My fiance and I are going to Maui for our honeymoon.  She wants to
swim a lot and I don't because I am afraid of sharks.  She says that
sharks don't swim in "shallow" waters, but that doesn't satisfy me. 
Could someone give me good cold hard facts on the risk of sharks in
Maui waters?  Which waters are safer than others on the various Maui
shores?  How deep does someone have to wander out before being in risk
of shark bites?  Any other helpful info would be greatly appreciated. 
We are going from November 9th to the 15th.

Dear pravoslavnaya-ga;

Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting
question. There is no accurate way to predict the risk of being bitten
by a shark in ANY recreational location but it is possible to compare
the risk to ridiculously high odds. The State of Hawaii, for example,
officially states on it?s web site ??in Hawaii the chances of being
bitten by a shark are less than one in a million?
http://www.hawaii.gov/dlnr/dar/sharks/encounters.html .

In 2002 fewer than 60 known unprovoked shark attacks occurred in THE
ENTIRE WORLD! The most ever in one year was in 2000 and even then the
global incidence was less than 80. What?s even more reassuring (for
Hawaii vacationers at least) is that 62 of the 2000 incidents took
place off the coast of Florida alone! That leaves only 18 for the
whole rest of the world ? and the vast majority of those happened in
Australia.

UNPROVOKED ATTACKS FOR WORLD AND USA
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/statistics/Trends2.htm


Obviously the risk is higher where significant shark and human
populations co-mingle, and such is the case in Maui ? but then again
such is the case in many recreational areas near salt water. Looking
at this graphic you can see mapped shark attack sites in the Hawaiian
Islands from a period in 1999 to October 18, 2000. Clearly the
majority of these occurred off Maui.

SHARK ATTACKS 1999-2000
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/2000/Oct/20/image2/1020localnews14.gif
(Courtesy, Honolulu Advertiser:
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/2000/Oct/20/1020localnews14.html )

INTERNATIONAL SHARK ATTACK FILE
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/statistics/GAttack/mapHawaii.htm
(Courtesy: Florida Museum of Natural History)


While sharks can, and sometimes do attack in water just deep enough to
cover their bodies, two of the attacks mentioned above are known to
have occurred a mile or more offshore. In fact, the majority of
attacks seem to occur when the one or more of the following conditions
are met:

The water is relatively deep (i.e. at least neck deep or deeper, etc)

The swimmer/surfer was probably mistaken for prey

The water was murky, choppy, turbid or in some other way added to the
shark?s confusion and resulted in a bite


Here are some other details about attacks (some more recent) in which
you will see that in the majority of cases these conditions were
present, and rarely were people bitten in wading depth waters.

HARKS OF HAWAII
http://www.aloha.com/~lifeguards/sharintr.html#hawaiiattacks

Shark attacks in Hawaiian waters are fairly rare, occurring on the
average at a rate of about two or three per year though this number
appears to be increasing somewhat annually. Surfers and spear fishers
appear to be most at risk but even then fatal attacks are extremely
rare, especially considering the enormous number of people that
frequent Hawaii's waters.

Source: The Division of Aquatic Resources, Department of Land and
Natural Resources, State of Hawaii http://www.hawaii.gov/portal/

Here are some other graphics supplied by the State of Hawaii.
Officially, there have been 30 incidents off Maui (only 2 of them
fatal) from 1900-2003. This figure is second only to the Island of
Oahu (28 non-fatal incidents and 8 fatal incidents) but is still
extremely low in comparison to the millions upon millions of people
who have swam in these waters free of incident during this same time
span:

SHARK INCIDENTS BY ISLAND: NON-FATAL/FATAL
http://www.hawaii.gov/dlnr/dar/sharks/stateincidents.html

?How deep does someone have to wander out before being in risk of shark bites??

Here you will see detailed reports of every single incident since 1990
which includes water depth and conditions:

RECENT INCIDENTS
http://www.hawaii.gov/dlnr/dar/sharks/incidents.html

?Which waters are safer than others on the various Maui shores??

It depends to some extent on the season and the wildlife activity, but
statistically speaking the waters are safe wherever you go. In other
words, each and every day hundreds of thousands of people will enter
that water and on most occasions every single person who enters the
water will exit the water unbitten or without even a near encounter
with a shark. The two or three occasions that such an incident does
happen is so rare that it can literally be a chance far greater than
one in a million. I guarantee you that you are HUNDREDS (IF NOT
THOUSANDS) of times more likely to be injured in a car accident on
your way to the beach than you are to be bitten by a shark. As a
matter of fact, to put things into perspective, you?re many time more
likely to be struck by lightening that be bitten by a shark.

