Shark Diving in Florida

[ermaclob]

Im trying to collect some information for the dive club I'm in on possible shark encounter specific dive charters in south Florida from like Jupiter and palm beach down. The only shark related dives I've seen are the lemon shark migration and captains slates creature feature which from what i saw was just nurse sharks and Goliath groupers.

Does anyone chum water around here? they do it all over the Bahamas.

Google hasn't been that great of a help because all that comes out are Bahama charters/ live-aboard stuff and shark attack reports from south Florida.

Please note though; im looking for charters, not suggestions on how i can go out with a spear gun off the beach and start ringing the dinner bell.

 

[diversteve]

And this is why they do it all over the Bahamas and don't in Florida - link to FWC regulations:
Fish Feeding

Regulations for Feeding Fish, Shark, or other Marine Species

Feeding fish, sharks, or other marine species while diving or snorkeling is prohibited. It is also prohibited to operate a boat that is hired to carry passengers to any area within state waters to feed marine species or view marine species feeding. These regulations were developed because of concerns about the

safety of divers, surfers, and swimmers
feeding of marine species in multiple-use areas, and
effects of concentrating and training sharks to associate humans with food

"Chumming" or feeding fish for the purpose of harvesting marine species as otherwise allowed by FWC rules is permitted.

A quick search turned up this recent thread: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/florida-conch-divers/366957-south-florida-shark-diving.html

 

[ermaclob]

WHAT!! really? whats up with that creature feature thing in the keys, that guy takes bucket of the smelly stuff to bring in the nurses and groupers?..... 10 min later.... ok just read a small article about that, so sad.

Also, i reviewed that thread before posting this one. i kinda wanted to see if i could find out a little more. the websites for those charters don't really say any thing about shark diving, they just look like normal charters.

i dont really care about chumming or not, just want to know if there any way to do shark specific dives.

 

[Orlando Eric]

I am not into feeding wild animals anything. I can not deny having done it myself but it is a bad thing to do. Anytime you interupt the natural behavior of critters you change the way they do things. The BHB is a example. If we start feeding the Octupi they will soon start staying in their houses and just holding out their tenacles looking for free hand outs just like the other indigenious creatures in this area you drive through before getting to the bridge.