Shark Fear

Conor · Feb 17, 2003

I have to confess that I am one of the lucky ones who has successfully introduced my gf to diving, and she seems to love it.

So now I am trying to organise a holiday to the Red Sea with her. One of the the discovery channels has a documentary about the Reef life in the Red Sea, so I put it on in order to show her what she has to look forward to.

2 minutes in, shots of Sharks, two minutes later more sharks, she is nearly hiding behind the sofa. I calm her down a bit and convince her that we are quite unlikely to encounter sharks, and if we it is very unlikely to be a agressive encounter. She calms down, I change channel and guess whats on ........

Deep Blue Sea, Sharks killing and hunting humans, she gets upset, I calm her down again saying that its just holywood nonsense.

Couple of days later the subject of the holiday comes up afterwhich we end up watching some TV, including Unfortunately....

The Beach, more bloody shark attacks, Yippee f'in Doo, that was the last straw, she is scared now. But on the positive side of scared, she is asking if she can go on a guided shark dive, where she knows she will be scared and knows she will see sharks, personal I think the solution is to take the plug off the soddin TV.

Anyway, the serious point is that she is scared that she may panic and/or freeze on seeing a shark, with all that entails.

Anybody had similar problems ? If so what did you do? did it work ?

chiara · Feb 17, 2003

I have around 50 dives in the Red Sea.

I only saw one shark.

It was a huge hammerhead, seen swimming a few meters away on Ras Mohammed in November 2000.

It might of help to say I'm not really afraid of sharks, as long as it's not a great white.

Diver0001 · Feb 17, 2003

Conor once bubbled...
<snip>

Anyway, the serious point is that she is scared that she may panic and/or freeze on seeing a shark, with all that entails.

Anybody had similar problems ? If so what did you do? did it work ?

A few things:

1) You won't see the one that gets you so don't worry about it.

(you probably don't want to say that to your s.o.)

2) For most divers seeing a shark is a highlight. You never forget your first one, just like you never forget your first kiss. My first one was in Mexico. I was also apprehensive before the dive because the DM said there were some sharks in the area but seeing them under water was a thrill and the highlight of the entire year

. Strangely when I saw them I wasn't scared at all. Cured my apprehension aobut sharks forever. I've also heard stories from people who have deliberately taken "shark dives" to get of their fear of sharks and it seems to work too.

3) The most dangerous part of a dive is getting to the dive site. To help you put your risk in perpective your chances of getting killed by lightening are about 30 times better than your chances of getting killed by a shark. (source for a lot of this information is: http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/ISAF/ISAF.htm )

4) most shark bites (if it does get to that) are "hit and run" types. Divers are not a natural food source for sharks (not on their food chain) and sharks usually don't see divers as prey items.

5) And bites are very rare. In Egypt, where you want to go, there has been exactly 1 (count'em 1) shark attack on a diver in the entire history of the sport.

6) A shark needs to be fairly big to be a problem (2m or longer) and most shark attacks are the commited by White, Tiger and Bull sharks. As far as I know these types don't live in the Red sea.

And finally

7) The chances that a shark will attack more than one diver at a time are exceedingly slim. As long as your s.o. can swim faster than you can then she'll never ahve a problem (this is the true value of the buddy system....)

R..

nickjb · Feb 17, 2003

Just had the exact same discussion with a friend. Talking about the positives and changing the subject seemed to work well. Saying that she would be far more likely to see dolphins than sharks helped a lot

I have around 60 dives logged in the Red Sea and one shark sighting. :upset: He completely ignored us and just swam on by.

narcT · Feb 17, 2003

We used bait to attract sharks in the Bahama's. Mostly reef, lemon and nurse sharks. They were fun to swim with. Smack their tail and they just take off!!!

First time I felt kinda funny swimming with them. But you get used to it pretty quick. Snorkling in shallow water near an island someone started throwing spam into the water and man tons of sharks came out of nowhere. I saw them coming into the shallow water in pairs side-by-side like fighter aircraft in formation.

Kewl, took lots of good pics.

But I would not want to be in the water with White's or Mako's (or anything else that has teeth and can swallow a Buick).

Conor · Feb 17, 2003

I think I'll pass on some of your advice, especially the low likelihood of seeing a shark and the fact that a shark dive may help. Maybe not the shark feeding bit

Diver0001 - she is a stronger swimmer than me so she'll be reassured

Pesonally I think once she gets a bit more comfortable with the whole scuba thing, then the shark fear won't we so terrifying, I think a lot of it is the fact that she is has only 5 dives logged (i.e. OW + 1) and so isn't totally comfortable in the water yet.

diver60 · Feb 17, 2003

I can appreciate your S.O. concern about sharks. This is a commonly shared fear of those new to diving. Fortunately, statistics and personal experiences of myself and my diving friends do not support such fears.

I have been diving since 1962 throughout the world (though not yet in the Red Sea) and have seen and videoed thousands of sharks of most varieties (though not yet the Great White) and have had zero problem encounters.

