Massive Shark Swarm Caught on Drone Video

A Florida fisherman got quite a surprise recently when he encountered a swarm of hundreds of blacktip sharks off Destin’s coast.

Cody Peterson, who is also an aerial photographer, used a drone camera to capture footage of the massive swarm. It’s estimate several hundred sharks, between 5 and 7 feet in length, were in the water along with his boat.

Shark sightings in the Panhandle area and throughout the Gulf are quite common, but spotting a large swarm is a rare occurrence, experts say. Even so, the end of summer and beginning of fall tend to be considered prime time for shark attacks throughout Florida. It’s during these months that large schools of fish tend to be on the move. As those schools of fish migrate, the sharks that eat them do too, explained TCPalm. Since the bait fish that sharks eat happen to swim close to shore, the sharks follow suit.

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While peak shark attack time is now, experts say the chances of being attacked are very low. The east coast traditionally has a much higher rate of attacks than the waters off Tampa Bay.

“Shark attacks in general are really a nonentity when we think of causes of mortality involved with humans,” George Burgess, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research at the Florida Museum of Natural History on the University of Florida campus, told Patch. “It’s a lot more dangerous driving to the beach.”

While Florida logs an estimated 20 “bites” a year and about one fatality every decade, Burgess explained that many of those bites are akin to dog bites in their severity. Burgess said that most Florida shark attacks are “hit-and-runs” in that the sharks just take a quick grab and move on for tastier fare.

Even so, fatalities are not unheard of. After all, larger species, such as bull and tiger sharks call Florida home year-round and great whites are known to visit the area, as well. Many of the larger sharks are found in the Gulf of Mexico where attacks are also known to occur.

Two shark attacks were reported along Florida’s east coast on Sept. 20. Both involved young boys who were in waist-deep waters. Neither attack was fatal, but both victims did require medical attention.

To learn more about sharks in Florida, visit the museum online.

Photo courtesy of Inform