DougNR
Contributor
I have followed a thread in which the question was asked if a certain shark encounter dive in the Bahamas was a scary experience or not. For the most part, the responses were positive for the OP to overcome his trepidation and go for it as it was generally considered to be a great dive experience.
I was tempted to comment in that thread that participating in that kind of activity while exciting might not necessarily be the right thing to do. After some consideration, I didn't want to turn that thread into some kind of debate in which previous posters would feel that I was being critical of them for their choices. Therefore a new thread to discuss it
I've been in and out of the Bahamas routinely for over twenty years and there is no doubt the concept of shark encounter dives has caught on big time. I for one do not think it is a great idea for the simple reason that it alters the natural behavior of the animal. I can not provide any evidence that shark feeding has been problematic in any specific way. I do know that endeavors initially considered benign later have been found to have a negative impact in unexpected ways.
What do you think?
I was tempted to comment in that thread that participating in that kind of activity while exciting might not necessarily be the right thing to do. After some consideration, I didn't want to turn that thread into some kind of debate in which previous posters would feel that I was being critical of them for their choices. Therefore a new thread to discuss it
I've been in and out of the Bahamas routinely for over twenty years and there is no doubt the concept of shark encounter dives has caught on big time. I for one do not think it is a great idea for the simple reason that it alters the natural behavior of the animal. I can not provide any evidence that shark feeding has been problematic in any specific way. I do know that endeavors initially considered benign later have been found to have a negative impact in unexpected ways.
What do you think?