shark attacks in panama city beach 2021

10 Big Differences Between a Swordfish vs Marlin, 17 Surprising Hammerhead Shark Facts (and Some FAQs). A Florida beach has been ranked the "deadliest" in the U.S. New Smyrna Beach has a danger score of 8.14 out of 10, according to a new report from the online publication Travel Lens. . In a viral TikTok video shared Sunday to the "Let's talk Panama City Beach . As a result, it poses little threat, although its believed a sandbar shark was behind a rare attack on a 12-year-old girl in Ocean City last year. However, an increase of reports of shark attacks, rather than simply fatal attacks, the rate of deadly shark attacks decreased. The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network. Double red: Immediate Danger. Four people, including 19-year-old Christy Wapniarski, were sailing on a catamaran when the vessel began to sink, according to Shark Attack File. Nicky is a British adventurer and animal lover who spends her time exploring the natural world and writing about her experiences. there were 47 shark attacks in 2021 and one death, . Canal Zone. The officers used their boat to "guide" the deer back to shore and they were last seen bounding off to the safety of their preserve. Marcelo Rocha Santos, 51, died after his arm and leg were devoured by a shark at a beach in Brazil. Best is one of the youngest recorded victims of a deadly shark attack in Florida history. Shark attacks/bites are overall rare when compared to the amount of humans in the ocean each day. September 13, 2021. Unprovoked counts. Other Florida beaches topped the rankings, including Cocoa Beach, with a danger score of 7.57 out of 10, and Ormond Beach, with a danger score of 7.48. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. Caribbean Coast. By comparison, unprovoked California and Hawaii have 187 and 230 recorded attacks respectively, according to the database. Others, however, criticized the original poster for failing to alert the two swimmers to the potential danger. That said, if you want to ensure youre doing everything you can to prevent becoming a sharks lunch, we do have a few tips for you: One last step you can take is to familiarize yourself with local warning measures in place. The 2021 Shark Attack Map is best viewed in desktop mode. In the video, at least four of the sharks can be seen gliding through the water close to where three women were floating on a raft. By the time he reached Daigle, she was floating face down. Video. Timeline of unprovoked incidents since 1900. In a YouTube video posted by FlyestAround, a big shark in the Panama City Beach area could be seen charging a person in the water. Carlson said there aremore than 500 species of sharks in the world. One user, __brianna110, asked: "Why aren't you yelling at them there's a shark? Being the home of Tyndall Air ForceBase and having several military installations between Panama City and Pensacola, it's probably not a surprise that sooner or later someone wouldfind a missile. Something of the sloth of the sea, the nurse shark spends most of the day loafing around and resting. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Despite its size, the Florida Museum of Natural History says, the Atlantic Sharpnose shark poses a moderate threat to humans.. Video. One of the most recent shark sightings in Panama City Beach involved what looked like it was going to be an unprovoked shark attack by a great hammerhead. Twenty-eight shark attack bites have been reported in Florida in 2021. The video was one of a couple that circulated on social media over the past few days. There are 10 different types of hammerhead sharks, many of which hang out around Panama City Beach. Scalloped hammerheads occasionally perform threat displays when close to divers but more frequently ignore any humans they come into contact with. ", He added: "They would never have heard us.". My family and I recently went to Panama City Beach Florida. "As a whole, we still have a lot to learn. Experts weigh in, Anglers recall memorable Panama City Beach fishing trips, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. While they have been known to attack people, Carlson said bites are the result of mistaken identity. There have been shark attacks in New Jersey, dating back to 1826, but researchers suggest fear of sharks is misplaced. Jack Hanna said on interview that sting rays rarely attack and are very timid creatures. Posted Sat 6 Nov 2021 at 3:10am Saturday 6 Nov 2021 at 3:10am Sat 6 Nov 2021 at 3:10am, . PANAMA CITY BEACH The discovery March 19of a drone launched by Tyndall Air Force Base at Ocean Hammock Park near Boynton Beach gave pause to some and for others