Dive boat operators face charges of illegally feeding sharks in state waters

[guyharrisonphoto]

Guy, as discussed earlier the Bonaire is in federal waters, 3.54 nmi out going by Force-E's coordinates and Google Earth. FWC does not have jurisdiction out there. As far as the risk, lately I've been reviewing YouTube clips to try and figure when my best shot at seeing hammerheads is. Randy's been shark diving at that spot for at least a year. As stated, I've been diving there in that timeframe with and without bait and the sharks have been hit and miss (mostly miss for me). Mickey's latest clip even shows fish being lift-bagged off the bottom without getting rushed, even with multiple tigers and hammerheads around. It's something to monitor, but I'm not seeing reason to worry about diving the site when Randy's not doing a feed.

I don't know who has jurisdiction or where, I am only going to do everything I can to stop this. This is a favorite site thousands of divers.

How am I to know when I drop for my dive whether Randy has just finished this rodeo and big tigers bulls and hammers are still looking around for food? How can I possibly plan a trip for a "safe" time not knowing when Randy will show up with the chum box? I really don't see a night dive on the Zion in my future with this going on.

My wife/buddy, who has the poise and nerve to dive in very challenging conditions as anyone who knows her can tell you, saw those videos and is beside herself about possibly losing this dive spot. She has enough sense in her head to see the palpable danger in those videos, not just to Randy but to the photographers as well. This is not irrational shark fear; it is something any person not drunk on adrenaline can see.

 

[The Chairman]

How can I possibly plan a trip for a "safe" time not knowing when Randy will show up with the chum box?

The sharks will follow the chum box. Don't bring a chum box and you won't be bothered by sharks. It doesn't matter if Randy is there or not. I've happened on a shark feed and they stick to the food. I was at another shark feed and left. The sharks outside of the active circle did not appear to be agitated at all. I get the fear, but don't blame others for your own fear.

 

[djtimmy77]

NetDoc, maybe you should dive the area or talk to DM's from the other boats who dive the area....this HAS affected how the sharks interact with divers NOT on the feeding dives.

I realize you probably view this as a positive effect though, so not a problem eh?

I don't know why I am bothering though, your opinion is formed.

 

[Murfdizzle21]

The sharks will follow the chum box. Don't bring a chum box and you won't be bothered by sharks. It doesn't matter if Randy is there or not. I've happened on a shark feed and they stick to the food. I was at another shark feed and left. The sharks outside of the active circle did not appear to be agitated at all. I get the fear, but don't blame others for your own fear.

This all day! Go to the wrecks, I bet no sharks come within 15 feet of you if you have no bait.

 

[The Chairman]

NetDoc, maybe you should dive the area or talk to DM's from the other boats who dive the area...

Actually, I have done both.

I'm not a huge fan of critter feeding: I'm just not. However, I hate it when people simply jump to conclusions based on personal anecdotes. Like I pointed out, I feel from personal observation that well meaning Lion Fish Hunters have done more then their fair share to change critter behavior. Even more prevalent, are the fishermen in boats. I've often asked boats to not park right above me as I do a safety stop. Why? Big sharks mistake their shadows for fishing boats and come looking for an easy meal. We can't but help to change critter behavior. To eliminate the affects we would have to eliminate us from the equation. I'm open to science trying to determine a good medium, but not for arbitrary rules based on nothing but emotions.

 

[guyharrisonphoto]

Sorry, Netdoc, calling me "fraidy-cat" is just not going to fly on this one. Ever seen my posts on tiger diving in the Bahamas? This is dangerous activity. Top dive sites are at stake and lots of divers affected. Just look at the videos. If you can't see it, well . . . . .

Ever heard of Timothy Treadwell? He had it down, he loved his bears, he "knew" his bears, he fought to protect his bears, he walked fearlessly among them for years. All of the "dumb redneck" local Alaskans knew he wouldn't last, but, what did they know. They were fraidy-cats and part of the "others," unenlightened and unwashed who were to blame for their own fear. Yeah.

