Eeeek! Shark, now what do I do?

[scubatlc]

The probelm with most of the Bulls in the Gulf is they think every diver is spear fishing. They have a tendency to get pretty close, but when they see that you don't have an easy snack for them, they lose interest. We saw one yesterday (about 7 foot) that checked most of us out before heading out.

 

[Windwalker]

Hmm.. I have not run into any real big sharks. I was taught that if one should attack you, that you should punch it in the nose, then poke it in the eye with the bloody stump.

 

[scubaculture]

Having been in the water with many species of sharks including Great Whites my best advice is to let the shark know you have seen them, keep your eye on them, they are not stupid mindless killers, chances are they are curious so they will circle you a few times and then leave.

Of course there are exceptions to this, on one dive at the Birkenhead we were ascending and a White shark followed us all the way up, we waited underneath the boat for what seemed like hours (probably a few minutes) and the shark just kept circling us, coming in close, moving away and coming back in close. Let me tell you being the last one in the water when that is happening is not fun

So be aware, dont bolt for the surface, keep your movements controlled and enjoy the experience, it doesn't happen often enough.

 

[baitedstorm]

Having been in the water with many species of sharks including Great Whites my best advice is to let the shark know you have seen them, keep your eye on them, they are not stupid mindless killers, chances are they are curious so they will circle you a few times and then leave.

Of course there are exceptions to this, on one dive at the Birkenhead we were ascending and a White shark followed us all the way up, we waited underneath the boat for what seemed like hours (probably a few minutes) and the shark just kept circling us, coming in close, moving away and coming back in close. Let me tell you being the last one in the water when that is happening is not fun

So be aware, dont bolt for the surface, keep your movements controlled and enjoy the experience, it doesn't happen often enough.

Excellent....... I too love to watch sharks and seem very fascinated by them, I just wasn't sure what to do if one of the more aggressive sharks found me just as interesting.... My thoughts were, do I bolt to the surface (and really act like prey) do I lay on the bottom and kinda "hide" (pffffft...as if they really couldn't tell I was there...lol) ascend slowly and get back onto the boat (which is most likely pretty dang far away, seeing how I do alot of dirft dives, meaning I'll be certainly hanging out in the water for a few minutes). I don't know if there's really a right or wrong way of avoiding unwanted contact. What I've read to date is; never dive alone, your much more likely to put yourself in harms way (more ways than one) by doing so, and a shark is more intimidated by a group than just a single diver. when ascending and making a safety stop, always remain in a vertical position, you look alot more unlike a food source this way, even in bad vis. I've also read about standing your ground (water) with the shark, I'll have to research futher into this one seeing how this came from a particular man that got his calf chewed off by a bull shark.

If anyone wants to chime in, please feel free.... this information is very helpful for everyone...

 

[CBulla]

You may want to talk with folks at the shark research institute.

 

[aquaoren]

I saw an exellent documentary recently on a group studying the great whites of Seal Island, South Africa. Here, during pupping season especially, GWs congrergate and hunt in an unusual manner (for GWs). They locate a seal on the surface and come at it at high speed from almost directly below, breaching the surface with mouth agape and, hopefully, full of seal. Some of the pictures were pretty spectacular, the GWs often completeley out of the water (See Here ). Wiser and therefore older seals 'know' the region of greatest risk lies during the swim between the open ocean and the shallows and they swim to/from shore hugging the bottom. This mirrors the bottom-hugging, avoid-thrashing-about-on-the-surface strategies mentioned previously.

One guy on the boat discovered (and don't try this at home, even with your family-pet GW) that, when bringing the GWs close to the boat to hand feed, if he placed his hand on the nose of a gaping GW as it poked its head out of the water it seemd to cut off the bite response as if the shark was blinded. It was speculated that what he was actually doing was shorting out the close range electrical sensors upon which the shark relies for close range work and this inhibited the final bite.

If anyone does want to try this. let us know how it turns out. Worst-case scenario - call me on a hands-free phone and I'll type up your report for you ;^)

Cheers,

K.

Heared about them. This is the only place in the world they jump completely out of the water.
The son of Jacques Cousteau was diving with them without a cage. I read a report about it in a German diving mag.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I've seen it on many TV reports about shark handling. When you hold a sharks nose, they freeze, some are completely paralized. I wouldn't like to try it with every shark or an aggressive one but I have seen a movie about the shark handling in the Bahamas where it was done.

 

[baitedstorm]

You may want to talk with folks at the shark research institute.

Are they in Tampa? I spoke to some peolpe at the Ocean Fest and I think thats where they said they were from. I'd love to pick one of their brains (if they'd let me) Darrel thinks I've gone crazy, we'll be watching a show and I'll tell him what each shark species is and where its commonly found and if its considered dangerous to humans..... I just really enjoy them and am totally fascinated by them.. There's so much more I want to know, and the shark research institute sounds like a great place to look....

(I should have thought of that..... duh! me)

 

[Rick Murchison]

Just about three years ago I had a very interesting encounter near Pensacola...
Here's the thread...
Rick

 

[CUunderH2O]

Great photo opps aside, wouldn't the camera's strobe/flash firing possibly provoke the shark even more if it's swimming by? Or make it think you're a shimmering fish? I'd hate to think my last great photo was a great shot of a shark's smile.

 

[BradfordNC]

while we have bulls off the NC coast, they realy aren't a problem. with a group of divers in the water, they tend to move out of the area, or circle from a distance until the divers leave. sometimes you'll see them during the dive, but you usually have to be the first one in, or the last one out.