Does SCUBA gear sounds, sights scare off sharks?

[tphelps]

[FONT=____noteworthy]Hi my dive center sales person told me that it was safer in a way to scuba dive than regular swiming in terms of sharks because the scuba gear scares the sharks off they don't like the loud beating sounds in all the bubbles and the tapping and such. Is this true.

[/FONT]-Jonathan Bryan
Divesummit.com

Diver since 2012

Favorite quote: "Tropical coral reefs are to SCUBA diving what alpine peaks are to backpacking.
Reefs are the highlights, the places where equipment manufacturers strut their stuff, and photographers shoot magazine covers.

This is a good question. Arguably, the best sense of a shark is their hearing. They have a remarkable sense of smell but some species can hear miles away. My first inclination is that sharks will want to check out the origin of the sound, i.e. sound of bubbles from divers. What happens next, depends on the species and location of the animal. A bull shark, that is significantly more aggressive (by testosterone levels) than humans; or an oceanic whitetip, might have a greater tendency to come check it out. On the contrary, a more skittish species may investigate but then retreat before we can view them. Also the geographic location of where the diver is will influence the shark's behavior. If you are diving in an area like Cocos, Costa Rica or an area know for shark finning/human predation, then that might lead to a timid behavior. If you dive in a marine protected area in which divers act all the time with sharks and they are habituated, then that shark might have a propensity to come closer and interact more. Additionally, let me offer this...if I'm in Africa, specifically South Africa, I would much rather be scuba diving versus snorkeling because I do resemble the locomotion shared by sea lions, what they are habituated to. In short, it depends on a multitude of factors to say what a shark is going to do. They have been on Earth a lot longer than we have and primitive/survival instincts will play a vital role. I hope this helps!

 

[InTheDrink]

Speaking only of Oceanic White Tips, I would strongly suggest you are much safer diving than on the surface swimming or snorkelling. Swimmers thrashing about on the surface may appear like injured somethings and can get oceanics very excited. Where I go diving in the Red Sea (Brothers, Daedalus, Elphinstone) swimming and snorkelling is banned. They had a few attacks in 2009 and 2010.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

I am not sure scared is the right word. I am not a shark expert of any type.

I have noticed sharks are curious when hearing unfamiliar sounds or objects. They swim close enough to figure out if its dinner. Once the figure our you are non food (assuming is not a big aggressive shark) they loose interest. They are not so much scared as totally disinterested in you and off to locate the next possible food source. I would assume once a shark has run into enough divers on a local reef, they can figure out you are non-food long before you see them close up considering the amount of noise and bubbles we generate.

 

[diverjen]

As tphelps and GOG pointed out, I was always under the impression (probably from watching too much shark week) that you were "safer" in terms of sharks while doing scuba as opposed to swimming/snorkeling because you are not at the surface, splashing and resembling a sea lion, seal, food item, etc. I am not sure how much this plays out for bottom feeder type sharks, though and as mentioned above it seems to depend on the shark in the moment. I did not think the noise had much to do with it (meaning more noise scares all sharks away), but now I have even more to think about.... Interesting thread!

 

[Drewpy]

I would much rather be below..than on the surface! (at least in Nor Cal)

 

[Oldbear]

Speaking only of Oceanic White Tips...in the Red Sea (Brothers, Daedalus, Elphinstone)...They had a few attacks in 2009 and 2010.

I read on the internet that Israel was responsible for those attackes ... and we know that Fox News and the internet never lies.

Egyptian Official: Israel Could Be Behind Deadly Shark Attack | Fox News

 

[farsidefan1]

I'm with grumpy on this. I don't think sharks are actually scared of us. Maybe annoyed but I doubt fear enters into it. When you approach too close to a white tip reef shark it simply moves off to quieter climes. I don''t see any sign of fear. Sometimes curiosity. On a night dive off the great barrier reef It was just a divemaster and myself and we saw a large (looked HUGE at the time) zebra shark approaching us, bubbles and all. It swam right up to the mask of the DM and veered off when it got to about 3 inches from his facemask. Then is slowly swam off into the dark. Beautiful creature. Looked like half it's length was it's tail. Anyway we finish up the dive a bit later and the DM tells me he about ...... his pants when it just kept coming at him even though they are a very peaceful species. I'm sure it was just curious, but fear? naw.

 

[InTheDrink]

I read on the internet that Israel was responsible for those attackes ... and we know that Fox News and the internet never lies.

Egyptian Official: Israel Could Be Behind Deadly Shark Attack | Fox News

Gotta love conspiracy theories. The more far fetched the better.

 

[261311]

It really (I think) comes down to the overall comfort of someone wearing scuba gear. If you're down in the water with a regulator and air supply you're not jetting around trying to get back to the surface. Most sharks commonly respond to panic like thrashing. That's part to why most dive organizations train you in relation to animals to act very smoothly, calmly and timid. If you're not a threat to them, they're typically not a threat to you. Other than that, a good portion depends on where you're diving with what species, its age and hunger levels- at a certain point, nature becomes... nature.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

It really (I think) comes down to the overall comfort of someone wearing scuba gear. If you're down in the water with a regulator and air supply you're not jetting around trying to get back to the surface. Most sharks commonly respond to panic like thrashing. That's part to why most dive organizations train you in relation to animals to act very smoothly, calmly and timid. If you're not a threat to them, they're typically not a threat to you. Other than that, a good portion depends on where you're diving with what species, its age and hunger levels- at a certain point, nature becomes... nature.

What agency teaches you to act timid around sharks?

That is the absolutely LAST thing i would recommend. I find that it is important that you try to communicate to the shark that you do see it and that you are not afraid. I will generally pursue or charge a shark that comes too close to me.. and if I can bust it in the face with a pole spear or gun, I most certainly will jab it hard.