Sharks and your experiences

[drbill]

A few years ago I dove with about 20 soupfins in Lover's Cove (Catalina). I wrote a front page story about the experience complete with photos. I mentioned that these sharks were harmless as long as you didn't harass them.

That weekend three guys went out to Lover's Cove after reading the article. They grabbed the shark's tails and fins, and were appropriately bitten by the sharks. Their bites required treatment at the local hospital, and the "powers that be" kept that part of the story quiet out of fear that shark "attacks" in Avalon would scare visitors away. I only heard about it because a hospital employee was irritated with the way the City handled the incident.

I guess my article did little to educate those three members of "the public..." only gave them a new challenge to test their candidacy for the Darwin Awards!

Dr. Bill

 

[Scubaguy62]

and the "powers that be" kept that part of the story quiet out of fear that shark "attacks" in Avalon would scare visitors away. Dr. Bill

So there is some truth to the story of "Jaws" after all!!!

 

[wstein]

I guess my article did little to educate those three members of "the public..." only gave them a new challenge to test their candidacy for the Darwin Awards!

Dr. Bill

You know there are some things in life you don't do.

You don't pee on a electric fence, you don't spit into the wind, and you sure as heck don't tug on a sharks tail.

Just my 2 cents.

Paul

 

[Mrs Mares]

What is the first thing you think about when you hear the word shark?

Where, and how big, and will it be tempted by my hubby as bait LOL

What experiences have you had with sharks in the open ocean?

We were on our honeymoon to the Maldives, and saw white tip reefs, a baby whale shark and apparantly there was a hammerhead close by.
But my most magical experience was at the Maldives in about a ft of water, with 5 baby black tips swimming around my feet. Sooo cute :cute:

What do you think needs to be done to change public perception?

We need to stop giving them bad press, and understand that we are guests in their enviroment.

 

[O2BBubbleFree]

If you search the internet shark sites, you can find accounts of really big sharks swallowing divers whole, leaving only their feet in their fins behind. Hopefully your luck will never be that bad.

Really? I did a quick search and couldn't find anything like this. I'm interested, because my impression is that the vast majority, if not all, of shark attacks on humans are cases of mistaken identity. If you've ever seen one of the videos of a paddling surfer from underwater, they look amazingly like a sea lion, with arms and legs extending over the edges of the board.

And the shark almost always leaves after the initial hit, without returning to feed. I think we taste bad. 'Course, that first hit could very well be lethal, but I'm just trying to support my theory that it's mistaken identity.

While I've heard there are cases of people on the surface getting bit in half, I haven't been able to find any cases of SCUBA divers at depth suffering unprovoked attacks. We would be hard to mistake for anything other than what we are.

 

[LazyKevin]

What is the first thing you think about when you hear the word shark?

Garlic butter......

 

[IndigoBlue]

Really? I did a quick search and couldn't find anything like this. I'm interested, because my impression is that the vast majority, if not all, of shark attacks on humans are cases of mistaken identity. If you've ever seen one of the videos of a paddling surfer from underwater, they look amazingly like a sea lion, with arms and legs extending over the edges of the board.

And the shark almost always leaves after the initial hit, without returning to feed. I think we taste bad. 'Course, that first hit could very well be lethal, but I'm just trying to support my theory that it's mistaken identity.

While I've heard there are cases of people on the surface getting bit in half, I haven't been able to find any cases of SCUBA divers at depth suffering unprovoked attacks. We would be hard to mistake for anything other than what we are.

Do a slow and thorough search, and concentrate on Australia.

Texas does not have real sharks, only miniatures.

Texas does not have real scuba diving either, only mudholes and gulf water.

 

[IndigoBlue]

hi scubaculture,

I have been diving with sharks and they have not pose any problem what so ever. Ever time I have dived with them they manly just swim by take a quick look and go about there bus. I think to change public perception of this animals they need to see more footage of divers in the water its seems like ever time a show has a shark on it they only show it eating.

Try diving in Australia, South Africa, or the Fallalon Islands of California, and then get back to us.

 

[RIDIVER501]

I have some really good video of a woman i was diving with in belize who had a case of the touchy feelys too.
after she cut me off to get close to this sea turtle we had come across and blocked my shot of that she took off after it when it decided to make a run for it. she was concentrating so hard on the turtle that she didn't see the oncoming reef.

whamo. she swam smack into it. I had to laugh. I should dig that out and convert it. wonder if they will ever make a small video gallery like the photo gallery here. bet ther would be some pretty funny stuff cropping up.

 

[chickdiver]

Florida, with some of the best diving in the world, does not have any "real" sharks, only miniatures.

You've GOT to be kidding me. The Gulf of Mexico has one of the largest and most divers shark populations in the world. On the Northern Gulf Coast, 17' hammerheads are not unusual. The last couple of years we have had a number of large, aggressive Bulls running inshore as well. You can also add large Tigers and pelagic species to the mix as well.