Confronting non-diver shark fear

[mikemath]

Hi folks--haven't posted here before, but I've been lurking for a while reading many of the conversations. I'm starting to get more involved in the sport, and recently began working towards being a PADI DM. I've got just 40 dives under my belt, all but 6 in Monterey area, and I don't have enough experience to answer my non-diver friends about the number one fear they have about diving in Monterey: great white sharks.

Statistically, I know that DCS is a risk that is orders of magnitude more common and dangerous. But unfortunately shark attacks have captured the public imagination and tapped into a biological fear of being eaten. I want to address this head-on with my friends but real data is sparse on the subject. I'm looking for any anecdotal observations or thoughts on the subject.

So many articles blurt out the "more likely to be struck by lightning" anecdote, but I don't think that reassures everyone. Divers/surfers/ocean swimmers are a small community relative to potential lightning strike victims (everyone who goes outside). Does anyone on the forum know someone who has been attacked? How often have people seen great whites while diving but not been attacked? How valid is the common wisdom (avoid surface swims, hug the bottom and stay still if you see a dangerous animal, scuba bubbles deter sharks)? Are there any common factors in attacks on divers?

I'm thinking about using the analogy of coming across a bear while hiking--it is extremely rare, and when it happens you can take action to lower the risk of attack. Appropriate or not?

My plan is to put together a web page to entice non-divers to try the sport. I want to address the shark concern along with others that are easier to handle (temperature, viz, what to see). I mainly want to tout the great things to see and do underwater in Monterey, so if you have great pictures you don't mind sharing, I'd love to include them to help draw people into local diving. If such a page already exists, please save me the work and point me to it! Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

 

[Cave Diver]

I'm thinking about using the analogy of coming across a bear while hiking--it is extremely rare, and when it happens you can take action to lower the risk of attack. Appropriate or not?

One of the best things you could do is check with local aquariums and shark exhibits in your area.

As I recall, the aquarium in New Orleans had a pretty good exhibit dealing with facts and myths about sharks and Moody Gardens Aquarium in Galveston does IMAX presentations and displays during the summer as well. A lot of the stuff you learn there underscores the fact that sharks have much more to fear from man, then we do from sharks.

You might also check with researchers, etc. in your area.

Things like Shark Week on the Discovery Channel seem to just hype the killing/predatory nature of sharks and help spread the fear of them.

Sounds like a great project!

 

[Teamcasa]

Attempting to resolve someone else's irrational fears is a difficult challenge at best. I wish you all the success in the world on your project.

 

[mikemath]

Attempting to resolve someone else's irrational fears is a difficult challenge at best. I wish you all the success in the world on your project.

Thanks, Teamcasa. I have no delusions of grandeur--I know more qualified and well-known people have fought against this same phobia without great success. I'm mostly targeting those who are on the fence about diving--curious but apprehensive. And sharks are not the only issue facing these new divers. My entire Open Water class besides myself did a transfer to a tropical location for their dives because of a perception that Monterey was "cold, dark, and barren" (totally untrue...except for the cold, which is solvable). I believe this sort of prospective diver could benefit from a quickly-digestible sales pitch about diving in the area and knowledge to combat their fears.

The shark question is the one that is most outside my own experience, and my own phobia of sharks was very intense on my first few dives. After talking with divers on boats, I realized the waters of Monterey were not "shark-infested" and my fascination with diving now far outweighs my apprehension. But I still don't feel like I have the facts about the true risks and preventative measures around great white sharks.

 

[mikemath]

One of the best things you could do is check with local aquariums and shark exhibits in your area.

Thanks for your recommendations, Cave Diver! The Monterey Bay Aquarium does have some great information about Great Whites, and even had one in captivity until last September. On their website and in their exhibits, they have some great information about these creatures. I haven't uncovered anything there about the relationship between sharks and divers specifically, but I will ask around for more information next time I'm there (which is often, since my daughter loves the underwater world as much as I do but is far too young to dive).

 

[fisheater]

I'd simply tell them that Great Whites don't hunt divers. If they did, there wouldn't be any California divers.


Posted via Mobile Device

 

[mikemath]

I'd simply tell them that Great Whites don't hunt divers. If they did, there wouldn't be any California divers.

Fisheater, thanks for your recommendation. I agree that all evidence seems to point to great whites not actively seeking out divers, but there have been 4 documented attacks on divers in Monterey area since 1995, according to the Global Shark Attack file. None were fatal, but all caused injuries. Those facts look scary to a novice diver, and I'd like to present them with more complete information to give perspective. Anyone care to ballpark how big the Monterey-area dive community is?

 

[llqwyd]

Aloha!

Here is a great reference site about phobias and diving. This may help you in your quest. Good luck. I think you are on the right track!

Phobias and diving
Sharks vs. divers

 

[Thalassamania]

In over 50 years of diving, much if it on the northern California coast, I've had exactly one encounter with a GWS that I did not go looking for. I survived just fine, there was no damage to anything except my adrenals.

 

[mikemath]

Here is a great reference site about phobias and diving. This may help you in your quest. Good luck. I think you are on the right track!

Thanks for the links and the support, llqwyd!