Snorkeler Killed by Sharks in the Bahamas

[CT-Rich]

We do not feed any other large predators, except sharks. I guess they really are dumb, mindless man eaters.

Actually, there is an entire genre of people getting attacked by animals that have been acclimated to humans....

 

[Fastmarc]

My fear of sharks being hand feed in SCUBA is that while that situation may offer the feeders/operators some control with predictability of behaviour, if those sharks do encounter ordinary humans out just doing their thing, not even scuba-ing, then wouldn't they approach them expecting same? The humans would have nothing to offer, so the chance that an apex trying them in lieu of no handouts is pretty high. Well, it just seems like a likely possibility to me, but I'm far from an expert, so....

 

[AfterDark]

An accepted "fact" concerning shark behavior is that anything on the surface will be investigated. This seems logical at least from the human perspective. Sharks are scavengers before they are predators; an easy meal, a floating dying or dead fish is a more efficient use of energy then stalking and chasing live prey.

IMO a slow surface swimmer is a far better opportunity to a shark than a bubble blowing thing at depth swimming close to the bottom. It sounds to me from reading the report that she broke away from the group a bit, maybe enough to make herself "appealing".

 

[The Chairman]

Perhaps, but most sharks are afraid of humans

Some sharks will be fearful of humans blowing bubbles... but probably not a Tiger and probably not by a snorkeler.

Is it so hard to believe or do people really believe sharks are dumb, that after months, if not years of humans feeding dead fish by hand to sharks in the water that if these same sharks see a group of people they might think they're going to get a free meal. "Oh look, there's a hand. That's where the food comes from."

It was the Summer of '73 just north of Ponce Inlet. A buddy and I were searching for flounder just off shore with gigs. The trick was to hold it to the sand as it died to minimize sharks. It never failed that if the fish struggled, we would get a visit. Sometimes they were small, sometimes not so small. So, who taught these sharks? How did they figure out to come steal from me?

Sharks are opportunists. They've been opportunists before man existed. They'll be opportunistic long after we're gone. They have instincts to go after food including the smell, the taste, the thrashing and the noise. Here's a diver crinkling a plastic bottle, which apparently mimics the sound of a turtle shell being crushed, and a shark about takes his hand off. Who taught them this? Sharks are instinctual eaters...

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[CuzzA]

My fear of sharks being hand feed in SCUBA is that while that situation may offer the feeders/operators some control with predictability of behaviour, if those sharks do encounter ordinary humans out just doing their thing, not even scuba-ing, then wouldn't they approach them expecting same? The humans would have nothing to offer, so the chance that an apex trying them in lieu of no handouts is pretty high. Well, it just seems like a likely possibility to me, but I'm far from an expert, so....

I'm not an expert either and I think the biggest problem is no one can be one without taking preemptive steps. With an alligator it's usually pretty easy to identify the culprit. Same goes with a bear and other big animals.

Shark attacks. Impossible to tell. Most attacks probably aren't recorded and if they are, those videos are unlikely to see the light of day. So with most shark attacks we aren't even 100% sure of the species, more or less the individual shark.

If we knew these three tigers were commonly fed at Tiger beach then we could start understanding if our behavior is effecting theirs. I know it's big tourist money, but I'd like to see some permanent identifying dorsal tags on the fed sharks. This way we could better tell if the attacks that do happen are coming from these sharks or others.

It would help to put to bed the debate and I would love to be proven wrong.

 

[drrich2]

Of course right around the corner of the island is Tiger Beach, where divers condition sharks to not fear humans and associate them with food.

I may've gotten confused looking at a couple of different sources. Tiger Beach is off Grand Bahama island; do we know that's the island she was snorkeling off of? I found an article saying 'near Rose Island,' which is near Nassau, not Grand Bahama.

 

[CuzzA]

I may've gotten confused looking at a couple of different sources. Tiger Beach is off Grand Bahama island; do we know that's the island she was snorkeling off of? I found an article saying 'near Rose Island,' which is near Nassau, not Grand Bahama.

My apologies. I was reading several articles as there was also an attack at Spanish Cay the other day.

Stuart Cove would be one nearby shark feeding operation.

Nevertheless, a shark could travel from Grand Bahama to Nassau in less than a day. It's only about 120 miles.

 

[The Chairman]

Nevertheless, a shark could travel from Grand Bahama to Nassau in less than a day. It's only about 120 miles.

Large sharks cruise at about 1.5 mph. Your math is a skootch off.

 

[The Chairman]

For the record: I don't much like shark feeding dives. I've been on them and they are boring. I was at one in Fiji because they are simply the best. Simply. 7 tigers, 20+ bulls, at least one nurse and who knows how many reefies. I tried it (again) and I didn't like (again). Others did like it. Fine for them but not so fine for me.

 

[aviator8]

Some sharks will be fearful of humans blowing bubbles... but probably not a Tiger and probably not by a snorkeler.

It was the Summer of '73 just north of Ponce Inlet. A buddy and I were searching for flounder just off shore with gigs. The trick was to hold it to the sand as it died to minimize sharks. It never failed that if the fish struggled, we would get a visit. Sometimes they were small, sometimes not so small. So, who taught these sharks? How did they figure out to come steal from me?

Sharks are opportunists. They've been opportunists before man existed. They'll be opportunistic long after we're gone. They have instincts to go after food including the smell, the taste, the thrashing and the noise. Here's a diver crinkling a plastic bottle, which apparently mimics the sound of a turtle shell being crushed, and a shark about takes his hand off. Who taught them this? Sharks are instinctual eaters...

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holy crap, I would have never thought a plastic bottle to provoke that.