Fear of sharks (don't hate me!)

[markmantei]

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.

I think sharks have more to fear from humans than divers being attacked.

This one always gets me. True in aggregate, but nose to nose, one on one, grudge match style, I'll bet on the large shark over the diver every time

 

[GrimSleeper]

I'm about to take to the open water to complete my PADI course and there is something that is troubling me. I've tried to get over it but there's still a small part of me that knows if/when I see a shark, I will be scared. I understand what you're meant to do in response to the behaviour sharks may exhibit (if they're just curious or if they feel threatened by you) but I wanted to get some people's thoughts:
- Do you have a fear of sharks?
- Did you have a fear of sharks and what did you do to overcome that fear?
- Some stories on your shark encounters

So far I have just been reading some helpful forum posts here and articles about different shark breeds and diver experiences...and no matter how many people tell me it is an irrational fear, I just imagine what would happen if I was swimming somewhere where a shark suddenly took an interest in me!

It's perfectly reasonable to have a fear of a major predator you've never encountered. I can pretty much guarantee you you'll feel very different as soon as you actually see a shark...

It's unusual on most of the dives here not to see at least a reef shark or two, and in total I've seen 14 different shark species over the last five years here, from Tawny Nurse and Whitetip Reefs (utterly harmless and completely non-threatening) up to Great Hammerheads, Silky sharks, an occasional Tiger, the odd Bull. I've never felt threatened by any of them, although female Grey Reefs can be territorial and will sometimes make it quite clear that they'd prefer it if you left - they have an elaborate set of threat behaviours, none of which involve actually getting very close to you unless you don't leave. So you leave... Not a problem. We get a few divers coming here who are scared of sharks - they never are by the time they leave.

I've had a few Open Water students who've been terrified of sharks before starting the course (which makes here an odd choice of place to learn, but each to their own). Without exception, every one of them has completely forgotten to be scared when they have first seen a shark - awe, fascination, excitement are the usual responses (although I did have one student who insisted she really, really didn't want to see sharks and then completely surprised me by taking off in hot pursuit of a big female Grey Whaler as soon as she saw it. The shark was terrified!)

If you really are worried, don't - as windapp said - find out how you respond by bumping into a shark unprepared. Either dive in places where you know there aren't any (which, sadly, is more and more of the world), or dive with someone who understands local shark behaviours and can guide you through your first encounters and keep an eye on you.

 

[freewillie]

This one always gets me. True in aggregate, but nose to nose, one on one, grudge match style, I'll bet on the large shark over the diver every time

It's the same analogy for flying. As an aggregate flying is a safer form of transportation than driving. But, listen to the screaming as the plane is going down, the plane wins every time.

Specifically, humans kill 2 million sharks a year. Many die horrible deaths, having their fins cut off and thrown back in the sea to drown. You would be hard pressed to find more than 10-20 deaths per year due to shark attacks, and many of those are surfers and swimmers, not divers.

 

[TMHeimer]

This one always gets me. True in aggregate, but nose to nose, one on one, grudge match style, I'll bet on the large shark over the diver every time

Though I have no personal experience, I agree. Don't care about statistics--don't want to be on that plane or near that shark. When the shark subject comes up, man's irresponsible behaviour toward them does as well. Anyone would be foolish to disagree on man as a species being a gazillion times more dangerous to sharks than they are to us. This has nothing to do with meeting one while diving.

 

[GrimSleeper]

It's the same analogy for flying. As an aggregate flying is a safer form of transportation than driving. But, listen to the screaming as the plane is going down, the plane wins every time.

Specifically, humans kill 2 million sharks a year. Many die horrible deaths, having their fins cut off and thrown back in the sea to drown. You would be hard pressed to find more than 10-20 deaths per year due to shark attacks, and many of those are surfers and swimmers, not divers.

Hate to be picky, but your numbers are a little off. It's more like 120 million sharks killed by humans every year (estimates vary - the lowest I've seen is 73 million, the highest 200 million), against an average of just 5 human fatalities worldwide every year. In all seriousness, vending machines are more dangerous, as are bees, deer, elephants, cars - pretty much anything you can think of kills more people than sharks do. Which doesn't make sharks not scary - I understand the fear, and I'm not belittling anyone who's scared of sharks, but it's my experience that the fear never extends past the first time someone sees a shark underwater.

 

[windapp]

In Hawaii, they explained that an average of 2 people are killed by sharks each year, and 8 by falling coconuts. Didn't make me more or less afraid of sharks but I was very much aware when I walked under a palm tree after that.

 

[AfterDark]

I was diving with dozens of Alantic sand tiger sharks in NC last year. I was perfectly comfortable with no fear. However if those had been dozens of 15 foot GW sharks I'm confident my comfort level would be very different. I respect any animal that moves fast is heavy and has serrated teeth!

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Hate to be picky, but your numbers are a little off. It's more like 120 million sharks killed by humans every year (estimates vary - the lowest I've seen is 73 million, the highest 200 million), against an average of just 5 human fatalities worldwide every year. In all seriousness, vending machines are more dangerous, as are bees, deer, elephants, cars - pretty much anything you can think of kills more people than sharks do. Which doesn't make sharks not scary - I understand the fear, and I'm not belittling anyone who's scared of sharks, but it's my experience that the fear never extends past the first time someone sees a shark underwater.

Wow, see one and you are not scared anymore huh? I've had many interactions with sharks that were not good. After many hundreds of encounters they still scare me and I do not like to see them. At our dive club meeting last week, we had two guys there comparing mangled calf muscles from shark bites from diving... One guy almost died. There have probably been thousands of shark bites off the coast of Florida.. surfers mostly...I've even had to help a guy who was bitten. My sister in law was bitten in the surf (although not in florida)

Haven't met anyone who has ever been injured by a falling coconut. Has anyone else?

 

[GrimSleeper]

Wow, see one and you are not scared anymore huh? I've had many interactions with sharks that were not good. After many hundreds of encounters they still scare me and I do not like to see them. At our dive club meeting last week, we had two guys there comparing mangled calf muscles from shark bites from diving... One guy almost died. There have probably been thousands of shark bites off the coast of Florida.. surfers mostly...I've even had to help a guy who was bitten. My sister in law was bitten in the surf (although not in florida)

Haven't met anyone who has ever been injured by a falling coconut. Has anyone else?

I can only speak for what I've seen, dumpsterDiver... Possibly helps that I'm not fighting sharks for dying fish? Or maybe we just have nicer sharks here...

Oh, and my dad came out to visit and had a coconut brush his arm as it fell. No injury, but a couple of inches over and it would have hurt. Maybe there's some sort of inverse relationship between scariness of shark and dangerousness of coconut?

 

[AfterDark]

I can only speak for what I've seen, dumpsterDiver... Possibly helps that I'm not fighting sharks for dying fish? Or maybe we just have nicer sharks here...

Oh, and my dad came out to visit and had a coconut brush his arm as it fell. No injury, but a couple of inches over and it would have hurt. Maybe there's some sort of inverse relationship between scariness of shark and dangerousness of coconut?

There's a lot more people walking under trees full of coconuts than swimming with sharks. I've got a different feeling about a shark that is more than twice as long as I am tall, weights >1/2ton can swim at 30mph and can bite through fat, musucle and bone while doing it. I don't hang out with polar bears, lions ,gators......big animals..with teeth.