Diving in Florida & sharks

[islanddream]

We see sharks on nearly every dive in the Jupiter area (which is a bit north of WPB) and have never been bothered by them. A few weeks ago during our safety stop a diver had a Hogsnapper on his stringer and four reef sharks were circling us. They were interested in the fish, not us. Don't be afraid, the sharks really could care less about us.

 

[sheeper]

so it is pretty common to see sharks here along Florida's Treasure Coast and Palm Beach. Mostly you will see nurse sharks (hanging out under ledges "sleeping" on the bottom) or small Caribbean Reef Sharks (or Silkys) crusing along the reef. Neither type poses an issue to the typical diver. Reef sharks and silkys may even follow divers as the are inquisitive but skittish critters.

and yes, we do see other sharks too. However, keep in mind that divers rarely, if ever, get attacked by a shark for no reason. We are big, noisy, bubble making machines and really scary. Unless you're hunting and waving a bloody fish around, or try to pet a shark, you'll have nothing to worry about.

come visit us at the Vero Beach Scuba Club on Facebook or www,verobeachscubaclub.org and join us for a trip! we'll take you for a shark sightseeing trip

 

[drrich2]

This photo was taken diving the Cayman Islands, but it should give you some idea what a 'drive by' by a Caribbean reef shark is likely to resemble, and those or nurse sharks (which remind me more of catfish than sharks) are what you're most likely to see shark-wise, if you see anything.

I post to emphasize that if you see a shark, it's extremely unlikely to be some scary looking 10 - 16 foot 'monster' with obvious big teeth like a great white, for example. I suspect you'll find seeing your 1st shark somewhat anticlimactic, but still neat.

Richard.

 

[Buliwyf]

No idea about the area that you're in. But you can't swing a dead cat in Key West without hitting a shark. But every single one of them was harmless. Never had any trouble at all.

Lemon shark -ran as fast as it could.
Bonnet head shark- eyeballed us then took off, most just jet away at lightning speed as soon as they see us.
Nursesharks- let us hang out for a while together, then left
Yellow ray- let us hover over it for a while and then left.
Hammerhead- really shy, except for Tampa Bay. I ain't ever diving there.
Bull shark -I got one to wiggle his pectoral fins at us once. That means: Go away or I bite. That was the only one that didn't jet as soon as it saw us.
Giant brown ray- was hidden in sand right under me while snorkeling at Fort Jackson. When I got bored and turned around, he flicked the sand off and fluttered away. He had to be 6 feet across. Looked like the whole bottom of the ocean was coming to life.
Moray eels- look don't touch, pretty much never seem to move at all

Cool experiences every time. Sharks are the least of my worries. Making a scuba mistake, or getting my head taken off by a boat, or getting left behind with no buoy or land around, are my major concerns.

 

[wspalding]

No idea about the area that you're in. But you can't swing a dead cat in Key West without hitting a shark. But every single one of them was harmless. Never had any trouble at all.

Lemon shark -ran as fast as it could. I've had lemon sharks do a close fly-by, but they don't usually stick around.
Bonnet head shark- eyeballed us then took off, most just jet away at lightning speed as soon as they see us. Never seen.
Nursesharks- let us hang out for a while together, then left Nurse sharks normally just hang in their own spot the reef and I rarely see free-swimming. One notable exception was one that stalked us over a fish.
Yellow ray- let us hover over it for a while and then left.
Hammerhead- really shy, except for Tampa Bay. I ain't ever diving there. Never seen. Do you have a personal experience with a hammerhead in Tampa Bay to share?
Bull shark -I got one to wiggle his pectoral fins at us once. That means: Go away or I bite. That was the only one that didn't jet as soon as it saw us. I don't like bull sharks, but this is based totally on reputation. I've only seen a few, and none of them have ever paid us much attention. If part of the group is spearing however, they are not bashful to try and compete for the fish.
Giant brown ray- was hidden in sand right under me while snorkeling at Fort Jackson. When I got bored and turned around, he flicked the sand off and fluttered away. He had to be 6 feet across. Looked like the whole bottom of the ocean was coming to life.
Moray eels- look don't touch, pretty much never seem to move at all

Cool experiences every time. Sharks are the least of my worries. Making a scuba mistake, or getting my head taken off by a boat, or getting left behind with no buoy or land around, are my major concerns.

 

[Buliwyf]

There's a few hammerheads that have lost much of their fear of man, and are taking Tarpon right off of a fishing line within just a few feet of the boat. Around Tampa Bay. And some of them are as big as the boat. It's only a matter of time before this behavior goes bad. I thought hammerheads were supposed to be one of the shyest sharks. They didn't look shy to me.

There should be a bunch of Tampa Bay vids on youtube.

 

[Bratface]

The sharks are our friends and an important resident of the ocean. They make you a bit nervous at first, but you will soon love each time you see them. I still don't like seeing the bull shark but no reason to freak out. Just relax and stick with your buddy.

 

[Token]

Most sharks you will see as a diver will be smaller reef sharks. They are not major predators...mostly they are scavengers and small predators...think foxes and bobcats. Major predators...the lions and tigers and bears [oh my!] of the ocean are exceedingly rare anywhere most sport diving is done. You basically have to deliberately search them out. I've seen plenty of nurse sharks, whitetips and blacktips in my travels and they are a highlight of any dive.

 

[sheeper]

Most sharks you will see as a diver will be smaller reef sharks. They are not major predators...mostly they are scavengers and small predators...think foxes and bobcats. Major predators...the lions and tigers and bears [oh my!] of the ocean are exceedingly rare anywhere most sport diving is done. You basically have to deliberately search them out. I've seen plenty of nurse sharks, whitetips and blacktips in my travels and they are a highlight of any dive.

this is really not true here. We regularly see Bull Sharks, Tiger Sharks, Lemon Sharks, Hammerheads, and Duskys, to mention a few. Just had an awesome dive on wednesday where we saw 5 different kinds of sharks. Several areas almost ALWAYS have sharks. It is one of the reasons that the diving around Jupiter, Fl is world class.

Come on and visit and i'll introduce you to our local shark population!

 

[ShrimpDaddy]

Hi guys,

I am brand new to the Scuba Board. Getting scuba certified has been a life long dream and I am finally getting the opportunity in the next coming weeks. I start scuba training next week. We do our certification dive in a spring and then a week later they do an open water dive in West Palm Beach. I am so excited to be doing my 1st open ocean water dive at the end of the month but I am very nervous about encountering a shark especially since sharks are plentiful in South FL. We are diving down 60 feet for that dive. Everyone I know who has gone diving in/near West Palm Beach have not seen a shark on their dives so they don't have any advice. I am wondering if I should expect to see them swarming around when I get in the water or if I might see one or two? Have no idea what to expect and a bit nervous because of this.

I am sure there are many of you who have gone diving in WPB Florida and can give me an idea of what types of sharks I might see and how many on one dive.

Thanks so much!

Well I would say you are more likely to get attacked by a shark if you happen to be scuba surfing underwater. Leave the surf board at home and you will be just fine. I have been diving in Florida waters along the gulf and Atlantic coast since 1980 and I can count on one hand how many sharks I have seen. My wife and I fish a lot in the gulf on our boat and we have caught dozens of sharks small and large on bloody bait. So consider yourself fortunate to even see one when you are diving. If you see one remember to Stop and Breath.