Shark Feeding in Playa del Carmen

[Geofish Dive in Playa]

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

Well if it were fish guts and left overs from fisherman that would be another story, but they are feeding them food they shouldn't eating. Also there is so much diving traffic to the shark area here in Playa that if this doesn't stop, the one day that someone doesn't bring food an attack will happen.....it's just a matter of time. Fins have been bitten at and a lot of brushing up on divers has happened lately. It just needs to stop bottom line. I love seeing them in their natural environment, but if this doesn't stop I don't know if it is a good idea. I would like to see what PD has to say to that email.

 

[PARADISE HUNTER]

This is a response to an inquiry by me to Phantom Divers regarding their shark dive practices. This correspondence occured before the start of this thread.

Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:24:35 -0600

Dear *****

Thank you for your interest in phantom divers

We love to dive with sharks.

The dive is one tank dive

Is an 85fts dive

Drift and full of bull sharks

Basically is very easy because you don’t need to do anything,

Just stay in the bottom sitting and look at the show!

We will be feeding the sharks

Usually they are from 8 till 18 sharks at the same time!

Will be the dive of your life.. you can’t miss it!

Any other question?

I will be here to help you

For any further assistant

Best regards



ANGELA D'ANNA

Reservations and Sales

PHANTOM DIVERS

 

[driftwood]

This is the response I got,

Yes he do it

You can check videos on you tuve

Search ÅÑhantom divers shark dive

Check it out!



ANGELA D'ANNA

Reservations and Sales

PHANTOM DIVERS

PADI resort 20631

They seem to be rather proud of what they are doing.

 

[PlayaCountryBoy]

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

I agree with Dennis...I do the shark dive as well a few times a year and we NEVER bait, lure, touch , harm , or harass the sharks. We do also not see as many, but hey its a small price to pay to "do it the right way". I had a video from Cuba where they were feeding the sharks. Have a look: YouTube - santa lucia cuba shark accident This is PRECISELY why I don't feed sharks! People who do make their living feeding sharks DON'T want you to know that people DO get bit, if they are fed and brought in too close. When you are there without food, they pass by but never TOO close. before this shark feeding crap began down here, you could see bull Sharks fequently on Tortugas reef, Moc-Che Deep and Jardines Reefs, but not anymore. Their natural instinct to patrol all the reefs has now been altered after 2-3 season of shark feeding, and I have only seen shops boats lowering buckets of fish scraps in the past and present. It only takes a diver who dives these reefs 600-700 dives a year every year, like me, to see the change.

 

[Geofish Dive in Playa]

I agree with Dennis...I do the shark dive as well a few times a year and we NEVER bait, lure, touch , harm , or harass the sharks. We do also not see as many, but hey its a small price to pay to "do it the right way". I had a video from Cuba where they were feeding the sharks. Have a look: YouTube - santa lucia cuba shark accident This is PRECISELY why I don't feed sharks! People who do make their living feeding sharks DON'T want you to know that people DO get bit, if they are fed and brought in too close. When you are there without food, they pass by but never TOO close. before this shark feeding crap began down here, you could see bull Sharks fequently on Tortugas reef, Moc-Che Deep and Jardines Reefs, but not anymore. Their natural instinct to patrol all the reefs has now been altered after 2-3 season of shark feeding, and I have only seen shops boats lowering buckets of fish scraps in the past and present. It only takes a diver who dives these reefs 600-700 dives a year every year, like me, to see the change.

You don't need to feed them to see them. Never once have we not seen them in the Morning even. You are right Jason, I remember 5 years ago when I was coming down here for vacations and I would see them contantly at Tortugas and Moche Deep.......not anymore. I ocassionally see them at Pared Verde, but not any at Tortugas anymore.

 

[PlayaCountryBoy]

This is a response to an inquiry by me to Phantom Divers regarding their shark dive practices. This correspondence occured before the start of this thread.

Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:24:35 -0600

Dear *****

Thank you for your interest in phantom divers

We love to dive with sharks.

The dive is one tank dive

Is an 85fts dive

Drift and full of bull sharks

Basically is very easy because you donÃÕ need to do anything,

Just stay in the bottom sitting and look at the show!

We will be feeding the sharks

Usually they are from 8 till 18 sharks at the same time!

Will be the dive of your life.. you canÃÕ miss it!

Any other question?

I will be here to help you

For any further assistant

Best regards



ANGELA D'ANNA

Reservations and Sales

PHANTOM DIVERS

This is the response I got,

Yes he do it

You can check videos on you tuve

Search ŽÅŽÑhantom divers shark dive

Check it out!



ANGELA D'ANNA

Reservations and Sales

PHANTOM DIVERS

PADI resort 20631

They seem to be rather proud of what they are doing.

Does anyone there speak English enough to write more than 5 word sentences? And I believe they are VERY proud of what they're doing. How they get so many folks to do this dive, I have no idea...? I would be wary, regardless of whatever country I am diving in, if my response came back like that.

And BTW...here's a completely dangerous dive filmed from one of their dives... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEKrna5JuzI Good luck with that!

 

[cdn_hoser]

I wouldn't want to be anywhere near there while they are doing that! That video was crazy!

 

[Geofish Dive in Playa]

Ya that video is just dumb. It screams ignorance!!

 

[Ed Hatfield]

I couldn't help but notice that Phantom Divers is a 'PADI' dive centre and an official 'DAN' centre according to their web site. I wonder what DAN thinks of this type of behaviour - I don't want my DAN insurance rates going up. PADI will likely prefer not to be involved as this could be seen as a 'political' issue but DAN should see this as a diver safety issue. If anyone involved in DAN has been following this I would appreciate a comment.

 

[bluebubble1995]

Awesome video! Looked like fish guts to me....not t-bone steaks.