Divers and Sharks

[Viron]

I recently went on a shark dive with Randy Jordan of Emerald Charters in Jupiter, FL. I personally, quite to my surprise, found the dive to be the most relaxing dive I've had in just over twenty dives. My RMV once the sharks arrived went from .60 cu.ft./min to .39 cu. ft./ per minute. I found myself petting the sharks through out the dive.

Before the dive always had a bit of nervous apprehension about sharks, especially when in mid-water and more so on the surface. I had only seen one Nurse Shark prior to this dive. Yet, I had been on a number of dives where a spearfisher would say, "I didn't see any sharks until I speared this fish then all the sudden 2-4 sharks appeared out of nowhere.

I am less apprehensive about sharks now that I've gotten a "good dose" and realize the for most sharks as a diver that I am not on the menu. Yes, there are Great Whites, Tigers, Mako, and reef sharks that can be aggressive even when spearfishing is not involved, but I am glad I dove with sharks. I think it will help me act more calmly when sharks are present, which is a good thing because many animals can sense fear. Plus my air consumption is now the best its ever been been.

So my question to the group is, "Are shark dives where shark are fed a good thing of a bad thing?" Here is the short scary video I edited from over 1.5 hour to just over 15 minutes. It is my experience. What is your experience.

 

[mmmbelows]

So those guys are hand feeding sharks and messing around with them grabbing them by the noses with just dive gloves on? Holy cow that is dumb, somebody is going to get the nickname of lefty some day.

 

[NYCNaiad]

I'm glad you feel more comfortable around sharks & that you had a good dive. I'm a bit surprised because I'd think that the very advanced Emerald dives (from what I've read of others' experience) would potentially be quite harrowing for someone with 5-24 dives under their belt. Your post also makes me more concerned about Emerald because I had thought they specifically focused on taking divers with more experience on these deep, drift shark feeding dives where others have said people go into deco with no back-ups.

To answer your specific question though: Early on in my diving, I also went on shark/sting ray feeding dives, semi captive dolphin dives, etc. I no longer do so as I think they promote wild life interaction & captivity both of which I don't believe in...& I don't think it's particularly safe. There are plenty of places in the US & the world where you can dive with sharks, dolphins, sting rays, etc. without having to go on a feeding dive. That's what I do now & those experiences have topped the previous feeding dives I used to go on.

 

[scubadada]

So my question to the group is, "Are shark dives where shark are fed a good thing of a bad thing?"

This topic has been discussed many times on SB, you will find a large group of divers at both polar ends of the spectrum

 

[Viron]

Thank you for the info.

 

[Viron]

"I'm a bit surprised because I'd think that the very advanced Emerald dives (from what I've read of others' experience) would potentially be quite harrowing for someone with 5-24 dives under their belt. Your post also makes me more concerned about Emerald because I had thought they specifically focused on taking divers with more experience on these deep, drift shark feeding dives"

The only requirement was Advanced Open Water certification. The drift was about 85ft. The Sun Mariner wreck is 75ft on the sand. The hover after the wreck was about 30-35ft.

It was a very interesting experience.

 

[Viron]

So those guys are hand feeding sharks and messing around with them grabbing them by the noses with just dive gloves on? Holy cow that is dumb, somebody is going to get the nickname of lefty some day.

That is my concern.

Vote Viron

 

[sheeper]

i'm not at all a fan of the shark feeding trips. I won't go into the reasons or what we see in this thread.

We don't feed sharks yet we see sharks and go to sites where our divers get to see these great creatures in a natural habitat without humans interacting with them.

 

[seeker242]

So my question to the group is, "Are shark dives where shark are fed a good thing of a bad thing?"

It's nearly always bad to habituate wild animals to view humans as a food source, regardless of what kind of animal.

 

[drrich2]

Linking to other shark-feeding dive-related threads (the 1st one discusses an Emerald Dive trip report & practice):

Lemon Sharks of the shipwreck “Esso Bonaire III” with Emerald Charters - Lemon Sharks of the shipwreck "Esso Bonaire III" with Emerald Charters

2005 - Shark Dives vs Au Natural. shark dives vs au natural

2005 - Feeding Sharks. Feeding Sharks

2008 - Shark Bites Live-aboard Guest. Shark bites liveaboard guest

2009 - Shark Feeding. Shark Feeding

2010 - Shark Feeding Dives in USA? Why Not??? Shark feeding dives in USA? Why not???

2010 - Shark And Other Fish Feeding. shark and other fish feeding

2011 - Chumming/Baiting For Shark Dives. Chumming/Baiting for Shark Dives

2014 - Shark Divine…Florida? Bahamas? Shark Diving... Florida? Bahamas?

2015 - Jim Abernathy Baited Shark Dive. Jim Abernethy baited shark dive

2015 - Shark Court For Randy Emerald Charters Jupiter. Shark Court for Randy Emerald Charters Jupiter

2015 - Proposed interactive shark diving in the Caymans. Proposed interactive shark diving in the Caymans (this thread was noteworthy for broader discussion of locations & shark species).

Over the years, I believe the quality of discussion & experience has evolved, & I’ve even seen a couple of minds changed! So more recent discussions may have better content.