In Defense of Sharks

I would like to weigh in on something that I just read on Yahoo. It seems a shark adventure dive in Riviera Beach, FL went badly and one of the divers was bitten by one of the apex predators. The man survived the bite but died the next day.

First of all – the dive company chummed the water before allowing the diver’s in. They, of course, do this to attract the bigger, more aggressive, albeit more elusive, species of shark such as the great white, bulls, lemons and tigers. Of course coming up from a dive saying you had seen one of these great sharks would be a mind-blowing high for anyone who loves sharks. However, chumming invokes feeding frenzies which alter the shark’s perception of what is in the water with it.

The diver’s also were not sent down in a cage or with a protective metal suit. Ok, I can understand that because if I were to dive with the sharks – something on my “to do” list – I wouldn’t want to be hindered by any of that either. I think a wetsuit should suffice – but that is me.

George Burgess – director of the International Shark Attack File – said “Ecotourism for animals is a great concept, but it is most successful in situations where people watch their natural behaviors from afar and not intrude,” but I also disagree with this statement. If people are present – even behind glass – the behavior of the shark is altered and therefore no longer “natural”. Sharks in aquariums give us a good look at the beasts close up, but to say that we could learn about their natural behavior there is, in my opinion, wrong. That isn’t to say such a visit isn’t educational, it is, but as a true shark lover – I would like to see one out in the wild, in the water.

The fact that there are so many companies that do so many of these trips and no one has been bitten for years is a tribute to the companies’ safety procedures. Once a bite does occur, the media beefs it up and makes the shark out to be a monster when, in fact, it was behaving as normally as can be expected in that situation. People who go on these dives know there are risks – while it goes without saying that it does – I’m sure the company the diver dived with also discussed this with the customer’s in depth.

Now, if I went diving with the sharks this is what I would want – I would want to dive in less then 50 feet of water, in my wetsuit, in waters that were not chummed, with a company that had an excellent track record and very knowledgeable dive master supervising the dive.

Sharks are very important to the marine ecosystem. I have loved reading and learning about them since I was a child. When one is needlessly killed, it not only makes me sad – it enrages me. People who fish & attack these beautiful creatures are morons. An occasional bite, though I feel sorry for the man’s family, seems like a small slice of justice to me.