Sharks vs. Cave Diving

[2 Big 2 Fail]

What kills more divers... Godzilla or Deco?

But what about cave sharks, Bart? What about cave sharks?!!

 

[Robert Gillcash]

If you want statistics on cave diving deaths, here is a power point presentation on the subject.

(Shhh...I made that number up!....)

 

[scwdive]

Cave Diving, especially by untrained divers entering caves. I'm definitely more afraid of getting hit by a bus than attacked by a shark.....

Stats on Cave diving: IUCRR - Accident Analysis

Stats on Shark Attacks: International Shark Attack File

Hope these links help. Safe Diving

 

[marcosdutra]

Complicated

 

[Scubagolf]

Where'd that statistic come from?

I can't relocate the source of the 6.2 statistic, but for a broad view of the topic, see the attached academic study covering cave diving deaths during the period 1969-2007. Page 8 (p. 169 of the journal) contains the stats on overall fatalities, the number in the U.S., and the percentage of U.S. fatalities in Florida.

This study has the average for Florida cave deaths over the 38 year period at about 7.5/year (my math.) Fortunately, the number of cave diving deaths (overall) has decreased significantly over the past decade. The percentage of cave diving deaths by cave-trained divers has increased dramatically over the past ten years. The study speculates on why that might be the case.

 

[pmenear]

If you die in a cave you made a mistake and its probably your own fault.
If you die from a shark attack its just the shark doing what comes naturally and probably not your fault.
Given the choice I'd rather rely on my own skills and have some control over my diving in a cave.
We are part of the food chain every time we enter the water and if a shark wants you for lunch all the diving skill in the world won't be much help.

 

[Belmont]

If you die in a cave you made a mistake and its probably your own fault.
If you die from a shark attack its just the shark doing what comes naturally and probably not your fault.
Given the choice I'd rather rely on my own skills and have some control over my diving in a cave.
We are part of the food chain every time we enter the water and if a shark wants you for lunch all the diving skill in the world won't be much help.

You convey what I meant to say in my previous post (# 18) in a much better way, thank you.

 

[Teamcasa]

<snip>I have an irrational fear of sharks but am considering cave diving...

How do you feel about claustrophobia? For me, I look forward to seeing sharks when I dive. Since there is little chance of seeing them in a dark cave, I'll stick to diving in the open ocean.

 

[Teamcasa]

See at the 3 sec mark

 

[Bogtrotter]

You won't get me diving in an enclosed environment- at least not beyond a few fin kicks from the entrance/exit. Of the hundreds of species of sharks in the oceans there's only a handful that would make me nervous. People dive with sharks everyday for recreation, and even hand feed them. I don't agree with this, but there are divers that do this regularly with little incident- even with species that have been known to attack humans from time to time.