struck memories of the strange things that have washed ontoBay County'sshores during the past few years. Sinker, who was diving when he was attacked, is the first recorded victim in Key West. Market data provided by Factset. Topics. I had a 2 ft. Sandbar swim under me a good 40 ft. down the beach as I was snorkeling. The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user. Another popular game fish, the spinner shark is regularly targeted by shark fishing operators. The surfer . One of the divers, according to Shark Attack File, saw a blue shark swimming nearby followed by a mako shark. A short snippet by a July 1917 edition of the Washington Post on Shark Attack File, Sinker was "devoured [] before hundreds of spectators." ", Those sentiments were echoed by jmurphy91, who wrote: "Hammerheads rarely attack humans. In fact, there were no deadly shark attacks from 1962 until 1976, despite there being 61 recorded attacks between Oct. 1961 and Sept. 1976. She never saw it, Battlessaid. They eat everything from bony fish and birds to sea turtles and dolphins, and are one of the hardiest species out there. Published: Mar. "I just didnt want the girl to get hurt.. *Spearfishing, feeding sharks, fishing, etc. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. In over a century of records, Australia's shark attack mortality rate is 0.9 . ", Responding to criticism of their inaction, Connor wrote: "We didn't yell because we didn't want to cause them panic and potentially aggravate the shark, we were also on the 23rd floor. Reading Suggestion: Are There Shark Attacks in Cancun? Shark Attack File theorized Neal likely could have drowned with his body being scavenged by sharks and other animals. Look closely and you can see the fish swim from the safety of the man and into the whitewater, though to do so you might have to view it full screen. As you will see, no matter how common sharks may or may not be, they are not usually not so aggressive that they will attack unprovoked. Reading Suggestion: Are Shark Attacks in Costa Rica Common? . Third fatal shark attack of 2023 occurs in New Caledonia, Teen killed in second fatal shark attack of 2023, Man fights off shark attack with diving knife, Woman recovering after shark bite in California, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCHA2iMEZ-E&ab_channel=TrackingSharks. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, Shark attacks are actually very rare and infrequent, especially in the Gulf area. Given sharks dont tend to attack people unless mistaken for other food, you dont want to be swimming when its too dark. Florida was in the top spot for hurricanes, with a total of 120 between 1851 and 2020. For more information and tips visit Shark Attack Prevention. Improving outdoor amenities: Panama City Beach City Council approves $2.7 million contract for Gayle's Trails expansion Beach safety:As spring break bears down, officials remind beachgoers to follow flag system for safety Regarding city finances, Sheldon noted PCB received more than a dozen grants over 2021 and 2022 to help pay for stormwater, wastewater, infrastructure and public safety projects. 2020 saw only 54 attacks versus 64 from 2019. they'll see that "on just . This is one of the smaller shark species in Panama City Beach, rarely growing beyond 3 long. A video shot from a hotel room overlooking the shoreline in Panama City Beach, Fla., appears to show a hammerhead shark charging a man standing in the surf as if about to attack, but a closer look reveals the real reason behind the sharks actions. (Julio Aguilar/Getty Images for Ironman) Panama City Beach was listed as the beach with the most . Local residents worked to save the shark and get it back out into the . Tim Dicus, a 54-year-old surfer, quickly swam towards a dark spot of red water where Daigle had been swimming, the Shark Attack File recounted. Radar. On Aug. 16, two women, including one only referred to as Mrs. Cracton, were bathing in the ocean when "the former was seized by the shark and drawn into deep water," according to the Public Ledger out of Philadelphia, as seen on the Shark Attack File. In the video from Katie Allyson Thomson, people are heard in the background reacting to the close encounter. In 1849, the state's first attack on multiple people also happened off the coast of Pensacola. room at the Celadon Beach Resort in Panama City Beach. Tracking Sharks uses direct local sources and witness reports whenever possible. Beachgoers finally got the woman's attention and she frantically swam ashoreunscathed. 