Shark feeding

[docmartin]

The shark feeds are bringing heightened 'awareness' to a select few dive tourists and some non-divers watching Discovery Channel. They do nothing to affect commercial fishing ops, poaching, or those that are creating the ridiculous demand for shark fins.

not true and not a matter of opinion. fact is there are shark fishing bans in the bahamas that are enforced because of shark feeding dollars. also see my earlier comment about the protection of great whites in south africa and australia. i do agree that this is insufficient but it is a start and better than nothing.

The feeds are not conducted as educational exercises, their primary function is to generate income for the operators who offer them. There may be a minor ecomonic ripple effect for some locals involved in dive tourism, but I would doubt that many are having their standard of living raised as a result of these feeds.

i agree 100%. however, i don't mind that the motive is primarily money (there are some operations where i would disagree, however). it makes the incentive to preserve sharks all the more powerful because money walks and... also, despite not being conducted primarily as educational exercises these experiences still end up being educational. just talk to the divers who participated. most of them go away with a greater appreciation of sharks.

The statistical probablility is that eventually a diver or wrangler is going to be severely injured and the ensuing lawsuits will probably determine the continued use of these feeds.

to me that argument is a cop out. statistical and eventually... statistically and eventually goats will injure kids in petting zoos, a tsunami will hit new york and i will win the lottery. what are the odds? the fact is, shark feeds are not new. they have been going on thousands of times with ten thousands of divers. where are those injuries you mention? this suggests they must be pretty damn safe. not to mention that no one is forced to participate. as far as lawsuits, the issue is a mute point in the US where feeding has been banned. outside the US a lawsuit from someone who willingly participated in a shark feed and got injured will be laughed out of court.

These feeds create an artificially aggressive portrayal of shark behavior and altho this certainly appeals to some, I find it analagous to watching a cockfight. Sure it makes for a great photo op, but I would much prefer the feeling of being fortunate to sight one in its natural surroundings doing what it normally does (which is usually casually cruising, not shredding anything moving).

that's my preference, too, although i do not find that all shark feeds create an aggressive portrayal. in my experience the method employed makes a difference. some feeds are quite leisurely. however, i always find it artificial. kind of like going to the circus.

I don't care for the underwater petting zoo approach to wildlife observation and won't support the businesses that promote them...just voting with the wallet.

i certainly understand and respect your view. i am voting with my wallet, too. i rather spend obscene amounts of money to go to places where you don't need food to attract lots of sharks. but not everyone can afford places like cocos or galapagos and if their best opportunity to see some sharks is a feeding i am all for it.

 

[bedazzle410]

No matter what;you have to remenber that you are dealing with wild animals at the top of the food chain. Everything is fine until there is an accident.

 

[docmartin]

I draw from experience, where do you draw your argument from?

Again, i do not doubt what you are saying about alligators. your experience is backed by plenty of evidence. my viewpoints are drived from reading lots about the subject and my own experience with diving with sharks. i have dived and snorkeled with hundreds of sharks including great whites (cage), bulls and tigers. a few of these dives were shark feeds which were using a variety of methods.

At what point does common sense say "Feed apex predators, and they are your friends" make sense with sharks which, like alligators, are mindless killers. I dont see one of them cry when it eats its young. I dont see it cry when you kill its mate, and I certainly dont hear it say "Ooops, sorry, thought you were feeding me".

sharks are not my friends. i don't have any illusions about the wild. however, they are also not mindless killers. they just hunt and eat to live.

Know why those sharks dont eat the other divers? Because they dont move their hands, only the guy doing the feeding does. Rewarding the shark for showing up. What would happen if one of those people moved their hands? What would happen if someone were to dive near there not knowing these sharks are hand fed and put out a hand to fend off the shark. More likely than not, that diver is going to be missing digits or even a hand as the shark tries to "feed" as he has been taught to from divers.

yes, you should not be stupid and wiggle your fingers in a shark's face. i also agree that hand feeding is not the best way to feed sharks. it creates a direct association between food and humans. there are many better ways to organize a feed that avoids this. interestingly though, except for some wranglers even in these hand feed scenarios noone has been seriously hurt yet.

