Jupiter Sharks

I didn't want to hijack my own thread on lemon sharks so I thought that I would move one of the responses to my post here (hope I'm not breaking a rule here) for discussion. I am only to dive Jupiter infrequently. However, over the past few years it seems I am seeing more reef sharks each trip, particularly if speafishing is also occuring. They seem to respond to the sound of a speargun like a dinner bell. From what I've seen, there has been no effort to include the speafishing diver on the menu, but they do seem more comfortable with close interactions. Are others who dive regularly there noticing this as a relatively new behavior, or has this been going on for a long time? This is the post that sparked my interest:
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sportxlh



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Join Date: Aug 2008Location: Palm Beach Gardens, FLPosts: 1,000Dives:200 - 499Photos: 158



I've been out with JDC the past two Fridays and we did not see any lemons on Mike's Reef, Spadefish Point or Tunnels. However, we saw an incredible number of very active reef sharks on all the sites: especially Tunnels and Mike's Reef. The reef sharks harassed the spear fisherman on Tunnels and got one of the shot grouper. Both of the experienced spearo's indicated they had never seen anything quite like it before: a dozen reef sharks surronding them in 30-70 feet of water, bumping them and trying to get to the fish. Both sent their catches up on tethered lift bags and the sharks followed one of the bags and left only the head of the grouper.

The dive site Tunnels back in the day was where they used to feed the sharks. We do dives on that site frequently; it is one of the best sites on our reef system. Last week on that site I counted 12+ reefs sharks at this spot called the Doughnut Hole.

The sharks are smart and probably recognize the behaviors of divers. I have had reef sharks follow me when I have my speargun and no fish. They attack lift bags with fish on them; it happens all the time.

In the 80's and nineties divers were smart enough not to feed sharks ( ie., they would not do things that would cause them to have to give up a fish and feed a shark). They knew it was a dangerous practice to get sharks thinking the divers =food. In the last 6 years or so, some sort of typal degeneration of species has many of our spearfishermen proudly feeding sharks, and showing the stupidity on youtube.

Fortunately the sharks are actually smart enough to know what a speargun is, so Darwin is actually sitting on the shoulders of these youtube stars

I dive with JDC more than any other operator, though not as regularly as some others on SB. I'd have to check my log book to be sure but I think I've done about 26 dives with JDC this year and usually only do a single trip on the days I dive: so thats 13 different days of observing life on the reefs. Normally I only get a glimpse or two of a few reef sharks on the dives I've been on, including Tunnels, but the last couple of weeks I've seen far more reef sharks than normal. Part of the reason I might not see quite as many sharks as others is I like to photograph little stuff and many times have my face planted close to the reef shooting pics of goldentail or purple mouth morays, flamingo tongues or nudibranches etc., etc...... But even Sandy, the DM on one of the recent trips in which we dove Tunnels, agreed that she had not seen so many sharks on a single dive in quite a long time. Don't know if that is just coincidence, or if there have been more spearfishers on the boats than usual or what. Two weeks ago, I also saw several (maybe 8) sharks pour out of, what I believe to be, the doughnut hole area that Sotgecho references above. I do know that this was about the time/place during the dive that the spearfishers hit the two fish and that's probably what got the reef sharks so excited (after all the divers were back on the boat, those two divers reported having a dozen sharks harassing them after hitting the fish).

Last week while out with JDC again, but at a different site, I mentioned this incidence at Tunnels to the two different spearfishers and they both indicated that Tunnels in particular seems to have the most active sharks that are more likely to 'interact' with spearo's when fish are shot.

A co-worker, who I've never dove with, talks about having the 'beat off' sharks after he spears a fish diving a little south, out of the Palm Beach area: I've never really known how much hyperbole he puts in his stories.

With all that being said, maybe someone who has dove with JDC or other ops in Jupiter for many many years or routinely makes more than 13 trips in Jupiter each year can comment further since I've only been diving in Jupiter for about 3 years.

I dove the three tank trip with Emerald Charters today.
We did "The Hole In The Wall".
One of my buddies saw either two Lemons or two Nurse sharks on the first dive.
They were a little far away to make positive ID and he was just going with the flow of the current.
I had my camera and my attention on many of the giant stinkin' LION FISH that are everywhere up there, so I did not see them.
We did not see any sharks on the second and third dives today.

Chug
Got some bugs.

diveprof:

However, over the past few years it seems I am seeing more reef sharks each trip........noticing this as a relatively new behavior, or has this been going on for a long time?

