Shark Bites Spearo: Video

[HalcyonDaze]

Agreed.

I can't tell. lol. A media report said Bull, Someone on Spearboard told me reef shark. I'll take your word for it John, you would know better than most. I had a mod change the title to just, shark.

I have a hard time telling give that the shark isn't onscreen for very long and it's moving pretty fast; the actual bite/graze is completely obscured by all the bubbles. Definitely not a bull; those things are built like weightlifters (and odds are that hit would have been a lot worse). With the way it's moving it's hard to tell if it has the sandbar's characteristic oversized pectoral and dorsal fins; the two other possibilities I can think of off the top of my head are dusky or Caribbean reef shark (the former being relatively uncommon).

I've had sandbars trailing after me while I've been hitting lionfish; they always struck me as relatively cautious.

 

[Johnoly]

.. the two other possibilities I can think of off the top of my head are dusky or Caribbean reef shark ....

When clicking frame by frame thru the beginning of the video before all the bubbles, you can easily see the leading edge of the dorsal fin intersects the middle of the pectoral fin. That rules out the Caribbean & the Dusky who's dorsal is behind the pectoral. The difference between the Sandbar and a bull is the nose but also the shape of the pectoral being more sickle like.

We {like you also} dive Jupiter and get challenged by all the sharks so it's good to identify what's circling you to know how to act. I will take a bull shark anytime over a teenage CB reefie who is completely unpredictable and will totally ignore a challenge by a spearo. Bulls can take a hint and keep a circle. I had a CB reefie chase after my fish elevator to the surface and bring it back down to the reef past us on Jupiter Tunnels. If he had 5 fingers as he was going by with my float in his mouth, I'm sure only one of the fingers would have been extended !!

 

[HalcyonDaze]

Agreed on the reefies. I'll shoot lionfish in the middle of a pack of 8' lemon sharks without too many reservations. I wouldn't dare try that with a couple of 3' reef sharks in my sight.

Usually what tips me off on sandbars is the relatively short, slender build attached to an outrageously oversized set of pec and 1st dorsal fins. That said, most of the sandbars I see are relatively small; I can see a larger individual being a little easier to mistake for a bull. I know in Jupiter a lot of divers (myself included for a while) would erroneously ID older silky sharks as duskys because they don't have the sleek look of the juvenile silkys and act a lot bolder.

 

[drrich2]

You guys talking about the hazard of spearing around Caribbean reef sharks reminded me of a DAN Alert Diver magazine article, A Shark Tale (online link). It's a nice article and a quick read; from the 2nd paragraph:

"Art had just speared two lionfish and was heading back to the boat when he attracted the attention of a couple of 3- to 5-foot-long Caribbean reef sharks. They were drawn by the fish blood and dying movements of the fish on the end of the spear. One shark swam up under Art as he made his way toward the boat. As the shark opened its mouth and headed toward the fish, he encountered Art's left hand instead. Art says it was sudden, unexpected and painful. He tucked his fist under his right armpit and continued to the boat, where he handed up his fish. Sue and Paula then helped him aboard, applied a pressure dressing and helped him remove his suit. There was a lot of blood. Art doesn't remember any of this."

Richard.