grey reef and silvertips

[slipslop]

I am due to go to osprey reef. i have seen black tips, white tips a hammerhead shark and several ragggged tooth sharks on previous dives. I saw some large grey reefs from the safety of a boat in Australia last year and they gave me the creeps! Will i be safe diving with grey reefs and silvertips? they do a shark feed off north horn.

 

[Vie]

“Safe” is relative. Grey reefs have been ranked as the 6th most dangerous type of sharks but that does not mean that they are going to rush over and compete to be the first one to eat you—human are not part of their usual diet. I have dived with grey reefs (and a lone bull shark) in the Gulf of Thailand and they were not aggressive. OTOH, shark feedings may alter the animal’s behaviour, making them more used to human presence in the water—in my limited experience, sharks are usually quite wary of divers. The agonistic (ready for “combat”) display by grey reef sharks in Tropical Pacific reefs is well documented. When cornered or approached rapidly by a diver, the shark may exhibit a threat display by arching its back, depressing the pectoral fins and swimming in an exagerated motion. The intensity of the display increases with the level of the shark’s agitation.

Usually, if you leave the sharks alone they’ll leave you alone. Do not try to touch them or disrupt their feeding behaviour. Some sharks (such as ragged tooth/grey nurse/sand tiger) do not like to have their “personal space” invaded, so keep your distance. Just remember that you are entering the sharks’ natural habitat.

 

[saildiver]

Having done some research and a fair bit of experience diving with both types of sharks ,I'll give you this-Grey Reefs probably come into contact with humans more often because they more often frequent the waters we dive in,there are more of them,they can be aggressive if you enter their territorial space,but unless you agitate them or you are bleeding or chuming the water somehow (ie,spearfishing),or swimming on the surface,you are going to be fairly safe-though if you accidently enter their space be prepared to possibly push them off (with a knife,camera,gauge,fist,anything) if they come straight for you. They will usually arch their back and lower the pectoral fins and swim in smaller circles first before they do that though. The Silvertips, on the other hand,are a much larger, deeper water shark-and in my experience,act more like Oceanic Whitetips-very curious,will bump you -will keep circling, looking at you more as potential dinner- for example,I've had a 12 footer swim right up to my wife and I and we had to split apart so he(?) could swim between us-kept circling at arms length-totally unafraid. The only other shark I've dove with that gives me the "lower food chain feeling" as much as a Silvertip, is a Tiger shark-who will also make you feel lower on the food chain. I've dove with all the other major aggressive sharks (except the Great White-who I assume would provoke the same feeling in most of us-and I have no desire to swim with a great white in the open ocean-though it has occassionally been done),and when I see a Silvertip, my caution level goes way up.Not that you should panic,but do realize that this is one of the top apex predators in the ocean and stay very alert. Again be ready to push them off if they come straight at you-they will likely swim away,though it could take several bumps and pushes to let them know that you aren't an easy meal. Though I've spearfished in waters with Tigers,Great Hammerheads,Bulls and Grey Reefs-I would not even want to think about being in the water with a speared fish and get one of these guys frenzied....food for thought........Peace.......Saildiver.

 

[Albion]

I ddi a shark feed up last year and had both Grey reefs (loads) and a few silver tips there. The silver tips certainly have a presence, and the grey reefs seem to give them space too. After the feed we later dove a nearby reef as a night dive, this was without changing the mooring on our LOB. It was an extreemly humbling experience, on the swim from the boat over to the reef we could see the sharks over in the shadows but not close enough you make out the type. On the way back from the reef two silver tips came right in!!! It was a fairly full moon and we were quite shallow so without pointing lights at them you could see where they were. We did around 5 mins sat on the deco bar under our boat while the pair of them went round and round.

who are you doing the trip with ? mike Ball?

 

[murphdivers286]

very interesting. you all tell a great story. I could almost close my eyes and I was there. I like that....

 

[SharkDiverMag]

I wouldn't be too stressed out over the reef shark dive. If this isn't the first dive they have attempted then it's pretty safe to assume the sharks are well behaved around an audience. Just listen to the local dive master and behave yourself and you will be alright. I have never encountered any aggressive behavior from reef sharks at depth. At the surface...is another story. The reef sharks I have encountered near the surface while chumming were a little bit moody. We also had some big sharks swimming around the area and this perhaps set them off, not 100% sure.

Anyway enjoy yourself and take lots of pictures.

Eli
www.sharkdivermag.com