JOHN DE KLERK
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I am about to go to Aliwal Shoal. Can anyone give me pointers as to correct behaviour, preparation, waht to do etc. when diving with sharks?
Diving with sharks
- Thread starter JOHN DE KLERK
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Don't chase them. Be slow and controlled in your movements and breathing.
Have excellent buoyancy control.
Don't wave your arms around.
Have a camera
Have fun!
Have excellent buoyancy control.
Don't wave your arms around.
Have a camera
Have fun!ghostdiver1957
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Having dove with sharks all over the world... Tiger, Hammerhead, Bull, Sandtigers, White Tip and Black Tip Reef, Grey Reef, Nurse and Thresher, I have the following tips...
1. If you see an Oceanic White Tip, Great White or Tiger, it is recommended that you get out of the water if you are by yourself, are in limited visibility or are simply not comfortable being there. We still believe that sharks, like dogs and other animals can sense fear and it may lead to signs of aggressive behavior. These three sharks present an imminent risk.
2. When diving with Bull sharks watch for aggressive behaviors. With Bull sharks this tends to start with circling you at a distance, gradually circling closer and leading to a bump / bump and bite situation. Generally Bull's can be very territorial and may simply want you out of their area. I have personanly encountered a circling Bull... and once I got out of his area, he did not pursue or show any other signs of aggression.
3. Sandtigers can be approached closely and even followed safely... but do not touch them. Be cautious in photographing them. Some are known to have a quick and nasty responses to camera flashes. Otherwise enjoy your time with these wonders.
4. Hammerheads are graceful animals that usually pass by without any interest in divers. Do not chase or try to touch them. They have proven to me on occassion that human food can lead them to turn and come at you... so don't take any food in the water when Hammerheads are present.
5. Generally speaking all of the common reef sharks around the world are safe to dive with, even during feeding. Grey Reef, Carribean Reef, White Tip and Black Tip Reef are generally not aggressive. If they do exhibit aggressive behavior it will be obvious. Swimming speed increases, jerky body motions and the pointing down of fins. If these are being exhibited, it's time to get out of the water.
6. Nurse sharks are one of the most docile and playful sharks, but do not mistake their power. I have had them grab my fins and shake them playfully and I have been able to safely pet them (wearing gloves) without consequence. Do not attempt this with a sleeping shark (do not startle them) and unless you are prepared to be bitten and willing to accept that risk - don't try it at all. They have powerful jaws made for crushing.
I do not have experience with any of the other species and don't want to make blanket statements except these few. All sharks - even small ones should be considered dangerous and you should always know where they are when you're in the water with them. While they are potentially dangerous, divers have proven that they can be interracted with very safely. In other words, you can swim with sharks and not get bitten, but don't try the same thing with Lions on the Serengeti. Bottom line is be prepared for anything and enjoy the thrill of swimming in the open ocean with one of earths most beautiful animals.
1. If you see an Oceanic White Tip, Great White or Tiger, it is recommended that you get out of the water if you are by yourself, are in limited visibility or are simply not comfortable being there. We still believe that sharks, like dogs and other animals can sense fear and it may lead to signs of aggressive behavior. These three sharks present an imminent risk.
2. When diving with Bull sharks watch for aggressive behaviors. With Bull sharks this tends to start with circling you at a distance, gradually circling closer and leading to a bump / bump and bite situation. Generally Bull's can be very territorial and may simply want you out of their area. I have personanly encountered a circling Bull... and once I got out of his area, he did not pursue or show any other signs of aggression.
3. Sandtigers can be approached closely and even followed safely... but do not touch them. Be cautious in photographing them. Some are known to have a quick and nasty responses to camera flashes. Otherwise enjoy your time with these wonders.
4. Hammerheads are graceful animals that usually pass by without any interest in divers. Do not chase or try to touch them. They have proven to me on occassion that human food can lead them to turn and come at you... so don't take any food in the water when Hammerheads are present.
5. Generally speaking all of the common reef sharks around the world are safe to dive with, even during feeding. Grey Reef, Carribean Reef, White Tip and Black Tip Reef are generally not aggressive. If they do exhibit aggressive behavior it will be obvious. Swimming speed increases, jerky body motions and the pointing down of fins. If these are being exhibited, it's time to get out of the water.
6. Nurse sharks are one of the most docile and playful sharks, but do not mistake their power. I have had them grab my fins and shake them playfully and I have been able to safely pet them (wearing gloves) without consequence. Do not attempt this with a sleeping shark (do not startle them) and unless you are prepared to be bitten and willing to accept that risk - don't try it at all. They have powerful jaws made for crushing.
I do not have experience with any of the other species and don't want to make blanket statements except these few. All sharks - even small ones should be considered dangerous and you should always know where they are when you're in the water with them. While they are potentially dangerous, divers have proven that they can be interracted with very safely. In other words, you can swim with sharks and not get bitten, but don't try the same thing with Lions on the Serengeti. Bottom line is be prepared for anything and enjoy the thrill of swimming in the open ocean with one of earths most beautiful animals.
I have dived Protea and Aliwal. I also did the shark course on Walkers Cay with Jeremy Stafford-Deitsch and have dived with them in the Sudan, Palau etc.
Sharks evolved over tens of millions of years without humans in the water. So to them we are alien. This means they are going to treat you one of three ways.
Firstly as something dangerous to run away from.
Secondly as another big predator in the water to be respected and left alone.
Thirdly as food. (This is incredibly rare)
Which of these they choose depends largely on your body language.