?According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA), an average of 400 people are struck by lightning each year?
STORMY WEATHER POSES HAZARDS
http://www.dix.army.mil/PAO/post03/post060603/StormSeason.htm


?What can I do to lessen my chances of being injured by a shark??

Many things?

Swim in areas monitored by lifeguards. These men and women are trained
to spot wildlife of all kinds and they know what to do. They won?t
mislead you about the safety of an area and they?ll watch out for you
while you are having fun doing other things.

Know the risks. Ask the lifeguards about recent shark sightings and
reports. They?ll be happy to talk to you and they will tell you if an
area is safe or not.

COMMON HAZARDOUS BEACH, SURF, & OCEAN CONDITIONS
http://www.aloha.com/~lifeguards/hazards1.html

Keep an eye out for warning signage. If an area is posted (for
whatever reason) do not swim there.

OCEAN SAFETY SIGNS OF HAWAII
http://www.aloha.com/~lifeguards/bsigns.html

Do not drink alcohol or do drugs and swim.

Do not swim if you have an open wound. Sharks are attracted to blood.
If you cut your skin and bleed while in the water, get out.

Never swim alone ? stay together. Many attacks happen when a lone
swimmer is mistaken for easy prey.

If in doubt ? stay out. If the water looks murky to you or you don?t
feel safe, don?t swim. Use your head. If you find a secluded place and
want to go for a romantic dip, think twice. There may be a reason why
the area is secluded.

Don?t swim after dark or in the wee hours of the morning when sea
wildlife are often feeding.

Educate yourself about what lives in the waters before you go. You are
MUCH more likely to be hurt by something you step on or brush against
while in the water than you are at risk for being injured by a shark:

SEA CRITTERS THAT CAN REALLY HURT YOU!
http://www.aloha.com/~lifeguards/critters.html

LIFE is a risky business by friend whether you are swimming in the
clear blue tropical waters of Maui or sitting in your easy chair
stuffing your aorta with cholesterol. Given the statistics in your
favor, the rest of your body is much, much safer from sharks than your
aorta is from doughnuts...and nobody?s afraid of doughnuts.

Don't get too worked up about it. Go. Relax. Enjoy yourself.

The chances are ASTOUNDINGLY in your favor that you WILL be ok.


Below you will find that I have carefully defined my search strategy
for you in the event that you need to search for more information. By
following the same type of searches that I did you may be able to
enhance the research I have provided even further. I hope you find
that my research exceeds your expectations. If you have any questions
about my research please post a clarification request prior to rating
the answer. Otherwise, I welcome your rating and your final comments
and I look forward to working with you again in the near future. Thank
you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad ? Google Answers Researcher


INFORMATION SOURCES

Defined above


SEARCH STRATEGY


SEARCH ENGINES USED:

Google ://www.google.com




SEARCH TERMS USED:


MAUI

HAWAII

SHARKS

ATTACKS

BITES

STATISTICS

INCIDENTS

RECORDS

REPORTS

very thorough and branched out to related subjects and info that was
helpful in addition to the original question.  thanks!

Wow!  What a great response.  I've just been to Mauii and I was
terrified but the snorkelling was so good I had to get over my fears. 
Snorkelling is an opportunity you just can't miss.  I must add that
snorkelling is 100 times better in the early hours, say 7am, when the
fish are feeding on flat coral beds in shallow waters, later in the
day these beds are abandoned.

You can even take out fish food with you.  But be warned in some areas
the puffer fish are so used to the fish food they recognise the colour
of the packaging and will chase you forever then grab it out of your
hand.  I had mine tucked into my bikini bottoms and had a terrifying
experience when one set upon me.  I didn't realise what it was until
my husband shouted out to throw the fish food away from me.  That was
far more frightening than anything i had imagined.

Besides that, do enjoy.  The numerous bays are a wonder to discover. 
Go to a reputable hire shop where you can hire equipment for the
length of your stay and believe me you will use it every day.  Once
you get used to breathing with your face submerged you will be hooked.
 Take it easy, a little each day.  And the hire shops will also give
you a map showing all the snorkelling areas with levels of experience
from beginner to advanced marked.

NEVER go out alone in case you get into difficulty, oh and watch out
for the turtles.  At night we would watch them off the bay, there
heads bobbing up in the darkness looking just like the Loch Ness
monster.

Have a wonderful time!

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/isaf/color.htm