Shark Attack on Liveaboard

[PatMyGreen]

Cageless shark-feeding dive turns fatal - 02/25/2008 - MiamiHerald.com
That was a pretty inflammatory article hardly objective journalism, but I guess it sells subscriptions.....

 

[UnderwaterBumbleBee]

This is really sad. I saw on one of those links further up, someone mentioned he may have died from a pulmonary embolism from surfacing too quickly. Did any of the articles actually confirm he died from loss of blood from the bite on his calf or something else? I've done one shark dive in Roatan where they had fish in a bucket that they later opened, it was Caribbean reef sharks and they didn't chum the water. We also had a coral formation to give us some protection. Any shark dive could be dangerous but it sounds like this type of shark diving would have a higher likelihood of an attack. You couldn't pay me to dive with Bull sharks without a cage, their like the pit bulls of sharks.

 

[matts1w]

You couldn't pay me to dive with Bull sharks without a cage, their like the pit bulls of sharks.

Having done shark feeds with bull and tiger sharks and a ton of spearfishing, this is really not accurate- at least in my experience. What is you info based on? Grey reef sharks and black tips tend to be far more aggressive and relentless than the big bull sharks. Don't believe the media hype.

Maybe I am just a bit jaded, but if we are going to visit beautiful areas with big animals every now and then people will get hurt. Doesn't not matter if it is camping in the North Woods with brown bears, trekking through the African jungle, or even diving Tiger Beach with big sharks. The only way to ensure safety is to stay on the couch and experience the world through Animal Planet and Discovery Channel.

Prayers for the family.

 

[Shcubasteve]

As an active member of the dive community and an employee of a local dive shop, I have used JASA many times in the past with outstanding success. Divers I book on the Deep Obsession are always happy with the level of service and the knowledgeable demeanor of the crew and captains. All drops are right-on and success is regular. The most commonly heard complaint is the drops on popular southern reefs. I have dove with most, but not all dive operations, and JASA is favorite for the same reasons as the divers I book. I lead a group from the shop to Shark Canyon and Midreef on Saturday with JASA with outstanding success; Hogfish and Lobster

I do not agree with shark tourism as a whole, though the argument of education is strong. From dive operator I have talked to, the idea of education seems to be a driving force behind shark orientated drops. As a spearfisherman, I see sharks as predators who are just as hungry as me. If there were fish baiting me with hogfish, I would go for it too. The bottom line is you can’t blame the sharks.

I have disagreed with posting of lemon shark aggregations locations for reasons other then scientific reasons; this seems to encourage shark tourism.

I am interested to hear other opinions on shark tourism… maybe a separate forum?

 

[OceanObsessed]

Interesting that they've also provided an undated letter (in the link to the right of the page) from the Bahamas Diving Association (Neal Watson) that issued a cease and desist order from conducting non-caged dives with certain species of sharks.

What is even more interesting is that the Bahamas Diving Association, in this article , criticizes cageless diving with Tigers, Hammerheads and Makos but advocate cageless diving with Caribbean reef sharks. While some species tend to be more aggressive than others it does not mean that the Carribbean reef sharks are NOT dangerous. I really don't see how you can draw a line between those species. They are all unpredictable and there is risk with any type of cageless shark diving especially while feeding.

Does it surprise anyone that Stuart Cove (who offers cageless diving with Caribbean reef sharks) is the vice president of the Bahamas Diving Association ? If find this kind of funny because I remember when I dove with Stuart Cove one of the employess commented that sometimes they get lucky and a hammerhead shows up to the feeding which contradicts Stuarts stance with the Bahamas Diving Association.

Personally, I don't see anything wrong with cageless diving around any type of sharks. There is risk with any type of shark diving and it is up to the individual to choose the level risk they are willing to accept.

My condolences to the Groh family.

 

[teog]

What a tragic day for the families involved. I think anytime you do a shark dive your putting yourself at risk for any and all consequences associated with it, including death as this situation. Just like anything else its up to you to make your own descions but be prepared for the consequence.

Im no marine biologist but have seen enough shark weeks to know whites, tigers and bulls are the nastiest sharks in the water. And yes other species can kill too. But bulls have more testosterone than any other shark. And chumming the waters and then jumping in is a little to crazy for me.

Me personally, I would never do an intentional shark dive. I dont plan on leaving my family behind for a high risk activity that I intentionally planned. But to each there own. I dont think anyone, especialy the shark should be blamed on the death but the person who put themselves in the situation. Its a risk we each take each time we enter the water.

 

[matts1w]

Me personally, I would never do an intentional shark dive.

Intentional is the key word. I think most people have been diving with bulls and hammeheads if they dive off Florida. Whether or not we know it is a different story .

 

[murdrcycle]

Whoops

 

[murdrcycle]

But bulls have more testosterone than any other shark.

Actually, they have the highest level of testosterone of any known living creature. The bold number is the total unprovoked attacks worldwide - the number in parenthesis is the number of fatalities.


Carcharodon carcharias, white 237 (64)
Galeocerdo cuvier, tiger 88 (28)
Carcharhinus leucas, bull 77 (23)
Carcharhinus spp., requiem 30 (8)
Carcharias taurus, sand tiger 30 (2)


These are the top 5 as copied directly from ISAF Statistics on Attacking Species of Shark. Notice the sharp drop after bull sharks. In fact, out of the top 20 sharks in the list, the bull, great white, and tiger are responsible for 65% of attacks. Out of the 41 species of sharks, these three are responsible for 85% of the deaths. I think I feel pretty secure in saying that these three sharks are far more dangerous than others.

 

[ONESPEED]

Personally, I don't see anything wrong with cageless diving around any type of sharks. There is risk with any type of shark diving and it is up to the individual to choose the level risk they are willing to accept.

Nailed it! If someone wants to take the chance more power to them.