Both Sad and Amusing

[BrewingDiver]

I stumbled across this while doing some research on alternate ways to get to Coz. Obviously divers are not the target market.

Are there Sharks at Playa del Carmen? : TravelYucatan.com

 

[ggunn]

I stumbled across this while doing some research on alternate ways to get to Coz. Obviously divers are not the target market.

Are there Sharks at Playa del Carmen? : TravelYucatan.com

A few years ago while fishing off the Yucatan coast near Playa, my brother-in-law had a good sized white marlin on the line. After a few jumps the fish sounded and then began taking line at a startling rate. Then. quite suddenly, the line went slack. Thinking he had lost the fish, my bro-in-law began reeling in the line, but he felt a lot more resistance than just the terminal tackle would have given. When he got the line in, he found that he had just the head of a white marlin that would have gone 75-80 lbs. Something bit it off just behind the pectoral fins.

I had a similar experience with a tuna in the same area, but the leader broke.

I would say that there are sharks over there, and pretty big ones

 

[sharky60]

It's the ocean...there are sharks out there.

It's a shame that some seaside city tourist boards feel they need to lie to make their visitors feel comfortable about coming there.

 

[deborahdelamar]

Why should people worry about sharks on vacation when they can attack them at home?! FOXNews.com - British Teen Suffers Painful Shark Attack in His Bedroom - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News

 

[MMM]

I saw a bullshark on the "turtle" dive over there a couple of years ago...

 

[HoustonDiver8]

Come on People!

True Facts:
Chance of being killed by a Shark: 260 Million to One!

Annually, Sharks kill 6 humans per yr.
While Humans kill Millions of Sharks per yr!!!

Who should be afraid of whom?

 

[MeiLing]

Actually, I watched a documentary on a place, I think in South America, where shark attacks where so frequent that you couldn't swim in the ocean. When they studied it, they found the reef surrounding that place was so degraded and devoid of fish that it was causing the sharks to come in closer and attack whatever they came across.

I think that the sharks were bull sharks. They also studied the behavior of the same kind of sharks in Cuba, which is a similar, but very healthy ecosystem. Found quite a difference in the shark's behavior.

There are always sharks out there and as long as we don't deprive them of their natural food sources, our risks are minimal.

 

[ggunn]

Actually, I watched a documentary on a place, I think in South America, where shark attacks where so frequent that you couldn't swim in the ocean. When they studied it, they found the reef surrounding that place was so degraded and devoid of fish that it was causing the sharks to come in closer and attack whatever they came across.

It's the same with piranhas. Piranhas in free flowing rivers are pretty innocuous, but when the rivers change course and leave oxbow "false rivers" which eventually silt over and disappear, the piranhas in them eat all the available food, and then start feeding on each other as their habitat shrinks. Near the end the ones that are left are what are responsible for all the horror stories, which are not exaggerations.

 

[MeiLing]

It's the same with piranhas. Piranhas in free flowing rivers are pretty innocuous, but when the rivers change course and leave oxbow "false rivers" which eventually silt over and disappear, the piranhas in them eat all the available food, and then start feeding on each other as their habitat shrinks. Near the end the ones that are left are what are responsible for all the horror stories, which are not exaggerations.

It's probably the same with most carnivorous animals. Grizzlies are known to eat their cubs during years when the salmon runs are poor.

 

[BKP]

Actually, I watched a documentary on a place, I think in South America, where shark attacks where so frequent that you couldn't swim in the ocean. When they studied it, they found the reef surrounding that place was so degraded and devoid of fish that it was causing the sharks to come in closer and attack whatever they came across.

I think that the sharks were bull sharks. They also studied the behavior of the same kind of sharks in Cuba, which is a similar, but very healthy ecosystem. Found quite a difference in the shark's behavior.

There are always sharks out there and as long as we don't deprive them of their natural food sources, our risks are minimal.

Yep. Recife, in Brazil. The bulls, tigers, and black tips have developed a taste for surfers...