How many fatal shark attacks to stop you diving

[JohnN]

John, do you have a citation for that? I can't find it.

PM with sources for both number sent. Although I would expect a Rupert Murdoch publication to stretch the facts toward sensationalism. . .

 

[fbk]

I've added a couple of new options to the poll. It sounds as if a number of you don't think the poll was comprehensive enough for you.

Thanks.. now I can vote

 

[The Chairman]

Thanks.. now I can vote

I try to do what I can. If there is something that should be on the poll, please feel free to simply ask. No guarantees, but if it seems to be something the community wants, I'm game.

 

[gcarter]

How many fatal shark attacks within a radius of say 300 km of the ocean location you are about to dive would it take to deter you from diving? Pick the one that best describes your choice.

I'm interested to get some idea of the risks divers are typically prepared to take in this regard.

Assume the coastline is straight and sharks can move freely along the coast.

Assume you are diving without any special protection like a shark cage.

Assume that there is no human feeding of sharks in the area.

Assume that the attacks occur on people undertaking the normal spectrum of water sports in the ocean including diving.

I'd be also interested to hear in a post below how many fatal shark attacks there have been within this distance of the location you typically dive within the three years?

This poll, like most of your questions, is flawed.

You ask a question but impose multiple assumptions designed to generate the answer you want. The consequence is that your scenario is unrealistic and any answer generated meaningless.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Please combine the last two.

 

[Goodtime Adventures]

"It was the Law of the Sea, they said. Civilization ends at the waterline. Beyond that, we all enter the food chain, and not always right at the top."
Hunter S. Thompson.

This is the deal we divers make with nature when we enter the oceans.

 

[Scubagolf]

+1. I worry more about the plane going down on the way there.....

If I was going to be nervous about The Landlord it would not be while SCUBA Diving.

 

[ajduplessis]

I dont care, we intrude on their world.

 

[Foxfish]

I try to do what I can. If there is something that should be on the poll, please feel free to simply ask. No guarantees, but if it seems to be something the community wants, I'm game.

The OP and the poll were intended to gauge how divers perceive the risk of attack from sharks. As explained before, the range of options provided were more than adequate to cover level headed responses. I believe the topic is appropriate for the Basic forum. If people don't like the thread the obvious solution is to avoid posting on it. If they don't think that the poll is accurate, there is nothing to stop them starting their own.

Your latest additions are:

I don't care and believe that shark finning or culling is morally wrong.

'I don't care', suggests you'd be willing to jump into shark infested water regardless of the consequences. I don't accept that as a valid or rational response. If nothing else, excluding it from the poll is in keeping with the forums policy not to promote or sanction unsafe diving practices.

The statement that 'shark culling or finning is morally wrong' has nothing to do with the topic of the poll and OP. It is an inappropriate discussion for the Basic forum and extending the discussion to include those topics will only serve to inflame an already difficult discussion.

I find this poll disturbing and hopelessly flawed.

Evidently the thread and the poll are considered appropriate for this forum. In the region where we live this kind of assessment is very real and is being done consciously or unconsciously by many divers. I know of people who have been avid divers for much of their life and in the wake of our latest fatal attacks in our area now refuse to dive. Everyone has to decide at which point they will draw the line. Raising it as a poll on the forum seemed a reasonable and useful thing to do. It gives divers a chance to compare their assessment with others and discuss the factors that influenced how they arrived at that assessment.

Clearly I was being overly optimistic. If nothing else the thread to date serves to highlight how difficult it is to have a sensible, level headed conversation on the topic.

 

[JohnN]

Clearly I was being overly optimistic. If nothing else the thread to date serves to highlight how difficult it is to have a sensible, level headed conversation on the topic.

So you post a bullsh**t survey, cite bullsh**t "facts" and expect to be taken seriously?