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I agree - sharks learn very fast. When Pina and I were diving in the
Bahamas, they would come up and sit at the transom waiting for us so that we
basically had to jump on them to get into the water, and then they followed
us around and got closer and closer until they were obnoxious.
In Cat Cay, we used to throw the carcasses of the tuna in the water at one
end of the island from the shore. Tigers 10 feet long would be waiting there
every evening for their tuna meal.
I notice that diving here they come rushing up now when they see a diver.
The thing about requiem sharks in the wild is that it takes them hours to
get their nerve up unless of course there is feeding going on. Like this
article says, many have lost their fear.
-----Original Message-----
From: Byron Grogan [mailto:groganb@ho*.co*]
Sent: Tuesday, August 21, 2001 12:19 AM
To: techdiver@aquanaut.com
Subject: Media blames divers for shark attacks
http://www.newsmax.com/showinsidecover.shtml?a=2001/8/19/203119
Sunday, Aug. 19, 2001 9:30 p.m. EDT
Why the Shark Attacks?
This summer seems to have hit a high mark for shark
attacks, particularly off the east and west coasts
of Florida.
Could it be a sign, like earthquakes and wars, of
the Second Coming?
Perhaps there is a simpler explanation.
This past Saturday, three men surfing off Daytona
Beach were attacked by sharks.
"We saw sharks all morning long," a competition
offical told the AP. "There were bull sharks 7 to 8
feet long and 6-foot blacktips."
The beach was eventually closed, as have been many
Florida beaches during the past several months.
"Central Florida, especially the east coast of
Florida, leads the world every year in shark bites,
and the greater Daytona area is no exception,"
Volusia County Beach Patrol official Joe Wooden
said.
We know that last month two Americans were struck by
sharks while in waters off the Bahamas. One lost his
leg.
And, of course, 8-year-old Jessie Arbogast had his
arm severed by a bull shark last month in Pensacola.
For years, we have been told that the movie "Jaws"
was fiction. Sharks, for the most part, fear humans
and have little interest in attacking anyone - so
the thinking went.
What has changed?
One reasonable explanation is the recent activities
of scuba activists, who have not been content to
simply go for a dive and look at the coral.
Now sea adventure firms in Florida and the Caribbean
have been peddling trips for divers to watch shark
feeding frenzies.
The expeditions use large amounts of live bait to
attract large numbers of sharks - for the amusement
of the divers.
Some Floridians believe the feeding trips have
brought sharks closer to shore and closer to humans
- making them lose their natural fear of humans.
--
I haven't seen this discussed on CNN or the major news networks yet, but
I expect to see this idea hit them soon, as this seems just plausable
(sp?) enough to the uninformed to have them accept it.
Also,
http://www.cnn.com/POLL/results/1633231.content.html
"In light of the recent shark attacks are you:
Less likely to go in the ocean? [53%]
More likely to visit ocean resorts? [5%]
Not concerned about the attacks? [42%]"
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