Spearfisher encounter with Great White of FL east coast.

[Jim Lapenta]

I have a real problem with the word "attack". I don't see any attack. I see curiosity by an animal. I don't see any real aggression.

This kind of sensationalizing of an encounter is the kind of crap we should be fighting against. It's irresponsible and sounds like media sensationalizing as opposed to the truth.

Clicking of it's teeth on his tank? Really? Would like to see the marks. And if it did mouth his tank how hard did it hit him?

I find it hard to believe an animal of that size actually made contact without giving him a significant shove. I do wish this would be changed to encounter rather than an attack. Keep using that term and some butthead is going to try and hurt the shark.

---------- Post added May 17th, 2014 at 04:16 PM ----------

If that shark was really on the attack that guy would be dead. Speargun or not. He got looked at hard is about it.

 

[SeaHorse81]

I don't want to take anything away from how harrowing this must have felt for the diver. If it had been me, I'd have been terrified, but then again, I will not dive anywhere that there's any likelihood of encountering a Great White.

But the thing is, I also see nothing in the video that makes me think "attack." Given that we're now told the diver was carrying a fish, this shark was actually the model of civility. I've seen reef sharks get very pushy and menacing around lionfish hunting, and this GW's behavior doesn't look like that at all.

Again, if it had been me, I'd have been terrified. But I wouldn't have been there because that's where they live and they have a right to be there, behaving in whatever ways they choose. Nothing forces me to be in the ocean; I just venture in for recreation and wonder. If I encounter something that scares me, I'll probably not dive in that particular place again.

I'm glad the diver's okay and I'd never want to see anyone get hurt. I think that if we're going to voluntarily venture where we don't naturally belong and where we are no longer at the top of the food chain, we have to accept that we won't always like how it goes.

 

[RickI]

About the use of the word "attack" in the subject line of this post. I actually thought it over before posting it. I tried to find a concise definition for "shark attack" online without success. Looking at a definition for "attack:"

noun: attack

1. an aggressive and violent action against a person or place.

The action of shark was aggressive by any reasonable interpretation, the downward projected pectoral fins through much of the clip and arched back at one point only add to this conclusion. Looking at it another way, if a 12 to 14 ft. White shark likely weighing a couple of thousand pounds bit or slammed into my tank and then proceeded to make runs on me several times with increasing agitation, I would conclude it was an attack. Just because he wasn't awash in blood, lost a limb or killed, doesn't mean it wasn't an attack at least as defined above.

It wasn't clear from the video whether the diver had a fish with him or not, that came out later. So, it doesn't fall into the category of a FMNH "unprovoked attack."

 

[doctormike]

I will not dive anywhere that there's any likelihood of encountering a Great White.

OK, Dutch Springs it is, then!

 

[HalcyonDaze]

About the use of the word "attack" in the subject line of this post. I actually thought it over before posting it. I tried to find a concise definition for "shark attack" online without success. Looking at a definition for "attack:"

noun: attack

1. an aggressive and violent action against a person or place.

The action of shark was aggressive by any reasonable interpretation, the downward projected pectoral fins through much of the clip and arched back at one point only add to this conclusion. Looking at it another way, if a 12 to 14 ft. White shark likely weighing a couple of thousand pounds bit or slammed into my tank and then proceeded to make runs on me several times with increasing agitation, I would conclude it was an attack. Just because he wasn't awash in blood, lost a limb or killed, doesn't mean it wasn't an attack at least as defined above.

It wasn't clear from the video whether the diver had a fish with him or not, that came out later. So, it doesn't fall into the category of a FMNH "unprovoked attack."

I don't see any evidence of an "arched back" or "downward projected fins" - which are usually an agonistic threat display, not a predatory behavior. What I see is a white shark cruising in fairly normal fashion and maneuvering to keep its eye on the diver. The only time she changes her fin posture or moves in a jerky manner is when she's avoiding the spear tip. That erroneous description of events I've quoted is one reason why I get my skepticism glasses on when people start screaming about "aggressive" sharks up in Palm Beach County. So he had a bleeding fish. Contrary to popular impression, this does not send sharks into a piranha-like feeding frenzy. They'll probably make note to check it out, but I doubt they'd launch an attack just based off of smell.

For reference, a "provoked" attack is when the shark is acting in self-defense. If we were to call this an attack (which I am not), it would be unprovoked because the shark's actions were not a result of being handled, hooked, speared, netted, teased, held captive, or otherwise "messed with." As some others stated, I don't think she was engaged in clearly predatory behavior - just a "too close for comfort" investigation. If he hadn't jabbed at her, she might have just eyeballed him and left of her own accord. Alternately, she could have followed up by mouthing him - which would have been an attack in my book. Prudent to err on the side of caution and giver her a discouraging jab.