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Caribbean Reef sharks are now protected under the law, hence there are more around than previously when they were not protected and were harvested by hook & liners.

danvolker:

... In the last 6 years or so, some sort of typal degeneration of species has many of our spearfishermen proudly feeding sharks, and showing the stupidity on youtube.

Click to expand...

Gotta web link?? Since it's illegal to hand feed sharks in Florida, the FWC might be interested too. I spearfish and I dive with you too Dan. I've not seen a single spearo in Jupiter feed a shark, breaking the law.

sotgecho:

... Last week on that site I counted 12+ reefs sharks at this spot called the Doughnut Hole....

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It was great Thursday to drop on the MG111 to look for Lemons with you Phil !

The main question is "Why so many sharks now?" Let's get back to spearfishing 101. Most fish migrate with water temperature changes. That's why we have whale sharks at Thanksgiving, big numbers of grouper in December, and lots Bull sharks in May.

Like you've read for the last 2 weeks, we have been in super warm water of 77 - 78 degrees. Then last weekend, the warm gulfstream moved out and we plunged to 68 - 72 degree water. That temp change brought in alot of fish to area as they migrate. It's really late this year and usually we hit the 72 degree waters about December 1st or so.

Fish & sharks like that edge of temp change cause that is where all the food is at. So watch the temp reports and look at where the gulf stream is. Your dive boat Captain does this too and that's why he knows where the fish are at.

Here's three more tips on what to look for coming up in the next 2 weeks. Towards shore, if you see a hundred sport fisher boats in just 20 feet of shallow water, that means the Cobia have returned to run the beach. 2nd, on the main Jupiter ledge keep an eye out over the sand for Sawfish sightings, conditions are almost perfect. And lastly on your surface intervals, scan the topside flat water for blow holes, right & pilot whales will be moving in packs through the area.

See you on the water!!

Johnoly:

Caribbean Reef sharks are now protected under the law, hence there are more around than previously when they were not protected and were harvested by hook & liners.



Gotta web link?? Since it's illegal to hand feed sharks in Florida, the FWC might be interested too. I spearfish and I dive with you too Dan. I've not seen a single spearo in Jupiter feed a shark, breaking the law.

Click to expand...

John,
I was just referring to all the spearos that are involved in stupid spearig behaviors, like shooting cobia off of the backs of bullsharks......the more guys are shooting amidst sharks, the more likely they will be to have a shark end up stealing their fish---and for the sharks to begin seeing divers as a good way to find an easy meal. This has already happened, shark behaviors off of several sites in Palm Beach is already quite different than it used to be--toward divers. It is fine for me--as a videographer, I can get nice shark closeups now that would be hard to get a decade or more ago....but at some point, one of these "behaviorlally modified sharks" will start bumping new open water divers, and it will be the fault of the stupid spearos.....I am not against spearfishing---anyone that knows me knows I have spearfished since the late 70's, and heavily through 80's and 90's with Frank Hammett ( Who Skin Diver Magazine once called "the Butcher of Palm Beach" ) ....I will still spearfish when not shooting video, but I am not shooting fish amidst sharks, and I would try very hard to make sure that the fish shot, gets to the surface long before any sharks can show up. I think if you are in an area where there is a high liklihood sharks will be coming in the instant you shoot a fish, and trying to take it....then you have to consider the recreational divers frequenting this same area, and the effects of your shooting on future shark/human interactions..Meaning you decide not to shoot there.....I think too many of the spearos doing the shooting amidst the sharks, are self indulgent and without any cares for other divers.

This distinction needs to be made, so that divers and peer pressure begin functioning to alter behavior....if these actions are spoken of as stupid, rather than "tough-guy" stuff, and as behavior that will cause new divers to become injured, then hopefully some of these guys will be more careful and thoughtful about their shooting.

Thanks everyone for your comments. This does seem to validate my suspicions that perhaps shark behavior is being "modified" due to spearfishing and perhaps in specific locations maybe more so. I enjoy photographing and shooting video of sharks. I agree with Dan Volker that the outcome this behavioral change has plusses for the photographers/videographers but as he so clearly stated it may have it's downside too.

I dove the tunnel on Saturday (with JDC) and saw some reef sharks. I enjoyed this because I usually see them in the Bahamas. Not here.

I haven't shot fish here since the '80's. It was the blood and the fish's struggling that drew the sharks. Or so we said. There were all these cute comic book type renderings in publications with these "waves" coming off a speared fish reaching the sharks sensory receivers. Very prehistoric. Today, evidence seems to suggest that sharks may have more cognitive intuition. Friends tell me, you can just snap the bands on a banded gun, and the suits show.