Fear of sharks (don't hate me!)

[markmantei]

I can understand where you are coming from, in every sense, at least for me, it is kind of a phobia. I want to see sharks, I have seen sharks (large reef sharks, I think, on a night dive on GBR, nurse sharks in PDC and Coz). Knowing the shark and their behaviour can help, the nurse sharks didn't bother me at all, even had a cuddly one on our last dive in Coz. The GBR reef sharks were much larger, and circling coming in and out of the light zone under the boat, don't know if they followed on the dive, what I do know is that dives was more unnervinig. I am very disappointed that I called a dive due to an ear issue, where several large bull sharks circled the rest of the divers for most of the dive (this was not a planned shark dive, and I was not aware of the sharks when I called the dive), my wife was lucky enough to be on that dive, although I can imagine her semi freaking grabbing the DM's hand the entire dive.

At least for me the issue is control. On any given dive I feel very much in control of myself and my safety. When large sharks come around you are basically trusting them with your are safety (at least in my estimation). If they wanted to give you a bad day they could, and theres not a whole lot you could do about it. Now I know that there are behavious that we can exhibit that can cause issues, and that they are not there to give you that bad day, but its not entirely a logical issue you can think through. I have control issues and I don't like it when I am not in control. I know that, I don't like being a passenger in a car, or in an aircraft for the same reasons, not that I think there will be an accident each time those events occur either.

In short, I don't know that anyone can post or even tell you something that will convince you that it will all be ok, although I can join the chorus of people saying it will be fine. Eventually if you do enough dives in locale's with sharks, you will run into them. Just focus on being as relaxed as you can. Yes you will be nervous and that's OK. The more you dive with the sharks, the more comfortable I'm sure you will become.

Good luck. Have fun and dive safe.

 

[PatW]

I have seen reef sharks and nurse sharks. Nurse sharks pretty much lie on the bottom and sleep during the day. If they are awake and see you, they will usually swim away. I have seen nurse sharks that were good sized. It is hard to say how big because I did not go and use a tape measure on them. But they looked like something around 8'.

Reef sharks tend to be active. I have seen them off of walls usually in deep water. Reef sharks usually do not come very close. Sometimes, if one is lucky, they will circle you. I think they are just wondering what that funny looking thing is. After a short time, they go off.

The first thing to know is there are quite a few species of sharks. Only a few sharks are aggressive enough to attack humans. Now at nearby (for me) New Smyrna Beach, there are numerous shark bites of swimmers during the year. The sharks hang out in the surf and they go after small bait fish. I think the bites are the result of the shark chasing bait fish and running into someone standing in the surf. They usually bite, seem to go "yuk" and swim away. The bites can be pretty serious and require multiple stiches. If you look at aerial photos off of the beach, there are often dozens of bathers and dozens of sharks in the same area. If the sharks were going after bathers intentionally, we would have dozens of attacks daily.

Some divers get bitten by 1) feeding sharks 2) molesting sharks and 3) spear fishing and essentially luring the shark to them with a nice tasty bleeding fish.

Also think about what a diver looks like underwater. I am 6' tall. I get to add about 3' of fins. So now I am 9' long. I look even bigger because of the BCD. I have a tank on my back. Also, I am blowing bubbles. So I am far bigger looking than most sharks. It would take a really huge shark to even think of tackling something like me. Even if the shark is big enough, I rather think a diver does not look very tasty.

As it is, shark attacks on scuba divers are extremely rare.

Now I have been attacked. Just not by sharks. I have been attacked by Damsel Fish. There they are ... 4 inches of mindless pugnacity. Crazy little guys. Of course, they are far too small to even break the skin.

 

[shoredivr]

Sharks have more to fear from humans and the shark finning industry and being killed as by-catch on long lines and gill nets than we have to fear from them.

Years ago I did a couple of shark feed dives in the Bahamas, which was very cool at the time. They are amazing creatures. Now I feel differently about shark feeding, after hearing rumours that shark finning fishermen will use places where sharks congregate to be fed as places with guaranteed shark catches.

I feel it is a priviledge to see a shark in the wild.

