Sharks and bubbles

[Brian Gronberg]

That's nucking futs! Who is the guy hanging on the bait baskets???

He works for Emerald Charters. He learned by swimming out and feeding Tigers alone while he lived in Hawaii. Pretty crazy! Lemons I'd feed, but Tigers?! Nope, nope, nope...

 

[Prostardiver]

A sand tiger shark swam directly over us. My instructor sent a shot of bubbles up to the shark, whereupon it scooted away. The shark then turned around and came over again. Bob sent another burst of bubbles up. They played that game for a couple of minutes.

 

[hroark2112]

One more reason to dive closed circuit!!

From my understanding it is the sound/vibration of the bubbles collapsing that bothers them.

 

[ScubajayTx]

In my area they do seem to dislike the bubbles, i believe they dislike the general noise divers make underwater, its strange and unfamiliar to them. Any Cameras or Dive Computers you have on you may scare them away as well, they emit electrical pulses which the sharks are extremely sensitive too.

Carey a light with you next time you see a shark turn it on and shine it at him. they will usually flee.

 

[ScubajayTx]

I have had quite the opposite experience many are claiming on this thread. As an underwater photographer I have had sharks particularly in feedings attracted to my strobe and the sound of the recharge cycling. I have also experienced during night dives sharks very much attracted to my dive light. On a flower gardens trip each night dive the white tips all turned towards me and increased their speed when shining lights in their eyes. I think it shielded their eyes better to head straight at the light. It was quite the conundrum bc I would then have to remove the light and hope they switched direction, but they always did

 

[Knockneed Man]

Some misinformation here. It’s true bubbles tend to scare sharks off, hence why a lot of the good footage you see on nat geo is from rebreather divers. Also they DO seem to be drawn to strobe photographers - there is a difference from electromagnetic fields and magnetic fields, and while they tend be drawn to strobes, they tend to shy away from divers simply wearing metallic tanks and gear (excusing feedings and “provoked” instances, ie spearfishing, etc). If you are experiencing a very interested shark, throw your “perfect trim” ideals out the window and go vertical in the water column (standing up) as opposed to horizontal - this is very unnatural in their world, and looks like a larger threat. Obviously make eye contact. Moving towards a shark may be seen as either provoking or frightening to a shark, so that can be somewhat unpredictable - best to not move towards, unless all else fails and the shark gets more and more “interested”. Regardless always make sure the shark has an out, and doesn’t feel boxed in.