Shark kills Diver

[Guba]

Statistics verify that the vast majority of shark "attacks" are to people in shallow water and are most likely the result of "mistaken identity". In fact, there are very few reports of scuba divers being bitten by sharks. However, this news report is an exception.

Diver in chummed waters dies after shark bite - CNN.com

Yes, some will say folks who do this are asking for trouble and it was only a matter of time before there was a death in this type of activity. Others will say it's simply an anomaly and that the numbers verify it is a relatively safe practice. What is your opinion on the practice of diving among chummed sharks and the charters who provide this type of dive experience?

 

[sberanek]

It's making a risky situation even more risky. Why get the sharks riled up and expect them to differentiate between food bits and people parts?

The only way I want to see a shark is in a natural setting if it happens to cruise past or be chilling under an overhang.

As for the charters who do the chumming... people will continue to pay them to do it and sign the release forms to go out. Is it responsible? Maybe in some cases, maybe not in others. I can't say because I will not go out with that situation.

--Shannon

 

[Meng_Tze]

There is blood in the water, the sharks are in the water and the diver jumps in.................what do you expect will happen? If you expect anything else than getting bitten, you are too stupid to walk the earth, let alone swim with sharks.

 

[Hank49]

I've only been in the water once when it was chummed (Blue Hole, Belize). The sharks acted exactly like fish in an aquarium that haven't been fed for a day. They move a lot faster, are excited and agressive. Totally different than seeing sharks cruising by on the reef.
Any wild animal is more dangerous when food is involved.

 

[8thElementDiver]

Chumming or feeding of any kind is unethical in diving. It creates an artificial situation for the animals, often creates a dependency on the feeding, and usually fouls the waters.

At Los Arcos (a Mexican Nature Preserve by Puerto Vallarta) the waters are so fouled by the constant chumming of the dive operators that there's nothing left to see. So their response? Throw even more chum in the water!

I know a diver who was attacked by a wolf eel at a site that routinely fed the wolf eels. This dive was later in the day than usual, and the wolf eel was impatient to get his regularly-scheduled meal, so he bit at the diver. That is not typical behavior of wolf eels, and demonstrates the stupidity of feeding and chumming on dives.

If you know of a dive operator who chums, express your concerns and displeasure about it; tell them you're going elsewhere because of that reason. If you see an ad in a dive magazine that mentions chumming, express your displeasure to both the magazine and the operator who placed the ad.

This is the Year of the Reef. It's time to end these foolish practices of chumming and feeding during dives; they only do more harm than good.

BTW, the man who died from the shark attack was a lawyer; I hope the dive operation gets sued into bankruptcy. (And yes, it is 100% their fault; new divers trust that the dive operations and dive instructors have their safety in mind, and both operators and instructors realize they are liable when they breach that safety.)

 

[Meng_Tze]

BTW, the man who died from the shark attack was a lawyer; I hope the dive operation gets sued into bankruptcy. (And yes, it is 100% their fault; new divers trust that the dive operations and dive instructors have their safety in mind, and both operators and instructors realize they are liable when they breach that safety.)

Are you kidding me? Just because you board a professional operation doesn't mean you can throw common sense out of the window and put your personal responsibility upon others. It is not 100% the operator's fault. The diver knowingly jumps in the water with blood, food and sharks.........................How can that be someone else's fault or responsibility?

The operator is wrong yes for offering these trips, but the diver has ultimate responsibility for his own livelyhood, no matter how inexperienced he is. He was a lawyer you say? He should be pretty smart then..... and could have figured out that this was not a good idea... Heck my 7 year old son can figure that one out......

 

[Trixxie]

If you're in the water with 'food' then you should be aware that you could become 'food' too...not the sharks fault, it was just doing what they wanted it to do.... eating, it just ate the wrong thing. can't blame the shark for mistaken identity.

they should have signed a release and the diver should bear the responsibility of their actions themselves. (that's what wrong with the people today, everyone wants to blame someone else for their own carelessness/stupidity and get as much $$ as they can because of it). Now if the boat op chummed the water w/o their knowledge or permission then yeah, they would be liable but I highly doubt this was the case. wake up people!

 

[aquaman_06]

"BTW, the man who died from the shark attack was a lawyer; I hope the dive operation gets sued into bankruptcy. (And yes, it is 100% their fault; new divers trust that the dive operations and dive instructors have their safety in mind, and both operators and instructors realize they are liable when they breach that safety.)"
_________________________________________________________________

I totally disagree with this statement. The sue happy attitude often expressed the minute things go wrong is one serious problem with the U.S. today and that attitude often negatively effects good scuba professionals. I agree that chumming offers a long list of serious risks although there is one thing to always remembers anytime a person takes part in an extreme sport: Personal Choice.

Jim Abernathy (the owner of Scuba Adventures) didn't force this Austrian lawyer onto his boat and into the water w/ feeding sharks. He traveled all the way to Florida from Austria for the expierence. While it is a terrible misfortune that a man was killed in the pursuit of pleasure he did make the choice to take the trip and make the dive. It doesn't take a lawyer or expert in any field to realize that diving with feeding sharks outside of a cage is very, very risky.

Furthermore Jim Abernathy who owns and operates Scuba Adventures is not some fly by night operation who knows nothing about sharks. Rob Stewart who made "Sharkwater" recently took a tour of the Bahamas and did some shark diving with Abernathy to film special features for the upcoming Sharkwater DVD. In addition to that National Geographic has written articles about and worked with Jim Abernathy and Michelle and Howard Hall have worked with him as well. Even the Discovery Channel has done work with Scuba Adventures and Abernathy is known as an ardent shark conservationist and naturalist.

While I don't totally agree or disagree with shark feeding/diving I feel the greatest tragedy that will come of this incident is that once again sharks will be in the public eye viewed as "man-eaters" and our sport will get tons of negative press as well.

 

[Meng_Tze]

..... that once again sharks will be in the public eye viewed as "man-eaters" and our sport will get tons of negative press as well.

Some are man eaters, that is why you should stay away, not feed them and be careful when you are in the water. I for one stay away from sharks when I am in the ocean.

Beyond that I fully agree with your post.

 

[SlowRain]

This whole thing reminds me of the idiot in Alaska who felt it was proper for some unknown reason to put his leg over the railing and into the cage containing a polar bear. When you screw around with Mother Nature's critters, especially ones who are carnivores, what do you expect, benign behavior?

And now sue somebody because you chose to participate/engage in behavior that knowingly provokes an animal/creature to want to feed? Please...get a grip here!!! I don't get wound around the handle about much, but the liberal "sue them" attitude in this country (the USA) is going to be the death of us. (If you want to see the effect of this...ask scuba instructors how much they pay a year in insurance coverage, and believe me, it pales in comparison to medical malpractice insurance).

I do NOT agree with chumming to get sharks around. If you want to see them, dive enough in the right parts of the world and you will see them. To me when you chum sharks and then get in the water...you have just raised the percentage of a bite/accident WAY above the norm. You want to do that...fine...have at it...but don't jump on the "sue em" bandwagon when it goes wrong for you.

My condolences to the diver's family and friends...for they have suffered a loss. My condolences to the sharks as well...for now you will bear a higher banner of being a species that preys on humans without exception in the mind of a lot of people who simply don't know any better.