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Article: Destination Spotlight: Wheres The Worlds Greatest Shark Dive?
- Thread starter Maduro Dive
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I'll take my sharks wild, thanks, rather than watch a bunch of circus animals being pushed and poked about to entertain people. There are still places in the world where divers can see every species of shark you list, and many more, but exhibiting natural behaviour and in their own time. Sure, because they're wild animals they turn up or they don't, but for me that's part of the excitement. Reef sharks doing their thing, a Great Hammerhead cruising past, pelagic Black Tips dashing in to check out the divers when the tuna schools are running, finding a Leopard chilling out on the sand, or unexpectedly encountering any number of other species, including an occasional Tiger? I'll take that over a pre-programmed guaranteed Bull shark sighting any day.
Nice shot of a bunch of people kneeling on the bottom while a 'guide' stands on the 'reef', too. Lots of environmental protection going on there.
this well choreographed show has a cast of unforgettable characters"
I'll take my sharks wild, thanks, rather than watch a bunch of circus animals being pushed and poked about to entertain people. There are still places in the world where divers can see every species of shark you list, and many more, but exhibiting natural behaviour and in their own time. Sure, because they're wild animals they turn up or they don't, but for me that's part of the excitement. Reef sharks doing their thing, a Great Hammerhead cruising past, pelagic Black Tips dashing in to check out the divers when the tuna schools are running, finding a Leopard chilling out on the sand, or unexpectedly encountering any number of other species, including an occasional Tiger? I'll take that over a pre-programmed guaranteed Bull shark sighting any day.
Nice shot of a bunch of people kneeling on the bottom while a 'guide' stands on the 'reef', too. Lots of environmental protection going on there.
you can clearly see that he is not standing on the reef... There is a lil out cropping in front of him. you can clearly see that he is standing on the slopped bottom... But i do have to agree with you about seeing "Wild Sharks"... I have done this shark dive in Fiji which was completely awesome... But I would rather see them in natural form...
Shasta_man
Contributor
While I'd prefer it wild, a chance to be eye to eye to a BIG tiger shark would be just fine with me. If you look at it from another perspective, getting more people to enjoy and potentially care about sharks, is a good thing. Interest in conservation is NOT an automatic trait for divers, though I'm always surprised it isn't after the amazing encounters we get to have.
Saw this article yesterday and I gotta say i completely agree with GrimSleeper...
I was taught when I did my advanced open water that it was our responsibility to try our best to minimise the impact we have on the underwater world - both by the way we act when we're in it and out of it. Of course the animals are going to act differently when we are present regardless of what we do (we're big funny looking bubble blowing things) but turning the ocean into a circus is not for me - the thrill comes from the fact that nothing shows up on queue - it can be bloody irritating when you travel miles to see bull sharks and none show up, but It just makes it even better when they do
I was taught when I did my advanced open water that it was our responsibility to try our best to minimise the impact we have on the underwater world - both by the way we act when we're in it and out of it. Of course the animals are going to act differently when we are present regardless of what we do (we're big funny looking bubble blowing things) but turning the ocean into a circus is not for me - the thrill comes from the fact that nothing shows up on queue - it can be bloody irritating when you travel miles to see bull sharks and none show up, but It just makes it even better when they do
pterantula
Contributor
I've done this trip, and it's awesome - but I've also done "wild" encounters (Cocos, Galapagos, Socorro, Hawaii), which are also awesome, it's just a different thing; this environment is still "wild", these are still predators in their own element. The DMs and feeders know these sharks rather intimately, and it's quite amazing to see how casual and familiar some of the animals can be (after millennia of hearing that they're just "dumb", "vicious fish"). There are also non-resident/regular sharks that come through for a look too. The "reef" that the divers sit/stand on is actually a concrete lip, built specifically for divers with the expressed permission of the local tribes - which is also required of the diving itself. (The first, deep dive of the day is done on a rocky sea floor.)
The whole experience is one of the best managed and some of the most exciting diving I've ever done.
The whole experience is one of the best managed and some of the most exciting diving I've ever done.
drrich2
Contributor
A common criticism of chumming to draw sharks for divers to see is that such observation is unnatural and it's 'more rewarding' to see them behaving naturally in unscripted scenarios.
Assuming they show up, and get close enough for a look and a photograph, maybe so. Many sharks would avoid humans without incentive to get close.
Another common argument in such threads is that if you don't see them now, you can see them later and it will be 'more rewarding.' Well, if you get in a lot of diving in the right spots that might be true. But a lot of people don't, and for them it may be 'now or never,' and they want to see a shark.
I get the impression the shark dive business draws a lot of patronage, so evidently it's rewarding for a lot of people.
I recently got to view nurse sharks and reef sharks 'naturally' diving off Key Largo, and that was fun. But given the chance, I'd probably do a shark feeding dive. I'd get closer, see more and could get closer photographs. It doesn't have to be an 'either/or' proposition; you can do both.
Richard.
Assuming they show up, and get close enough for a look and a photograph, maybe so. Many sharks would avoid humans without incentive to get close.
Another common argument in such threads is that if you don't see them now, you can see them later and it will be 'more rewarding.' Well, if you get in a lot of diving in the right spots that might be true. But a lot of people don't, and for them it may be 'now or never,' and they want to see a shark.
I get the impression the shark dive business draws a lot of patronage, so evidently it's rewarding for a lot of people.
I recently got to view nurse sharks and reef sharks 'naturally' diving off Key Largo, and that was fun. But given the chance, I'd probably do a shark feeding dive. I'd get closer, see more and could get closer photographs. It doesn't have to be an 'either/or' proposition; you can do both.
Richard.
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After visiting Galapegos, I would imagine that this dive would pale. Hundreds of Hammerheads schooling, Galapegos sharks getting in close, silky sharks and black tip reef sharks. Throw in a few whale sharks to top it off.
Sink or Swim
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I did this dive last fall. It was great. I would love to do it again. Sharks so close I could have reached out and touched them. I couple times I had to move to keep from being hit by one.
Griffo
Contributor
What about Uepi? More sharks than you can poke a stick at. You can even snorkel with the sharks right at the end of the dock. And it's all 100% natural.
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