Sharks training the divers. Not good. (I know it's not your fault, this shark has "learned the system").
Bull Shark ate my DINNER!
- Thread starter Muggsy
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Wayward Son
Contributor
They are beautiful & i generally like seeing sharks. But not so much when I'm spearing. I won't feed them, prefer not to kill them unless I have to & would rather not fight them for my fish. So far i haven't had to kill one but a couple have come close.
Wayward Son:
How would you handle one underwater? However equipped, I would imagine a diver is seriously outgunned and outmaneuvered!
From a personal safety perspective, giving up the fish would seem to be the easy and obvious thing to do?
oh great, and I will be diving with a couple of shark magnets 
nice story, I would do the same, glad you guys are ok, seeing any shark can be a real thrill/experience
nice story, I would do the same, glad you guys are ok, seeing any shark can be a real thrill/experience
Wayward Son
Contributor
Keep the fish close to you. Shark is more likely to hit it if it's away from you. I clip my stringer to a D ring & have a quick release buckle between me & the stringer just in case I get dragged & need to turn it loose.
Step 1 is to see the shark. Then you have to stay focused on it. If you want it to leave you alone, be large & aggressive towards it. This works well with smaller sharks. Once a bull is say about 8 feet & up it's more iffy. But often simply making yourself big & going to the shark will make it get away from you.
If it gets close enough, hit it with the spear gun. Hard. In the gills. If it keep molesting you & a few good hits don't do the trick it's time to slip on a powerhead & kill it. Or disconnect (or cut) the line to your spear & put a shaft through its gills. Unless the viz is really good, you prolly won't get the spear back & will have to replace it.
For most sharks, none of this is a concern if you're just diving. It's only when you actually have fish you've shot that you're facing a problem.
Step 1 is to see the shark. Then you have to stay focused on it. If you want it to leave you alone, be large & aggressive towards it. This works well with smaller sharks. Once a bull is say about 8 feet & up it's more iffy. But often simply making yourself big & going to the shark will make it get away from you.
If it gets close enough, hit it with the spear gun. Hard. In the gills. If it keep molesting you & a few good hits don't do the trick it's time to slip on a powerhead & kill it. Or disconnect (or cut) the line to your spear & put a shaft through its gills. Unless the viz is really good, you prolly won't get the spear back & will have to replace it.
For most sharks, none of this is a concern if you're just diving. It's only when you actually have fish you've shot that you're facing a problem.
Let me get this straight, you would kill a shark rather than give up your catch? Guy's like you are the reason responsible fishers have to join/create groups like Fishing Rights Alliance. If all fishers were responsible there would be little reason for conservation and protecting diver's rights.
Wayward Son
Contributor
We've seen it all to often here. You feed the sharks & later some other diver has problems with that shark.
It's the equivalent of feeding wild bears in the parks. They come to expect it & it's all real cute, until the bear gets pissed at someone & mauls him.
If you had bothered to read what I wrote & comprehended it, you would have noted the fact that I have not killed one yet, so you might want to climb down off your high & mighty pedestal. However, the answer is yes, I would kill a shark that was molesting me rather than feed it. For the reasons stated. Feeding it solves the immediate problem but it leaves the problem for others to deal with later.
BTW, FL has no shortage of bull sharks. We have plenty.
It's the equivalent of feeding wild bears in the parks. They come to expect it & it's all real cute, until the bear gets pissed at someone & mauls him.
If you had bothered to read what I wrote & comprehended it, you would have noted the fact that I have not killed one yet, so you might want to climb down off your high & mighty pedestal. However, the answer is yes, I would kill a shark that was molesting me rather than feed it. For the reasons stated. Feeding it solves the immediate problem but it leaves the problem for others to deal with later.
BTW, FL has no shortage of bull sharks. We have plenty.
It's not a matter of preferring to kill a shark than to give up fish. It is a matter of not teaching sharks to associate people with food. Once they've started associating people with food, it's only a matter of time before someone kills the shark or the shark kills someone. I prefer the person lives.
halemano:
I'm with Wayward and Walter. Don't train the shark.
Is the shark there because of the people or because of the blood? When you dive just with a camera, how often do you get harrassed by a bull shark? If you hike in the backcountry, how often do you see a bear? If you kill a deer in the backcountry how much greater are your odds of seeing a bear? For the most part it's the blood or death event that bring the big one, not the people. You would kill the shark or bear to keep your kill, then you rationalize that you are protecting people. Right!
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