Diving with Sharks

[Saltyhawg]

I honestly think this is the worst part. You're changing how the sharks act in their natural state. You feed them, you touch them, you do things to them that are outside of their normal life.

That kind of diving is pure and simple harassment to the wildlife. Sure it's great for the people who get to do it, but in terms of the widlife ecosystem, it's damaging. Think about feeding ducks / turtles bread at the lake. Sure yeah, they'll eat it, you think you're helping them, but you're just filling their stomachs full of the least nutritious food possible.

(13) The term "take" means to harass, hunt, capture, or kill, or attempt to harass, hunt, capture, or kill any marine mammal.
....
A) The term "harassment" means any act of pursuit, torment, or annoyance which—

(i) has the potential to injure a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild; or

(ii) has the potential to disturb a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild by causing disruption of behavioral patterns, including, but not limited to, migration, breathing, nursing, breeding, feeding, or sheltering.​

We were in Ambergris Caye last month and our DM felt the feeding was harmful to the nurse sharks. He said they get very fat during the height of the dive season and lose a lot of weight during the low season. He felt the feeding was concentrating them which was cool when they were being fed every day but bad at other times. Almost like they forgot how to hunt for themselves.

Our dive op did not feed at all. However, we did notice nurse sharks followed us every dive even when we were a couple of miles from Shark/Ray Alley. That never happened to us on our other Caribbean trip.

 

[Jayfarmlaw]

I dont have any advice for the original post. The Sharks we have seen on dives showed no interest in us whatsoever. Had a small nurse shark swim close to my daughter and wife but no issues. Daughter wanted to give it a hug, wife was nervous and looked like her reg was free Flowing! Hope to make it to Jupiter this summer for a real shark dive. Couldn't go last year due to lack of advanced cert and nitrox.

Whether it it is a large crappie in an Oklahoma lake dive or a shark in The carribean, I am amazed and greatful for the opportunity to share their space. follow the Look don't touch rule and don't provide a food source and I bet you'll be fine.

were looking forward to Jupiter in the coming months!

safe travels,
jay

 

[TMHeimer]

follow the Look don't touch rule and don't provide a food source and I bet you'll be fine.


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Again Hmmm.... a bet? Odds? But I agree with those who don't like or advise feeding sharks. To be honest, I would assume that even the most diver-populated areas of the world and the sharks they may feed there includes an infinitesimal % of the total shark population (despite the decimation of sharks for all those decades). I just think one is crazy to get close enough to a shark and then feed it.

 

[drrich2]

Jay:

I posted a Jupiter Trip Report from Sept. 2014 that might be helpful; I went during the goliath grouper aggregation. The lemon shark migration is already underway and won't last too much longer, if I recall my seasons correctly. If you're mainly going to Jupiter for sharks, you probably want to aim for that time of year. Of course, there are shark feed dives (e.g.: Emerald Dive Charters); that idea was a little to rich for my blood at the time, though I'd like to do it someday. In my trip with Jupiter Dive Center, I saw one pretty good-sized shark (either a black trip or sandbar shark, depending on who's right), a few Caribbean reef sharks, at least a couple of nurse sharks, and I think somebody else saw a lemon shark & somebody a dolphin but I saw neither of those. It was a fine trip and I'm delighted I went; I went to see lots of goliaths and get good snap shots of them (good to me, anyway), and maybe see some sharks, and I got to do both. Good dive op., too.

Another place to hit for shark encounters is North Carolina, such as diving out of Morehead City, to dive with sand tiger sharks. If you have or get your AOW and Nitrox, and aren't so sea sickness prone as to deem the long boat trips out & back daunting, this might be about as close as you'll get to a near 'sure fire' way to get in the water big big, scary looking but very low risk sharks outside of feeding dives. Which is why I'm going. Here's a thread on Morehead Trip Questions, which helped me work out a plan for later this summer (Lord willing and providing).

Richard.

 

[Iralub]

Hi all,

I was really nervous the first time I dived with sharks. I was constantly fearful that one of them would happen to be hungry or in a bad/strange mood that day and attack me

I have a question: Besides staying close to the reef and not making too much noise/bubbles (as I was instructed), could the experts out there please advise on the basics and extra tips on what to do and how to behave and any precautionary measures in general to take when diving with sharks (say, tiger sharks, longimanus, hammerheads)?

And what does one do if a shark heads towards you and comes really close?

What does one do if attacked? What does one do if someone in the group is attacked?

Thank you in advance for any advice.

Earlier this year I did some dives where there were two to four dozen sharks hanging around. Mostly white and black tip reefies and the larger grey reef sharks i think. Maybe nurse sharks, its hard for me to be sure.

One thing that was obvious is their complete lack of interest in humans. We didn't bother them and they us.

When they came close to me, I would point my camera at them and press the record button They are such beautiful creatures!

 

[BabySweetlipsLover]

We were in Ambergris Caye last month and our DM felt the feeding was harmful to the nurse sharks. He said they get very fat during the height of the dive season and lose a lot of weight during the low season. He felt the feeding was concentrating them which was cool when they were being fed every day but bad at other times. Almost like they forgot how to hunt for themselves.

Our dive op did not feed at all. However, we did notice nurse sharks followed us every dive even when we were a couple of miles from Shark/Ray Alley. That never happened to us on our other Caribbean trip.

Where did you go? I'm heading there next month!

Yeah that's it, animals start getting used to feeding and then will start harassing you!

 

[James R]

What do do when you see sharks? Watch out for photographers knocking you out of the way (sorry in advance).

A few months ago, while doing a night snorkel with silky sharks, I felt someone kick me in the back...I turned to see who did it, and was face to face with a 7-8' shark -- the guilty party! This shark was about a foot or two from me, very close to my dome port, easily close enough to touch.

(D800, sigma 15mm fisheye)

 

[Ghetto Diver]

To the OP
Have a plan in mind before your encounter a one of the scenarios you describe. It doesn't have to a be detailed plan, but the key is be cognoscente of your surroundings and preparedness. Some people wander through life in Condition White. If not familiar with Col. Jeff Cooper, google him.
I have no intention of diving with sharks on purpose. See enough without the 'special trip'. Most recently at local shore dive in 10' viz, I had a fair size blacktip materialize come from behind and stop by my face, between me and the reef. We eyeballed each other for a brief moment, then it kept coming in. I pushed it off with my dive flag spool. If it wasn't po'ed before, it certainly was now. It darted in front of me then turned around again, and then I motioned with the spool as if to push it again. I believe I even shouted 'GIT!"
And it soon dematerialized in the distance.
Short answer, be prepared to do something.

 

[cnherrick]

You're not what they are looking for.

They're looking up, looking for something thrashing at the surface, making a lot of noise, hopefully having a hard time.

To them, you're fairly big and obviously not in peril and you're expelling all those noisy bubbles and you have that big hump on your back. You're clearly not easy food.

I would go out of my way to swim with shark.

 

[TMHeimer]

You're not what they are looking for.

They're looking up, looking for something thrashing at the surface, making a lot of noise, hopefully having a hard time.

To them, you're fairly big and obviously not in peril and you're expelling all those noisy bubbles and you have that big hump on your back. You're clearly not easy food.

I would go out of my way to swim with shark.

You're probably correct on most of this (I'm no expert). I have always questioned the vulnerability to shark attack a diver may have while making a long (or any) surface swim. Even if you're not panicking and thrashing about, are you not somewhat similar to a seal, turtle or surfer (who apparently get attacked way more frequently)? All of these would seem to be doing about the same thing a diver does surface swimming.