I just did a bullshark dive last week in Playa del Carmen. This was my first time encountering a "top predator" type of shark (nurse sharks aren't that scary, lol). I wasn't nervous or scared at all about doing the dive - I've read and seen lots of stuff about them, which I think made me more interested, curious, comfortable, and excited about the dive. There were only 3 divers going down: me, the dive leader, and the feeder. The water was not chummed prior to entry, and the feeder brought down a modified al. 80 tank (with the top cut off and replaced with a flappy lid... or at least that's exactly what it looked like) filled with fish parts. The feeder has been doing this dive everyday for 5 years (nov-feb), whether he has a group of people or not.
We descended 80' and had about 40' vis. The sharks were already there (the feeder said he believes they know the time of day, location, sound of the boat, and where to be fed - and that he's seen some of the same sharks for years). The rought count we had was 12+ bulls. The sharks weren't in any kind of a frenzy, never went for the bait box, and very calmly and slowly swam by to take the fish from the feeders hand - which I was about 20' away form. They came very close to check me out (i was even hoping to get bumped, but to no avail! - although a tail touched me!). It had to be the most surreal momment of my life to come face to face with one of world's most perfect predator, with his eyeball looking directly into mine at only 4-6 inches away. Although I slightly wondered, 'what am I doing down here,' I never once felt scared or nervous. It was actually very peaceful, calming, and exciting to just lay on the ocean floor and watch these truly magnificient creatures in real life.
I think it would be more amazing and special to experience sharks without the lure of feeding, but in regards to wether the practice is right or not, I think it's a good thing. Sharks are very intelligent. They'll learn where to come for a free meal, but not every shark fed and I don't think the entire contents of the container could sustain 1 single shark, so they obviously won't become dependent on it (and they don't only stay for a few months). They know what's food and what's not, ie: humans are not food - and I don't believe they will ever get used to being around humans which will cause us to become part of the menu. I also think this practice is beneficial for the study of sharks, to help show their anatomy, how they operate, their intelligence, migratory patterns, personality, behavior, etc. The more we learn about them, the more and more of the "Jaws" myths go away. Maybe they're not all cracked up as their known to be. Of course they are extremely dangerous beasts, but if you educate yourself about them and interact with them in a cautious and respectful manner, chances are substantially on your side. People around the globe have been diving with sharks every day for years and years and years and years... and how many deaths are there? ... and how many were the result of blood loss (not being killed by the shark)? ... and how many can be explained by some fault of the diver and/or dive conditions? Even with crazy agressive/destructive footage on Discvovery documentaries, you gotta realise that people were under the water filming the entire thing and no1 was harmed. I think the storytelling is what makes people afraid.
... and sorry for the rambling wall of text, I have a million things going on in my head about this... and I probably didn't word some of it the best way.