Great white takes scallop diver - Mexico

[Boarderguy]

I'm curious to know if there's any studies to back this up. Many fish have spots near their tail and the thought is that they mimic eyes to confuse predators, so it may not be an entirely stupid idea.

What set of eyes would give a 19ft GWS any bit of pause? Pretty sure anything alive and shy of an Orca is food for them.

 

[Kay Dee]

I'm curious to know if there's any studies to back this up. Many fish have spots near their tail and the thought is that they mimic eyes to confuse predators, so it may not be an entirely stupid idea.

No your right, it may not, but.........I wouldnt like to be the crash-test-dummy to prove (or worse, disprove) the theory.

 

[Stoo]

What set of eyes would give a 19ft GWS any bit of pause? Pretty sure anything alive and shy of an Orca is food for them.

LOL well there's that. Maybe fill the mask with big, menacing tennis ball eyes. Of course all that might do is make the shark head around the front and honestly, if a GSW is about to bite me in half, I'd just as soon not see it coming.

 

[Stoo]

No your right, it may not, but.........I wouldnt like to be the crash-test-dummy to prove (or worse, disprove) the theory.

Ya I was thinking maybe keep an eye out for heads with two masks if they're doing a necropsy on the shark...

 

[Jake 10]

"wow" - “He was diving when the animal attacked him, impressively ripping off his head and biting both shoulders,” said Jose Bernal, speaking for the fisherman.
Sad, and unfortunate. RIP Lopez.

The shortage of seafood has created a demand and with his economic future at stake, Lopez chose to dive. - he was just trying to make a leaving... at $383 dollars a year fishing for mollusks

 

[Eric802]

What set of eyes would give a 19ft GWS any bit of pause? Pretty sure anything alive and shy of an Orca is food for them.

I've been assured by the Instagram influencer shark experts that if you just make eye contact with them, they'll know you're not prey.

 

[Stoo]

I've been assured by the Instagram influencer shark experts that if you just make eye contact with them, they'll know you're not prey.

Awesome... I got into a "chat" about sharks with some dude on Twitter last week. He was spewing some bizarre theories. Before I took him on, I checked his profile where I learned he was a "Computer geek and BBQ Influencer". When I realized that he had 27 followers, I yielded to his expertise. ;-)

All the same, this is a horrible incident and I feel for his family and friends.

 

[Belzelbub]

I've been assured by the Instagram influencer shark experts that if you just make eye contact with them, they'll know you're not prey.

I know this is in jest, but it's not too far from the truth.

When I was first getting interested in spearfishing, I attended a spearfishing seminar put on by a local speargun builder who had spent many years as a commercial spearo. Someone in the group asked about sharks, and more or less that was his response. He said on first contact, he would usually point his gun and swim toward the shark. Usually didn't even need to actually contact the shark before it would take off. I've practiced this many times and this was always the case. Eye contact alone is not enough, but a strange thing swimming toward them is not typical prey behavior, and that usually discourages further curiosity.

Doesn't sound like any of that would have helped in this case, as it seems that the victim likely never even saw the shark. It's easy to miss a shark when you are focused on the hunt. I've added a Shark Shield to my kit in the last few years. I'd been thinking about it for a while and decided to pull the trigger after a close contact a buddy of mine had. He had shot, and was retrieving his spear. After a little bit, I noticed a shark swim by and did what I usually do. When I was reviewing GoPro footage later, I realized that the shark had previously come close enough to bite his foot. In this case, it was a smallish sandbar shark, and nothing happened, but it was spooky how close it had come without me seeing it.

Next dive out, I had the Shark Shield. Another buddy had spotted a shark cruising toward us, and it abruptly changed direction and left the vicinity. Shark Shields work, but even they won't deter a shark in full feeding mode, so with anything the key is that they get the message when still in curiosity mode.

 

[MidOH]

It's always some kind of hunting, isn't it. Hardly ever a plain old diver.

Poor shark. Just trying to get ahead.

 

[BlueTrin]

What set of eyes would give a 19ft GWS any bit of pause? Pretty sure anything alive and shy of an Orca is food for them.

It’s probably not easy to replicate a portable orca though