 

[docmartin]

A brief search on Google brought up a few articles on a recent shark attack on a diver. Also being spotted in the Gulf of Mexico are Macos, which are known not to fear humans. A great white is reported to have also attacked some divers trying to get back to their boat off St Augustine about Jan 10, but the divers were unharmed. These are unprovoked attacks.

http://news.google.com/news?q=shark+attack+diver&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&edition=us&filter=0

Why add chum to the water? For a thrill? So it can be EXTREME DIVING? If you need a thrill that bad, try swimming through a school of jellyfish and try not to get stung...thats something to brag about at least.

you can obviously question why people participate in shark feeds and hold the opinion that it is foolish because they are risking their health for a cheap thrill. however, that's their business and they have a choice. personally, i find shark watching more interesting than jelly fish.

 

[cdiver2]

Ok let me say now this thread was not started as a troll or to get anyone flamed. It has become apparant to at this early stage that there is no hard scientific evidence for or against shark feeding, just a collection of how we perceive it and I have seen points with merit on both sides. What has supprised me is the advocates for it but would not go to a shark feed I see now that this should have been a choice in the poll and why.
As stated not a troll or flame so play nice dont get the thread pulled and may be we will get a education out of it. Thanks to ALL that have participated.

 

[CBulla]

yes, you should not be stupid and wiggle your fingers in a shark's face. i also agree that hand feeding is not the best way to feed sharks. it creates a direct association between food and humans. there are many better ways to organize a feed that avoids this. interestingly though, except for some wranglers even in these hand feed scenarios noone has been seriously hurt yet.

Now you see it. Association. If you the shark feeder feed sharks in an area and get them used to associating divers = food, and for some reason you suddenly stop or someone else dives near the area and is not familiar with this shark association, and are waggling their hands pointing out the sharks to their buddy, etc., what is to tell this animal that this diver does not have food in his/her hand? Who is there to explain to this diver that their missing digits or extremety is a result of sharks being accustomed to being fed by hand and to keep your hands at your sides.

I dont question the desire for cheap thrills, I question the breaking down of a fear barrier with an apex predator that can seriously harm or kill someone unsuspecting.

Its one thing when it takes place in a controlled environment (alligator feeding at the farms, feeding the sharks at Mote Marine in their shark tank) and you know these animals are not in the wild and can interact with anything that may show up, it is quite another when it is in the wild any number of unexpected variables can appear (cattle boat full of divers eager to see the reefs!).

There is a big difference between observation in its natural habitat and interaction.

 

[CBulla]

Ok let me say now this thread was not started as a troll or to get anyone flamed. It has become apparant to at this early stage that there is no hard scientific evidence for or against shark feeding, just a collection of how we perceive it and I have seen points with merit on both sides. What has supprised me is the advocates for it but would not go to a shark feed I see now that this should have been a choice in the poll and why.
As stated not a troll or flame so play nice dont get the thread pulled and may be we will get a education out of it. Thanks to ALL that have participated.

No worries here buddy. I am actually happy that someone has a good opposite opinion and is able to really play devils advocate and hash it out like intelligent adults and not a flame fight

 

[cyklon_300]

Doc even said up front he was looking for a little verbal jousting...

Also, from my recollections, trips to some of the big animal sites aren't that much more expensive than a lot of the snoozer Caribbean locations I've been to...and the additional costs were well worth it IMO. I'd gladly swap a couple or three lesser destinations for at least one liveaboard in the Galapagos.

I'm trying to visualize what a chumsickle event would be like at Cocos or the Socorros...even without one you could barely see the surface some days for all the silkies and hammers that were in the water.

Sharks are cool, I hope we continue to be able to see them where/when ever we dive...

 

[Capt.Rich]

Docmartin,
If you have read so much about shark feeding then you certainly must know of one of the reasons it was stopped in Florida.
An unsuspecting spearfisherman was diving less than a mile from where they were doing regular shark feeding.
He was killed by a shark. Explain to his family the benefits of feeding sharks.
Its just a bad idea.IMO

 

[pitah]

No.
I like to go underwater, where you can have expectations, and then see nothing and try again, or be rewarded by a shark encounter, or a dolphin, or whatever you´re lucky to see. No interventions on the animal's environmet, sea or land.
Thats my point of wiew..