Dive with Sharks

[robint]

"Grab" isn't really right. These nurse sharks love to be handled and they nuzzle divers. The more you touch and stroke them the more they come back for more. I was with guests and maybe 20-30 nurse sharks yesterday, and often a shark would try to push in if it thought another shark was getting too much attention! The sharks are NOT abused.

We rarely see other sharks here though they are around and do sometimes appear. I've seen hammerheads, silky, bull, Caribbean reef, tiger, mako, but not often. You'll probably see more bull and reef if you go to the Blue Hole. There are hammerheads in the BH, but I've never known them come shallower than about 250', so you won't see them. You can quite often see bull sharks inside the lagoon at dusk and early night, swimming around the dock legs.

Up here in north Belize we rarely see whale sharks, but one swam between me and my boat yesterday morning when I was just about to board! Wonderful experience.

What I really dislike and regard as dangerous in both the short and long terms is formal shark feeding, such as you are recommending in your post. To me it's irresponsible and stupid, and even if no-one is hurt at the time the sharks' behaviour is changed so they lose their fear of man, leading to risky encounters later on. Far from promoting this I would like to see it banned. There has been a lot of talk about this on another thread here, about a shark attack that (I believe) ended tragically.

well, we could argue about this for days but i don't want to go there. I believe the "shark handling" is conditioning no different than the feeding in some ways. It teaches divers that sharks are cute and cuddly, not dangerous creatures to be observed but not touched. The sharks didn't just one day swim up and say "hug me", they have been conditioned to do it whether they like it or not. I have been in the ocean with nurse sharks before and they immediately flee when divers approach, they never asked me to cuddle. So let's just agree that feeding changes behavior and cuddling changes behavior. I at least thing feeding teaches a healthy respect for these amazing wild creatures.

As a point of why this really bothers me is that a student recently told my husband, an instructor, that she petted a shark in Belize. She wanted to get certified to dive so she could pet sharks. When he explained to her that sharks are not something to be petted, you don't chase down a shark to touch it, she was appauled and upset to the point she almost cried. She was sure it was okay... but then realized how stupid that was and that most sharks would take your hand off if you tried to pet them. Sad, but when she realized that the ocean wasn't a big petting zoo she decided she wasn't sure if she wanted to become a diver. It turned out to be the only reason she was in the class. After two days and taking tests (which she passed) she got in the water for pool sessions and everyone realized she was terrified of the water, I mean she couldn't get her head under water for more than 30 seconds without bolting into full panic attack. My husband offered her some private sessions in the pool to work with her fear but she decided she had no interest anymore, it was too hard and you can't pet the fish. I know this is an extreme case, but I think it shows where I am coming from. I think it gives people the illusion that sharks can be tamed, and I don't believe they can any more than any other wild animal.

robin

 

[peterbj7]

When I'm diving I quite often get nurse sharks and groupers coming close and rubbing themselves on me. I never feed them and never carry anything that could be construed as food. It may be conditioned behaviour that started with feeding, but it's as remote from feeding as a friendly dog approaching me on the beach. I recently had a large grouper stay just in front of my face and I was stroking it with both hands at once. It made no attempt to swim away until I stopped. But I don't confuse nurse sharks with say bull sharks, and most rational divers I know have no difficulty distinguishing them.

Your hubbie's student certainly sounds as if she had a psychological problem. I've occasionally come across someone like that, thankfully rarely, and usually the best thing for them is to stay out of the water. The same people often have a fear of danger everywhere, so they wouldn't take a country walk for fear of the wild animals. I don't know that she particularly typifies anything to do with diving.

None of this relates to deliberate feeding of potentially dangerous animals, which I continue to think irresponsible.

 

[Darnold9999]

Shark pic

Thought I would share this - from Grand Bahamas shark dive. After the feed - which was interesting but frankly the after dive was more interesting. This guy was about 2 feet away checking out my camera to see if it was the bait bucket.

 

[robint]

When I'm diving I quite often get nurse sharks and groupers coming close and rubbing themselves on me. I never feed them and never carry anything that could be construed as food. It may be conditioned behaviour that started with feeding, but it's as remote from feeding as a friendly dog approaching me on the beach. I recently had a large grouper stay just in front of my face and I was stroking it with both hands at once. It made no attempt to swim away until I stopped. But I don't confuse nurse sharks with say bull sharks, and most rational divers I know have no difficulty distinguishing them.

Your hubbie's student certainly sounds as if she had a psychological problem. I've occasionally come across someone like that, thankfully rarely, and usually the best thing for them is to stay out of the water. The same people often have a fear of danger everywhere, so they wouldn't take a country walk for fear of the wild animals. I don't know that she particularly typifies anything to do with diving.

None of this relates to deliberate feeding of potentially dangerous animals, which I continue to think irresponsible.

My husband's student was not meant for diving for sure, but my point is that she was given the impression from her snorkeling trip to Belize that you can grab fish and pet them. I'm not saying that you did it, but some dive op down there gave her that impression. I wonder how many others out there have that impression from you or other dive ops? Do you brief them on the fact that holding a shark and petting it isn't normal and they should never try it? That the only reason they do it there is that they have been conditioned? You should.

And yes, I have seen groupers come up and rub against a diver. I don't think they want to be petted. I think it is normal cleaning behavior much like a cleaner shrimp or fish, picking off itchy skin, etc. And yes, you can reach out and scratch them. But many fish have a mucus coating on their skin which protects them from infections. They have proven that in Hawaii where divers are not allowed to touch the mantas as they began seeing rashes on the bellies of the mantas (finger steaks from divers reaching up to touch them as they swoop overhead).

And any cute little fish can bite. A few years ago a diver here on SB posted pictures of his hand where a puffer fish bit off his finger. He was trying to get it out of a hole to show divers and chomp!

There was also a kid scuba diving in the Keys a few years ago who found a nurse shark under a ledge and grabbed its tail to pull it out. The shark wasn't happy and whipped around and clamped down on the kid's side. The kid was pulled back onto the boat with the nurse shark still attached. They killed the shark. The kid lived.

I am not one of those people who say never touch anything as I have touched a crab or lobster or octopus, usually just holding my hand out and letting them explore it. I have had shrimp just up on my hand and clean my nails.

 

[dashark]

Thought I would share this - from Grand Bahamas shark dive. After the feed - which was interesting but frankly the after dive was more interesting. This guy was about 2 feet away checking out my camera to see if it was the bait bucket.

View attachment 43650

Beautiful pic. don't blame you for wanting to share it. have you framed it yet?

 

[Darnold9999]

Thanks, was the best pic of the trip. Was very happy with how it came out. No framing yet but it may yet get printed or be a screen saver.