Disturbing Bimini Dive

[shark_chica]

Bingo! Yahtzee! This is the big take-a-way. Some divers love them, but I really do not. I was forced into such a dive in Fiji with Tiger Sharks. They told us we needed to wear a black wetsuit but I don't wear wet suits. They made an exception. I got on the boat to find that the ribbed hose elbow on my BCD was broken. They sent for another BCD, but it was too small. 3 strikes and I bailed. I dove without a bladder on my backplate after that. Two days later, they're doing another Tiger shark dive, and really pushed me to go. Fine. I went. They had these aluminum poles that they beat the crap out of the sharks to keep the divers safe. I certainly did not like that one bit.

We're all different. Everyone else on that dive was stoked about it. It made me decide to never, ever do another shark feed dive. If they like it, let them play. I'll vote with my fins. Dive and let dive.

I definitely do not agree with using poles against sharks... I did a dive with Tiger sharks in the Maldives, but it was extremely calm, no poles needed (we weren't given them thankfully), total respect and love for the sharks. But we passed other dive shops using poles aggressively with the sharks and it was disturbing.

 

[shark_chica]

Have you ever cut up a shark? Have you seen all the mating scars that happen on many sharks?

Seriously, they are extremely tough.

I think it is hilarious that people pay money to watch divers artificially alter the behavior of sharks with food (which most definitely endangers the sharks when they come near spearfisherman) and then complain about a tiny bit of rough handling. The whole feeding activity is abusive to sharks yet some shark hugger wants to complain about the most innocuous portion of the underwater circus - that they bought tickets for? LOL.

Don't forget what is common practice. We use fish as means of amusement and food and sometimes even bait. We torture them all the time with hooks and bait and haul them through the water and eventually to the surface and take pictures of them and sometimes release them with significant damage-frequently the damage is fatal - yet it is considered good sport (fishing). Why not complain to the authorities about this activity? Clearly it is much "worse"? Or are the primitive fish more worthy than the more advanced ones?

I've seen sharks bleeding badly and still come back searching for food; a few thumps on the head are probably foreplay in the shark world.

We are divers, not fishermen I have higher standards for ocean lovers. And I don't eat fish so I don't encourage this behavior you are mentioning.
I think we can leave the foreplay to the sharks. I have seen many other dive shops do shark dives and be extremely respectful of the sharks. This was out of line.

 

[scubadada]

I definitely do not agree with using poles against sharks... I did a dive with Tiger sharks in the Maldives, but it was extremely calm, no poles needed (we weren't given them thankfully), total respect and love for the sharks. But we passed other dive shops using poles aggressively with the sharks and it was disturbing.

You have been on a couple of bad shark dives, I agree with you, you should quit these rather than repeating them.

 

[shark_chica]

You have been on a couple of bad shark dives, I agree with you, you should quit these rather than repeating them.

This was the only bad one, the Maldives was a different dive shop that was disrespectful.
But yes I'm done with these types of dives. Much prefer the organic shark encounters.

 

[Snoweman]

Again, I see the benefit of a baited dive being the DMs removing the hooks from the sharks' mouths. If I saw a DM abusing a shark, or anything other than a lion fish, I would push them overboard with a bucket of chum after the dive.

 

[johndiver999]

This was the only bad one, the Maldives was a different dive shop that was disrespectful.
But yes I'm done with these types of dives. Much prefer the organic shark encounters.

What is an organic shark encounter?

 

[OMyMyOHellYes]

What is an organic shark encounter?

relating to or denoting compounds containing carbon (other than simple binary compounds and salts) and chiefly or ultimately of biological origin.

 

[shark_chica]

What is an organic shark encounter?

Coming across them in the wild without a feed dive.

 

[johndiver999]

Coming across them in the wild without a feed dive.

Good, avoiding those kinds of feeding dives, is a lot more respectful to the animals.

 

[Pearlman]

Coming across them in the wild without a feed dive.

That’s just a trigger for “Why is this human not feeding me? Ok I’ll eat the human instead…”

More seriously, there isa real thrill in encountering sharks up-close in the wild when not feeding them that is unmatched as compared to the staged feeding shows. If you crave that experience Maldives is a great option…