I actually met him when he was alive, when I went to photograph grizzlies along coastal Alaska. Unfortunately, he took an innocent with him who drank his cool-aid.

Does this sound familiar, all except for the names and the predator involved:

Timothy Treadwell spent 13 summers in Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Over time, he believed the bears trusted him and would allow him to approach them; sometimes he would even touch them. Treadwell was repeatedly warned by park officials that his interaction with the bears was unsafe to both him and to the bears. "At best, he's misguided," Deb Liggett, superintendent at Katmai and Lake Clark national parks, told the Anchorage Daily News in 2001. "At worst, he's dangerous. If Timothy models unsafe behavior, that ultimately puts bears and other visitors at risk." Treadwell filmed his exploits, and used the films to raise public awareness of the problems faced by bears in North America. In 2003, at the end of his 13th visit, he and his girlfriend Amie Huguenard were attacked, killed, and partially eaten by a bear; the events which led to the attack are unknown.


By the way, you never offered your thoughts on bringing Randy down to Key Largo and setting his operation up, as seen by all on the proud videos, every diveable day on the Spiegel mooring buoys, and then maybe a reef outside the protected area but in proper federal waters next to Molasses. Is that a possibility?

 

[The Chairman]

Does this sound familiar, all except for the names and the predator involved:

Yeah, it's familiar. I hear fear mongering all the time and I'm completely underwhelmed by it. Everyone justifies it, because they "know" and everyone else is just an idiot with a death wish. I'm completely underwhelmed by the lack of academic studies backing up your position. I'm completely underwhelmed by your ignoring all the other vectors that could be the cause for the increased aggression you claim to see. I'm completely underwhelmed by a lack of historical perspective since shark aggression has been noted since the fifties. What more can I say but I'm completely underwhelmed by your fear mongering? I bear you no ill will, but science triumphs over BS every time. I've yet to see the science precisely because you have failed to present it. Just a lot of personal anecdotes with dubious leaps of faith that are passed off as gospel. I'm not buying that snake oil.

 

[djtimmy77]

Of course it is convenient to ignore what is going on based on "lack of science" when you know it is unlikely to be studied accurately.

 

[The Chairman]

Of course it is convenient to ignore what is going on based on "lack of science" when you know it is unlikely to be studied accurately.

It's far easier to join in the popular hysteria and go with the lynch mob than to stand as a voice of reason.

 

[danvolker]

Another option is to enjoy the 7 or 8 wrecks available to you out of the Palm Beach Inlet, or the several great wrecks out of the Boynton Inlet.

In WPB, out of the Lake Park or Riviera Beach marina based dive boats, the 7 or 8 wrecks in 65 to 90 feet of water will provide spectacular wreck diving and plenty of variety, all far from the Shark Feeds. More than likely you have not been on several of the WPB wrecks, and if all the people that did not like what Randy was doing, opted OUT of Jupiter, and went to WPB instead...that WOULD be something of a message.

---------- Post added April 7th, 2014 at 06:23 PM ----------

It's far easier to join in the popular hysteria and go with the lynch mob than to stand as a voice of reason.

Pete, you already saw me relax my view on this topic....BUT...I don't think it is fair for you to be so dismissive to the very advanced divers like Guy or DJTimmy that do not desire to have shark behavior "CHANGED" by a feeding operation. They have that right to feel that way, and the science is clear that behavior WILL change....what is not clear is whether or not any divers will ever be attacked due to feeding.
Telling them they are being "hysterical" is inappropriate.... Heck, it probably should get you "moderated" I've been moderated for much less

As to Guy and his wife, they did the first midnight spawning dive on Shearwater, in huge currents, with huge challenges, and both Guy and his wife dove at a skill level far above most Instructors we see on the boats out here. These are well traveled divers, and not novices that can be bullied into believing whatever the Shark Feeders( and their friends) want them to.