Thoughts on Bahamas Shark diving

[drbill]

if you really "love sharks" why not watch them on the tv during shark week and save your insurance company and yourself the heartburn of telling you "we don't cover that". Smiley face.

Pretty certain you were kidding but, of course, if you really like sharks, you DON'T watch Shark Week

 

[Hank49]

People are "injured" from feeding squirrels, all of the time, but where's the outrage over that ? They're wild animals, too. Just sayin'. If you click here, you will see 11 animals more likely to kill you than a shark.

That's a little misleading. If you feed sharks or dive for abalone in the kelp forests, your chance of getting killed by a shark increases immensely over the general population.
But it is a thrill for a lot of people. I've never done it. I see enough sharks that I'd rather NOT see while free dive spearfishing. It's fairly safe I guess. But large bulls and tigers....I just don't buy that they're "friendly". Everything is a potential meal to them. It's like people keeping 20 foot pythons for pets, thinking, "he likes me".....riiiiight. For dinner maybe.

 

[drrich2]

I'd like to do a shark feed dive someday. As an observer; I don't want to be the guy with the food!

I've seen such dives criticized on the grounds that while the great majority of participants have a good time and make it home fine, there are some inherent risks and in a small minority of cases something quite bad may well happen. And some people think taking such risks is unnecessary and stupid.

Which, when you think about it, describes scuba diving in general.

Richard.

 

[Wolfie_47]

I did the shark dive with Stuart Cove and loved it, I actually felt safer with the sharks than with many of the dogs I have encountered. I did however receive the warning since I was photographing the dive to not hold the camera up over my head to try to get shots... something about my hand and camera being mistaken for food.

 

[ronscuba]

Everything is a "matter of time", sensible or not. And "stupid" ? Really ?? Go ahead and tell that to Cristina Zenato, Jim Abernethy, and the countless others that dive with sharks DAILY, and promote & educate as to the conservation issues with these animals. Shark Week is part of the problem, not the solution. One is more likely to get "injured" scuba diving, than scuba diving with sharks. People are "injured" from feeding squirrels, all of the time, but where's the outrage over that ? They're wild animals, too. Just sayin'. If you click here, you will see 11 animals more likely to kill you than a shark.

I've done a reef shark dive. I have no problem with people who choose to do shark dives.

But there is increased danger on a shark dive with tiger and bull sharks. The increase in size and aggressiveness of these breeds makes diving with them more dangerous. A little exploratory bite by a large shark can be fatal. Someone got bit and died on a tiger/bull shark feed/chum dive in the Bahamas a few years ago.

People should not ignore or minmize the increase in danger, nor should they compare getting bitten by a squirrel to getting bitten by a shark. Learning that sharks are not human killing machines is part of the education, respecting the danger potential is as well.

 

[ccx2]

Pretty certain you were kidding but, of course, if you really like sharks, you DON'T watch Shark Week

Opps, sorry , never seen the show, just thought it was about showing sharks swimming around for the peeps that are fascinated buy sharks.