Hand Feeding Sharks & Shark Awareness Video

[Docandwyatt1]

Just so everyone knows the information from the narration was taken from the following: IE: Bibliography
1. Project Aware
2. Wiklipedia
3. The Diving Blog, David Harmon

Also to answer a few questions, No we will not be feeding sharks when others are swimming at the top, but if we do I will volunteer as a swimmer. Most importantly I stated at the beginning of the film this is a "Controversial Dive" and I stated why it was. Like it or not our intention with the film was to show people that these creatures have a soul, and are an important part of the ecosystem. Please don't post misquoted info from the film, and try to make it seem like we are the bad guys. We are all on the same team. Perhaps shark feeding is not a good idea or maybe it is. I don't know. What I do know is that I have been in other places of the world on dives and they have swam right around me with curious intentions. I had no fish tails in my hand then. Just saying. 38 million slaughtered every year. So if I have to feed a few to make that stop, I'm ok with it.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Just so everyone knows the information from the narration was taken from the following: IE: Bibliography
1. Project Aware
2. Wiklipedia
3. The Diving Blog, David Harmon

Also to answer a few questions, No we will not be feeding sharks when others are swimming at the top, but if we do I will volunteer as a swimmer. Most importantly I stated at the beginning of the film this is a "Controversial Dive" and I stated why it was. Like it or not our intention with the film was to show people that these creatures have a soul, and are an important part of the ecosystem. Please don't post misquoted info from the film, and try to make it seem like we are the bad guys. We are all on the same team. Perhaps shark feeding is not a good idea or maybe it is. I don't know. What I do know is that I have been in other places of the world on dives and they have swam right around me with curious intentions. I had no fish tails in my hand then. Just saying. 38 million slaughtered every year. So if I have to feed a few to make that stop, I'm ok with it.

Very scientific! These animals have souls so therefore we must protect them..... So tell me.. do more advanced fish have souls too.. like for example soles.... do soles have souls or is it only the more primitive elasmobranchs?




Seriously, who said you were "bad guys"? (although the activity shown in the video is illegal where I live).

I just think the activities shown on the video are unwise, unnecessary, unnatural and unsafe for the animals and other people (not wearing protective steel mesh suits) who may encounter these habituated sharks.

 

[supergaijin]

I think it's a 'given' that all members of SB are against the exploitation of sharks.

When one poster said they were against feeding sharks...

I understand, many divers are and that's why we made the film; we wanted to voice both sides issue.​

What other side of the issue are you voicing? You have said that there is no consistent evidence that shark feeding promotes ahark attacks, but there is ample empirical evidence that conditioned animals (including fish) can get aggressive when their anticipated 'reward' is withheld by others.

I feel that hand feeding on a regular basis makes an association between objects like humans as a source of food (at a certain place/time). You may refute that but this is the 'other side of the issue' that is being voiced.

My problem with hand feeding is that if divers were to go down without the food, would the sharks become aggressive, and how would the divers respond? If the divers were to respond badly ie. panicking as has happened with conditioned morays, triggerfish, napoleans, groupers, then there is a distinct negative consequence of your operation.

 

[Docandwyatt1]

DD, I don't need a lesson on Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order...nor your cute elaborate play on words. I get it. You don't like the dive we did or how we are trying to aproach the subject of overfishing sharks. And yes that includes all fish even Chilean Sea Bass. We'll make a film about that too one day. It is our attempt to help, if you don't like it than go out and do something that you think will help, but don't tear someone elses good intentions with silly rhetoric. If you have all the answeres then let's here it. I hope you spell out skills to your students better than your online opinions.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

DD, I don't need a lesson on Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order...nor your cute elaborate play on words. I get it. You don't like the dive we did or how we are trying to aproach the subject of overfishing sharks. And yes that includes all fish even Chilean Sea Bass. We'll make a film about that too one day. It is our attempt to help, if you don't like it than go out and do something that you think will help, but don't tear someone elses good intentions with silly rhetoric. If you have all the answeres then let's here it. I hope you spell out skills to your students better than your online opinions.

I actually work with some shark researchers locally and collect fish for their fishing efforts (bait) and try to support their research in other ways. A long time ago, I was even involved in a little shark research myself.


I have no problem with your intentions, it is your methods that I have issues with.

 

[Docandwyatt1]

Well, we all agree to disagree. I'll leave it at that. DD, I appologize for my comment to you about handling your students. I don't know you, and it was wrong for me to say that.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Well, we all agree to disagree. I'll leave it at that. DD, I appologize for my comment to you about handling your students. I don't know you, and it was wrong for me to say that.

Thanks for the apology.. you are not the first person to disagree with me on this board...

 

[danvolker]

The narrative of the film begins with something like this..."Feeding sharks has not resulted in any attacks".

No evidence of that?

How many shark feeders have been bitten and injured? I personally know two of them. One shark feeding operator had one of his customers DIE from the attack during the feed.. maybe 24 months ago in the Bahamas...

I couldn't watch it all... Teaching sharks it is OK to bite the hands of divers is a good thing? Just because the "professionals" are wearing steel mesh suits that protects them from these small sharks does very little to convince me that feeding these predators by hand is a good idea. It is banned in Florida and I support that ban.

I have to agree with DD on this....there is no possible way that hand feeding sharks is not going to caused learned behavior that places humans and food as a close association..one that will certainly lead to greater liklihood of attacks.
I see this as bad science, and there is no excuse for it.

I do not have the same problem with having bait in a box but not letting the sharks eat it....there are always death events in the ocean where sharks will follow blood trails....without their connecting humans and being fed, they are not going to become dangerous as a result of this....though you may see more sharks in an area where the baiting is frequent.

As long as we are incidental to an attracting event,, just like the big groupers and everything else that shows up, no real problems can be expected....hand feeding just begs for the association, and is irresponsible.

 

[soundfield]

Ahhh.. Happy endings!

 

[Docandwyatt1]

Ok, let's assume that the one sentence we are taking out in this debate, "There has been no evidence that the hand feeding of sharks promotes such attacks" (In swimmers) is false. Clearly this is the phrase that has brought all this attention. I did not make that up, it is stated in the bibliography I mentioned earlier. Let's assume that is wrong. So here we go. Human feeding interaction with ocean creatures is wrong because it associates and teaches these creatures to become comfortable around humans and can lead to accidental bites and aggressivness among all sea creatures. We have to assume that all sea folk may and can be compared to all the studies of land animals as well. Bears, Lions, Deer...etc. We are still all on the same page right? Follow me here. Is it possible that our very presence underwater or even out in the wild interferes with wildlife behavior regardless of having food in hand. Perhaps big oil didasters or overfishing promotes devastation and aggresivness to the habitat? Is it possible that our disregard for our resources has brought on a change in behavior to all walks of life on this planet because we have upset the balance that has been in place since the dawn of time up until 100 years ago? So I'll ask you, and you are all divers, and I will assume that you are aware of the fragile balance of the eco system; All things being equal are you ready to give up diving in general if a study came out saying you were harming and disrupting the coral reef just by being down there? Let's not just point fingers at shark feeding, are you really willing to stop diving? You know all the "Scuba Guppies" out there who have no boyancy controll, and many others are kicking and killing corral with there fins...etc...Our film was meant to try and help, perhaps the ends cannot justify the means, but I feel good about it all. If only one person sees this film and becomes someone who helps save a shark, or any species, then LOVE.