This all day.
And yes Dan, you are not reasonable. Doug couldn't reason with you either. Your friend JA can feed sharks and do whatever he does because its in the bahamas and he's an expert and he does it safely.. blah blah blah
If you look at the other other thread, you will see there is a research paper now introduced into the equation, and I am hoping several more will be added to the discussion.
At this point, as you would see from the other discussion, the Spearfishing behavior from over 40 years has done "little to nothing" in alteration of shark behavior, because it was not shark feeding--
but it was similar to baiting, in that it would bring sharks in, and for the spearfisherman that were able to completely kill the speared fish and eliminate all vibrations and struggling, the encounters would not be particularly aggressive....more like baiting...
When the fish on the spear were struggling, a classic feeding frenzy would often result, and this is far beyond the behaviors Jordan would create with his shark feeds, so I am NOT trying to compare this extreme.
The bottom line is that today we are in a discussion about humans doing something that the scientific community knows will cause changes in shark behavior....Studies have already been done, clearly there will be many more.
Everything I have read and seen so far on dives I have done, indicates to me that the baiting without feeding is much like smart spearfishing....and not likely to have much behavioral effect on sharks beyond what 40 plus years of spearfishing had done. Which is why I am not against the JASA style of shark interaction. And I am not against spearfishing.
The research I have read on ethology indicates the feeding will become a problem, and the one paper we have referenced now in the other thread indicates this as well. In all fairness to Randy, the study referenced is a feeding pattern far more exaggerated than what Randy has created---though when you look at the mechanisms for pecking orders and frustration, and for learned behaviors...it may be that Randy can feed on a much smaller level than was discussed in the article on French Polynesia shark feeds--and still end up frustrating low pecking order sharks enough times over weeks and months, for them to adopt aggressive solution behaviors.
As to you guys not being able to reason with me..... after re-reading the whole thread, my belief is that this discussion needs to move forward with the Science direction....which is where my posting will be directed, and this should mean Randy and you should not feel that I am being unfair--or unreasonable.
It is a big issue ...and the past discussion has succeeded in getting this issue to a top of mind awareness in a lot of divers....and in getting members of both sides of this to see both sides and think about each ( which would probably NOT have happened otherwise).
Now it needs a smart course of action for us to proceed with. Beyond the science angle, I can't think of any others...Can you?
And....I still want to do a meeting in an afternoon this weekend.