Sharks have consitently been given a bad rap that is totally undeserved unless the diver is provoking the shark, threatens the shark or is taking part in activities that may cause the shark to give more notice such as spear fishing.

My wife was also initially afraid of sharks when she began diving 8 years ago but that quickly changed to an understanding of the creature. She now loves to be in the water with sharks to observe and study their beauty and grace. Since she is my video assistant, she is generally right there with me getting as close as we can for the best possible video capture.

Sharks are truly magnifiscent members of the ocean realm some of whom are curious of divers but not "out to get" the divers. Most shy away from divers and a diver/photographer has to work to achieve a close encounter.

Unfortunately, the underwater television shows want to sensationalize the myth of the shark which creates viewer interest (and higher program ratings) but does not portray the correct story of the shark.

Hopefully your S.O. will quickly overcome her (unwarranted) preconceived fear and eventually come to understand the shark is not a problem to be overly concerned about.

Bob3 · Feb 17, 2003

Last year a walkway collapsed over the shark tank at a big aquarium in New Orleans, a whole bunch of people got dumped in. (just like in a Hollywood movie!)
Needless to say, no one was bothered by the sharks.

The shark attack statistics for the region should be very comforting, but just hope there aren't any Jet Skis around, they're MUCH more dangerous than sharks!

Smack their tail and they just take off!!!

ummmm... whatever you do, don't get "brave" and grab a shark, they've been known to think something is trying to eat them & react accordingly.

Saturation · Feb 17, 2003

Most sharks are peaceful and shy, but never underestimate their demeanor. If they're not hunting, they are Ok and will avoid contact with divers. Some are curious and will swim close by, and these are the thrills most divers encounter.

Until you are familiar with their behavior, its best to stick near the the dive guide and go in groups.

Probably most important, is insure your GF doesn't get spooked by sharks at depth and bolts for the surface.

Sharks are apex predators and to stereotype all sharks as safe is a recipe for trouble. Attacks are rare, and can be avoided by proper attitude and respect for them.

o2scuba · Feb 17, 2003

Conor once bubbled...
I think I'll pass on some of your advice, especially the low likelihood of seeing a shark and the fact that a shark dive may help. Maybe not the shark feeding bit

You might be surprised. Observing sharks is a fascinating way to enjoy diving. Your story is a common one in both the diving and non diving environments. A very good friend of mine (female) used to be terrified of sharks. She was even scared to swim in fresh water lakes. Fear of the unknown. She didn't know what was down there, and even if it was not harmful it might be icky or gross.

Soon after I became a diver, I encouraged her to try it. She was reluctant at first. She is an animal lover. Soon after I began describing the beautiful marine life, fish and the interactions I had encountered, she enroled in the program. She learned about the myths generated by speculation, the media and Hollywood. She took to it right away. Just over 2 years later she became a SCUBA Instructor. A few months after, we went to the Bahamas and trained as shark feeders. The purpose, so that we could teach a "Shark Awareness" specialty course. This program involves both classroom time and two dives. The academic portion introduces students to general information about the shark population of the world. Feeding habits, reproduction, environment, behavioral;patterns and statistics.

The first dive is laid back, leisurely dive during which we see several Caribbean reef sharks, mostly at a distance. We simply observe and build confidence. The second dive involves a feeding. The students gather at the ocean floor in a circle. The instructor swims into the center with a crate full of bait. The feeder wears steel mesh gloves (full arm) just in case of accidental nips. Using a short spear, the feeder removes one piece of bait at a time and feeds it to the closest shark. There are usually some where around 30-45 sharks present swimming in a circle around the feeder. The students observe, shoot pics and video. Once the bait is gone the sharks move on. Then we look for teeth in the sand at the feeding site. I usually find one worthy of making into a necklace on each dive.

Sounds intense, but it really easy, exciting and fun. I was quite nervous my first time, even as a seasoned diver and instructor. But the animosity disappeared just minutes into the first dive. After that, I always hope to see sharks on every dive (except in my local quarry).

A woman and her 13 year old daughter went on one of these tours with us. I had just certified them that very morning. Their first dive as a certified divers was with sharks! They loved it.

I should point out that this takes place over 10 miles offshore. It should not be confused with the contravertial shark feeding that allegedly draws them into swimming areas and beaches. Again the purpose is to educate people about sharks. Not only to make divers more comfortable, but to stress the important role they play in the balance of our oceans.

Sharks have a "bad rap". Less than 20% of the sharks in the world are a threat to us in the water. However, we kill millions of them every year. For example.Shark finning, when they are caught, pulled onto a boat, have their fins cut off, then thrown back into the sea to die (if not dead already).

In your case Conor, perhaps a slower approach. Perhaps the two of you could participate in a course during your holiday. PADI offers: Underwater Naturalist", an introduction to better understanding all of the marine environment. As well as several Distinctive Specialties, such as "Reef Fish ID" and others written by instructors, focused on the environment where they work.

But if the little lady actually shows interest in a shark dive, I say do it man!!!

Good luck mate,

Andrew

Shark Fear

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