There are 4 "dangerous" sharks and I have dived with three of them.
Tigers just tend to ignore you especially if you go about your business in an assured manner.
Bulls are curious and will come and say hello. When they get confident about you they may rub up against you in a friendly manner.
Oceanic Whitetips like to investigate everything for the food potential so they may bump you to see what you do. As long as your response is suitably robust there is no problem.
I have not dived with Great Whites but many people have (without a cage). By all accounts they behave like the other sharks or even more timidly. They are just bigger. If you are lucky enough to come across one of these (unlikely) just stand your ground and keep eye contact. They don't want to eat you (too little fat) so any interest they show is just curiosity.
There are other sharks that are "potentially dangerous" such as the Great Hammerhead (much rarer than the usual Scalloped Hammerhead) and the Shortfin Mako. This is just based on their size. We are not on their diet so if you see either of these it is your lucky day.
Remember that sharks only kill a very small number of people in the world each year. Vending machines kill far more! The only animal on earth that hunts humans to eat is the Saltwater Crocodile which kills over 1,000 people every year.
Also you are lucky to see any sharks at all. 95% have been eradicated to make a tasteless soup that is a status symbol to the Chinese. With 100 million being killed every year for soup there will soon be none left, in the biggest species eradication of our age. Countries from around the world rush to supply the Chinese. The Spanish for instance have just about wiped out the Atlantic Blue Shark for its fins and the Maldivian government, despite it's hypocritical eco tourism posturing, is a major exporter of shark fins. Obviously the ecological balance of the oceans is changing without so many apex predators. Already the population of large deep Squid (like the Humbolt) is rocketing because there are no sharks to control their numbers. Obviously these Squid are heavily predating fish which are part of human diets. We are headed for problematic times.
Sharks evolved over tens of millions of years without humans in the water. So to them we are alien. This means they are going to treat you one of three ways.
Firstly as something dangerous to run away from.
Secondly as another big predator in the water to be respected and left alone.
Thirdly as food. (This is incredibly rare)
Which of these they choose depends largely on your body language.
There are 4 "dangerous" sharks and I have dived with three of them.
Tigers just tend to ignore you especially if you go about your business in an assured manner.
Bulls are curious and will come and say hello. When they get confident about you they may rub up against you in a friendly manner.
Oceanic Whitetips like to investigate everything for the food potential so they may bump you to see what you do. As long as your response is suitably robust there is no problem.
I have not dived with Great Whites but many people have (without a cage). By all accounts they behave like the other sharks or even more timidly. They are just bigger. If you are lucky enough to come across one of these (unlikely) just stand your ground and keep eye contact. They don't want to eat you (too little fat) so any interest they show is just curiosity.
There are other sharks that are "potentially dangerous" such as the Great Hammerhead (much rarer than the usual Scalloped Hammerhead) and the Shortfin Mako. This is just based on their size. We are not on their diet so if you see either of these it is your lucky day.
Remember that sharks only kill a very small number of people in the world each year. Vending machines kill far more! The only animal on earth that hunts humans to eat is the Saltwater Crocodile which kills over 1,000 people every year.
Also you are lucky to see any sharks at all. 95% have been eradicated to make a tasteless soup that is a status symbol to the Chinese. With 100 million being killed every year for soup there will soon be none left, in the biggest species eradication of our age. Countries from around the world rush to supply the Chinese. The Spanish for instance have just about wiped out the Atlantic Blue Shark for its fins and the Maldivian government, despite it's hypocritical eco tourism posturing, is a major exporter of shark fins. Obviously the ecological balance of the oceans is changing without so many apex predators. Already the population of large deep Squid (like the Humbolt) is rocketing because there are no sharks to control their numbers. Obviously these Squid are heavily predating fish which are part of human diets. We are headed for problematic times.
I agree 100% with the fact that governments need to become a lot more responsible for many of the problems that are happening now. The ocean is shared by the whole planet and anything that happens in one place effects several others.
In terms of sharks, I can't say I've been diving with the larger sharks the previous 2 posters speak of (and I can only dream of right now), but I have been diving with Carribean reef sharks and it was the most beautiful thing I ever experienced. It was during a shark feeding dive, so there were quite a few. Outside the feeding dive, the only shark I ever saw was a lone reef shark, and a tiny one maybe 3 feet long. It was in the distance and immediatly fled from the group I was diving with. If I were alone with a buddy, I would have loved to just sit there and watch it until our air supply would make us surface, but sharks are afraid of people and seeing one outside a feed is still pretty difficult in the places I've been diving.
In terms of sharks, I can't say I've been diving with the larger sharks the previous 2 posters speak of (and I can only dream of right now), but I have been diving with Carribean reef sharks and it was the most beautiful thing I ever experienced. It was during a shark feeding dive, so there were quite a few. Outside the feeding dive, the only shark I ever saw was a lone reef shark, and a tiny one maybe 3 feet long. It was in the distance and immediatly fled from the group I was diving with. If I were alone with a buddy, I would have loved to just sit there and watch it until our air supply would make us surface, but sharks are afraid of people and seeing one outside a feed is still pretty difficult in the places I've been diving.
Hollywoodivers
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Don't give them a second thought...Don't feed them. You will not look like food to them unless you have a lot of bloody, fish around you....such as when spearing fish...Take pictures. enjoy them...If they get a little too close for your comfort over time get out. They mostly tend to be cautious of divers. Hollywoodivers
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