7/16/2021 10:52 AM PT . Susie McElheny's rare junonia shell found, Leg found in St. Andrews State Park returned to owner, washes ashore in Panama City Beach after Sally, Barge breaks loose from tow, buries itself on beach, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. The hammerhead made a sudden turn toward the man seen in the video. Christy's body was never found. Unlike most shark species, which are found closer to the shore after dusk, the scalloped hammerhead moves towards the beach during the day and hunts in the deeper, offshore waters at night. A man was wading through the waters in Panama City Beach on Friday morning when a shark could be seen coming toward him. :Anglers recall memorable Panama City Beach fishing trips. For example, using Shark Attack Data, 69% of the recorded shark attacks between 1845-1899 resulted in the victim's death. All rights reserved. Divers have described the Blacknose hunching its back and raising its head at them, apparently to either warn them off or intimidate them. Statistics show Panama City Beach has recorded only eight shark attacks in the past 121 years and the two that were fatal involved a snorkeler and a diver. 25, 2021 at 5:09 PM PDT. "Hammer heads don't attack people," she wrote. Read Article. That streak was finally broken when two brothers from Tennessee, Ricky and Michael Karras, were swimming near the Jacksonville Beach Fishing Club, according to Shark Attack File. The unsettling video has been viewed more than 11.4 million times on TikTok, garnering over 100,000 shares, 1.4 million likes and 18,500 comments. MOBILE USERS: The 2021 Shark Attack Map can be opened in full screen mode by clicking the button to expand in the top right of the map. Thanks! If she looked down right now.". Gotta respect the fish. Hammerheads especially are rarely of any danger to humans, so this really is more an observation than cause for any concern. Viral video from Panama City Beach resort shows a Hammerhead Shark charging a swimmer in shallow water. During and after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the entire Gulf Coast feared its beaches would be ruined. New Smyrna Beach - March 19, 2022. The alarming footage was posted to TikTok on Sunday by Connor Seitz, known as cseitz2281 on the video-sharing platform. PANAMA CITY BEACH Two beachgoers recently had a close encounter with a shark off the coast of Panama City Beach. Reading Suggestion: The Most Dangerous Animals in Hawaii. . In fact, according to the International Shark Attack File, you are more likely to be killed by an alligator, bee, snake or lightning than a shark. Are there Shark Attacks in Panama City Beach? Statistics show Panama City Beach has recorded only eightshark attacks in the past 121 years and the two that were fatalinvolved a snorkeler and a diver. As recounted in one of the newspapers at the time: "It is thought that the shark bit Larkin by mistake in its desperate eagerness mistaking him for the tarpon, for sharks in these waters have never been known to attack a man.". His body was never found. This period, when the sharks feed on bait fish in the area, usually . Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters, Shark Attacks, Kills Drunk Man Urinating in Brazilian Sea, Stock photo of a Great Hammerhead shark - A similar shark was spotted circling swimmers in Florida, Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion. Measuring around 4 long, Blacknose sharks primarily feed on smaller fish and the occasional octopus. Seven-year-old Ethan Cobb was bitten by a shark while paddling in water just a few inches deep. David Hookstead Sports And Entertainment Editor. It seemed the public discussion following a fatal shark attack at a Perth beach would head down the well-trodden path of culls and drum lines but this time the debate heads in a different . Reading Suggestion: Does Folly Beach Have Sharks? Shark attacks by location in Australia:Western Australia: 8 (0 no injury, 3 provoked), Fatal: 1, Unconfirmed: 0.Northern Territory: 0 (0 no injury, 0 provoked), Fatal: 0, Unconfirmed 0.Queensland: 2 (0 no injury, 0 provoked), Fatal: 0, Unconfirmed 0.New South Wales: 5 (0 no injury, 0 provoked), Fatal: 2, Unconfirmed 0.South Australia: 0 (0 no injury, 0 provoked), Fatal: 0, Unconfirmed 0.Victoria: 2 (0 no injury, 0 provoked), Fatal: 0, Unconfirmed 0. The 2021 report found that the U.S. led all other countries in its total number of unprovoked shark bites with 47, and Florida topped all other states in the U.S. for unprovoked bites with 28. 