Lemon Shark Dive and Questions

[LJinFLA]

I have a chance to do a lemon shark dive this weekend. I must admit that I have always had the opinion that I wouldn't mind if i never encountered a shark underwater (though I have seen them), But the offer was made and amazingly enough I am interested. i think I am because of the way they do it. I am really against the idea of all these operators that do Shark feeding and chumming to attrack Sharks near divers i think that is a BAD idea. But this group says they don't do this. Their description is as follows:

"We do not feed the sharks! We limit the divers on the boat to 9

In West Palm the Lemon Sharks come in for the winter over the years we have found areas that they stay in to rest this is in a dive location called shark canyon or around certain wrecks like governors walk. What we do is drop in ahead of the drift line and drift in to where they normally rest of course these are wild sharks and not trained to come to a bait ball they may be at that location or not.

They are at rest, the current visibility is 30-40 feet so we will be with in that range. We do not allow any hunting gear in the water and warn other boats not to hunt in the area that we are diving.

In the open ocean I have been around Bull, Hammerhead, Reef, Spinner, Nurse, Black and white tip sharks as long as you remain relaxed, do not bolt, or hunt in there location you will be fine.

The problem with people being bit is because they are in the area that sharks are feeding and the people are hunting, fishing or in zero visibility and the shark mistakes, them for the bait food they are chasing.

Depth is 75-100 feet.

With this said it seems more like observing in nature than starting a feeding frenzy.

My questions are the obvious ones:

1) How agressive are lemon sharks in comparison to other know agressive sharks like Bulls, tigers, whites etc.

2) what tips can you offer to stay out of trouble and stay safe?

3) Should I carry some sort of protection like a bang stick, club etc.

Any other suggestions?

LJ

 

[DivesWithTurtles]

My questions are the obvious ones:

1) How agressive are lemon sharks in comparison to other know agressive sharks like Bulls, tigers, whites etc.

2) what tips can you offer to stay out of trouble and stay safe?

3) Should I carry some sort of protection like a bang stick, club etc.

Any other suggestions?

LJ

I've dived with the Lemons a number of times in Jupiter. It's a wonderful experience, one of the highlights of my many dives.

Lemons are generally considered an aggressive shark, but not to the extent of Bulls, Tigers or Whites. They are generally loners. However, in these winter congregations they have not not been known to exhibit aggressive behavior. Although the reason for these aggregations are still unknown, speculation is that it may involve mating ritual. Maybe they have other things on their mind other than aggression. Many divers have visited the Lemon aggregation with no problems to date. But, hey, LJ, maybe you'll be the first.

To stay out of trouble listen to the divemaster's briefing and follow instructions. You may want to avoid wearing shiny, flashy objects.

Forget the bang stick or club. Stay with a buddy that is smaller than you and use your buddy to fend them off if necessary.

You'll dig it if you find them! It's amazing to see a large number of these huge animals milling around.

The largest aggregations that I've seen and heard of have been up in Jupiter. Check with Capt. Paul at Jupiter Dive Charters (Temptation). He knows where to find them. I know they have been seen in West Palm, but I don't know in what kind of numbers.

 

[Sharkdiver69]

I agree with Divewithturtles.
As one of the dive masters on Temptation it is important to remember these are wild animals and the best approach is cautious and slow. I have led many a diver to this wonderful experience, my first encounter was a little un-nerving. They blend in so well to the enviroment. They seem to be resting but will move away quickly upon a fast approach. They do not like a mob of divers making all their bubble noises.

Once found settle down on bottom and enjoy. They will be all around you.

They seem to like the 72 degree water and a fast current.

Come dive with us you will have a good time. or [URL="http://jupiterdivecharters.com"]http://jupiterdivecharters.com

 

[LJinFLA]

Thanks Gabe. Yes I know I am a big 225 lb chicken when it comes to sharks. In my relatively few dives to date i have only seen 4 sharks. 3 of them were nurse sharks (sleeping), and one black tip swimming away from me when I noticed it. The idea of looking for sharks, especially agressive ones, has always seemed a bit irrational to me. But i got hooked on this sport first by looking at it as a fear conquering thing. Now I love it. Maybe the same will happen with sharks..... Nah... Unlikely but I think I want to try it to say i've done it.

LJ

 

[Tom Winters]

Yes I know I am a big 225 lb chicken ...

Hey sharks, some good eatin' heading your way.

 

[LJinFLA]

Hey sharks, some good eatin' heading your way.

LOL, Thanks for that Tom. I always look forward to your sarcastic wit. We have got to meet someday.

LJ

 

[LJinFLA]

I agree with Divewithturtles.
As one of the dive masters on Temptation it is important to remember these are wild animals and the best approach is cautious and slow. I have led many a diver to this wonderful experience, my first encounter was a little un-nerving. They blend in so well to the enviroment. They seem to be resting but will move away quickly upon a fast approach. They do not like a mob of divers making all their bubble noises.

Once found settle down on bottom and enjoy. They will be all around you.

They seem to like the 72 degree water and a fast current.

Come dive with us you will have a good time. or [URL="http://jupiterdivecharters.com"]http://jupiterdivecharters.com

It all sounds exciting adn I know now I must do it just to conquer the irrational fear thing, but it is phrases like 'a little un-nerving' and 'they will be all around you' that leave a lot to the imagination. Care to elaborate?

LJ

 

[dlwalke]

>>1) How agressive are lemon sharks in comparison to other know agressive sharks like Bulls, tigers, whites etc.

2) what tips can you offer to stay out of trouble and stay safe?

3) Should I carry some sort of protection like a bang stick, club etc.
<<

That will be an awesome dive!! I've been down to the WPB area a few times and seen plenty of Bulls and Carribean Reef Sharks (and one Hammerhead and one Lemon and of course the obligatory Nurse Sharks), and was hoping to make it down for the Lemon congregation this January, but its not really doable this year. Anyhow, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. You're odds of having any trouble with the sharks is far less than your odds of being in a car crash on the way to the dive boat and probably less (although I don't know this for a fact) of being run over by the dive boat itself. To respond to your specific questions, (1) they are less dangerous than the other species you mentioned (which themselves aren't particularly dangerous from a statistical standpoint), (2) the only tip would be to follow your instincts and don't do anything stupid like try to grab their tail or wave a dead fish around in front of their face, and (3) you certainly don't need a bang stick on anything like that. A camera would be a good idea though. They eat things that are far smaller than you (like crabs and smaller fish) and have no interest or desire to bother you unless you were to do something stupid like deliberately harass them in such a way that they felt threatened, or maybe if you were to try and take something away from them that they were feeding on. I predict you will have the dive of your life (one of them anyway).

Dave

 

[Tom Winters]

The lemon sharks are there to party, not to eat. A couple of years ago, a guy diving off Narcosis on a scooter was shooting fish and all of a sudden realized that he had just traversed a confab of lemons. They looked at him but didn't bother him or his stringer of shot fish. He didn't linger, but he wasn't bothered either.
The problem with the shark runs is that you want them to zoom a little closer to you instead of staying 8' to 12' feet away. If you approach them while they're cruising, the whole pack just does a group veer away from the intruding diver.

 

[capybara]

LJinFla, let us know how it goes! We're going with Capt. Paul Jan 19 and are really hoping to see the lemons. I love sharks! As long as nobody's spearfishing you should be fine.