Tobago shark attack: Beaches remain closed, attack victim improving

SELECTED beaches, closed off in the wake of a shark attack which left a British national visiting Tobago severely wounded and hospitalised, will remain closed until further notice, said Allan Stewart, director of the Tobago Emergency Management Agency (TEMA), in response to questions from Newsday on April 28.

Stewart said TEMA held a meeting to assess information coming from UAV drone scans, beach patrols and other forms of surveillance and based on that, determined that the beaches will remain closed.

“What you ideally want is probably a 72-hour period that there are no continuous sightings,” he said.

Peter Smith, a British tourist from Berkhamsted, England, was bathing at Courland Bay at about 9.14 am on April 26 when he was attacked by a bull shark. The attack left him severely wounded, with injuries to his left leg and arm and his abdomen.

While Smith was being treated at the Scarborough General Hospital, the THA announced the immediate closure of seven beaches in the Courland Bay area, including Plymouth, Courland Bay, Black Rock, Mt Irvine, Bucco, Pigeon Point, Store Bay, and all coastal areas in between.

Since the attack social media has been abuzz with sightings of sharks. However, Stewart said, the emergency response team’s fact-finding department determined that there was only one bull shark in Tobago’s waters.

“There was one shark that was seen twice,” he said.

Stewart added that photos of fishermen pulling up sharks out of the water, after a $10,000 bounty was offered for the capture of the shark, were old photos.

The bounty was announced shortly after news of the attack but recalled hours after, with THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine apologising for the confusion caused in a virtual news conference held late on April 26.

The announcement of a reward for the capture of the shark was met with significant push-back from environmental organisations.

Augustine said while the bounty was recalled, experts are being deployed to treat with the shark. Searches by Coast Guard officers as well as drone surveillance continue.

Smith remains in stable condition at the Scarborough General Hospital and continues to improve, Deputy Chief Secretary of THA, Faith B Yisrael said in a statement on Sunday.

“The medical team continues to collaborate with his family to determine the best course of action going forward,” she added.