Hilton Head beachgoers evacuated twice in one day after sharks spotted in shallow water

Hilton Head Island beachgoers were called out of the water by lifeguards twice on Tuesday after sharks were spotted in shallow water, according to officials.

Reports of shark sightings are fairly frequent, but are not cause for alarm, said Mike Wagner, operations manager for Shore Beach Service.

Wagner said a shark was spotted near Shorewood Condos — a short distance from Coligny Beach — Tuesday morning. Another sighting of a shark cleared the water in the afternoon near Sonesta Resort.

It is not uncommon for the water to be cleared for sharks, Wagner said. It is often a single smaller shark such as a blacktip.

“I don’t want people to think this is super alarming because they are clearing the water,” Wagner said. “Just because there is a shark in the water, it doesn’t mean that it is likely to bite. We are just doing it to be on the safe side.”

News of shark attacks can be both fear-inducing and fascinating, but lightning strikes are actually more deadly than sharks in the United States.

In fact, many more people are injured and killed on land while driving to and from the beach than by sharks in the water, according to the International Shark Attack Files at Florida Museum of Natural History.

A 10-year-old visiting Hilton Head in May was bitten by a shark near the Disney Beach House in Palmetto Dunes.

Still, recorded shark attacks in Beaufort County, which sees more than 2 million beachgoers annually, are rare: In the last 100 years, there have been a total of 25 documented attacks.

There hasn’t been a single fatal shark attack in South Carolina waters in more than 50 years.

This story was originally published July 17, 2018 at 5:07 PM.