This is why cage diving with sharks is bad!
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Oside Jimc
Contributor
The problem with the diving at Guadalupe is two fold, first while recreational diving without cages is not done at Guadalupe, Mexican Abalone divers do in fact dive there, without cages. Prior to the cage dives starting there were a few divers killed, but this was a rare event only happening years apart. Now that the cage trips have trained these intelligent predators that boat = food the incidence of fatal attacks have increased to the point that there were 2 fatalities in '07. Which brings us to the most serious problem, changing the behavior of wild creatures by feeding. How about going to Yosemite and feeding the bears so you can get a good picture? While once accepted this practice has been long discredited since it disrupts the natural behavor of the animals in a negative way. I have been fishing at Guadalupe for over 20 years and before the cage trips we rarely saw GWS, now that they have been trained by the cage boats no sooner is the hook set before there are sharks patrolling around the boat looking for a handout. As much as I like seeing these magnificent creatures it saddens me to see them now trained like dogs to come running at the sound of the supper dish, and in the long run this will not benefit the GWS population.
Please do not feed the sharks!
Yeah at first glance it does look weird. That is Wolfgang Leander, he is famous for freediving with many species of sharks. He was an extreme pleasure to dive with! I learned alot from him.Its just the angle, but at first it looks as though the freediver behind the shark only has one leg. :blinking:
Seriously though, that Shark Diver trip sounds like a great experience. I've added to my "must dive" list (OTOH, its a long list!)...
John
Thanks! I am booked to go again this October and hope to take even better shots! I am still a newbie at this photography thing!
When it comes to the attacks off the west coast, from what I understand, there have been alot of seals in the waters. The attacks were on swimmers and surfers. Makes you wonder how much that increases your chances of attack when you look like the food that is in the water with you. The sharks we dived with did not exhibit any agressive behavior. We were jumping in while they were chumming, but we made sure we didn't give the sharks the impression that we had anything to give them from our hands. They basically bumped us, just like they do each other. To them, we were just another fish waiting for a free meal like they were. But we were very observant of behavior and what to look for if the situation changed. They are wild animals and one must respect them.
Carolyn:shark2:
Ayisha
Contributor
Yikes, that bumping can be a little unnerving. We were charged at and grazed by black tip sharks in Raiatea in the South Pacific (Tahiti and her islands). The first couple of times, I checked to see if they did anything to my BC or leg as they brushed by my side really fast, but nothing. They call them "friendly sharks" around Tahiti because instead of being aloof around divers, they are very curious and follow you around as soon as you back roll off the boat until the end of your dive. Thank God the Greys and Lemons didn't bump us - that would have been too much.
As soon as our boat stopped, around 20 black tips circled our boat, so we jumped in. I just asked the DM to try and wait for a clear space for me to backroll in before letting go of my valve, so that I didn't land right on them and maybe tick them off. Little did I know they would start charging and then at the last second, they swerved, just grazing my BC or leg. I got used to it, though, and they moved on to a new diver every time someone backrolled in. Then, they just stayed all around our group for the whole dive. The huge grey sharks and lemon sharks came out of nowhere and also escorted us for a lot of our dives. The huge grey sharks moved really fast and looked like they could easily have me for lunch, but were the usual aloof species. The lemon sharks would repeatedly dart, going breakneck speed, and then pretty much stop, for no apparent reason. Both the greys and lemons would disappear, and then join us again. But again, both the greys and lemons were pretty aloof other than staying beside us and escorting us through most of our dives. BTW, nobody had any food. It was a very cool experience!
Some of them move really fast, so it was hard to take pics, but here are some:
A Grey Shark and a tall adult male
A Black Tip Shark
A Lemon Shark
spoolin01
Contributor
Well, I suppose it's a debatable point of view, but I'd say it's natural behavior - and positive in that sense - for an animal to take food where they choose to. The problem becomes the subsequent behavior of man, when he kills the beasts for doing what comes naturally. Food is such a powerful conditioner for fish, maybe because they're so dumb - can you imagine catching a bear by dragging an Elmo doll behind your car on a rope? - that I think our land-based instincts don't fully prepare us for what to expect - I'm thinking of the comment above that they were careful not to let the sharks think they had food in their hands (!), so the sharks didn't bite them because sharks only go for chum. That 'researcher' in Florida had his calf bitten off by a bull shark, thinking much the same way. I wonder if this also comes about because land predators for the most part won't approach you no matter what you do, so we see them without being fed upon, never closing the experiential loop confirming that being made of meat = edible food source for a carnivore. I've been in the uncomfortably close presence of black bears a few times - not yet coyotes, wolves, or cougars - and not been attacked, but I have no doubt that if I got them to stick around long enough, and put them in the mood for eating, that they would eventually attempt to eat me, even the small pack hunters. Whether I showed them my empty hands or not!
