Safety with bulls

[perskim]

I live on the gulf and have started to get more into diving, but I was wondering how safe it is to dive around a bullshark.
I am not scared of sharks and have swam with them before, but I have been diving near a jetty with slightly murky water where I have seen bullsharks pass through plenty of times. I just want to make sure it is safe too.. If I see one should I just calmly get out of the water or be patient until it leaves..
Earlier in the summer someone was bit by a bullshark close to where i dive so I have had that on the back of my mind

 

[tomfcrist]

Bulls in murky water is a bit of a crap shoot. In general they are a bit more aggressive/inquisitive than other sharks I have been in the water with, but I have never had a real problem with them unless I was spearing. I will spear with 10 sand tigers or reef sharks around, but won't pull the trigger if I see any bulls or sandbar sharks.
I don't know that these will be your experiences with them, but that's my 2psi.

 

[j2s]

Bulls, although they have one of the highest testosterone levels in the animal kingdom, are like most sharks.....wrong shark, wrong day !!!

 

[pasley]

Sharks biting humans is a rare occurrence. So rare that when it happens anywhere in the world it often makes the local news. Of all the shark bites, many (most?) are of swimmers, waders, snorkelers and surfers and of course hunters with bloodied kill on their stringers. You mentioned someone near where you dive had been bit by a shark. What was their activity when they were bit? Surfing, swimming what? At the end of the day, it all comes down to it is their ocean and if it is not your day, it is not your day. You could stay out of the water and a soda machine could fall over and kill you, or a coconut fall out of a coconut palm, or a dog or deer could kill you (all of which are over 100 times more likely to happen than a shark). Reported Shark related incidents involving SCUBA accounted for only 14% of the world wide reported incidents. Board sports (kite boarding, windsurfing, boogie boarding, surfing etc) accounts for 41% an swimming 31%. FLMNH Ichthyology Department: ISAF Shark Attack Summary 2013 By the way, in the USA the trend of most shark incidents occurring in Florida (49%) , and most of those in one county at one beach continues.

2013 shark incidents, just kite boarding, freediving, surfing, wading and my personal favorite.....fishing for sharks. Shark Attack File SAS World Wide international global Shark Attack File

Diving in murky water would IMHO increase the risk of an accidental bite as the shark may bump you or nibble a bit, just to see what you are and if you are edible.

 

[Mike]

Aren't the statistics for bull shark bites almost always associated with murky water? You're diving in murky water with bull sharks. Not for me.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I live on the gulf and have started to get more into diving, but I was wondering how safe it is to dive around a bullshark.
I am not scared of sharks and have swam with them before, but I have been diving near a jetty with slightly murky water where I have seen bullsharks pass through plenty of times. I just want to make sure it is safe too.. If I see one should I just calmly get out of the water or be patient until it leaves..
Earlier in the summer someone was bit by a bullshark close to where i dive so I have had that on the back of my mind

somebody else got bit by a bull in the area and then you go on the internet to seek re-assurance that the activity is "safe"? It is safe, I assure you.

 

[yardpro]

I also would not swim with them in poor coz conditions

 

[divin'dog]

Shark attacks may be rare, but the day they attack you, you won't think so and the statistics won't matter then, except for the percentage that survive an attack.

 

[drrich2]

Since mistaken identity-based attacks in murky water by potentially dangerous predators is on your mind, have you considered whether great barracuda occur in the area you dive much?

Richard.

 

[Goodtime Adventures]

I have dived with Bull sharks on several occasions, but only in clear viz. I have never had any close calls, or circumstances when I felt on edge or unsafe. That being said, I'm not sure I would be nearly so confident in bad viz conditions or in a thermocline.