Shark bites liveaboard guest

[Zippsy]

Should DAN cover divers going on this type of dive?

I hope not, for the same reason I don't want car insurance covering guys drag racing on the backroads. I'm not advocating stopping people from doing anything they want to do, but I don't want their goofiness causing me extra expense or hassle.

 

[fisherdvm]

Altering the natural behavior of wild animals should be discouraged for the safety of people. Eventhough I enjoyed diving in the Bahamas with large reef sharks swimming straight at me, and under me .... Their behavior is not natural. They associated divers with food. I did not pay to witness any shark feeding dives, but many dive sites were close enough to the feeding zone, and the shark seeks out divers hoping for more food.

In the same way, feeding, chumming, and attracting sharks by any means will alter the way they think about divers, human, swimmers, etc. I remembered this little girl that was watching reef shark feeding on Nassau in snorkel gear - she said she was terrified when a shark swam up near her.

You wonder why people are discouraged from feeding bears, raccoons, and other predators? It isn't good for the predators, and it isn't good for us either.

 

[shakeybrainsurgeon]

Are people being totally honest when they say they swim with feeding sharks to witness the beauty of these animals, which is indeed great but can be seen almost as closely at zoos and aquarium --- as opposed to looking for the bragging rights or thrill-seeking that comes with such activities? I am not critcizing these latter motivations, mind you; in fact, thrill-seeking has a noble tradition. There is nothing wrong with thrill-seeking or adventuring. But such activities have risks.

My point is simply this: if part of the allure of an activity is a certain degree of risk, why do people suddenly go aghast when occasionally something bad DOES happen? When a race car driver dies, a hang glider crashes, a rock climber falls or an Everest explorer freezes to death, why does this amaze us or even disturb us...if such events were totally eliminated, the activities mentioned would cease to have their unique appeal. They would become Disney rides, fun, but hardly adventures.

Condolences to the family, all deaths are a tragedy. But I have seen plenty of people die lingering deaths who would have opted, instead, to die with the sharks at 75 ft and not with, say, sea level prostate cancer.

If we over analyze these events, pretty soon the whole world will be reduced to one big EPCOT experience.

 

[cmdiver]

I just took a look at the website Jim Abernethy's Scuba Adventures: Diving Palm Beach and the Bahamas go to the capt's blog, I found it interesting, he talks about seeing Bulls on his last trip, and also tells the story of one of the guys having his camera taken away, and how lucky the guy was that it didn't bite his hand!! I would say that right there shows that Abernethy was aware the sharks are getting bolder...and his only warning...insure your camera equipment...hmmm

Pictures: Also there are pictures from the last trip just a week ago. If you look there are shot showing you how they line up in the sand, even some you can see the bait crates.

Great Issac is a ways from Tiger Beach, but it is also a place that Shearwater frequents on its shark expeditions. I believe it is to see Hammerheads they aren't common at Tiger Beach.

 

[matt215]

i like your EPCOT statement. I think if something like this happened to me
(or anyone else who is crazy bout shark diving for that matter) my friends would say "i always knew he was crazy" or "i told ya so", but they'd also say "he went doing what he loved." I don't know if it's the thrill seeking or the beauty of the animals, but getting close to sharks is an incredible experience, and I feel fortunate to have experienced something most people never will.

 

[Scuba Kim]

This is one of the reasons that I insisted that we stop doing chumsickle feeds on our Southern Bahamas itinerary many years ago.

We had a lot of success drawing in sharks (mostly Caribbean reef but occasionally others like Greater HHs and bulls) to an area off of Conception Island. This was a marine park that was supposed to have been protected from fishermen. Every week we would get at least a dozen sharks in for the dive. Then, sadly, one week they were all gone. Not one shark showed up. After making some inquiries in George Town (Exuma), I was horrified to learn that a fishing boat had come in and cleaned out all the sharks from our site.

The lesson to be learned is that while feeding sharks for divers may increase appreciation for these beautiful critters, it is not good for the sharks. Drawing them in to one central location week after week can lead to their slaughter by those looking to make a quick buck. This circumvents one of the major reasons for doing shark dives in the first place. If we can't protect the sharks from fishermen 24/7, we have no business drawing them to one central place. It becomes almost like shooting fish in a barrel. This was a sad lesson I learned the hard way.

This was going to be my point. Eco tourism is a very touchy subject. As a biologist it is always a double edged sword for me. On one hand, getting people up close to amazing animals is good for animals. It gets people to put away their unnecessary fears, calls attention to the ecological problems and hopefully gets people to open their hearts and their wallets to help the cause. The bad thing...habituating animals is dangerous. It takes one jerk just a few seconds to ruin a good thing. I recently had a hard time on a trip on the Aqua Cat. We went to feed Iguanas and as soon as our boat approached the beach these gorgeous lizards poured forth out of the forest. How hard would it be for a bunch of jerks to jump out of their boat with a baseball bat and ruthlessly kill these creatures just for a lark? I fell to my desire to experience these creatures and I fed them, but my guilt has been with me since. We also did a shark dive, and the same thing happened. We entered the feeding area and the sharks started swarming, even if it is in a land/sea park these animals are in danger.

I think everyone should reconsider these practices. It's a very touchy subject that can end badly for all parties involved.

 

[shakeybrainsurgeon]

It isn't a matter of being crazy, it's a matter of balancing the love of something versus its inherent risks, and living in a society where we allowed a certain freedom to do that. In some cases, we love something because it DOES have risk.

Crazy is taking risks for no real return at all. Like driving drunk.

 

[fisheyeview]

Great Isaacs is about 70 miles south of Tiger Beach.

 

[NARCOSISOFTHERIVER]

Being a lake diver I know very little about shark diving, but the sharks seem to know when and where there is going to be food served, the chum. With these people getting bitten is there a chance that these sharks also know where they can get a taste of the other white meat? Mark.

 

[mitchsea]

Debate all you want but it would be nieve to think this wasn't coming. If they took you on a Safari and told you to get out of the Land Rover and sit on the ground to watch while they threw meat to wild Lions would you go?? Cut the nit picking over the species of shark and how many times it has been done successfully. This is a dangerous activity and it was sure to happen sooner or later.
I think they are far more iinteresting to watch cruising a wreck or a reef than going insane over a ball of frozen sardines...but thats just me.
Condolences to the diver and family.