Dumpster Diver:
Thanks for the added details. Helpful.
True. I tended to think if lay people were getting seriously hurt often on shark feeding dives that they would've probably been shut down, given the political/litigious nature of society at this time. The definition of 'often' is vague, though. Especially if no one knows just how many incidents happen. I believe in disclosure of risk. Customers should have a reasonable idea of what they're signing onto. But I want adults to have the right to decide for themselves. The staff doing feeding remind me of circus staff working with lions & tigers; there's gotta be some risk there!
Common sense suggests there's some increased risk for others. If I dive out of Jupiter, odds of a tiger shark or big bull attacking me are minute. But, if there are 4 times as many in my general vicinity for whatever reason, there's increased risk.
We saw reef sharks. They did a little feeding. One dive, a perforated 5 gallon bucket with dead lion fish was used to draw in sharks; mainly one big one around 5-6 feet long. On a later dive a guide went around handing the fish out to predators (trigger fish & Nassau grouper, mainly) & either that shark, or one just like it, came in. I was higher in the water column but fairly close, and the shark sort of passed the bottom, turned & rose in my general direction (not direct confrontation; I saw nothing aggressive & suspect that shark was scoping out whether I was after the dead lion fish on the sand). Bit anxiety provoking, but a special memory.
None of the reef sharks I saw came close unless somebody had a lion fish, and the only time I saw that 'get interesting,' a guide carried a dead one around for awhile. 2 Reef sharks wanted it & got competitive. I used to want to someday spear lion fish. Now I'm not so sure. Think I'd want a dive buddy if I did Another day I followed a guide around & he killed several lion fish & stuck them in a container right away; no shark drama (his were the ones that went in the perforated bucket another day, so I assume they 'got a little ripe').
ChillyInCanada, how close did they get to you, the non-feeding diver, on dives when there was no feeding? Do you not like sharks in the vicinity, or did they get close & inspect you?
Was this on all the dives?
Too far & expensive, but Lord willing & providing, I've got a trip booked this summer for Morehead City, North Carolina, to wreck dive with the sand tiger sharks. Non-feeding dives reputed for substantial numbers of 'fairly benign' (no guarantees) pretty big gnarly looking sharks people can get close to. Warm water part of the year, often good viz.
Richard.
ichard, aha!! I knew someone had been feeding those sharks out at Halfmoon Caye.
I believe that there have often been sharks around on our dives over the years. It's just that for the most part, sharks had no reason to get up close and personal with us.
Having been places where chumming has gone on, I've seen the Pavlovian response. The sharks don't wait for the chum to hit the water or the snap of the spear gun, they come as soon as they hear the boat motors.
I neglected to explain the reason the nurse shark hit my hand. It was because they are used to the divers setting out pieces of lionfish for them after a spearing. The divers often point to where the fish was placed. Who'd have thought that nurse sharks would understand a finger point? Well, me for one.
---------- Post added July 12th, 2015 at 12:03 AM ----------
BBC - Earth - Sharks reveal new super memory
Last edited: