Shark bite article...

[sharky60]

Here's an article related to the tragic death of Markus Groh in the Bahamas...

Sharing the Truth About the Shark "Attack" in the Bahamas by Christopher Chin on DeeperBlue.net - Fanatical About FreeDiving, Scuba Diving, Spearfishing & Technical Diving

 

[cudachaser]

That's a well done article

 

[cowfish]

just saw article from mr. chin- certainly have no problem with any info he gave- however, as stated in the article, a bull shark accidently bit the diver as it was going for the bait crate-- it was an accident- agreed-and i in no way blame this shark--i love sharks.... but why/ how was a passenger allowed to be that close to the bait crate- I know hindsight is 20/20 but should not a dive with bull sharks and bait have enough supervision that someones job is to make sure divers are not right next to the bait-that would seem to be pretty much the crew's main job...from my understanding this was a bait crait suspended on a down line...not being held in one spot by a diver....remember, this is BULL sharks and bait-someones BASIC JOB DESCRIPTION AND RESPONSIBILITY on this dive should have been- Do not let passenger get next to bait...just my thoughts- if any one knows more about it or differs in opinion would love to hear...

 

[Papa_Bear]

He wasn't just a "Passenger" he was a Photographer and he was close in order to get "The Shot" and it may have been a piece of food that had drifted near his leg! It is the chance and the way we get those shots!

 

[cowfish]

well he was a passenger...yes a photographer as well which only strengthens my point- as any one knows whos done a lot or dove a lot with serious photographers, much time may be spent lookin into the camera, making adjustments, etc...right? and doing that with bait in the water and bull sharks around, I'm just saying some staffs full time job should have been(and maybe it was?) to be watching for just such a posibility of a diver not noticing what was going on behind him... no?

 

[diverdwn71]

Very nice article!

 

[Theunis]

Well I think the unfortunate diver was a participating passenger. We are also doing baited crate, suspended from a down line, Tiger and Bull shark diving at Aliwal Shoal and Protea Banks, etc, in South Africa. It is and will always be a risk, maybe a calculated risk, that any diver will take to view these magnificant sharks up close!! By up close, I mean from a relative save distance away, say about 10 meters. We don't realy know how close he was from the crate. Mr. Chin greatly clarified the unfortunate incident. Sadly the damage had already been done by sensational reporting.

 

[cowfish]

- i was told by someone very in the know that he was next to the crate-the shark was trying to get at the crate and mistook his calf for bait - i guess my question is, amateur photographer/pro photographer, whatever, how is a passenger allowed to be right next to the crate? should not that be where the staff is?

 

[Theunis]

I agree, NOBODY should be allowed next to the crate. Everybody, including the staff should be at least 10 meters away.

 

[cowfish]

exactly- i have seen a lot of support on this and other boards for shark diving and the whole "we all know its a risky dive" attitude and i actually agree- only an idiot would not think of some risk in diving with baited bulls, tigers, reefs,etc...i agree- but there are some things that should be done properly by the crew/staff to somewhat minimize this risk- just as skydiving is inherently risky, any skydiver will tell you there are safer skydiving operations than others...I guess my question is, what else did the supervising crew have to do down there, EXCEPT make sure no one got right by the crate. They weren't busy hand feeding - they weren't doing much else but supervising right... what were they doing at the time? It can't just be a free-for-all- --there has to be professionals in the water doing their best and paying attention to control what is at best a fairly hard to control situation.-just my opinion...