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

[The Chairman]

Show us an FWC study on the problem then. Go ahead. Fortunately, I adhere to the first rule of scuba diving: I won't hold my breath.

Unfortunately, the law makers made a knee jerk rule after the summer of the shark. There were no studies to support their decision. There was no science. There were just screaming meemies just like you. "The sharks are falling, the sharks are falling!" Here's the logical conclusion of your hysteria:

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[Narcosiss]

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sharks/FS_Tiger.htm.
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sharks/FS_bullshark.htm
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/wild/dangerous-encounters/articles/facts-deadliest-sharks/

Perhaps someone would like to have a similar discussion about Bears also.

 

[HalcyonDaze]

Fact Sheet - Tiger Shark.
Fact Sheet - Bull Shark
Facts: Deadliest Sharks | Nat Geo Wild

Perhaps someone would like to have a similar discussion about Bears also.

Aaaaand what bearing do those links have on this discussion, pray tell?

 

[Narcosiss]

Your kidding right....

 

[The Chairman]

He's not.

Sharks have teeth.

Bears have teeth.

The similarities end right about there. Trying to deduce how any selachimorpha will respond by studying a mammal is a fool's errand. Any self respecting animal behaviorist would be rolling on the floor laughing should you suggest that to them. You might as well try to convince us that you can teach a bee sign language.

The real tragedy is that these myths have achieved reality in so many minds. I can respect that you might have an inkling of what you think you should expect. But you don't know until you run the tests. You just don't. Have enough intellectual integrity to not accept everything thrown at you at face value. Demand the proof. Demand the evidence. Don't buy into the pseudo science.

 

[chillyinCanada]

NetDoc, Sharknado . . . :rofl4:

 

[HalcyonDaze]

Your kidding right....

You posted some factsheets on sharks, which had zero information on how they respond to being offered bait by divers. I'm assuming the point we were supposed to get is that they are wild animals capable of harming humans, which I think we've already agreed upon in this thread. Part of the point pushed by advocates of these dives is that they dispel fears about these animals. Yeah, a tiger or bull shark can do a lot of damage. But being in the water with one isn't a death sentence.

As for the oft-used bear comparison, here's a question (on top of the valid one of whether or not we can compare their behaviors) - do the presentations of food by humans differ? Are "problem bears" being fed during seasonal, relatively sporadic direct encounters with humans generally lasting no more than 45 continuous minutes? Or are they learning to raid camp larders and garbage dumps that are in fixed locations and present for long periods of time, generally while humans are not in the immediate vicinity? I'm not exactly worried about a bull shark wriggling up the drive behind my house and raiding my trash can.

 

[Narcosiss]

FYI I probably have more time underwater observing them than all of you combined...Ask Stuart Cove if he's willing to discuss what went on when he and Dive Dive Dive in Nassau started this circus act then get back to me.. peace

 

[The Chairman]

Anecdotal evidence does not a study make. You don't like shark feeding. We kind of get that. I would suggest that your observations are a bit jaundiced if not completely slanted by whatever transpired between you and Stuart's Cove. Get back to me when you have an actual study, and I might possibly deign to join your jihad.

 

[Narcosiss]

Id like to say that I have no intentions to get into a pissing contest with anyone on here ,but would like to share a bit of info..I spent quite a few years overseeing the dive operations for a multiple resort chain throughout the Caribbean and Mexico and had personal and business relationships with Stuart Neal Watson and all the other players on the business at the time. Did you know every single feeder at those two operations had been bitten as well as a number of paying guests. Did you know there were periods time where Stuart and Rob ( Dive dive dive) suspended the shark dives to let them "cool their jets" Do you know how many seasoned instructors come to work for us because they "didn't want to be the next one to get it" These instances were from the behavioral changes in reef sharks.. Maybe everyone should look up to what Neal Watson while he was the President of the BDA had to say about it. I just hope for everyone sake that no serious injuries or casualties occur when your screwing with these bad boys..