Meeting up with sharks

[Damselfish]

Well sharks, I have heard alot of things. I am not concerned so much, but I have a question. I have heard there are places to dive, mainly the Carribean, where sharks are like dogs. I have heard that if you don't pet them/give them attention that they will swim over to you, kind of encourage you to pay them attention. Any truth to that? [/url]

I've never heard of a shark doing this or seen it, and wouldn't recommend petting a shark even if you think it asked. (Or anything else, for the most part.) But certainly some other creatures do stuff like this. Like there's the occasional grouper that does this, very dog-like. They are a lot of fun but usually they are known animals that local divemasters will let you know about.

I don't know if this is true, but I've heard that statistically more people get in trouble with nurse sharks than any other. This is a pretty mellow shark and that's the problem, people think they're completely harmless so they go pulling on their tails and stupid things like that. A friend of mine told me he did this snorkeling and I just wanted to whack him in the head. As a general rule, stuff mostly bothers you when you bother it first.

 

[TSandM]

Watching this video taught me that all you need to stay safe from sharks is a scooter or a video camera to fend them off with

 

[SharkRider]

Sorry if this is in the wrong section, feel free to move it.

The main thing right now that is holding me back from diving is sharks. I was just wondering if you have ever run into them?.... Is running into a shark during a dive a common occurance? The reason I ask this is that I am scared to death of sharks and dont think i would probably freak out if i ever saw one during a dive -_-.... may sound like a bit of a sissy but sharks and bears are not my friends (and since i dont have to worry about finding bears underwater... ya) Guess im also wondering what you do if you run into a shark during a dive.....

Are you kidding me? Sharks are one of the greatest reasons to go diving. You can not walk through a den of Lions on the Serengetti or a pack of Tigers or for that matter Jackals or bears and get out safely... but you can swim in the middle of 100 sharks and feel quite confident that you will leave the water with nothing more than amazement and a new found awe of these beautiful animals.

Your biggest challenge will be locating sharks. As we humans have decimated their populations worldwide, it is harder and harder to find them... much less stumble upon them. I know divers that have dove the oceans for 20 years and complain that they've never seen a shark. The reason is they are now very location specific if you want to guarantee you're going to see one. There are probably only about a dozen or so spots on earth where you're guaranteed to see sharks.

Most species are also vary wary of divers and will not allow you to get close. Sometimes you'll see a shark off in the distance... only if it doesn't see you first. I have chased sharks across the bottom of the ocean floor trying to get a picture... and guess what... they swim the other way. Even the aggressive species do not like to be followed. Instinctively they believe (apparently) that you're trying to eat them... if you're following them.

If a shark shows any signs of aggressive behavior, it becomes obvious and generally speaking my experiences give you one of two options... and the one you chose is heavily dependent on the species of shark. Large Predators such as Tigers and Great Whites, Bulls and Oceanic Whitetips showing erratic behavior indicate it is time to exit the water. Smaller species ... and the more common ones you'll see such as Grey Reef, Carribean Reef, Nurse and Whitetip Reef can be dissuaded by swimming towards them. They will flee.

Saying that a fear of sharks is what keeps you from diving is like saying a fear of birds keeps you from flying in an airplane. You're more likely to be killed in a car crash, die falling off a ladder, from a bee sting, a lightning strike and annurism etc... then you are from a shark attack.... Get in the water... enjoy... and hope for god sakes that you see many sharks!

 

[Chris Sawallich]

That last picture on that video is one of the best I have seen in a while.. The scooter and the shark head to head.. That was great..

 

[GraemeC]

Allright thanks guys, i think ill do some of your suggestions... What do you do when you meet a shark? may sound like a silly question... but do you just sit there and hope it can tell your not food?... do you swim away slowly? -- and you probably dont want to look it in the eye (rember hearing somewhere that looking most animals in the eye is a sign that you want to challenge them)... Also how do you get such great pictures of them? wouldnt the flash piss them off... Thanks again for your support

 

[AaronR103]

Ok.. just wondering though.. if sharks arent as dangerous as people say they are (unless your bleeding) then why do the Lifeguards evacuate the beach or not allow you to swim if there are sharks in the water?... is that just as a precaution incase something were to happen?

