Be weary of seven gill sharks !

[Z Gear]

I used to think seven gill sharks were totally harmless until I watched an episode on shark week. I even went out night diving looking for them. That was until I saw this last episode on the seven gill. There was a diver who was attacked by one and she was always under the impression that these guys were just curious and not aggressive. She was surprised by their behavior and it seemed like these particular sharks like to investigate divers in a pack. They are not shy and after this clip I will be quick to use my camera pole to keep them from getting to close. I wonder if any have had any such encounters with this type of shark and what they make of this documentary. These sharks on occasion come to visit the San Diego area and I have not heard of them attacking anyone in this area but they are the same species and there is still that potential, so I will now be a bit more cautious when I see one especially on my night dives.

On a second note how do feel about carrying some type protection or self defense item to use in case you do encounter a threat or attack. Am I over reacting or do feel it is just being cautious.

What do you think?
Please don't tell me to stop watching shark week!!!
[video]http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/shark-week/videos/sevengill-sharks-are-not-camera-shy/[/video]

Frank G
Z GEAR - Z Gear

 

[Malpaso]

From the title I thought they make you tired

 

[divad]

Yes, you're probably just weary of Shark Week.

 

[mmmbelows]

I used to think seven gill sharks were totally harmless until I watched an episode on shark week. I even went out night diving looking for them. That was until I saw this last episode on the seven gill. There was a diver who was attacked by one and she was always under the impression that these guys were just curious and not aggressive. She was surprised by their behavior and it seemed like these particular sharks like to investigate divers in a pack. They are not shy and after this clip I will be quick to use my camera pole to keep them from getting to close. I wonder if any have had any such encounters with this type of shark and what they make of this documentary. These sharks on occasion come to visit the San Diego area and I have not heard of them attacking anyone in this area but they are the same species and there is still that potential, so I will now be a bit more cautious when I see one especially on my night dives.

On a second note how do feel about carrying some type protection or self defense item to use in case you do encounter a threat or attack. Am I over reacting or do feel it is just being cautious.

What do you think?
Please don't tell me to stop watching shark week!!!
[video]http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/shark-week/videos/sevengill-sharks-are-not-camera-shy/[/video]

Frank G
Z GEAR - Z Gear

You're kidding me right??????

Talk about manufactured drama. WTF was that all about? In the beginning of the clip the guy reaches out and sticks his camera stick or whatever that was in the sharks mouth, later when the other diving photographer is getting his "awesome photos" the shark is closer than it was when the 1st diver earlier reached out and stuck it's mouth???? Didn't seem to be too worried.

That's a totally manufactured dramatic display of nothing. "Those are some amped up sharks!" oh please.

You know that a "crazy dangerous" shark encounter pays and plays better than a video of a 7 gill shark swimming around non-aggressively, right? Especially when you can take that non-aggressive shark video and make it look like something else through dubbing over it. Watch out that shark ignoring us could attack at any second! Let me jam my stick it it's mouth and pretend it was attacking me.

The content of shark week has a little bit of interesting footage where real science is being shown, the rest is just junk designed to feed the mythology of SHARK ATTACK!!!

I enjoyed the show where they were sending a little remote controlled sub down to follow great whites around, that was ground breaking and interesting. The regurgitated "shark attack" stuff is fodder for the non-diving public.

 

[CuzzA]

I saw the episode, but I'd be curious to know if they were chumming the water too. It seemed like the sharks were a bit frenzied, but as mentioned, producers could turn a video of grass growing into a "dramatic" video by speeding up and slowing down frames, quickly switching to other angles and of course, the soundtrack.

I haven't finished my certification yet, but I've thought about whether or not to carry some sort of defense while diving and have come to the conclusion that if I don't have a speargun I'll be carrying a stick. Aside from the defense aspect I imagine it would be a very useful tool for other things as well. Plus a little real estate to mount a few items like a camera, light, etc.

I don't have the experience to say how often sharks become aggressive. I'd guess it doesn't happen all that often and like most wild animals they are more scared of us, but common sense tells me it only takes one defenseless encounter that could end terribly. I'll carry a stick, especially given the number of bulls in my area of the Gulf where visibility isn't fanatstic in the summer months. That shark shield certainly looked like it worked well, but I'm not sure I'd want a leash hanging off my ankle.

