Shark Feeding Dives...Yes or No

[HalcyonDaze]

Just as some food for thought, a large part of the discussion here seems to be along the lines of how "unnatural" it is for sharks to approach humans. One of the things I would like to do (not as a baited experience, to be clear) is go back out to my old territory in Southern California and check out the white shark nursery grounds there (complications being the typical lousy nearshore visibility and my blood chilling at the thought of sub-70 F water after almost a decade back in FL). Lately I've been binging on drone videos from there; "no ****s given" tends to be the general attitude regarding surfers, paddleboarders, and swimmers all over the place.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsykMfh4KIAf_B8Wnx7hzNA

 

[Johnoly]

As we get to the slow, blown-out April month and people are planning their summer vacation dollars, I will bump your thread to the top so it translates over to google searches and people book their summer dive vacations.

3000 views on this thread and it is popping the tops of google searches. Dive boats are running so full it's tough to get a spot in Jupiter. This past week's photo is below - 2 hammerheads, a lemon, and Patrick the massive annual Tiger Shark !! For or against >>> the dive boats are doing great !! Come dive Jupiter & see the BIG sharks @ just $95.
Incredible & talented Photo credit to David Alan Crose

 

[Dan]

It’s not $95 shark diving trip, but seeing this 14’ gorgeous Princess is a Great feeling!



Standing behind Finch was even better!

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I'm still a hard pass but I respect the rights of others to do these dives, as long as all applicable laws and regulations are followed of course.

 

[Rob9876]

3000 views on this thread and it is popping the tops of google searches. Dive boats are running so full it's tough to get a spot in Jupiter. This past week's photo is below - 2 hammerheads, a lemon, and Patrick the massive annual Tiger Shark !! For or against >>> the dive boats are doing great !! Come dive Jupiter & see the BIG sharks @ just $95.

What dive op was that with in Jupiter? And was it a baited dive?

 

[Snoweman]

I wanted to do the shark dive off of Jupiter last year, but wind and waves kept us from going out. The dives the day before let us see plenty of large lemons and bulls, so I was happy.

One thing that did bother me was the number of sharks with hooks in their mouths. The dive op told us they do see the feeders trying to get these sharks on their backs and taking out the hooks. That alone is a good enough reason to feed the beasties.

About a year and a half ago, a Cozumel dive op said they were seeing signs of predation of lion fish. They thought either the groupers or the eels were learning to attack from below. I didn't see any lion fish on the reefs in Coz a couple of weeks ago, but I saw tons and tons of different size grouper.

 

[scubadada]

Until now, I have resisted shark baiting and feeding dives. I dive in Jupiter, FL quite frequently.

So, now, I am going out with Dolphin Dream to Tiger Beach and Bimini March 11-19 to see Tiger Sharks and Great Hammerheads. I have over 2100 dives and would really like to see these apex predators. One of the shark wranglers, Dave Finch, is a good friend from years of diving off Narcosis in West Palm. So, maybe this is a sellout, I'm thinking of it a bit differently. You may criticize me as you please

Diving with my friend, @Dan who I met in Malpelo last July, Trip Report - The Magic of Malpelo, July 9-18, 2021 on the Ferox

I'll be interested to hear your take afterwards; I've known Dave since his Narcosis days as well and I've been to Tiger Beach twice (although not on Dolphin Dream yet). My first time up there was just lemon and reef sharks (the latter being a bit too rambunctious for my liking, while the former were about as laid-back a shark experience as one will get); the second we had at least three tigers (including "Hook"/"Tarantino" the infamous "Buttface") and a big hammer ("Scylla"/"Patches"). I'd been diving with tiger sharks before off Florida and Hawaii, but nothing over 10 ft at that point. The "Bahama Mamas" are in a whole other weight class; while you are well advised to be on guard they are fairly laid back. Compared to the tiger sharks I dove with near Tahiti they act like they've had a few marijuana bales.

I think you pointed out what attracts me to it; over the summer I was talking to another regular on the Jupiter charters and we both agreed it's sort of the "big game" aspect. I've somewhat scaled back my Jupiter trips to coincide with reports of tiger or hammerhead sightings, or in summer when you never quite know what's going to show up on the deep ledge (not just sharks; a blue marlin sighting two years back was a nice touch). I'm still game for bull sharks (I've found them fairly hard to get close-ups of), but they seem to be around all year in varying numbers. Lemons ... I've got gigs of pics and videos from point-blank range; it's fun to introduce new people to them but by now I've been there and done that. Reef sharks I'd actually rather not see in a baited setting; the times we do get them out on the deep ledge it's kind of a relief when the bulls show up to bounce them out. At least at Tiger Beach they generally seem to understand how far down the pecking order they are next to the heavyweights.

This was the recent trip on the Dolphin Dream to Tiger Beach and Bimini with my friend @Dan Trip Report - Tiger Beach and Bimini on the Dolphin Dream, March 11-19, 2022

 

[HalcyonDaze]

What dive op was that with in Jupiter? And was it a baited dive?

That was a baited op - Salty Divers out of Jupiter. I saw two hammerheads with them the day before, but I missed the tiger. Picked up the spare with a tiger (two, actually - apparently there was a ~7-ft juvenile on the deep ledge that made one pass and was out of sight while my head was turned) yesterday. The larger one on the wrecks was a regular from past years, but he was a bit skittish about actually coming in for the bait.

 

[Scubamatt88]

I'm still a hard pass but I respect the rights of others to do these dives, as long as all applicable laws and regulations are followed of course.

I agree… to me it feels like an inauthentic experience but if all laws and regs are followed, have at it.

 

[Dan]

If you want to see Tiger Sharks in the wild, you “might” get lucky to see one in Cocos after 36 hour sailing from Costa Rica to Cocos. Here’s my lucky encounter with Cocos’ Tiger Sharks in December 2020.