Does SCUBA gear sounds, sights scare off sharks?

[jonniex]

[FONT=____noteworthy]Hi my dive center sales person told me that it was safer in a way to scuba dive than regular swiming in terms of sharks because the scuba gear scares the sharks off they don't like the loud beating sounds in all the bubbles and the tapping and such. Is this true.

[/FONT]-Jonathan Bryan
Divesummit.com

Diver since 2012

Favorite quote: "Tropical coral reefs are to SCUBA diving what alpine peaks are to backpacking.
Reefs are the highlights, the places where equipment manufacturers strut their stuff, and photographers shoot magazine covers.

 

[KeithG]

It all depends upon the situation. Most fish react to the sound / sight of a scuba diver. Many hide or swim away. Some (like sharks, groupers or eels that have been fed by divers) are attracted to the sight / sound of a diver since they are expecting another free meal.

On dives in the Turks & Caicos where we normally see multiple common reef sharks on each dive, they do not seem to pay any specific attention to divers presence. They often do multiple swim by's and come as close as a few feet. To my knowledge these have not been fed. And they do not appear to be very dangerous. Kind of like dogs in a park...

Not sure how this is related to the subject of safety....

 

[jonniex]

Yes it seems like sharks dont mistake or seek out human divers as food.. as long as you dont flail around in the water

-Jonathan Bryan
Divesummit.com

Diver since 2012

Favorite quote: "Tropical coral reefs are to SCUBA diving what alpine peaks are to backpacking. Reefs are the highlights, the places where equipment manufacturers strut their stuff, and photographers shoot magazine covers.

 

[Kilili]

Some sharks are put off by the regulator noise, schooling hammerheads, for instance. Others could care less, and for some it means food will be handed out.
Sharks are the least of your worries. When it comes to your safety, the most dangerous thing in the water is your dive buddy, or perhaps yourself.

 

[AfterDark]

The most exposure I've had to sharks was in NC with the sand tigers. Nice sharks very slow moving and not at all afraid unless you touch one then it swims away very fast. Don't touch a big one. I touched a 8'-10' one, the pressure wave from its tail pushed me back! It stopped about 60' away and started swimming slow again away from me. Saw a blue shark once that swam by me and just kept going, that was in 10' vis. I turned around and ended the dive. I thought if there is one there may be more, alone in 10' vis with shark(s) is not my idea of a safe dive. That shark did not appear to be afraid either. Maybe I was wrong to end the dive but I'm still here with all my fingers.

 

[TXreefer]

In my experience, sounds can attract sharks. We used to drill for coral cores with a pneumatic drill. It was like a shark whistle.

I've never really felt uncomfortable in the water with sharks (of all kinds and numbers). In fact to me the big barracuda are scarier. But there was that tiger shark that time at the Flower Gardens...

 

[g1138]

Let's talk about the specific shark before we go grouping sharks into one category.

The great white for example. The juveniles that are caught by the Monterey Bay Aquarium, including the ones that aren't selected for transport to the center, are scared sh*tless of divers. In the outdoor pen, you are extremely lucky to catch a glimpse of it, it likes to stay out of sight because it's for the most part an ambush hunter. But even in the on-site OS exhibit, they have stayed clear of our divers.

The Sevengills in the MBT exhibit however, couldn't care less of the divers. The dog sharks and leopard sharks are attracted because they associate the diver with food; but only when they're carrying the yellow food pale. I don't know if we picked yellow on purpose; it has more to do with the fish oil spewing out of it I think. When divers come in to clean, the sharks stick to their normal pattern and for the most part ignore the divers..

The hammerheads and sandbar sharks in the OS exhibit stay clear of divers, which is one reason why we pole feed from the surface (even though they're bottom feeders!)
Heck, we even surface feed the Pelagic rays. They've learned to flip upside down so you can chuck food onto their bellies.

The point I'm getting at is it depends on the shark. Any underwater animal is going to have a different personality. Some species even have different personalities between individuals, like octopi for example.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

In general, freedivers can approach (or be approached) closer to sharks..In my experience.

 

[billgraham]

OC Scuba makes a ton of noise, I get much closer to everything, including sharks, with the CCR. Kill something underwater though and the sharks won't care how much noise you make.

 

[drbill]

I've dived with many sharks that do not seem to be bothered by the sounds, including the 14 ft great white that my dive buddy Wyland said swam behind me a few years ago. However, when I film soupfin (tope) sharks and sometimes our local leopard sharks, I have to hold my breath or breathe very slow and shallow as the sound of bubbles definitely scares them. Blues and makos in our waters seem more curious than scared.