The stage of the Russian Surfing Cup in Vladivostok, scheduled for the end of July, was canceled due to two sharks discovered in coastal waters. The competition will most likely be moved to Vietnam. Experts note that when meeting a shark, you should not try to deal with it.

The Russian Surfing Cup stage was canceled due to sharks. The competition was supposed to take place at the end of July in Vladivostok. However, a few days ago in Primorye, two large predators were found in coastal waters. So far, experts cannot say exactly what species they belong to. But scientists say there is a potential threat to people. The authorities recommended canceling the competition.

The stage of the Russian Surfing Cup will be postponed to the end of the year, and, most likely, will be held in Vietnam. The head of the marketing department of the Russian Surfing Federation, Alexander Abramov, told Kommersant FM about this.

“Unfortunately, we inform you that due to the abnormally high activity of sharks in the coastal waters of the Primorsky Territory, the surfing competition in 2012 in Vladivostok is canceled. According to representatives of the Surfing Federation in Vladivostok, a 5-meter shark was caught yesterday. Unfortunately, I cannot say , what type. And there are fears about an attack on the participants, and we also fear for the health and lives of the participants,” Abramov said.

Last year, the Russian Surfing Cup competitions were held in Vladivostok at the end of August. Then rescuers from the Ministry of Emergency Situations protected surfers from sharks. Several boats were sent to patrol the water area. But at the same time, casualties among ordinary swimmers could not be avoided.

On August 17, in Telyakovsky Bay in the south of the Primorsky Territory, a shark attacked a 25-year-old resident of the coastal capital Denis Udovenko. He tried to distract the predator from his wife, and in the fight he lost his hands and also received serious injuries to his legs. The next day, August 18, a shark attacked a 16-year-old teenager near Zheltukhin Island. The third victim of a shark in Primorye was a resident of the village of Slavyanka. The attack took place on August 27 in Teal Bay. The young man had an injured forearm.

In places where sharks can be found, certain rules must be followed, said Konstantin Zgurovsky, head of the WWF Russia marine program.

“It is advisable that there is either a ship, or an island, or a shore at a visible distance, from which you can quickly get out. You cannot make sudden movements, you must quietly, carefully retreat. If you begin to behave like a victim, then this causes a reaction in the shark attacks. Therefore, I would not hope that you gouge out its eyes, or grab it by the gills, it is best to get away from the place where the shark is. It usually narrows the circles, at this time you just need to leave before the moment it decides. attack,” Zgurovsky advised.

The Primorye authorities recommend not swimming on “wild” beaches; equipped recreation areas are protected by special nets.

Anastasia Strelkovskaya

Sharks mess up the cards for Russian surfers