Shark Feeding in Playa del Carmen

[bluebubble1995]

They are feeding them steak and that is why this is so bad. It not only messes with their senses it messes with their whole biological makeup. Bull Sharks don't eat beef and they never have eaten beef. So when they are given something that they are not meant to be eating it can be bad for them. And then you have them associating humans as a means of food and that is the last thing we want.

Where did you learn this information? Has there been a study on the effects of beef on sharks? The stingrays in GC associate humans with food....doesn't seem to be a problem.

 

[Oside Jimc]

The stingrays in GC associate humans with food....doesn't seem to be a problem.

Stingray != Bull Shark, Bull sharks kill people every year.

 

[CenoteXperience]

No it's definitely steak, I have been on a dive where they got pissed at us for being around them and they threw steak at our feet to scare us off. The rest of that story is long and doesn't end well, but it was definitely steak.

It is not the first time i hear something like that. I know someone who had the same kind of problem during a dive, when the meet occasionally Phantom feeding sharks, and reacting in a very violent way to the presence of another divers in the area.
Hopefully nothing else happens in the future

 

[Scuba Diver Mexico]

As I mentioned priorly, shark feeding is controversial and even more so without the use of cages, but if you are going to put chum in the water the least you can do is use local fish and fish products .

Best is always to respect these amazing animals and their environment as well as using common sense.

I like the idea of having divers take the decision of only using dive centers who conform to the practice of not feeding these Bull sharks.

It won't be easy for Profepa, Conapesca nor Conanp since from my limited knowledge these sites have no protection status yet nor does the species Charcarinus leucas

Bull shark - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In my 8 year experience with the Great Whites at Guadalupe we have moved almost 100 % away from chumming and/or feeding. We are now using submersible cages at 40 ft and the GWs come around to check them out without being fed at all.


The GWs do have a protection status nowadays in Mexico and Guadalupe island is a protected area both above and underwater. There is a manual about how to do GW observation in the reserve that has been produced by Conanp.

Some images and information at

www.tiburonblanco.org
www.tiburonblanco.com.mx

M. in Science Mauricio Hoyos is one of the experts in Mexico at this time, in case anybody wants to write him a note.

 

[Geofish Dive in Playa]

Where did you learn this information? Has there been a study on the effects of beef on sharks? The stingrays in GC associate humans with food....doesn't seem to be a problem.

One of my friends who I took the Instructors course with has a Masters in Marine Biology and we were talking about the feeding of the Bull Sharks. He told me all this information and I think it is something to be curious about. I take his word for it, I don't have a masters in Marine Biology.

Sting Rays are a little different than Bull Sharks. Steve Irwin might have been an idiot and gotten killed by a sting ray, but Bull Sharks are not an animal that you want expecting food from you. Just my opinion and I think a lot of people would agree.

 

[Pez de Diablo]

I feel that it is irresponsible to feed bull sharks or any other type of aquatic life just to attract the aquatic life to sights where divers or snorklers go. These actions change the natural pattern of the animals and can lead to changes in the animals behavior - mainly violent as they become depended on the handing out of food and have remained in an area solely relying on the next hand out.

At Aquanauts we do dive with the bull sharks a few times each season and completely disagree with the feeding (baiting) the sharks in the area. The dive shops that feed the sharks need to be boycotted.

Cheers,

Dennis

 

[driftwood]

Where did you learn this information? Has there been a study on the effects of beef on sharks? The stingrays in GC associate humans with food....doesn't seem to be a problem.

Bull sharks are very touchy critters. The movie Jaws was based on bull shark attacks on the East Coast. Most of the serious shark attacks in the Gulf of Mexico are from bull sharks.

Just like it is not a good idea to feed bears, the same applies to bull sharks. Use a little of the common sense that God promised a goat. BTW, Irwin forgot common sense and paid a pretty heavy price.

 

[driftwood]

Just sent this email to Phantom divers,

"Just one quick question, is your shop/DM's feeding sharks off Playa del Carmen? Love to get a response, but silence will speak volumes as well."

Let's see what they have to say.

 

[wedivebc]

I understand that the bulls have learned to follow the sound of the boat and many divers have reported the sharks are waiting with open mouths when they enter the water. Sharks are pretty smart fish and learn behavior that rewards them with food pretty quickly. Pity the diver that doesn't have food when the feeding frenzy is waiting.

 

[VooDooGasMan]

The local fisherman drop there scraps at the shelf, bull sharks have been fed for decades.

Go out at day break they drop it off on the way out, drop in and the best bull shark diving you'll ever see, there to busy eating to worry about you, just don't eat there breakfast in front of them and you will be alright.



Happy Diving