scared now!

watch the discovery special on tiger sharks in hawaii last night.....wow....i was pretty scared.

anyone know the stats on shark scuba deaths? more in hawaii, i imagine.

thanks...

-dan

ummmm....I don't think there has ever been a Tiger shark - scuba related death.
A flim team filmed the tiger sharks feasting on a dead whale and they were within 10 feet of the sharks, with out a cage. Nothing happened. No need to be scared.

deputydan1:

anyone know the stats on shark scuba deaths? more in hawaii, i imagine.

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IIRC, Florida (bullsharks) and California (great whites) have more shark attacks and deaths than Hawaii, but that is all attacks, not just scuba.

deputydan1:

watch the discovery special on tiger sharks in hawaii last night.....wow....i was pretty scared.

anyone know the stats on shark scuba deaths? more in hawaii, i imagine.

thanks...

-dan

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I work for Discovery Channel. I'm working there right now. One word: Hype.

Hype

Hype

Sharks NOT biting people doesn't sell. Don't worry. It is a side of my job that I hate.

Incidentally, I'm working with some independents to produce a "myth busting" show about sharks that tells it like it is. But will the network want it? You tell me.

LeFlaneur,
Do you think the coverage Discovery Channel is doing will hurt the diving community?

"Sharks NOT biting people doesn't sell. Don't worry. It is a side of my job that I hate."

Don't get me wrong, I love to watch Shark Week as much as anyone else, but I also keep up on the real world of sharks and people. What I'm talking about is the people who have not yet learned to dive. Is this show going to set us back??

I hope not. I know rating are important, but at what cost??

Screw the networks...the public needs it.
If the network doesn't want it burn dvds and market it via info-mercial.
I'd buy a copy. I have shot some great shark video myself. bulls in the blue hole in belize, and caribbean reef sharks feeding at Bulls run in the bahamas. nobody believes that sharks don't go after divers.

Need to get the word out

Just don't look like a turtle..............Diving with sharks is always a risk. Take the necessary precautions, take buddy. Hopefully they will eat him first.

justleesa:

No need to be scared.

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You might tell that to the guy on JI that lost a leg to a reef shark inside the reef. I have also been in the water there with some pretty aggressive White Tips.

Having watched some 12-14 foot Tiger sharks there, and having them ranked the the top three with Whites and Bulls, I'll stay on land when they're around.

I watched the program too... pretty damaging images to scare new diver to give up!

murphdivers286:

LeFlaneur,
Do you think the coverage Discovery Channel is doing will hurt the diving community? [

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I think divers, of all people, probably have a better handle on the statistics and can see through the hype.

As for potential divers who might be discouraged from diving, sure, shows like that probably add to an irrational fear. But if a few thousand people decide not to dive this year I don't think that is a great tragedy.

Rather, the tragedy as I see it is more general -- that we are choosing to promote fear over knowledge. That does a disservice to everyone, especially the wildlife. How do we foster a repect for nature when it is constantly presented as the enemy? To hear them tell it, the sea is full of bloodthirsty sharks who spend their days looking for people to bite.

I don't think a big downer story about how they're all endangered would really help much because people just shut that out. But a little repect for the creature, and for the ecosystem in which the creature lives, would be nice.

That said, Discovery and every other channel is in the business of giving the people what they want. Or rather... giving the poeple what they think the people think they want.