, there have been ten shark attacks off the coast of both Carolinas.
The most recent was yesterday in North Carolina.