Personally, I withhold from calling it a shark "attack" unless teeth get sunk into something. I believe a number of experts would prefer to reserve the term for when a shark makes a definite attempt to prey upon a human, as opposed to the "nips and runs" on surfers and swimmers that make up the bulk of Florida shark attacks.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Scuba Board is a funny place.

A pissed off commercial diver, rips the regulator from a lady's mouth and swims away as fast as he can and he is guilty of an attack, attempted murder even and this "attack" is grounds for a lethal response.

A GWS as big as a small car slams into a diver from behind, apparently bites his tank, approaches numerous times (from behind) and is punctured several times by a very sharp lance yet seems undeterred and this interaction is most definitely not an "attack"... nor is it even aggressive behavior...

 

[HalcyonDaze]

Scuba Board is a funny place.

A pissed off commercial diver, rips the regulator from a lady's mouth and swims away as fast as he can and he is guilty of an attack, attempted murder even and this "attack" is grounds for a lethal response.

A GWS as big as a small car slams into a diver from behind, apparently bites his tank, approaches numerous times (from behind) and is punctured several times by a very sharp lance yet seems undeterred and this interaction is most definitely not an "attack"... nor is it even aggressive behavior...

If the shark in this case had "slammed" into the diver from behind, that would have been very noticeable. Ever gotten tackled during a football game? Now scale the impact up by a factor of maybe ten and you'd have an idea of how hard that diver should have been hit. From the looks of it she barely grazed him; until I see pics of teeth marks on his tank we have no idea if that was what he felt/heard hit the tank. I'm having a hard time picturing how she could have gotten teeth on the tank while moving at that speed without noticeably jostling him. Could have been the tail fin brushing against it for all we know, especially as he didn't see the shark hitting his tank and had his own probably-fevered recollection to go by.

As far as "approaching from behind numerous times" ... uh, the GoPro was attached to the diver's head. We see her approaching from the front after her initial pass. She may well have approached from behind during the eight minutes he lost track of her - but she didn't attack in that timeframe. As far as getting punctured, I see one good, solid hit on her during the video - the last one, after which she leaves. I can't be sure the other jabs even touched her from watching the video - she flinches away, but I can't say if she was hit, let alone hard enough. I've done necropsies on small white sharks, and you'd really have to apply some force to a sensitive spot to hurt them. Aside from that, all I see is classic investigatory behavior. Of course, this is Florida, where if someone's eyeballing you you can legally shoot them and claim self defense. :gun:

We know a fair bit about shark behavior, but not enough where we can definitively say what's going through their minds in an encounter with humans. My opinion based on some experience and knowledge is that her behavior was investigatory, but I can't say for sure. On the other hand - if some SOB comes swimming up to me full-tilt, rips my reg out, and legs it away, I find it hard to see what he may have had in mind other than endangering my life. THAT is an attack - and yeah, in that circumstance I would have felt justified shooting or stabbing the bastard if I couldn't outrun him. The shark I would have given the benefit of a doubt.

 

[RickI]

We are all entitled to our opinions and even perception of what constitutes aggression with a circling one ton shark in 15 ft. visibility coming within jabbing distance of a speargun several times. Still, it is clear in my mind from the video and placing myself in the divers fins, not too hard after diving for much of the last 43 years although not with white sharks, in my view it still comes up as an attack as defined above.

For the sake of clarity, the FLMNH states the following on their website: ""Provoked attacks" usually occur when a human initiates physical contact with a shark, e.g. a diver bitten after grabbing a shark, attacks on spearfishers and those feeding sharks …" So, by this definition it was "provoked" per the International Shark Attack File of the FLHNH. I spoke to Mr. Burgess about this case and he may do his own review of what happened for their database as in the case of two kiteboarder shark attacks, one fatal and a serious barracuda attack that I talked to him about previously.

I was finally able to speak today with one of the divers who was out there that day and picked up quite a few more details. You can read his comments at:White Shark Attacks FL Diver, Another GW Heads For S. Florida? - FKA Kiteboarding Forums I quit spearfishing 40 years ago over concern about non-sustainability in Southeast Florida waters, so I am rusty on the whole shark - spear fisherman thing on a personal level. I was only attacked twice myself back then and by nurse sharks which don't really count although they seem to move in a similar way? Brian told me that in quite a few attacks from a variety of sharks, usually one good jab with the speargun point and they take off. You can read his comments at the link.

 

[sportxlh]

Rickl: thanks for the link: that's an interesting account of the encounter and the guys involved.

They have steely nerves: I would not have come up with 1000 psi.

 

[kelemvor]

Rickl: thanks for the link: that's an interesting account of the encounter and the guys involved.

They have steely nerves: I would not have come up with 1000 psi.

Wow! I'd have probably been scared enough to suck the tank itself through the regulator.