Florida Diver Attacked

[Joneill]

"Always swim in a group. Sharks attack lone divers."
Yeah, right. This was a shark feeding in Fiji. The diver needed six stitches to close the wound on the back of his head.

Good example of why I, personally, have no desire to be around when folks are ringing the dinner bell for known-agressive shark species... no thanks! I'll take my chances to see them (or not ) when they're less likely to to think I might have something to feed them!

 

[nippurmagnum]

Actually, most that I see in the news are surfers or folks just swiming/standing in shallow water - and many in FLA!

I was referring to attacks on divers. When I see a news report of a shark attack on a diver, the word "spearfishing" is usually not far behind.

 

[nippurmagnum]

Thanks, as for your idea that failing to surrender a fish when challenged is synonymous with provoking an attack, most spearfisherman will make a concerted effort to avoid allowing the shark to have a speared fish, primarily because it
reinforces a very dangerous and unwelcome behavior.

Alligators can and do learn. Training them to associate humans with food is bad for the animal and also people.

Same goes for sharks.

Of course, sometimes the tax man gets his quota, but spearfisherman try to avoid it if practical.

So turning over the fish reinforces a very dangerous behavior? Seems to me that the opposite would be true. If a diver spears a fish and refuses to turn it over when the shark claims it, the diver is effectively daring the shark to attack him. And if the shark attacks him, the behavior being reinforced is that divers should be attacked. Right?

 

[Aaron loreman]

Never ever surrender your stringer. Be the alpha. Have a spike on your gun and carry a power head.

 

[Dan]

carry a power head.

What’s that? Something that would explode, like a bullet?

 

[Joneill]

Son

Never ever surrender your stringer. Be the alpha. Have a spike on your gun and carry a power head.

Great - so enter the shark’s domain and when it does what sharks will naturally do when injured, bleeding fish are nearby, you potentially injure or kill it? All so you can get your fish. Somehow, that just doesn’t feel right to me as a diver...

 

[Aaron loreman]

Son
Great - so enter the shark’s domain and when it does what sharks will naturally do when injured, bleeding fish are nearby, you potentially injure or kill it? All so you can get your fish. Somehow, that just doesn’t feel right to me as a diver...

Then you get to eat the shark

 

[Caveeagle]

Son
Great - so enter the shark’s domain and when it does what sharks will naturally do when injured, bleeding fish are nearby, you potentially injure or kill it? All so you can get your fish. Somehow, that just doesn’t feel right to me as a diver...

Have you any idea how many sharks, dolphin and turtles used to be killed as bycatch in gill nets? I’d rather not see sharks killed unnecessarily, but “spearos” are a very positive thing when you consider the overall picture. They should try to resist handing over their catch. And if need be, defend their life with deadly force.

 

[Joneill]

Have you any idea how many sharks, dolphin and turtles used to be killed as bycatch in gill nets? I’d rather not see sharks killed unnecessarily, but “spearos” are a very positive thing when you consider the overall picture. They should try to resist handing over their catch. And if need be, defend their life with deadly force.

Apples and oranges and I hate that the bycatch issue exists! When I do eat seafood (not often), I only eat sustainably caught seafood to, hopefully, not add to the issue - a good resource is below:

https://www.seafoodwatch.org/-/m/sfw/pdf/guides/mba-seafoodwatch-northeast-guide.pdf?la=en

Look - I have no issue with people spearfishing - my point was not liking the idea of creating a situation and then injuring or killing a shark that is only doing what sharks do just just to keep your catch.

Here is a good example:


This guy spears a fish right in front of a shark - what do you think is going to happen? Is it then OK to injure or kill the shark to keep the catch? I, personally, have a problem with that. In, this video I was rooting for the sharks!

 

[johndiver999]

So turning over the fish reinforces a very dangerous behavior? Seems to me that the opposite would be true. If a diver spears a fish and refuses to turn it over when the shark claims it, the diver is effectively daring the shark to attack him. And if the shark attacks him, the behavior being reinforced is that divers should be attacked. Right?

No.