 

[drbill]

MANY years ago (back in the 1960s) I had an irrational fear of great white sharks when I first moved to California. When I saw "Jaws," I stopped diving for about three years. Then I saw "Jaqws II" and immediately suited up and got back in the water.

Since those days I have filmed great whites (from a cage) and had them swim past me without a cage. I have had MANY encounters with other species of sharks throughout the world. While there are some I would be very cautious with (bulls and tigers are two examples), I have found that sharks are incredible creatures to observe and film. After 50 years of diving, I still have all my arms and legs.

The ONLY species that has ever "attacked" me was an 18" horn shark. I tried repositioning it for a better camera angle and the little thing swam up to my chest and tried to "gum" me through my wetsuit. I laughed so hard that the regulator fell out of my mouth.

 

[TMHeimer]

I have never seen a shark and have dives in many different types of locales. I don't have a specifc fear of sharks, but do fear anything that could seriously hurt me. I know the %s of diver deaths compared to this or that way you can suffer serious injury or death is miniscual. Diving fresh water first to get comfortable is an excellent idea. I would think if you ever saw a shark that is acting aggressive it's best to slowly get out of there. If I ever see a hint of ANY shark, that would be my plan. But that's just me. I love seeing them on the Discovery Channel. But you can't be worried all the time about sharks or you will not enjoy diving or will simply not dive. You can get killed in a plane crash too. More people die from being hit on the head by a falling coconut. So you can either enjoy the shade or never sit under a palm tree.

 

[4dawgma]

I'm known in some regions as 'The Shark Bedazzler'......

 

[E8ArmyDiver]

....

courage:the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty,danger,pain,etc

...ALL animals(including humans)have a unique ability to step beyond fear.Your fear comes from the sensationalized accounts that permeate mainstream media.Face this fear & move beyond it & you will be rewarded with(hopefully)one of the most amazing encounters you can ever have in the underwater world!Allow fear to dictate your existence & you will surely miss experiences that define a full life!
Popular these days is to have a "bucket list",a list of experiences you want to have before "kicking the bucket",Mine has ONLY 1 item,to dive in open water(NO cage)with Great White's!

 

[Hank49]

Actually, even the "blood in the water" from spearing fish is exaggerated.
It's true that if you or someone near you in the water is spearing fish that the likelihood of seeing a shark close up will increase. But again, they're just looking for a free meal and are basically lazy scavengers.
When a bull or reef shark does want a fish you have on a spear, they move in so fast and grab it that there's nothing you can do. This happens to me about 5-6 times a year and I'm shooting fish almost every week. But never once has a shark shown aggression towards me. Bull sharks aren't as timid in general and will come in closer with that kind of "what"? attitude but staring them down or yelling at them lets them know you're not easy prey.

But, there is always that chance of a 15 foot tiger coming around....in which case it's probably best to get back on the boat for a little while. And great whites....I haven't experienced one but I would give the kelp paddies a try. It'd be unreal to see one....from a distance.

 

[freewillie]

My most recent encounter with a shark was last week while diving on vacation in Kona, HI.

We first spotted a tiger shark while pulling out of the marina. Apparently they come in on occasion to see if any fisherman are throwing fish out overboard. We looked over the side into the water and there it was quietly swimming along. The dive boat then stops right out in front near the marina entrance. The reef was one of their favorites for seeing large fish. They saw a dolphin in the same spot the day before.

Knowing there was a shark in the area we all eagerly suited up and went overboard. About 15 min into our dive the DM points up the reef to shallower waters and it was, about an 8 foot tiger shark. I should have been scared but it was mesmerizing. Instead of trying to swim away I wanted to get a little closer to see the stripes, but instead just sunk down to the reef and watched quietly as it eventually swam away. Instead of a scary encounter it was in retrospect a magical experience.

I think sharks have more to fear from humans than divers being attacked. Most incidences of divers being bit are during staged encounters where dive operators are feeding sharks during a shark dive. As long as you are swimming along quietly then you should have very little to worry about a shark attack. Enjoy the encounter if you should be so fortunate.

 

[scubatomwetzel]

Just worry about the Two-Legged ones on land!