Sharks are far from dumb. They can figure things out and are advantageous hunters. That behavior was quite visible on the shark dives I have done. Tigers especially will take their time to come into an area and are very wary of what is in the water with them. They also can figure out a bait box easily.
When it comes to being bumped, after being in the water with the Lemons, you got used to their contact. It's another sense they use to check out who's in the water with them. You just made sure to keep your hands out of their mouths.
When it comes to attacks, Dr. Erich Ritter has admitted to making a mistake with the bull shark that bit him. His reaction actually increased the intensity of the bite. When we dive with sharks, you keep your hands close to you, especially in chummed waters. Since there are pieces of fish in the water, you don't want your hand to get in the way of a mouth seeking out that food. You also watch for behavior changes before you get in and while under the water with them. It isn't something you take lightly and you respect the animal you are in the water with.
Below is a photo of Wolfgang Leander, freediver and shark diver. He was with us and I learned alot from his experiences with sharks. It has taken him 40yrs to be able to predict behavior and understand them enough to make such intimate contact with them. It was amazing to watch. Yes he has been bitten, and on his admission, it was from mistakes on his part, not the shark.
Carolyn:shark2:
When it comes to being bumped, after being in the water with the Lemons, you got used to their contact. It's another sense they use to check out who's in the water with them. You just made sure to keep your hands out of their mouths.
When it comes to attacks, Dr. Erich Ritter has admitted to making a mistake with the bull shark that bit him. His reaction actually increased the intensity of the bite. When we dive with sharks, you keep your hands close to you, especially in chummed waters. Since there are pieces of fish in the water, you don't want your hand to get in the way of a mouth seeking out that food. You also watch for behavior changes before you get in and while under the water with them. It isn't something you take lightly and you respect the animal you are in the water with.
Below is a photo of Wolfgang Leander, freediver and shark diver. He was with us and I learned alot from his experiences with sharks. It has taken him 40yrs to be able to predict behavior and understand them enough to make such intimate contact with them. It was amazing to watch. Yes he has been bitten, and on his admission, it was from mistakes on his part, not the shark.
Carolyn:shark2:
EagleDiver
Registered
As I heard it, the GWs did not congregate at Guadalupe in any significant numbers until about 1998, when they 'suddenly' made an appearance, reeking havoc on the diving community, both recreational and commercial.
I've heard opinions that tuna fishing may have brought them in, and the prevalence of what looks like damage from steel leaders at the corners of GW mouths tends to support they scavenge hooked fish with regularity.
Whatever brought them in (and there is an elephant seal population too - their favored prey), they've been hanging around from Sept to December (just like in the Farallons) since.
And their presence in such numbers and the resulting shut down of recreational diving and much commercial diving took place long before the first cage diving charter took place.
As further evidence that cage diving, at least at Guadalupe and conducted in the manner I witnessed, isn't the big bugaboo some make it to be, think on this experience from my trip:
On Day 3 after an overnight cruise to check in at the Mexican Naval Base, the captain anchored our boat about 50 yards further out from our original position. The bottom was well over 400 feet or more where it had been less than 200 previously. Three hours of bait and cages in the water and only one very small shark made an appearance, and just as quickly left. We up-anchored and moved back closer to shore, and within a half hour of settling in came the sharks.
This evidence suggests it's not the boat, nor even the bait, that attracted the sharks. They seem to be keeping a 'patrol' zone around the beach where the seals were hauled out, and, when a boat anchors in that zone, it gets inspected. Outside that zone it gets ignored (unless you are actively hooking and fighting live tuna!).
There's nothing in evidence at Guadalupe indicating cage diving has made any difference, for better or worse, on the shark 'problem'.
Must be beginner's luck then because those were some awesome shots!
I am glad I had 5 days to do it! That made all the difference. The first day of pics, mine were a mess and worthless. In the end I finally got some money shots, and alot were luck. Next time though, I will be even more ready! Especially since I understand their behavior alot more!
Carolyn:shark2:
Nevertheless, great job!
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