Fear of Sharks, need advice

[Blitz]

Sharks terrify me. I think that the exposure may help some people but they still scare me. If you think that it may be a help to you, go on a cage dive.

 

[Jimmer]

Well just start with us in Lake Erie, and get used to being stalked in the green murky water by a big mean bluegill or a smallmouth, then those big sharks in the clear Hawaiian waters will have no where to hide.

 

[Bob_B]

Sharks are great to dive with. Here is a video of of several of us inside the Aeolus with lots of Sand Tigers... (Video by Tom Tilmon)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQH9vFfGuEE

 

[Tigerman]

If you have the most serious fear of sharks, a phobia, Id say you should contact a professional about it instead of "dealing with it yourself" as phobias does not work the same way as the normal fears..
If youve been bitten by a dog and therefor is afraid of dogs, its quite different than being cynophobic..
Just like fear, you can overcome phobias, but you also should make sure you dont make it worse instead of making it better..
If you start panicing or feel extreme fear from watching sharks swimming on TV, I wouldnt recommend jumping in to them without first of all having learned how to keep your fear under control..
Personally I used to go "oh bloody hell", get pale, staring to cold-sweat and generally being scared completely ****less as soon as you said "time for that flue shot", but with the help of a (short) session of mental training i can now go get needles stuck into me without giving it much thought again (I got this phobia from being hospitalized and stuck with needles a LOT)..

 

[james croft]

Although one would be very smart to fear the deadly Cookie-Cutter shark, one rarely heard of , but much more dangerous member of the shark family is the Wedgie-Shark.
It sneaks up behind the unwary and launches it's attack. Although statistical data is sketchy, it appears to target divers in speedos. However, some scientists feel the Wedgie may be unfairly blamed for attacks actually done by the somewhat smaller, but more agressive Whoopie-Cushion Shark.

 

[GulfDiver77]

Wedgie shark

 

[SKTIDH]

I am hoping that you experienced divers can help me out here. I have a major fear of sharks. I spent a lot of time snorkelling in Makena, Maui last year, there were two Tiger Shark attacks during the 2 week period that I was there, in that exact area (I found out later, cause I wouldn't have been in the water otherwise.
So here is my problem: As it is. I spend most of my time in Hawaii, in the water looking for Jaws to come and get me. I'm going back to Hawaii in May, where I will complete my OW dives. I am thinking that after that, it may be a good idea to go shark diving (supervised charter, of course) to get over my fear, as I realize that the chances of attck are rare.
Any advice would be appreciated. Do I have an unrealistic fear of attack? Is a shark dive a good idea.
Thanks in advance,
David

Well I can tell you being born here and being raised in FLorida didn't help me love the water. I grew up in Florida where bullsharks were the ones in the water NOT me. But when I moved back here to Hawaii with my family I got certified and was still nervous going into my first dive but after getting down in the water I was more than comfortable. And realized that there aren't sharks everywhere. It took me 6 months to see my first shark and now I love seeing them. However, most of the time they don't want to see me and the divers I'm with so they just swim away. You have nothing to worry about. Diving will be more comforting for you then snorkeling

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

The first attack was on a 15 year old girl, swimming-lost a foot. The other, a 40ish scuba diver's remains washed up on shore.

As with most unreasonable fears, missinformation is common. The San Jose, CA free diver (age 45) had recently picked up the sport and was practicing alone late Thursday afternoon. It was reported that he was building up his stamina with an ultimate goal of 100ft (also common). Makena Landing / Turtle Town is not a deep area, only 45ft all the way out to the end of the reef. It is likely, based on his plan and where his remains were found (Friday morning), that he was as much as a mile off shore. The ME described the vital organs as juicy, consistant with death by drowning (or stroke). The shark (or sharks) found a dead body on the bottom (weight belt?) and consumed the appendages, there was no shark attack. The following Monday the girl was standing in 2ft of water (not swimming), she was bit in the calf (did not lose foot) and the shark was estimated at 5-7ft by witnesses on shore. Below is a link to the Maui News article after the second incident.

http://www.mauinews.com/story.aspx?id=17316

Maui does not have a shark cage operator and the operators working the North Shore of Oahu and Off Kona are snorkeling experiences, not diving. Odds are high that 2 days of diving at Molokini will result in a diver seeing a few shark in their natural envirionment, swimming away from divers. With fins, BCD and tank even a 100lb diver is bigger than most reef sharks and with a group of bubble blowers close encounters with sharks in Hawaiian waters is a rare privilage.

.. your fear is based off wrong knowlage.. yes tigger sharks are dangerous but not all sharks are..

In Hawaii, Tiger sharks are dangerous to surfers / boogie boarders and swimmers in low visibility conditions (surf / dawn / dusk) and they mug hunters for their catch. My informal investigation of shark bites in Hawaii (since '59) indicates no scuba divers bit by Tiger, one bit by Hammer Head, 2 bit by White Tip Reef, all three cornered by photographers. In Hawaii, Tiger sharks are not dangerous to divers as you would have to be with Ty Sawyer just to see one.

 

[garyfotodiver]

I understand that the sharks have a forum like this one and the most asked question there is, "Fear of humans, need advice".

 

[LI Diver]

Does the number of times people walk past coke machines versus dive in shark inhabited water have anything to do with the stats. ?? Ya Think???