Shark Attack - Fact

[mRNA]

Hi guys,

I have an issue about shark attack and I want everyone to put his opinion so we can get something out of this topic.

I remember from the past Whenever I talk to a diving instructor, whether an expert or a beginner, and I ask him/her about shark and how shall we react if we see shark underwater, they go laughing and say "you won't see any, we have been diving for a very long time and we hardly see one", some of them say "sharks are rarely seen and they have special reefs and habitats", some others say "try to finish the dive" whereas some of them say "it depends on the situation".

Just out of those replies, I can positively tell you, all replies were meaningless to me because simply I didn't get an answer for my question, even when I was insisting on them they reply with the same answer.

The second problem with dive leaders and mainly with instructors is they don't teach this stuff in the open water course or even in the advance open water course.

I gave an instructor certifier the following scenario:
"You say, it is really hard to see a shark alright? Now what would happen if you take open water students in their first course dive to the ocean and while giving them the lessons of mask removal and regs recovery, you experience 2 sharks passing through, now you've NEW DIVERS whom they have never ever dived before with bad buoyancy and bad control on themselves underwater, what should you do? Specially that no diving agency is teaching at least common strategies to avoid a shark attack"

He replies to me with the following "Well, in my entire life of being instructor that doesn't happen"

My issue is, if that doesn't happen in his entire life of diving like 25 or 30 yrs that DOES NOT RULE OUT the possibility of a shark attack.

I need your opinions about this issue and whether or not "avoid shark attack by using common strategies should be taught at the open water diving course"

Thank you

 

[adurso]

Do not act like prey

 

[H2Andy]

hmmmmm ....

well, sharks generally are shy of people, they'll try to stay away from you

if you don't have bloody fish in the water with you (i.e. spearfishing) sharks don't really mess with you

if you are not in their midst while they're hunting, sharks don't mess with you

if you are in a low vis area where sharks are known to hunt, yeah, you could be in trouble

if you manage to look like their prey while you are in their hunting area, yeah, you could be in trouble

otherwise, sharks generally leave you alone

just keep in mind, just because you've never seen a shark doesn't mean that they haven't noticed YOU ... they can "spot" you long before you know they're there

and they've basically decided to leave you alone all this time

Adurso is right. most shark attacks are "mistaken identity" incidents. generally if you dive in good visibility, you should be ok

of course, if you see sharks around, try to avoid them to the best of your ability. it does you no good to see a bunch of jostling bull sharks and swim up to them.

 

[mRNA]

Thanks adurso for your comment, but do you personally think this sentence "Do not act like prey" would help a diver that has logged 5 dives in his life (i.e. a new certified diver)????

 

[sea nmf]

I'm not sure why you are focusing on sharks. However, for the most part, sharks disappear before we ever see them.

But you want to know what to do in the very rare case that you do see them AND they seem like they will attack, right?

The first thing you need to do is educate yourself with all of the current thinking out there about how to tell if a shark is going to attack and where the habitats are. There is plenty of video on the subject.

Once you do that, if an aggressive species arrives and you have a buddy, get back to back, hug the reef, and stay on the bottom as long as you can with your remaining air. They will most likely leave because of your bubbles. If they come in, use whatever you have to hit them in the eyes and gills, or head if you can't get to those spots. They will leave.

Is this the answer you were looking for? But, you will come into contact with many more small things that will hurt you before you ever have to think of a shark (in most cases). Jellyfish stings, sea urchins, fire coral.

Where will you be diving that you think you have to be concerned about sharks?

 

[sea nmf]

Thanks adurso for your comment, but do you personally think this sentence "Do not act like prey" would help a diver that has logged 5 dives in his life (i.e. a new certified diver)????

He was joking.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I teach it in my OW course. It is part of the diving environment lecture. Dealing with potentially hazardous marine life is basic stuff. Sharks are generally not aggressive animals. There are some species which have been known to attack unprovoked but usually involve targets on the surface. Divers are mistakes in judgement. All a shark has to use to investigate is with it's sensors, sight, and teeth. Unless a shark is displaying an aggressive posture the correct thing to do is give it a wide berth and just respect that you are in it's backyard and you are the guest. Normally it is advised to slowly exit the area if it is making you nervous. Stay close to the bottom or the reef with out mucking things up or banging into things and if required exit the water slowly and calmly. Unless it's a big bastard or overly aggressive seeing a shark is cause for celebration and excitement. I had over 25 dives out of Key Largo before I saw my first shark. It was a nurse shark. I long for the day to see a caribbean reef, blacktip, bull, or sand tiger in the wild. I tell my students that it's a priviledge to see a shark. I don't know what your issue is with them but it's obvious that you have one. If you really want to absolutely avoid a shark attack dive only lakes and quarries. Otherwise enjoy the experience and feel priviledged to see an apex predator in it's natural environment. I spent my dives in Monterrey praying for a decent sized great white to just cruise through. No such luck.

 

[clifftondiver]

I haven't been diving for 25 years or more, more like 2.5. However, all but 15 dives have been here in the ominous "Red Triangle" of northern California:shark:

I've never seen a shark, shark fin, even a shark tooth, nor have I spoken to anyone who's seen a shark, shark fin, or shark tooth!

However, I can give an example of something more dangerous to your life than a shark.... new open water divers. I'm not saying you're a bad diver, I have no idea. But new divers pose a greater risk to their own safety and the safety of their buddies than any shark.

Instructors have a limited amount of time during which they can present information and assess skills to students. To waste time covering something that will rarely happen would do a disservice to you, the student.


Do yourself a favor, dive and dive often!

 

[mRNA]

sea nmf, thanks a lot for your reply.
Well, it is not really a personal issue as I'm getting along with the water but it is an issue for any one who is trying to take his first diver ever. I'm pretty sure you've experienced many people asking about sharks and shark attacks.

The thing is, media and movies have made the shark in such a bad position and consequently the first question from any new diver is "what shall I do if I see a shark"?

And yeah those are the answers they get back "we don't see them very often, we have been diving for 3,000,000 yrs and we didn't see any, we have been bla bla bla"

The diver won't listen to these stuff, he needs an answer, he needs issues to take him out of this fear, he needs someone to tell him the stuff you were just saying, things like shark is not interesting in you, you should do this this and that. But I found it so bad and may be offensive to someone who ask about something and then the instructor laugh at his question, right??

And why am I concerned about shark? because as I've mentioned before the media put the shark in that situation and we need to educate people and particularly new divers about this issue.

Thanks for your posts

 

[mRNA]

Educating people about something is a "waste of time"?????????????????

I've spent 10 yrs in medicine and we have been taught stuff that may never happen at all but we still consider them and take them seriously and we put these stuff in the exam for undergrad. students and new interns and registrars.

And in 2009 still we say education is "a waste of time", is that what u were trying to say clifftondiver???