Swimmers and particularly surfers occasionally (statistically very rarely) because in the shallow water (where the vast majority of shark attacks occur) the shark mistakes them for something else. The sillouette of a surfer paddling on a surfboard looks a lot like a seal or sea lion, and swimmers in shallow water splash around like a dying animal. You'll notice that a lot of the surfers and swimmers that get attacked survive. This is because the shark realizes that they are not what it thought they were and swims off. When diving, there is no mistaking that you are not dinner. I have never heard of an all-out attack on a diver, and the few I know of (and the one that I saw) that got bit were feeding the sharks and the shark probably just missed the fish. In the case that I saw, the shark (a nurse) nipped him on the side, immediately realized that the guy wasn't food, and swam off. He didn't even have a bruise.

A

 

[AaronR103]

Allright thanks guys, i think ill do some of your suggestions... What do you do when you meet a shark? may sound like a silly question... but do you just sit there and hope it can tell your not food?... do you swim away slowly? -- and you probably dont want to look it in the eye (rember hearing somewhere that looking most animals in the eye is a sign that you want to challenge them)... Also how do you get such great pictures of them? wouldnt the flash piss them off... Thanks again for your support

Just enjoy the experience. Keep a respectful distance and don't chase after them and they won't bother you. Most of the time they will be swimming away anyway. As far as I know, eye-contact is not a challenge in the fish-world.

A

 

[Ber Rabbit]

Want to make a shark go away? Point a camera at it Getting good pictures of sharks is not easy, we've only been on one shark dive and every time we pointed the camera at one it turned away. If you don't want to see sharks don't go on dives that advertise sharks or shark feeding. The majority of the time the only places you will see sharks are the ones that advertise them. Diving a reef will seldom result in a shark sighting with the possible exception of Nurse Sharks and they are docile as long as you don't provoke them (pull their tail, etc.). Naturally there are places in the world where this doesn't apply but even then most of the time as soon as the divers hit the water the big fish leave; divers are noisy, disruptive creatures. If you don't want to see sharks odds are you'll never see one, take that fear of sharks and apply it to something that's actually dangerous--boat propellers (sharks don't scare me, props do).

Don't forget there is awesome shipwreck diving in the Great Lakes, all diving isn't salt water you know
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[DBailey]

Allright thanks guys, i think ill do some of your suggestions... What do you do when you meet a shark? may sound like a silly question... but do you just sit there and hope it can tell your not food?... do you swim away slowly? -- and you probably dont want to look it in the eye (rember hearing somewhere that looking most animals in the eye is a sign that you want to challenge them)... Also how do you get such great pictures of them? wouldnt the flash piss them off... Thanks again for your support

First, you need to re-educate yourself on sharks. Forget everything that Hollywood, the evening news and Shark Week have taught you. All of these play off people's fear of sharks. Understand the creature a little more. Learn its behavoirs. After that, do some researh on shark attacks. While doing that, look at the shark attacks on divers (very small percentage of overall shark attacks). Now look at the shark attacks on divers that were not spearfishing. You might be able to keep the count to one hand for attacks per year. Now, of those handful of attacks, find out which ones involved provocation of the shark (grabbing it). After all the research, you'll be more educated about sharks and you'll realize that you are safer under the water.

As others have pointed out, there will be many dives that you will not see a shark. On the dives that you see a shark, most of these will be at a great distance where you only make out the shape of the shark. That leaves a small percentage of your dives that you'll comes close (30-40 feet) to a shark. Most divers won't ever get closer than 10 feet to a shark (except on a shark dive).

If I see a shark, I admire its beauty. If the shark does come close, it will typically do a "fly-by" to check you out. I will turn to watch the shark. Then I will start to exaggerate the size of the shark. If you listen to any of my stories on the boat after a shark sighting, Jaws was a minnow.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I saw my first shark in the wild while snorkeling out of Bahia Honda State park in Fla on one of the park boats. It took us out to Looe Key sanctuary. There was a barracuda that hung at the boat ladder waiting for handouts and I got several good pics of it. Had been in the water about 1hr when someone said shark. A few people immediately headed for the boat. I along with the person I was buddied with ducked under and 10 ft or so awat just cruising thru was a 9 ft bull shark. I was out of friggin film in my disposable! She still had a couple shots and we started to slowly follow it until we both realized that it was probably not a good idea. Ever since I have wanted to see another. It was so graceful, powerful, and almost hypnotic in the way it just swam thru taking no notice of anyone in the water. I'm diving the duane on May 2nd and I hope I'll get to see the bulls that are supposed to hang out around it. One of my diving goals is to do a dive, in a cage of course, with great whites. I saw a special where a group of people did it without the cage and while it looked like fun and I'd really like to try it, if the shark did not go for me my fiance would kick my azz for being so crazy. Educate your self, forget about hollywood and treat them with respect. You are in their house. Remember that and you should not have any problems.
P.S. Does anyone know where they usually hang out on the duane?