You, NO. Them, uh...Ok!

[DEEP SEA]

I have spent a lot of time filming people feed sharks. The sharks seem to care about the food and that's all. As soon as the food is gone, so are the sharks! I have left the area and immediately returned with a fresh tank only to find no sharks. As I swim about, a few will come round checking me out. When they see I don't have anything to eat, they leave. When the food is around, they are approachable. When the food is gone, they go to the 10' distance rule. They usually will not let you come within 10' before they bolt off!

I have been told by shark experts that the sharks in the Nassau area have about a 10 day memory. That means after ten days, they forget tragic things that have happened to them. Case in point, a shark is hooked by fisherman and beat up pretty good while trying to take the hook out. This particular shark had some nice scratches making it easily identified. The shark would not have anything to do with people for about ten days. :fury: Then, back to the normal schedule of being feed (still carrying the scares). Over the past 20 years of feeding, this behavior has been noticed by experts in the area time after time. Feeders get to know the local sharks pretty good. They even have names for most of them. The outcome was an observation that sharks have about a 10 day memory!

 

[njdiver1]

You might want to relay this info to the people involved with this issue down in Florida. If impericval evidence of sharks inability to retain memory of feedings has been documented, they should have this information for the injuntion. Let me know if you need contact information.

 

[ScubaBurt]

Have just finished reading the pros and cons posted concerning the marine feeding issue in Florida. My wife and I dove out of Riviera Beach, FL with one of the operations, Jim Abernathy's Scuba Adventures, that does a shark dive. It was an awsome experience and at no time did I feel threatened. The food is not fed by hand. It is suspended in a plastic crate about 20 feet from the bottom. The only caution given by the DM was to stay at least 20 feet from the feed crate itself. The sharks were by no means aggressive. The swam by us to reach the fish food, ate, and then swam back between us, close enough to touch(which I readily did). The owner of the dive operation was video taping the whole dive and you saw no aggressive behavior from any of the sharks. The DM told us that the ban takes effect on Jan 1, 2002. As far as the reduction of dive tourists because of the ban, We did not dive Florida just because of the shark dive. Divers will dive Florida whether the have a shark dive or not. The sharks are still there around the reefs and wrecks, you just can't get as close. After the ban, I guess we will never hear of another shark attack on the coast line of Florida. NOT!!! I wonder what they will blame next time? Like everyone else, this is my 2 cents worth.

 

[Walter]

"After the ban, I guess we will never hear of another shark attack on the coast line of Florida."

The only people I've heard make this argument are those opposed to the ban. Seems some folks feel a need to invent an untenable opposing argument to ridicule.

DSSW,

WWW™

 

[JustJules]

Originally posted by Walter
"After the ban, I guess we will never hear of another shark attack on the coast line of Florida."

The only people I've heard make this argument are those opposed to the ban. Seems some folks feel a need to invent an untenable opposing argument to ridicule.

I don't see why this is an untenable argument, as you put it. It just points out the cause/effect of feeding/attacks may not be valid.

People (here and off the board) are using the argument that shark attacks are linked to shark feeding. The media frenzy this year is what enabled them to get this rule enacted. Yet if feeding stops, will shark bites stop, too?

Of course not. A shark attack in Pensacola has nothing to do with a shark feeding in Pompano.

The sad thing about the shark feeding ban is that it doesn't address the real problems, just allows a special interest to restrict a relatively small group of people. If the rule enacted made sense, I would be behind it. What I see is a huge amount of time and energy expended on a rule that isn't addressing real problems of what's changing shark behavior. I'm against the idea of shutting down a few dive operators to make an example of them when they continue to let other groups and interests chum the water.

Julie

 

[Walter]

Julie,

I know of no one who supports the feeding ban who has suggested that the feedings in anyway caused the attacks recently in the news in Pensacola, Daytona or anywhere else.

Why would you want to argue a point that isn't being made? Supporters and opponents of the ban agree that these attacks were in no way caused by nor related to the feedings.

Trying to link feedings with those attacks is untenable.

No dive operators are being shut down. There are dive operators who conduct feedings, others are against the concept. No one conducts feedings on a majority of their trips.

DSSW,

WWW™

 

[sharpenu]

Oh come on, Walter. You are trying to say that no one here trying to use the summer's media frenzy to further the agenda here? Every time I see this story in the news, they reference the shark bites and they say "and some of these feeds are taking place within 200 yards of swimming areas. Some people are uncomfortable with these divers bringing sharks into our swimming areas." As if the sharks weren't already there. That is called spin. You can insinuate the connection without appearing biased. The media does it all the time on alot of topics. It isn't what you say, but how you say it.

 

[Walter]

"You are trying to say that no one here trying to use the summer's media frenzy to further the agenda here?"

Exactly. If you've seen such a post please point it out because I've missed it.

DSSW,

WWW™