Shark kills French diver in Marsa Alam

[openmindOW]

Thank you, Samaka. So, it sounds like it is accurate to state that a female was bitten by a shark while snorkeling. Additionally, it sounds like it is accurate to say that she was not wearing Scuba gear, although she was a certified diver. I just sought clarification, because when one hears that a "diver" was bitten, one could get the impression that she was Scuba-diving at the time of the bite. Thank you again.

 

[Diver0001]

"This very rarely happens. It seems that the victim aggravated the shark or presented it with food, which caused a change in the shark's behaviour," MENA quoted Amr Ali, the president of the Society for the Preservation of the Red Sea Environment, as saying.

I'd like to know what REALLY happened. The shark preservation guy saying that it wasn't the shark's fault is logical but I ... well ... don't believe him at face value. Obviously they don't want to alarm divers and they don't want to stir up anti-shark sentiment....

I'd like to hear from witnesses.

R..

 

[Diver0001]

Nope it was not. There is a law in Egypt against feeding and still there are some Å®acho Dive Guides that canÃÕ stop with this idiocy. I think that every single person that has at one point or another been involved in feeding the Longimanus in the Red Sea should now feel that they have part in the cause of this tragedy.

I've never heard or seen of shark feeding dives near Marsa Alam. I'm not familiar with all of the sites but when we want to see big sharks we always go to Elphinstone where I can say it would be difficult or impossible to do anything like a shark-feeding dive. You're usually drifting in relatively stiff current and if I'm not mistaken the bottom there is well beyond the depth at which sport divers can dive.

R..

 

[InTheDrink]

I've never heard or seen of shark feeding dives near Marsa Alam. I'm not familiar with all of the sites but when we want to see big sharks we always go to Elphinstone where I can say it would be difficult or impossible to do anything like a shark-feeding dive. You're usually drifting in relatively stiff current and if I'm not mistaken the bottom there is well beyond the depth at which sport divers can dive.

R..

I'm not 100% sure of my facts here but my understanding is that it is food dumped in the water to attract them in the first place, rather than shark feeding a la bahamas. No doubt Samaka can clear up this point.

And in this instance the divers were snorkelling with the sharks rather than diving with them. This appears to be more risky than diving with them, certainly from what the press release from HEPCA says (as per Samaka's post).

Cheers,
J

 

[TheScubaBOB]

Didn't I read earlier in this thread that the Diver in question jumped off the boat and "freedived" a short distance to get to the same depth as the shallow swimming shark. There were snorkelers in the water watching the shark also?

Would it be unreasonable for a shark to be spooked by someone doing this and reacting my biting?

 

[InTheDrink]

Didn't I read earlier in this thread that the Diver in question jumped off the boat and "freedived" a short distance to get to the same depth as the shallow swimming shark. There were snorkelers in the water watching the shark also?

Would it be unreasonable for a shark to be spooked by someone doing this and reacting my biting?

I think the most accurate accounts we have at the moment are both Samaka's and the french translation, both of which agree. I'd work on that for the moment until and if fuller details are available.

People were snorkelling including the woman. She duck dived. She got bitten. There's nothing to suggest anything she did 'spooked' the shark and in fairness, from what I've read, Longimanus don't appear particularly well disposed to being spooked. They are quite inquisitive animals.

 

[TheScubaBOB]

I think the most accurate accounts we have at the moment are both Samaka's and the french translation, both of which agree. I'd work on that for the moment until and if fuller details are available.

People were snorkelling including the woman. She duck dived. She got bitten. There's nothing to suggest anything she did 'spooked' the shark and in fairness, from what I've read, Longimanus don't appear particularly well disposed to being spooked. They are quite inquisitive animals.

Ok, I didn't mean to imply that she provoked the attack. I'm not familiar with Oceanic White Tips except for the USS Indianapolis incident.

Thanks for responding to my question.

 

[MMM]

replace "are" with "used to be". I venture to guess that most divers have never seen one (I am not counting nurse sharks). outside of the bahamas you are lucky diver if you see a shark in the carribbean. it happens but it is very rare in most places. to get a good look or even a picture is even rarer. and if you are looking for specific kinds of sharks you can basically forget it. who has seen a great white, a tiger, a mako, a blue without baiting?

I have seen on morethan a few occasions. Bull sharks can found off Playa del Carmen and white tips in Cozumel at Punta Sur. They say there is the occasional hammerhead in Cozumel but the only place I've seen them is on the Baja. No baiting on any of those dives.

 

[vladimir]

replace "are" with "used to be". I venture to guess that most divers have never seen one (I am not counting nurse sharks). outside of the bahamas you are lucky diver if you see a shark in the carribbean. it happens but it is very rare in most places. to get a good look or even a picture is even rarer. and if you are looking for specific kinds of sharks you can basically forget it. who has seen a great white, a tiger, a mako, a blue without baiting?

I have seen on morethan a few occasions. Bull sharks can found off Playa del Carmen and white tips in Cozumel at Punta Sur. They say there is the occasional hammerhead in Cozumel but the only place I've seen them is on the Baja. No baiting on any of those dives.

Yes, bull sharks are common in some places. Whitetip reef sharks are common in a lot of places; with the exception of nurse sharks, I'd guess they are the shark most commonly seen by divers. Neither of these species, nor hammerheads, are on docmartin's list of species rarely seen without baiting. I have seen a tiger shark without baiting, and the other three are more commonly found in water colder than the water I dive in, but without a doubt encounters with those species are rare in the absence of baiting. And encounters with even the more common species are still pretty uncommon in the Caribbean.

 

[DiveMonkeys]

Yes, bull sharks are common in some places. Whitetip reef sharks are common in a lot of places; with the exception of nurse sharks, I'd guess they are the shark most commonly seen by divers. Neither of these species, nor hammerheads, are on docmartin's list of species rarely seen without baiting. I have seen a tiger shark without baiting, and the other three are more commonly found in water colder than the water I dive in, but without a doubt encounters with those species are rare in the absence of baiting. And encounters with even the more common species are still pretty uncommon in the Caribbean.

At the risk of minor thread-jacking... We've seen hammerhead and grey reefs at Little Cayman, and grey reefs on almost every dive at Grand Cayman all without baiting. In the Red Sea we've seen hammerheads and a thresher without baiting.