 

[Z Gear]

From the title I thought they make you tired

Good catch, I have an excuse my wife is making me do construction on my peaceful Sunday, at our house . So I had weary instead of wary in my head when I wrote the post, I guess. Sorry for the confusion.

---------- Post added July 12th, 2015 at 07:33 PM ----------

I saw the episode, but I'd be curious to know if they were chumming the water too. It seemed like the sharks were a bit frenzied, but as mentioned, producers could turn a video of grass growing into a "dramatic" video by speeding up and slowing down frames, quickly switching to other angles and of course, the soundtrack.

I haven't finished my certification yet, but I've thought about whether or not to carry some sort of defense while diving and have come to the conclusion that if I don't have a speargun I'll be carrying a stick. Aside from the defense aspect I imagine it would be a very useful tool for other things as well. Plus a little real estate to mount a few items like a camera, light, etc.

I don't have the experience to say how often sharks become aggressive. I'd guess it doesn't happen all that often and like most wild animals they are more scared of us, but common sense tells me it only takes one defenseless encounter that could end terribly. I'll carry a stick, especially given the number of bulls in my area of the Gulf where visibility isn't fanatstic in the summer months. That shark shield certainly looked like it worked well, but I'm not sure I'd want a leash hanging off my ankle.

Let us say that if they where not chuming the water would it be unreasonable to consider the possibility that these sharks could behave in this manner without being provoked. I guess what I am trying to bring up is the possibility that some might think some sharks are harmless when in fact they can be aggressive and dangerous, and it would be better to be cautious and aware of this possibility.

 

[CuzzA]

IMO, absolutely. The fact is a shark is dangerous just by the nature of its design. Each shark is going to have its own temperment. One could be very hungry and will take a greater risk of injury to insure it gets a meal. And I find the common statement that "sharks don't find humans palatable" a little silly. How would a shark know without taking his/her first bite? For example, I didn't know as a young child chocolate ice cream was going to be delicious before the first time I tried it and it certainly doesn't look all that delicious.

Not to mention, while it may not be common, if you have "shark experience" dives nearby who's to say those sharks haven't begun to associate humans with food. I recall an old episode of a shark that kept biting people in the ass and come to find out there was a shark dive experience close to the same beach as the dive location and the divers technique was to hold fish behind their back. I believe this was around the Red Sea.

All that being said, ultimately I believe they fear injury more than anything and therefore avoid us. The average diver is ~7 feet long with fins, so while we're no match for a shark we're certainly not small by our apperance. I think it's wise to do as you say and be cautious and aware of the possibility of a shark becoming aggressive, especially with Bulls, Tigers and Whites. I think if I were to encounter any shark that stuck around for too long I would exit the water.

As for this particular shark week episode, I think it was probably more Hollywood than anything. Let's not forget they also came up with the ridiculous Megladon and Mermaid documentaries, produced as if they were real and actually had people talking about it. Again IMO, Discovery Channel has fallen into the gutter in terms of quality programming. But I digress.

 

[CT-Rich]

it seems obvious to me why the sharks are acting so aggressively..... some of the divers are wearing split fins, and as many here will tell you...

YOU'RE GONNA DIE IF YOU WEAR SPLITS!!!!

But seriously, it looks to me that the divers are poling the sharks when the sharks are making passes. To me, and I am by no means an expert, the sharks are the ones being attacked.

 

[Buoy_A]

You're kidding me right??????

Talk about manufactured drama. WTF was that all about? In the beginning of the clip the guy reaches out and sticks his camera stick or whatever that was in the sharks mouth, later when the other diving photographer is getting his "awesome photos" the shark is closer than it was when the 1st diver earlier reached out and stuck it's mouth???? Didn't seem to be too worried.

That's a totally manufactured dramatic display of nothing. "Those are some amped up sharks!" oh please.

Earlier this year the new Discovery Channel president declared there would be a policy change and they were going to take a new, more credible course. I took note of it because I really can't stand the way nature-centric shows have been re-worked into contrived, over the top spectacles. Maybe I should be more upset and disappointed that people actually tune in to this crap. Hopefully next year Shark Week will once again be an honest look at shark behavior.

 

[shoredivr]

Do not hold your breath. Discovery Channel's Shark Week is sensationalist trolling.

Sharks are more in danger of being finned than humans are in danger of being bitten.