1:58. Netter. TOXIC ALGAE KILLING FISH IN FLORIDA PROMPTS HEALTH WARNINGS FOR HUMANS, PETS: 'RESPIRATORY EFFECTS', Athletes compete during the 2021 Ironman Florida in Panama City Beach, Florida, on Nov. 6, 2021. "With Panama City Beach having very clear water, the refraction of the sun off of it makes it difficult, unless you're actually under water, to see a (shark)," he said. It is, however, also in Florida. Unprovoked (total) Non-fatal and unprovoked: Fatal and unprovoked: Provoked/invalid/sea disaster/boating counts. The red flags where up but we all was n the water riding waves in.ashley Holley pulaski TN. Are there sharks in Panama City Beach? 65 miles offshore in the Gulf. There are indeed stories of sharks being spotted after becoming beached upon the shore, but locals have then helped the stranded animals back into the ocean. As said, the Gulf of Mexico is home to a wide variety of shark species, and five of the most commonly found ones are: Of those, the Bull Shark is the only one that has a reputation for being quite aggressive (more on that later). Witnesses said they saw a 14-foot shark attack. He, along with the third member Daniel Perrin, tried to swim Chrisy back to shore but was forced to leave her behind after they realized she had died. "I've been working on this beach for 25 years and during this time I have witnessed a number of ferocious attacks." A man cooling off in knee-deep water after an afternoon boozing with pals at an obscure Brazilian beach has died after being bitten multiple times by a shark, likely a bull or tiger.. Brazilian media is showing graphic footage of a man in his fifties, dead, face down on the . . Take off jewelry before diving in you might get some unwanted shark attention if your jewelry flashes or reflects sunrays underwater. No, they are not. The 2021 Shark Attack Map features locations and information on shark attacks and bites across the world during 2021. Thats so you can sit back or dive in with a mind at ease. 2021 11 :21am EDT. share. A man who was attacked by a shark at Emerald Beach on Australia's east coast on Sunday died after a "significant" injury to . Scot, an adult male, measures just over 12-feet long and . On June 20, 1934, a shark attacked 8-year-old Richard Clark Best Jr. off the coast of Melbourne. If you buy something through a link on our site we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to yourself. They are also so shy that scientists struggle to get close enough to study them, so the chances of being bitten by one are extremely remote. Sharks, as well as rays, are consideredelasmobranchs, a subclass of fish that have skeletons made of cartilage instead on bones. Bull sharks have been responsible for six fatal, unprovoked attacks, including one in the Gulf of Mexico in 2005, where the victim was a 14-year-old girl. bornwithwheels . This marking is more evident in juveniles and fades as the shark matures. Three years earlierin 2017, morning beachgoers seeking solace, shells and serenity along the beach instead encountered a large barge that had buried itself on the beach. Hammerhead shark charges toward swimmer . Tue 25 Jan 2022 08.49 EST. The majority of shark attacks involve minor injuries and occur off the Atlantic coast of Florida, where the . The database records 828 recorded unprovoked shark attacks between 1845 to 2016. You will find sharks in Panama City Beach as it lies on the Gulf of Mexico the ninth largest body of water in the world, and therefore is inevitably home to a variety of sea life. A swimmer narrowly avoided an encounter with a hammerhead shark on a Florida Panhandle beach recently.The video, which has gone viral since it was posted onl. 2021: 17: 0: 17: TOTAL: 94: 0: 94: Contact Info. A person was killed in an apparent shark attack in Morro Bay, Calif., on Dec. 24, 2021. In all, as of 2020, there have been 244 attacks in the city's waters . A man was wading through the waters in Panama City Beach on Friday morning when a shark could be seen coming toward him. Check out this video, taken from a drone. Also, considering the millions of people who have been in Florida's waters during that time period, the fact that there are only 828 recorded attacks shows just how rare being attacked by a shark is. Commentdocument.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a28f03a975878bd55a851a9d009698ef" );document.getElementById("ha6e1bc81c").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. (Barbara V. Perez/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images). snake or lightning than a shark. ", A 780-pound mako shark?! A lifeguard saw a man lying on the sail of a kiteboard about a quarter-mile offshore, according to Shark Attack File. The majority of shark attacks involve minor injuries, more consistent with a bite, and occur off the Atlantic coast of Florida . Chris Lowe, a professor and the director of the Shark Lab at California State University in Long Beach, compared the public's perception of sharks to the popular 19th-century image of whales as . The last deadly shark attack in Florida happened in Stuart in 2010. 