Feeding sharks

[diver 85]

FWIW the correct term for animals reacting to a particular stimulus is called habituation.

i.e. yellow bucket == food, i.e. boat shows up == food, etc.

FYI........It wasn't a yellew bucket, it was 2 35 gallon green cans, some with 'things' attached to them..................lol

 

[Arwen]

Maybe it's my lack of experience but I'd like it better if sharks felt I was an alien blowing bubbles than a vending machine.

 

[TMHeimer]

I see nothing natural about conditioning sharks to show up at a certain time and place to be fed.

True. I think the question is that if doing this is bad for sharks, bad for diver/swimmer/surfer safety or perhaps both? If a bunch of tropical charters shark feed in one area a lot then all of a sudden stop doing this will those sharks have a problem? I don't know. But if this is the concern it's IMO probably almost insignificant compared to all the other problems we present them with.

 

[cocoajoe]

Just stop those Orientals that pay to eat Shark Fin Soup. Fins are tasteless without flavoring.

 

[diversteve]

it's not either/or; he/she can do both. Go on a single feeding dive, or a few of them, and yet also have the same opportunities for so-called 'natural' encounters.

Agreed...

This would be my choice... - technically it's sort of both. Cristina was elected to the Women Diver Hall of Fame based partly on her shark research. And Joe is a staff member at the Shark Research Institute. (I will never get tired of reposting this..)

 

[diver 85]

True. I think the question is that if doing this is bad for sharks, bad for diver/swimmer/surfer safety or perhaps both? If a bunch of tropical charters shark feed in one area a lot then all of a sudden stop doing this will those sharks have a problem? I don't know. But if this is the concern it's IMO probably almost insignificant compared to all the other problems we present them with.

They been doing it for over 12 years-------& doubt if they have any plans on stopping----now......

 

[highdesert]

I'm no expert, but I would doubt that feeding sharks does much if anything to upset nature. I could be wrong, and I guess it could if done extensively in a particular spot by a lot of divers. Regardless, IMHO anyone that does this is nuts.

There is a video floating around of a guy spear fishing the Caribbean for lionfish, and when he has one on the line, a very aggressive reef shark makes repeated way-too-close passes to get the fish. As it turns out, a good number of divers, including dive guides, have taken to offering speared lionfish to sharks, and the sharks are taking to it like seagulls to garbage ... and surprise, now here's this guy in a very uncomfortable situation with a shark, whose natural behavior has been altered. On land, don't feed the bears ... in the water, don't feed the sharks!

 

[drrich2]

I thought that video was shot in the Cayman islands? Which is Caribbean, of course, but a lot of the recent controversy has centered around the east coast of Florida shark feed diving (plenty in the Bahamas, too, of course).

Richard.

 

[diver 85]

There is a video floating around of a guy spear fishing the Caribbean for lionfish, and when he has one on the line, a very aggressive reef shark makes repeated way-too-close passes to get the fish. As it turns out, a good number of divers, including dive guides, have taken to offering speared lionfish to sharks, and the sharks are taking to it like seagulls to garbage ... and surprise, now here's this guy in a very uncomfortable situation with a shark, whose natural behavior has been altered. On land, don't feed the bears ... in the water, don't feed the sharks!

Are you saying that if you were there(Beqa Lagoon, Fiji) for the week, you would have passed on the shark dive???..If so, you would have been 1 outta the ~40(divers) staying @ the resort.......Guess 98% of the guest(divers) there that week don't think like you..........Our group(about 20 divers) went on the last day of the week---ie Friday.....The 1st 2 groups that went on it on Monday & Wednesday, were VERY upset when they had to watch our video that last nite @ the resort for dinner(that's what they did @ each evening meal while we were eating...ie show the shark video of that day)........

 

[g1138]

FWIW the correct term for animals reacting to a particular stimulus is called habituation.

i.e. yellow bucket == food, i.e. boat shows up == food, etc.

No, Habituation is the process of no longer responding to stimulus, because
a) you've become so used to it.
b) the stimulus provides no valued relevance (to well-being, satiation, whatever you're wanting to relate it to for your example)
It's a non-associative process. You don't associate it with this equals that. Like divers equal food.

It's like your roommate banging pots and pans all night. Eventually you'll stop jumping from all the loud noise.
Jumping into an aquarium tank and not having all your sharks scatter means they've been habituated to the entry of a diver.
Hear a loud bang, nothing happens. No reason to fright over the loud bangs.

The term you're looking for is Conditioning. Sharks are conditioned to associating this-to-that via positive reinforcement (ie. food).
Investigate the weird bubbling creatures, get rewarded with food.