Surviving a bite is all in the blood.

Szilvia Gogh, Staff Writer

Greg Tash, “Hazardous Marine Life Injuries” instructor at Aqua Adventures Unlimited in Burbank, told his students that the primary concern for first aid providers is to control bleeding and to minimize the risk of infection. He urged people to exit the water as fast as safely possible in case of a shark attack, stop the bleeding and head to the nearest hospital.

“Elevate the wounded extremity to help blood flow to the heart rather than bleeding out,” Tash said. He reminded his listeners at the end of his “Hazardous Marine Life Injuries” class, which he hosted at Aqua Adventures Unlimited last month, that it is not the shark bite that kills people, but the uncontrolled bleeding.

Markus Groth, Austrian diver lost his legs and the next day his life due to a shark attack in the Bahamas on Feb. 28, reported the Submarine Dive Magazine.

He was the leader of a six-day tiger and hammerhead shark diving experience near Fort Lauderdale. It was not the first time that this experienced shark diver brought European customers to swim in shark filled waters to photograph the magnificent creatures, according to the articles.

Most aquatic animals are not interested in biting divers, surfers or swimmers. However, marine animal attacks that inflict trauma and bleeding cause some of the greatest fear amongst water lovers.

Being attacked by a shark is not equally likely to happen in all waters around the world. The Scuba Diver Magazine published several articles explaining that warmer water attract bull and tiger sharks, two of the more dangerous species, while great white sharks patrol the colder waters, such as the California Coast.

“I have never been bit by a shark, but I had to push bull sharks away from me with my camera several times,” said Nino Neuboeck,

underwater cinematographer as he recalled shooting the “Pirates of the Caribbean” in the Bahamas.

“Sharks don’t eat people. Great whites feed on seals and occasionally mistake swimmers for wounded seals. As soon as they bite people they realize that it is not food, spit it out and swim away to find food they like. Most shark attack victims don’t die due to the bite, but rather because they bleed out,” said Josh Lazie, divemaster on the Solmar V, a boat that takes daring divers out to Guadalupe Island, Mexico, to dive with great white sharks.

Shark attack is less likely to happen to you than being hit by a lightning, a recently published statistic shown in the Conde Nast Traveler magazine.