Aug

Shark Diving: Should we be afraid?

Mark Pawlak Category

Africa, cape town, Danger, kitesurfing, ocean sports, Risk, Safety, Scuba Diving, shark, shark dive, shark diving, sharks, south africa, Surf, Surfing, water sports, watersports

Another Shark Week has concluded on one of the major networks. No matter how many times it’s explained that sharks rarely attack, there’s always a moment, a worry that passes over watersports fans as we paddle out into the waters.

Sharks: even the smallest look intimidating. But is this because we are conditioned to fear them, or based on a genuine threat? Surely kitesurfers are safe? Or are they?

From the outset, the species hasn’t had a great rep. Spielberg’s Jaws defined an entire generation’s perception of this spectacular, angular master of the deep, and little has changed.

As Roy Schneider struggled to waken Amity Island and swimmers to the threat, under the water cruised a bloodthirsty predator, with a liking for bikinis and bathing suits.

It’s taken years to break the stereotype. However, the same educational documentaries that have explained the species’ general ambivalence to our presence in its waters have also fuelled our fears.

Why do they insist on baiting great white sharks, lacing the water with blood and tempting them to strike at a cage full of people? Could this not be doing more harm than good?

As the information stands, there are only three types of shark that pose real danger to humans: the great white, the tiger and the bull shark. Still, attacks are rare.

Probably because we are not their natural prey; we are bony and our surfboards don’t make a tasty bite for any predator.

Commonsense reveals that our fears are unjustified: If ‘the greatest predator in the ocean’ attacks to kill and devour a human, you can safely presume they would achieve their aim every time – and most people survive shark attacks.

The Florida Museum of Natural History has documented this for years. It concludes that you are in more danger on the road to the beach than in the water!

According to the experts: “Shark attack trauma is also less common than such beach-related injuries as spinal damage, dehydration, jellyfish and stingray stings and sunburn”.

Now, we know people commonly surf in the areas that sharks patrol with no problems. So is there any reason at all to be worried?

Well, there are danger spots, but the hunters of the deep usually have better things to do then bother us – such is their indifference, you’ll probably never even see one.

Had an experience with a shark? Been Shark Diving? Why do you think we are so fixated with them? And are nature programs just making it all worse?

Let us know.

About the author

Mark Pawlak wrote 170 articles on this blog.

Editor at Adventure Sports Holidays, Mark's love affair with travel and the challenges of adventure sports continues... "You could save all year for a two-week, all-inclusive, doss by the pool, booze and buffet binge. Or, with a little planning and some good equipment, get off your arse and plan an adventure!"

whale watching August 21, 2010 at 9:25 am
Actually i dont have an experience watching sharks but i have watched whales.
Whale watching is a little less risky than compared to that of sharks since sharks are a more aggressive creature.
Tim B August 21, 2010 at 12:19 pm
Wow, thanks for the insight into Whale watching! Please try and refrain from writing such pointless drivel on our blog unless you have something that actual contributes to the subject of the post. I’ve posted your comment but removed the link to your site which I assume was the sole reason you bothered wriitng this nonsense anyway.
Mark August 21, 2010 at 3:33 pm
My thoughts exactly. It’s a post for people who love their sport.

You don’t have to be an expert, just interested, with something to say.

So lets keep it that way!
Lucy August 23, 2010 at 9:53 am
I’ve always been wary of the idea of cage diving. I love scuba and can see the appeal of getting close to sharks whilst in the safety of a cage but surely chumming the waters and luring sharks towards humans will increase the association between people and a shark’s dinner?

Despite my anxiety, research I’ve looked at from The World Wildlife Federation and The Shark Trust states that there’s no scientific link between cage diving and shark attacks; in shark-watching hotspots,such as the South African Cape coast, where the number of attacks has increased alongside ‘shark tourism’, it’s suggested that the increase is more likely linked to population increase, the number of water-users and technological advances in wetsuit materials, allowing us to stay in the water longer.

Having said this, I’ve never been cage diving myself and am always a little, perhaps unnecessarily, scornful of those who have. Does anyone whose actually been diving with sharks have any comments?