2023 www.newsherald.com. The clip begins with a shot of the wider coastline before zooming in to show a shark approaching two swimmers. . A teenage girl was seriously injured in a shark attack at a Florida beach on Thursday, authorities said. There are untold cool, fascinating and important things found on theshores upon occasion, like Susie McElheny's rare junonia shell found at St. Andrews State Park, that ended her three-year search. Sharks dont tend to fixate on humans though, as we are not their natural prey. Despite the efforts of Dicus and others, Jamie Daigle was pronounced dead at the hospital. While Florida is statistically the most likely place to get bitten by a shark, up on the Panhandle where Panama City Beach is located you are pretty much safe, as attacks typically occur on the western and southern coasts of the state. Fishermen who used the pier "regularly caught large sharks" during the night hours. Beginning in the 1960s, the rate of fatal to non-fatal shark attacks declined rapidly in Florida, according to Shark Attack Data. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. It was filmed at Panama City Beach in northwest Florida. The clip begins with a shot of the wider coastline before zooming in to show a shark approaching two swimmers. Reading Suggestion: Are There Shark Attacks in San Francisco Bay? A third person died from a shark attack in 1894 while swimming in Mobile Bay. Shark sightings are commonplace, although shark attacks are thankfully infrequent. Tami Ennis, one of the other three in the group, later said in an interview the water turned red as she was yelling about a shark. There has never been a fatality resulting from an unprovoked hammer head shark (and only ever 16 unprovoked attacks on humans ever). The Coast Guard said the empty hopper barge was being towed by another boat when the cables broke loose in rough weather. Bocas del Toro. Texas was second, with a total of 64 hurricanes. In fact, Destin's liquid neighborhoodfrom Choctawhatchee Bay and Destin Harbor to the open waters of the Gulf of Mexicoprovides an excellent and varied habitat for . Local Weather: Passing front Saturday brings a shot of rainfall. PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) A swimmer in Panama City Beach narrowly avoided a Hammerhead shark as it swam directly towards him and turned at the last second. This trough makes an ideal habitat for fish, and humans, seeking a protected area away from the pounding surf. We interviewed our tech expert, Jaime Vazquez, to learn more about accessible smart home devices. According to National Geographic, most hammerhead species are reasonably small and largely harmless to humans. A picture of the snippet from the Tioga Eagle is on the Shark Attack File. In the article, as seen on Shark Attack File, a captain from Charleston was near Fernandina Bay in Nassau County when he was knocked overboard. The lifeguard pulled the man back to shore, though several sharks were circling around. But here, in no particular order, are eightstrange things that have been found on localbeaches or just offshore, the kinds of finds that one immediately recognizes as either extremely rare or outright bizarre. (Recommended: Panama City Beach vs Destin vs Pensacola). Based on comments from the post, the encounter appears to have occurred sometime during the weekendin the wake of Discovery Channel's annual"Shark Week." Summer/Beach TMZ Sports Nurse! or redistributed. Those who live in the countyknow deer can be found at St. Andrews State Park, but no one expects to see them swimming in the Gulf of Mexico. Dont swim by people fishing with bait. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. The "Yes Dear" wasn't the first vessel to beach itself in PCB, and it certainly wasnot the largest. April 14, 2021. Now that youre clued up on just how unlikely it is to be the subject of a shark attack here, we hope you enjoy your holiday and the beautiful waters of Panama City Beach without worrying about sharks in Panama City Beach! Surf zone fatalities: 24 - Shark attacks: 2 - Hurricanes: 120 - Overall danger: 7.16/10. Swimmers should take additional care in waters. ", Fellow TikTok user randomuserrachel agreed: "Them being oblivious was the best thing that could have happened. Despite that, a tagged great white known as Miss Costa has been visiting the area frequently since 2016. Interestingly, youre much more likely to die from a bee, wasp or snake than you are a shark. Officials had to close Mullaloo Beach in Perth, Western Australia, for the second time in a week on Jan. 9 after a tiger shark was