Bull shark kills Pennsylvania woman -

[tekkydiver]

I question the wisdom of taking snorkelers to a site that is known for frequent shark feeding.

I question the wisdom of Shark Feeding period!

 

[Hiszpan]

Reading the entire waiver she signed would be a valid estimate of risk.

Waiver won’t save you from litigation if the risk was not explained according to the client’s understanding.

 

[Nemrod]

This is nowhere near the usual Tiger Shark or Hammerhead Shark feeding areas. Perhaps it's near the feeding areas for Stuart Cove and others, I don't know.

In southeast Florida, Jupiter, I dive at least one of the areas where shark feeding occurs, but with an operator that does not feed, Deep Ledge. I have been with at least a dozen Bull Sharks without any aggressive moves at all. In fact, they are often a bit skittish. I have been near spearos in Boynton Beach where the Bull Sharks have seemed more aggressive. My takeaway is that Bull Sharks do not pose a serious problem for divers that are not with hunters. Even then, it is likely manageable. See posts and comments by my good friend @Johnoly for more details.

I was sorry to hear of this tragedy. The lady had no real expectation of being attacked by a bull shark other than perhaps some knowledge like there are bears in the woods, there are sharks in the sea. It is a fluke, a rare occurence unless you are the one being attacked. Very sad. We go on a hike, sure we see the bear signs, but really, nobody expects an attack. Very sorry for the family, she nor them, did anything wrong.

Off Jupiter, my opinion is, having been diving along that coast since the late 70s that there are more sharks there now and they seem somewhat more bold. The last several years I saw many sharks including a hammerhead (beautiful) and numerous bull sharks a few lemons and some reefs. Several times I have fallen off the back of the drifting group being preoccupied with my camera and found myself accompanied by a large bull shark. How big, well, it looked big enough to be dangerous. The first time was during a deco stop and the second time, another dive, it came up behind me twice and both times cut away when I made eye contact.

My take away is that certain species of sharks are known to be potentially dangerous and due caution is wise when they are about. A skittish shark might well throw the switch and become a defensive or aggressive shark.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I was sorry to hear of this tragedy. The lady had no real expectation of being attacked by a bull shark other than perhaps some knowledge like there are bears in the woods, there are sharks in the sea. It is a fluke, a rare occurence unless you are the one being attacked. Very sad. We go on a hike, sure we see the bear signs, but really, nobody expects an attack. Very sorry for the family, she nor them, did anything wrong.

Off Jupiter, my opinion is, having been diving along that coast since the late 70s that there are more sharks there now and they seem somewhat more bold. The last several years I saw many sharks including a hammerhead (beautiful) and numerous bull sharks a few lemons and some reefs. Several times I have fallen off the back of the drifting group being preoccupied with my camera and found myself accompanied by a large bull shark. How big, well, it looked big enough to be dangerous. The first time was during a deco stop and the second time, another dive, it came up behind me twice and both times cut away when I made eye contact.

My take away is that certain species of sharks are known to be potentially dangerous and due caution is wise when they are about. A skittish shark might well throw the switch and become a defensive or aggressive shark.

I regularly see bulls on my ascent when solo from dives off of Palm Beach. I'm always watchful and keep my eyes on them. Apart from a tiger or a great white or a mako, they are the top dogs below the surface.

 

[dmaziuk]

~50 dives on 2 different trips in Roatan and the only dive we saw sharks of any kind was at their feeding dive @ Caea a Cara.

I was told once (no idea if true and I can't find info on it) that the reason you dont see sharks in Roatan is bc the Honduran govt had an agreement with the Chinese to allow fishing and they've decimated the population, for finning them.

How long ago was that? -- I remember SWS staff hoping sharks'd come back as their then-current El Presidente kicked the Chinese fishing fleet out of Honduran waters. That was several years ago.

 

[dmaziuk]

I've been on 2 cruise snorkeling excursions, Barbados and Roatan, and neither entailed any instruction about mitigating shark attack risk.

Roatan doesn't have sharks you need to worry about. Quick google suggests they're rarely seen on the ocean side of Barbados. Why brief tourists on risks of something that isn't there?

 

[mcohen1021]

How long ago was that? -- I remember SWS staff hoping sharks'd come back as their then-current El Presidente kicked the Chinese fishing fleet out of Honduran waters. That was several years ago.

I was 1st there in 2015, which is when I heard about it.

I was there on Aggressor in 2022 and thts when they took us to Cara a Cara to see the reef sharks.

 

[rongoodman]

I was there on the Aggressor boat last July and didn't see a single shark outside of that one dive to the feeding site. One of several reasons I won't be returning.

 

[dmaziuk]

I was 1st there in 2015, which is when I heard about it.

I was there on Aggressor in 2022 and thts when they took us to Cara a Cara to see the reef sharks.

Ours was 2016, IIRC we saw a reefie sleeping in a hole and that prompted that conversation back on the boat. In 2020 my better half ran into a nurse sleeping on a sandy patch, and that story about one with a knife stuck in its head a year or two before that was on Roatan too I think. They are there, they're just shy.

 

[mcohen1021]

Ours was 2016, IIRC we saw a reefie sleeping in a hole and that prompted that conversation back on the boat. In 2020 my better half ran into a nurse sleeping on a sandy patch, and that story about one with a knife stuck in its head a year or two before that was on Roatan too I think. They are there, they're just shy.

Maybe so, but I think I have roughly 45 dives there and Cara a Cara was the only time we saw any