US Scuba Diver - Shark Attack

[InTheDrink]

I've read a number of statements by "experts" in the field who have stated that baiting sharks does indeed change their behavior and conditions them to associate humans with food. Do a google. I believe even George Burgess has made similar statements.

As any Jupiter hunter will tell you, you can attract sharks simply by snapping the bands on a spear gun. The Bulls in particular have learned to associate the snap of the bands with food.

Baited dives... IMHO

Baited dives will attract sharks. Duh. That's the point.

My point is show me stats that show this is statistically dangerous.

Until then I'll take my chances, love diving with them and know that my premium fee gives them a much better chance of survival than Chinese nets.

Simple as. If you don't like it, don't do it. Or show me some better way with reasonable likelihood of success to preserve these great creatures.

Nb - I also do non-baited dives. Better for me, but in terms of preservation IMO makes no difference.

J

 

[Splitlip]

I'm just saying. Do a few googles and see what some of the specialists are saying. I have been there when we snapped gun bands and the sharks came in. I know first hand what happens when people feed Gators (or even ducks. I get nipped every morning by the little bastards when I go to work).

When I wake up in the morning and see my spa over flowing, my trash cans with 3 inches of water in them, a puddle near my down spout, I pretty much know it rained the night before. Anechdotal? Circumstantial?

Oh..I suspect your ops are not doing it to save the sharks, but rather to make a buck. Just my opinion, but you can google that too.

I say leave them alone. There are plenty of sharks to be seen without baiting.

 

[Deefstes]

I'm just saying. Do a few googles and see what some of the specialists are saying. I have been there when we snapped gun bands and the sharks came in. I know first hand what happens when people feed Gators (or even ducks. I get nipped every morning by the little bastards when I go to work).

When I wake up in the morning and see my spa over flowing, my trash cans with 3 inches of water in them, a puddle near my down spout, I pretty much know it rained the night before. Anechdotal? Circumstantial?

Yes, that is anecdotal. The fact that you get nipped by a duck does not logically infer that divers will get bitten by baited sharks. If it really is so obvious as you suggest, the data will be out there to prove it - but it isn't.

I'm not disputing that you've seen the sharks come in when you snap speargun bands. It makes sense to me that you would see more sharks when you employ measures to lure them in. But the whole point is, we're still not on their menu.

Oh..I suspect your ops are not doing it to save the sharks, but rather to make a buck. Just my opinion, but you can google that too.

Of course they're doing it to make a buck - but at least they make their buck from live sharks, not from the fins of dead sharks. The more people that can be made to realise that live sharks are good for divers, good for business, good for the local economy, the more pressure you will start to see on those industries that undermine that.

 

[Splitlip]

Can they all be wrong? Shark (marine life) feeding has been banned in Florida fo 10 years.

George Burgess (University of Florida): "Sharks fed on the dives are not behaving normally. They have never gathered in large groups before now… You are changing the dynamics of the shark population - turning the sharks into performing animals, and that has resulted in ecological disruption. These [sharks] become like underwater circus animals…their behavior has been modified, as has the ecology of the area".

Dr. Sam Gruber, Professor, and University of Miami: "Shark feeding dives are altering shark behavior in a non-positive way."

U.S. National Park Service: "Unnatural conditions occur if supplemental food is provided to wild animals. This practice changes the natural distribution and behavior of fed species and the way in which their populations are regulated. Any attempt to manipulate the natural life cycles…such as fish feeding, would be contrary to the mission and values of the National Park Service."

State of Hawaii: "Fish feeding has been shown (EXPERIMENTALLY) to change the species composition in areas where the practice is done regularly, and fish become more aggressive, raising concerns about safety."

"Many of the most respected environmental, marine conservation, animal protection AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT organizations in the U.S., have GONE ON RECORD WITH THE FLORIDA FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION COMMISSION IN support of our PETITION TO BAN MARINE WILDLIFE FEEDING BY DIVERS, including:

Watchable Wildlife
World Wildlife Fund
Caribbean Conservation Corporation
Defenders of Wildlife
Environmental Defense
Wildlife Conservation Society
The Humane Society of the United States
Biscayne Bay National Park/U.S. National Park Service
Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service/NOAA
Reef Relief
We have also gained the support of many coastal cities of South Florida, Florida Sportsman Magazine and the Recreational Fishing Alliance ~ 70,000 members and growing"

"Feeding Facts Fixed"

I am certain the FWC and State of Florida considered facts before the decision was made. This is all I can find. >10 year old links. The fact that CDNN still has some links and information should not take away from the message. Florida and Hawaii have both banned the practice.

 

[Seraphimx]

ScienceDirect - Tourism Management : Feeding wildlife as a tourism attraction: a review of issues and impacts
http://joomla.wildlife.org/documents/positionstatements/42-Baiting and Feeding.pdf
Are You Feeding Wildlife? - Natural Resource Management Division - Ontario Government, Ministry of Natural Resources

It is proven that feeding ANY TYPE OF WILDLIFE is WRONG.

If you alter the top predator's feeding you'll affect the whole chain under him.

Baiting affects it more subtly. But there is research. Just use google.

 

[VooDooGasMan]

These guys threw in a dummy diver, and the shark attacked.

Sharks are hunters as is all sea life, When in la paz, me and wife went on hammerhead dive, we went deep, I killed all fish I could with knife while descending down slope to wall. No other divers seen them but we did.

Sharks are going to get there meal, baiting sharks is like going to McDonald's, every once in awhile there is a happy meal out of the cage, once the wrapper is off there is some good eatens.

 

[fjpatrum]

ScienceDirect - Tourism Management : Feeding wildlife as a tourism attraction: a review of issues and impacts
http://joomla.wildlife.org/documents/positionstatements/42-Baiting and Feeding.pdf
Are You Feeding Wildlife? - Natural Resource Management Division - Ontario Government, Ministry of Natural Resources

It is proven that feeding ANY TYPE OF WILDLIFE is WRONG.

If you alter the top predator's feeding you'll affect the whole chain under him.

Baiting affects it more subtly. But there is research. Just use google.

Not to be a dick but it hasn't been proven WRONG. It has been proven to have an effect. Right or wrong is entirely debatable.

Carry on...

 

[fjpatrum]

These guys threw in a dummy diver, and the shark attacked.

Sharks are going to get there meal, baiting sharks is like going to McDonald's, every once in awhile there is a happy meal out of the cage, once the wrapper is off there is some good eatens.

The problem with that statement is that more often than not the sharks don't take the "good eatens" they take a bite and spit it back out. Divers/swimmers/surfers don't generally die from shark bites, even the ones who get "attacked". They almost always have massive lacerations and occasionally even limbs missing but very few people are actually "eaten" by a shark. As for the pictures you posted, I'd argue there was more to that dummy than just the shape of a diver in the water.

For what it's worth, I don't have a pony in this race, I just like arguing

 

[Shasta_man]

You should have stabbed yourself with that knife. That would fix multiple problems.

 

[Splitlip]

It has been proven to have an effect. Right or wrong is entirely debatable.

And which interest should be burdened with providing the evidence?

"Where is the "evidence" that feeding dives do not cause environmental harm? By long-established precedent in environmental law, the burden of proof properly lies with the entity proposing to modify the environment, rather than with the public who must live with the results of such impact. That's exactly what environmental impact statements are all about. Unfortunately, the pro-feeding coalition has been unwilling to admit or accept that responsibility."

In Florida 10 years ago, Rodals, PADI, NAUI, DEMA and the ops with the big guns and cash were uanable to convince the State. The grass roots movement started by a couple divers and environmentalists had the practice banned.