MattC007
Guest
what is your opinion on sharks?
Sharks and what do you think of them?
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Noboundaries
Guest
I put sharks in the same predator category as mountain lions and bears. As a backpacker I'm playing in their yard, so I respect their presence, acknowledge their advantage, and avoid doing anything that could invite bodily harm. I take the same perspective into the water with sharks.
I have a similar opinion, though without the background of having experienced diving with sharks in the past. As I prepare for my OW course, I've been reading and researching again, with the thought of using balanced facts to offset the media hype I've been bombarded with for years.
If we believe Hollywood, then we're going to hold the idea that sharks are "mindless eating machines", and that they're just waiting for humans to enter the water so they can munch us. The misinformation, bolstered by ignorance, fuels an irrational fear.
I hope that, with education founded in balanced facts, I will not feel overwhelming fear the first time I see a shark while diving, but will instead be able to observe them with that respectful attitude that I am a visitor in their realm.
DepthJunkie
Contributor
I think one option should have been - respect. They are amazing creatures and studies seem to be finding out that they are more complex than previously thought, but I don't think I want to cuddle one.
DivingPrincessE
Contributor
I've only seen three sharks...all nurse sharks and all while diving in Boynton...I want to see more and different types. I guess I need to learn some patience...
Having dived with hundreds and hundreds of sharks throughout much of the world, I have never experienced anything frightening... at least not yet. I even had a great white swim within 30-40 ft of me last summer while I was filming giant sea bass. I didn't see it, but my knowledgeable dive buddy (Wyland, the marine muralist) did. It seemed to have little interest in us, and probably had recently fed since it didn't go after the huge bass either.
One of my greatest fears when I moved to Catalina in the late 1960's was an attack by a great white. After nearly 40 years of diving here, I have yet to experience such a situation. Back in the 1970's when Jaws came out, I stopped diving for about three years. I was working with Jean-Michel Cousteau and started putting my wetsuit on. He commented that he thought I had stopped diving due to Jaws and wondered why I was going back in the water. I told him I had recently seen Jaws II!
Of course no one wants to become possible prey to something higher on the food chain than we are. However if one looks at the actual statistics re: shark attacks, you can easily see that attacks on SCUBA divers are extremely rare (and when they do occur, it often involves spearfishing activity). Of course I don't surf or do long surface swims (at least without keeping my regulator in the water to continue making the sounds!).
One of my greatest fears when I moved to Catalina in the late 1960's was an attack by a great white. After nearly 40 years of diving here, I have yet to experience such a situation. Back in the 1970's when Jaws came out, I stopped diving for about three years. I was working with Jean-Michel Cousteau and started putting my wetsuit on. He commented that he thought I had stopped diving due to Jaws and wondered why I was going back in the water. I told him I had recently seen Jaws II!
Of course no one wants to become possible prey to something higher on the food chain than we are. However if one looks at the actual statistics re: shark attacks, you can easily see that attacks on SCUBA divers are extremely rare (and when they do occur, it often involves spearfishing activity). Of course I don't surf or do long surface swims (at least without keeping my regulator in the water to continue making the sounds!).
DivingPrincessE
Contributor
Just follow me while I'm spearfishing, you'll get to see plenty of sharks.
Well...it seems to be working so far. All my shark sightings have been while diving with you.
...and Kevin, maybe he's the real good luck charm. I didn't see any when we dove in the Keys...I was too busy being saved from being swept away in the current
fairybasslet
Contributor
I love them but I've never been spearfishing with bull sharks around. In fact, I've never seen a bull. Or a tiger. So I'm basing my "love" on sand tigers, hammerheads, leopard, whale, reefies, black tips, white tips, Galapagos, nurse, silkies (maybe more that I've forgotten). I just love watching them move in the water and think they are awesome creatures. Oh, and I'd love to do some cage diving with great whites.
I love sharks too and have been fortunate to have seen several different types and a fair number. They are fascinating to watch but should also be respected. Like drbill I've never had a frightening experience even when they've popped around a coral mound at night out of nowhere. It just swam under me and kept on it's way.
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