(NB. This post is about SHARKS – not whales)
Luke August 23, 2010 at 1:40 pm
I have never been cage diving but to me baiting the water to attract sharks who then see potential dinner behind a cage seems like teasing them! Having said that I am not sure if chum baiting is allowed any more at least not in all places I will have to check that out.

However perhaps for the sharks its like going to the zoo so they turn up to look at the silly humans in cages…..
Lee August 25, 2010 at 7:41 am
I went white shark cage diving about two weeks ago with The White Shark Diving Co in Kleinbaai Harbour, the channel between Geyser and Dyer islands, the ‘white shark capital’. I wasn’t so scared of the sharks, more scared of the freezing water and going on a boat out on the ocean for the first time. Unfortunately that day the shark activity was low, so didn’t see as many sharks as seen before. We saw about 5 sharks that day, the largest one being about 3.5-4 metres – that not being very big, since they reach up to 6metres. It was an amazing experience – not many can say they have been shark cage diving, never the less say they have looked deep into the eyes of a great white shark.
Ian K August 26, 2010 at 9:43 am
I’m another person commenting here who has never been shark cage diving. However, I think it was a really good point made about the fact that we are baiting sharks, and over time surely we are likely to create a link in a sharks brain between humans and food. If, as Luke said, that baiting is made illegal, then I don’t think there is so much of a problem, as this link won’t be made (hopefully!)
r3trosteve September 1, 2010 at 2:42 pm
Great post, I love anything about sharks and cage diving with great whites is definitely on my list of things to tick off. I did dive with 2m long white tip reef sharks in the Maldives, but I hear that’s pretty tame. They looked like big sharks to me and made my heart flutter a little – they’re very shark -shaped, if you know what I mean!

Here’s a fascinating video of when a shark busted through the steel cage and the diver still managed to capture it on video. Makes me think a bit harder about cage diving, but what the heck!

http://www.stickit.co/story.php?title=youtube-great-white-shark-accident-%E2%98%85%E2%98%85%E2%98%85%E2%98%85%E2%98%85
Ian K September 3, 2010 at 9:45 am
I think that a 2 metre long shark would be enough to have the adrenaline kick in! Crazy video…!
NicolA Inwood September 3, 2010 at 9:37 pm
We conduct non cage, no feeding bull shark dives off the coast of mexico in playa del carmen and i have to say it is fantastic. Our non feeding rule makes these trip safe, (no incidents to date over the last 5 years) and we observe these amazing creatures for over 4 months a year. Cage diving is a very different shark diving endeavor with many of the divers in the cage not certified divers but Resort divers so have little experience, they are on hugas so they have land air not tank air and their inexperience in the water even though they are in a cage makes these trips a challenge. Having experienced divers who align with our philosophy of no feeding and understand the delicacy of the situation makes this experience one of a kind!

Observing the creatures below is why we become scuba divers and through courses, scuba divers are taught how to deal with this experience. Feeding anyone, whether they be human or not can build a frantic situation, one that we would not want to deal with. Check out observation dives for sharks where there is a non feeding rule and you will find the experience to be very very different!
Danielle January 2, 2011 at 2:08 pm
I have planned a trip to South Africa and plan to go cage diving. I have an immense fear of sharks, no idea why. Was it Jaws? Most likely. However I have an insane fascination with them as well! I have swam with leopard and bonnethead sharks, which is apparently rather safe, but insanely scary when you’re afraid of sharks. There were also stingrays, which after the Australian guy lost his life to them is slightly un-nerving, but then again, I’m not messing with them.
*On a side note- I swam with dolphins and got beat up pretty bad by the male dolphin who thought I was some sort of competition for the female in heat. What those guides thinking is beyond me. It was still fun though
Mark Pawlak May 13, 2011 at 1:51 am
I think all sharks look intimidating, even the smallest ones. There’s no end of TV shows about them, be interesting to hear more about rays, maybe.

Shark Diving: Should we be afraid?

About the author

12 Comments to “Shark Diving: Should we be afraid?”

Post comment

Mark Pawlak

Categories

Recent Posts