Shark Diving while Menstrating?

[Ber Rabbit]

These are two sets of statistics I like to point out to my students when they talk about being afraid of sharks:

International Shark Attack Files

Bicycle fatalities

Personally I'd rather dive with sharks than ride a bicycle on the road. Like DocVikingo said the odds of getting attacked by a shark are small.
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[Fatimah_Dive_Instructor]

Hi

My personel experiance with sharks leaves me with no fear of diving with my period, period. Anouther wanna be urban legend plugged up.... Were do we come up as human beings with all these unreasonable worrys.

Fatimah

 

[lemondiver]

chumming involves fish blood, fish blood is oil based. Human blood is water based. Has nothing to do with a wound or dead blood. If there is a HUGE amount of human blood in the water sharks have been known to check it out-they see the red color. Once they realized it's not oil based they are not interested and yes this had been documented. A nosebleed, cut ect will not be an issue.

 

[diverdoug1]

I have an anecdotal story that relates to this topic. A couple of summers ago, I was on night call, and a young female was admitted to our ER. She was skinnydipping with some friends at night, and was bitten on the hip/torso by a shark (thought to be a bull about 8' in length). She was the only female, and was at the peak of her menses.

 

[DCBC]

To the best of my recall, this work in essence demonstrated that sharks prefer fish to mammalian blood, not that mammalian blood isn't of interest to them.

I'm sure that the Seals in South Africa will be pleased to hear this.

 

[lemondiver]

The reason she was bit is that she was swimming at night, no wetsuit on-white skin looks like fish at night especially. Most people splash around and that mimics wounded fish. The fact that she was the only female is irrelevant. She was probably the first person the shark came to or was off to the side of the others. Again sharks looks for oil based blood not water based which is what we are. The best advice to not get bitten is don't swim at dusk/night, stay off the surface, dont splash around, dont spearfish, wear a wetsuit in a dark color.

 

[diverdoug1]

The reason she was bit is that she was swimming at night, no wetsuit on-white skin looks like fish at night especially. Most people splash around and that mimics wounded fish. The fact that she was the only female is irrelevant. She was probably the first person the shark came to or was off to the side of the others. Again sharks looks for oil based blood not water based which is what we are. The best advice to not get bitten is don't swim at dusk/night, stay off the surface, dont splash around, dont spearfish, wear a wetsuit in a dark color.

Lemondiver,what is this magical oil based blood of which you speak? OIL BASED BLOOD???? An erythrocyte can't even function if bathed in an oil soultion. OK, sharks do home in on fish oil (which is why I have a DC garberator to grind up barracuda when I chum for sharks), but fish do not have "oil based blood". Armchair pontificating about a subject which you do not understand leads to the spread of your ignorance. The enemy of truth and scientific discovery is ignorance, magical thinking, and firmly held beliefs in mythology. Also, chumming for sharks with mammalian blood does work very well. I frequently have used pig blood to chum when fishing for sharks in the Gulf of Mexico (because I don't know where I can get 5 gallon buckets of fish blood), and they tear up the hams we hang over the side to keep them interested. As far as the comments about why the young woman was attacked instead of her male companions, how can you say that her sex or cycle of menses was irrelevant? This anecdotal story is only a potential data point in a study that has not been done yet. I think I will go along with the director of the IASF, who says that menstruation may increase the incidence of unprovoked shark attacks. Having said this, the risk is still so low for shark attack, I don't discourage my wife from diving while she is menstruating. I do tell her not to dive with me while I am spearfishing in certain areas (regardless of her cycle).

 

[diverdoug1]

ISAF not IASF (oops).

 

[baggysalls]

super interesting topic and i would agree with the above post that if chum works to attract fish and sharks then blood from menstruation should do the same. have a speargun on you just in case. (in my opinion)

 

[Crowley]

You go fishing for sharks? I hope you use circular hooks and put them back afterwards, cos just exactly what the world's very seriously depleted shark population needs is somebody to hoik another one out of the water for no particular reason. Forgive me, I don't know you, but if you're tagging and tracking all is well and good.

Bull sharks have attacked people for no good reason, men/women/bleeding or not. It may be defensive or territorial. They are potentially agressive animals and it has recently been postulated that female bulls will - unlike other sharks - defend their pups.

The general consensus from research referred to above is that menstruating women have no more chance of attracting sharks than a diver wearing yellow fins. Some people suggest that urinating in the water attracts sharks as well - for those that like to pee in their wetsuits. If menstruating women caused shark attacks I would not have as many female colleagues as I do.

So - if you are capable of diving during your period - do so. The only equipment you need to bring when you are diving with sharks is a camera.

Cheers,

C.