Dive boat operators face charges of illegally feeding sharks in state waters

[CajunDiva]

I did find myself guilty of feeding the fishies this past weekend though. I got sick at depth and hurled repeatedly. I was mobbed by yellowtail bastards (you call them snappers) in the middle of my misery and even had a cobia come join in on the feeding frenzy. Did I affect fish behaviors? Yes, those yellowtail bastards followed me for the rest of my dive. Unfortunately, I rewarded them repeatedly for their efforts to keep up.

THANK YOU...THANK YOU...THANK YOU for this story! Now I know I am not the ONLY one

 

[Wookie]

THANK YOU...THANK YOU...THANK YOU for this story! Now I know I am not the ONLY one

(raises hand) first hundred dives...

 

[John from the burg]

What??? Last year NO Scuba diver in Florida waters was bitten. None, nada and squat. If you do the extrapolation, that means that they actually aren't getting bit.

You almost seem proud of your shark attack standings? Ever wonder if the booming shark dive business has any impact on shark attacks in the vicinity? You guys sure cant claim low averages over there close to the "feeding sites"... I get your argument and i don't disagree entirely, i just feel like we have a precedent to follow with *cough* every single other remotely comparable species *cough* and we know where this goes. A couple people will die, a few more hurt and a bunch of sharks killed.

We cant change the habits of wild animals without consequences.

You've actually witnessed this happening in the Gulf? You can say unequivocally that the sharks there are more aggressive then they were ten years ago?

Unequivocal is tough if not impossible but yes, i can say without doubt that they are more aggressive. The stories that are told are downright shocking sometimes and more are added all the time. I have personally been chased to the boat by a pack, yes a pack of 10 seriously turned up reef sharks. Nipping at my fins and buzzing our heads the whole way to the ladder. Clipped my EMPTY bag, stringer, gun to a line tied off to a cleat and they hit it!! Took it down and shredded the rope, all i got back was my custom gun and only because it could float!

Do i think this instance was from shark dives? No, I do not.

Do i think that pack would have tried to eat anything they came across? Hell yes i do but the main point to take away here is i was most certainly on the menu. They were trying to eat me and i can say the same for at least 3 other sharks in the last couple of years. They will, in the right situation, enjoy the **** out of eating a person.

Ill even take you diving if you want to see, give me three drops and if i cant get a shark to follow us without dead fish then i will pay for your gas.

---------- Post added March 24th, 2014 at 03:33 PM ----------

My dog.

Who am I kidding, the damn dog knows what time it is, and sits next to his dinner bowl every day at 8 in the morning and 5 o'clock at night.

My pups are on the same schedule lol.

I also have a pack of geckos that turn my bathroom window into a moth killing field every night. They wait for the light to attract and boom, lunch is served.

But no way sharks could link people to food.

 

[Murfdizzle21]

Is that a tag on the shark?

yes it is, not sure if this tiger is from the bahamas or not, could have been. She was shy at first but then had no problem eating all the food we brought for her.

They barely got out of there alive. Oh the drama!

believe it or not, she did not chase us all the way to the boat asking for more. When the food was all gone, so was she.

What I would like to know is how they (FWC) know where randy is underwater? they got a GPS up his a**? I assume they had a GPS on the boat, whose to say where the boat was when randy fed the sharks. All I know is if you're trying to go on the Emerald, better book early. They're gonna be full.

 

[Wookie]

All I know is if you're trying to go on the Emerald, better book early. They're gonna be full.

I guess I need to tell y'all a little something-something. When the FWC writes you a ticket, and you state publicly that they can go hump themselves, they will make your life miserable. I received a ticket followed shortly thereafter by an apology from the NOAA law enforcement lawyer in St. Pete. Because I didn't do what they said I did, although I did do something else. Now that I know the regulations, I don't do that other thing either. They crawled up myass for 2 years. Boarded the boat at the dock to make sure the ****ter overboard was closed, checked lifejackets, checked fire axes, just took the opportunity to "check things".

About the third time the FWC boards the Emerald to "check things", that word will get out that anyone going on the Emerald won't get a chance to dive because the FWC will be too busy crawling up Randy's ass to actually put divers in the water, that will be the end of full boats. So go ahead, book 'er full. Let Randy continue to spout off. I am a case in point, it doesn't win you any friends with badges.

 

[nimoh]

I've never had contact with FWC, and already I don't like them

 

[Mike]

I don't know about sharks because I don't see them much except for nurse sharks but all through the Caribbean where I've dived, over the last 5 years or so they're are groupers and morays who definitely are associating divers with free handouts due to people feeding them lion fish in hopes they will develop a taste for them, morays coming out and swimming all around divers legs, groupers that follow you like a torpedo along the reef, you stop and turn around and they stop 5 feet away from you, you turn and go down the reef, turn around and the groupers right there keeping his 5 foot distance just waiting like a dog for a table scrap.

 

[Wookie]

I've never had contact with FWC, and already I don't like them

I'm sure you have something like a grouper trooper in Minnesota. Perhaps Minnow Mounties or fish cops?

Ah, Brush hog.

 

[nimoh]

I'm sure you have something like a grouper trooper in Minnesota. Perhaps Minnow Mounties or fish cops?

Ah, Brush hog.

No Mounties in Minnesota, they tend to stay in Canada

To the best of my knowledge, there are no law enforcement agencies in my area that would be so unprofessional as to hold grudges and act on them.

Closest to FWC would be DNR here, but I have never heard of them doing such things.

 

[Wookie]

No Mounties in Minnesota, they tend to stay in Canada

To the best of my knowledge, there are no law enforcement agencies in my area that would be so unprofessional as to hold grudges and act on them.

Closest to FWC would be DNR here, but I have never heard of them doing such things.

In MN they are DNR Conservation Officers. I have an e-mail from FWC telling me that I could expect to be boarded whenever I was seen in the particular area I operate in. They even put it in writing.