Snorkeling & Sharks - USVI

We're casual snorkelers going to St. John for the first time in August. We've been to other areas of the Caribbean & have never seen a shark but figure it's just a matter of time. What do we need to know if we see one?

While I'm on the topic, is there anything to know about barracuda? We've seen them before & were followed very closely by one. Kind of scary, but I hear they're pretty harmless??

mae2468:

We're casual snorkelers going to St. John for the first time in August. We've been to other areas of the Caribbean & have never seen a shark but figure it's just a matter of time. What do we need to know if we see one?

While I'm on the topic, is there anything to know about barracuda? We've seen them before & were followed very closely by one. Kind of scary, but I hear they're pretty harmless??

Click to expand...

What!? A shark..... in the water.... with me!? Here's what I will do. Reach down at my hip and grab my trusty sidekick, always there. Then I will level it and wait for the shark to get in the target range....patience.....wait.....wait..... when it is, I will commence to firing away and get as many photos as possible of this glorious opportunity. Seriously, take a camera with you in anticipation of this awe-inspiring event!

Only once did I have a barracuda look at me like he was up to something... wait a minute.. I weigh this much... he weighs 15 lbs. no brainer for me, I scared him off first. I think he was attracted to the light reflecting off of my suunto mosquito, so check the jewelry.. seems like that may get the cuda's attention in a way you're not wanting.
Sharks.. only seen black tip and nurse sharks..

mae2468:

We're casual snorkelers going to St. John for the first time in August. We've been to other areas of the Caribbean & have never seen a shark but figure it's just a matter of time. What do we need to know if we see one?

While I'm on the topic, is there anything to know about barracuda? We've seen them before & were followed very closely by one. Kind of scary, but I hear they're pretty harmless??

Click to expand...

don't panic. stay alert and with your buddy. take pictures and don't splash around. sharks will circle around and check you out usually. If they start acting twitchy head for shore. You really don't have anything to worry about. I've heard more people get killed each year by snakes in the US than by sharks worldwide.

With that said, my wife and I encountered two of the biggest white-tip reef sharks we've ever seen, in Mexico on Sunday....first one(face to face) then the other as I watched the other one disappear in the haze. After the second shark we decided to head in to shore....there were a lot of bait fish in the area at the time and it just seemed prudent. We might have stayed around to watch the show I suppose...but we were in a pretty remote spot so the level of excitement was a bit elevated. It was a cool encounter, nonetheless.

I've also encountered white-tips in Fiji-two times snorkeling and a couple times while diving.....still have all my fingers and toes

have fun!

It's also helpful to know about the sharks you are likely to encounter and the dangers they pose...

Don't worry about barracuda...just think of them as buck-toothed puppy dogs