spotted swimming close to the shore. "That's a hammerhead," a man behind the camera said. Florida's New Smyrna beach, where the shark attacked the teen surfer, is unofficially dubbed the shark-bite capital of the world Maroosha Muzaffar Thursday 16 September 2021 16:51 ", Julesie1127 also wrote: "This is where the phrase 'ignorance is bliss' cannot be any truer.". No true telling of oddities on the Beach is complete without a mention of the Surfin' Gator, the game officers who had to defend allowing a trapper to kill it, and former Panama City Beach Police Chief Lee Sullivan's description of what finally did in the gator. Panama City Beach Destination Experts. A rather more mysterious shark attack occurred in 1959 when a 26-year-old lieutenant in the US Army disappeared while on a spearfishing trip with friends. A person was wading in the water at Panama City Beach near . The species of shark was not identified, although the plastic surgeon that attended to Cobb believed it to be either a small hammerhead or nurse shark.. . Although not generally aggressive, spinner sharks are responsible for 16 attacks on humans. The Oceanic whitetip shark is one of the top 10 most dangerous sharks in the world. Reading Suggestion: 30 Types of Sharks in Puerto Rico. In fact, Panama City Beach has only recorded eight shark attacks over the past 121 years, with the only two resulting in fatalities being a snorkeler and a diver. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. . At Splash Resort, on the morning of his wedding, Mike Pharr noticed a hammerhead shark swimming down the beach near some swimmers and decided to shoot video to show it later to his then fiance. Every year, visitors flock to the white sands of Panama City Beach, and each year they are joined by some 200 different species of shark. In 1959, one of the most mysterious disappearances attributed to sharks happened in Panama City. The next day, the four were estimated to be between six to nine miles offshore, according to Shark Attack File. Recent shark sightings in Panama City Beach recorded 15 different species, most of which are non-aggressive and unlikely to attack unless provoked. Sometimes a shark just wants to give you a little bumpy bump to see what you're all about. Most Dangerous Sharks in Panama City Beach. Report inappropriate content . The victim, Stephen Schafer, was later pronounced dead from a bite wound that punctured his femoral artery. The two attacks that were fatal happened offshore, in snorkeling and free diving incidents. The 5 meanings are as follows: Green: Low-hazard, calm conditions. The paddleboarders estimated the shark to be about 15 feet long. 10 Day. "It's much more (common) than people probably realize.". "It's common for this specific species to feed closer to the shore due to them feeding on prey at the bottom of the sea. The man was swimming near Splash Resort on Friday morning when it happened. Previous Shark Attack Maps can be found based on the year 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015 , 2014 and 2013 . Usually found in deep waters far from shore, the Shortfin mako is not regarded as a serious threat to humans, but is nevertheless responsible for nine shark attacks, including one fatal bite. Swimmers should exercise standard caution while in waters. Responsible for around 20% of all shark attacks in Florida, blacktip sharks should be considered unintentionally dangerous.. Nurse sharks seem amicable enough, lounging around on the seafloor, but they can deliver a vicious bite if accidentally stepped on or provoked. Thousands of . All rights reserved. The sharks were swimming near the Anclote Sandbar and Anclote Island. Are there Great White Sharks in Panama City Beach? Only 317 men remained. That night, a trapper ended the Surfin' Gator's ride, and it perhaps was Sullivan's description of how that went down that immortalized the event. We know a lot about some particular species because they're the most studied and they generate a lot more research because of their charismatic nature. Divers in the area began searching for Neal. Shortlist: 12 Brunch & Breakfast Spots In Laguna Beach (CA) That Locals Love! Despite that, only 16 unprovoked attacks have ever been recorded, none of which were fatal. The earliest recorded shark attack in Florida's history is also the state's first recorded deadly attack. Although I found claims of one recorded unprovoked attack attributed to this shark species, when I checked the International Shark Attack File, there was no corroborating evidence. Video shows the . Like their cousins, the great hammerhead, scalloped hammerhead, and bonnethead are all frequent visitors to the Panama City Beach area.