Best of both worlds - Stay in Coz, Dive the Bullsharks in PDC
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Pelagicsal
Dedicated Dive Bum
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CozumelAntonio
Contributor
Don't mean to sound like a cliche but, "everyone's doing it!!" Bullsharks!! Tiburones Toro!! Jan/Ene 2012 | Facebook
Not all the ops feed them. But still, everyone goes to where they get fed, by the ops that actually do feed them. And then they do "shows" (like sleeping shark sort of stuff). In my opinion, it is all very stupid. The site for the sharks is pretty close to the coastline, and anyone can drop you there. The same group of sharks will just hang around, waiting to get some more free food. This sort of animal behavior changing will get people in trouble in the future. Pretty stupid if you ask me. But people want to dive with sharks, kiss dolphins, swim with whalesharks. Us human beings are really egomaniac.
And the whole "keeping it secret" so no people will go fish the sharks is just ... well let´s say, not true. Everybody in PDC knows where the sharks are. This is no secret, or mystery. You don´t even need any kind of sophisticated navigational aid to get to the site. It´s a tourist trap, like everything else. It is really sad people "need" to do this "check dives" to feel they did something important.
And the whole "keeping it secret" so no people will go fish the sharks is just ... well let´s say, not true. Everybody in PDC knows where the sharks are. This is no secret, or mystery. You don´t even need any kind of sophisticated navigational aid to get to the site. It´s a tourist trap, like everything else. It is really sad people "need" to do this "check dives" to feel they did something important.
While I agree feeding the sharks and doing a show is stupid, I do not think wanting to see sharks while diving is being an egomaniac. I do realize that the sharks are now hanging around because they have/had been fed by divers. As far as this dive being a "check off" type dive, I would counter with, isn't that what almost all diving would be classified as? I love diving but hanging mid water or on a sandbar with nothing to see dive after dive would really not interest me. I find wanting to see sharks no different than somebody wanting to see Splendid Toadfish, they are attractions. I have not done this dive nor do I know if I will on my upcoming trip, I would like to but it will not make or brake my diving trip.
WSOPFAN
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Wow just found this thread......less than 2 weeks after your warning we find out they didn't listen........I guess that answers my question if that was the first attempt at crossing.
Oddly enough,President Calderone was diving with us again several weeks ago, and after doing the Devil's Throat (see photo, he is the guy in the middle with the big grin) 
he wanted it ALL!
Anyway, back on topic, he announced that he wanted to do the bull shark dive...with his wife and three kids. I almost crapped a brick and said no, but he was insistent. So Memo took him and his family over on the Falicity (40 ft diesel) where the Playa DM that feeds them fed about 15 BIG sharks, and they all came away happy. Whew!
The good news is that we sensitized him to the illegal long line fishing that is killing many of those sharks and he then and there got on his cellphone and called somebody to do something about it. Maybe they will, maybe they won't but now that our President is so into Cozumel and diving, he will probably do more than previous Presidents to help us in things that he can. The bad new is that he only has less than a year left in office!
For the record I am dead set against feeding the sharks as I too believe that it is a disaster waiting to happen for both the sharks and people, but like with the President most of us have to bow to pressure from the dive community. Indeed my DMs like to do it, but I have not gone and won't.
Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers
he wanted it ALL!Anyway, back on topic, he announced that he wanted to do the bull shark dive...with his wife and three kids. I almost crapped a brick and said no, but he was insistent. So Memo took him and his family over on the Falicity (40 ft diesel) where the Playa DM that feeds them fed about 15 BIG sharks, and they all came away happy. Whew!
The good news is that we sensitized him to the illegal long line fishing that is killing many of those sharks and he then and there got on his cellphone and called somebody to do something about it. Maybe they will, maybe they won't but now that our President is so into Cozumel and diving, he will probably do more than previous Presidents to help us in things that he can. The bad new is that he only has less than a year left in office!
For the record I am dead set against feeding the sharks as I too believe that it is a disaster waiting to happen for both the sharks and people, but like with the President most of us have to bow to pressure from the dive community. Indeed my DMs like to do it, but I have not gone and won't.
Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers
WOODMAN
Contributor
I just found this thread also, and had to comment. I was taken over to PDC a few years ago by my dive op. (in a regular open six-pack- we didn't know any different
) We had no problems, and looking for bull sharks was not an 'in thing' as of yet. We did see a lot of turtles, however. There must have been 20 or so of them just hanging around on the bottom. I don't remember if this was near nesting time? Anyway, there were so many I got tired of taking pictures of them. Also, there were a lot of little coral heads around where we were diving, and it seemed that every other one had an eel sticking it's head out and looking at us. I have never seen so many eels (of several types) in one place before. Is this type of thing usual for PDC? Just wondering...Woody
) We had no problems, and looking for bull sharks was not an 'in thing' as of yet. We did see a lot of turtles, however. There must have been 20 or so of them just hanging around on the bottom. I don't remember if this was near nesting time? Anyway, there were so many I got tired of taking pictures of them. Also, there were a lot of little coral heads around where we were diving, and it seemed that every other one had an eel sticking it's head out and looking at us. I have never seen so many eels (of several types) in one place before. Is this type of thing usual for PDC? Just wondering...WoodySimilar threads
