For Divers out there

[Abdullah71601]

Originally Posted by Dawg2

Sharks are in oceans. There are very few places in the ocean that people get into that do not have sharks.

There are billions of people who never see the ocean, but get bitten by mosquitoes several times a day.

You can't compare two statistical sets with vastly different variances. The mosquito case is billions of people with multiple opportunities per day throughout their life span. Shark exposures are millions of people with an occasional opportunity (i.e. weekend or holiday). There is no valid comparison between the two.

[joeychitwood]

Originally Posted by Dawg2

Nurse shark. I have seen a lot of them. Harmless.

I've seen countless Nurse sharks lying on the sand in the Caribbean. They are harmless, but because they are easily approachable, idiots decide to pet them or otherwise irritate them. They have small mouth with many sharp teeth and if they get provoked, they will bite and hold on. I once saw a diver surface with a small Nurse shark still holding on to her arm. Once on the boat, they were able to get it to let go.

[Burlington]

Originally Posted by crew

A few years ago, before Hurricane Irma, I was snorkeling off of St. John in the USVI. I ran into this small shark. Not sure what kind of shark it was but he was very docile.

I believe it’s a nurse shark.

[antbkny]

What’s to be afraid of?

[Abdullah71601]

Originally Posted by antbkny

What’s to be afraid of?

They can bite their own tail. Or the hand holding it.

[antbkny]

Originally Posted by Abdullah71601

They can bite their own tail. Or the hand holding it.

True, I know that now because he tried to get my deepsea!

[Abdullah71601]

Originally Posted by antbkny

True, I know that now because he tried to get my deepsea!

He has great taste!

[antbkny]

Originally Posted by Abdullah71601

He has great taste!

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by Abdullah71601

You have it backwards Brian, you pay to be in the water with the sharks.

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[Dawg2]

Originally Posted by joeychitwood

I've seen countless Nurse sharks lying on the sand in the Caribbean. They are harmless, but because they are easily approachable, idiots decide to pet them or otherwise irritate them. They have small mouth with many sharp teeth and if they get provoked, they will bite and hold on. I once saw a diver surface with a small Nurse shark still holding on to her arm. Once on the boat, they were able to get it to let go.

They are harmless. I am harmless and easily approachable too. If I get provoked, I have many teeth as well.

"Harmless" as in not a threat. You can provoke something harmless and change its status.

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[Etschell]

Humans are far more dangerous than sharks.

[HobokenRolex]

I was scuba diving in the Bahamas last week but didn’t see any sharks (we were diving at wrecks where no sharks were). But my son and I saw these when snorkeling the next day. The boat crew put a bucket with food about 20 feet down and we were on the surface holding a line behind the boat - in the water at the top looking down at the sharks. After that, they chummed the surface so the sharks came up after we were back in the boat. We also saw a stingray and a 3-4 foot barracuda while snorkeling.

[JasoninDenver]

Thank god no one has mentioned snakes yet.

I have no problem open water swimming off the Maui coast but I will not get within 50 feet of a murky Texas creek.

Once saw a huge stingray or manta wingtip that looked enough like a gray shark fin to scare the pee out of me but never an actual shark.

On the other hand, I have been chased in a creek by a few water moccasins. I know where the real danger lies.

[milov]

It is not unusual to have an irrational fear of sharks. But one day you might learn that it is irrational. In most situations, you are very unlikely to see one. So by all means give Scuba a go. Then one day you might be lucky enough to see a shark in the ocean. You will be so excited, amazed and mesmerised. You will see their grace and beauty. And you will eagerly anticipate your next encounter.

[RolexJoe]

I’ve been diving in the Bahamas, St. Martin, St. Thomas, Jamaica, and Cozumel and encountered sharks almost every dive. Reef sharks are like big dumb fish, I’ve had them within arms reach and they were afraid of me. Nurse sharks I saw just sat on the bottom and didn’t do much. One dive I saw a very large Tiger shark appear about 50 yards away but he kept on going his own way thankfully. He was a scary one.

I’m more concerned about barracuda than sharks honestly.

[LandWatch]

Not the best photo, but it’s always exciting to encounter a shark.

[timedate]

i heard there are plenty of man eaters in the indian ocean

it isnt just sharks, what about the ray that killed the crocodile hunter?

respect the danger of the ocean, like you would the jungle.

[LandWatch]

Originally Posted by timedate

i heard there are plenty of man eaters in the indian ocean

it isnt just sharks, what about the ray that killed the crocodile hunter?

respect the danger of the ocean, like you would the jungle.

Rays are a type of shark .. they’re both Elasmobranchs. Most are harmless, stingrays would only be dangerous if pestered or provoked.

[timedate]

Originally Posted by HighlandWatch

Rays are a type of shark .. they’re both Elasmobranchs. Most are harmless, stingrays would only be dangerous if pestered or provoked.

people say that its only if you pester or provoke, but a wild being can have a different definition,

i did a fair bit of scuba at the turn of the century, i dont now, but i saw some great stuff, but it was always in the back of my mind, not in the uk, but down in the med, maybe not sharks, but other dangers.

[returntorolex]

Land shark!

[Zakalwe]

Originally Posted by timedate

i heard there are plenty of man eaters in the indian ocean

it isnt just sharks, what about the ray that killed the crocodile hunter?

respect the danger of the ocean, like you would the jungle.

The ray that killed Irwin was a stingray, considered relatively harmless. Which it would’ve been in his case had it not stabbed him through the heart. Almost anywhere else and he would’ve been fine. Freak accident.

[Star Ferry]

Biggest shark I've ever seen was diving in Canada near my parent's beach house. Huge, but kept its distance. This is a place that reeled in a 20 foot great white back in the 80s. I had a camera and flashlight, both of which I turned off -- it went away on its own.

Re. steve irwin, it's a tragedy but he got really close to wildlife and provoked them frequently

[piratfisk]

Originally Posted by JasoninDenver

Thank god no one has mentioned snakes yet.

I have no problem open water swimming off the Maui coast but I will not get within 50 feet of a murky Texas creek.

Once saw a huge stingray or manta wingtip that looked enough like a gray shark fin to scare the pee out of me but never an actual shark.

On the other hand, I have been chased in a creek by a few water moccasins. I know where the real danger lies.

HARD PASS on that. I do not f*ck with snakes. Scorpions can also burn for all I care.

[tie219]

Originally Posted by brandrea

Personally you couldn’t pay me to get in the water if there were sharks nearby

Agreed. I have a huge irrational fear to sharks

[kieselguhr]

I’m assuming OP is thinking shark like in the movie Jaws. I don’t have many dives in waters where these species frequently roam. I do see sharks but mostly smaller reef sharks like black and white tips, and the largest being a grey when diving in south east Asia and India. They do typically avoid humans though. I can totally understand the anxiety such irrational fears cause as I got anxious diving kelp forests in the Bay Area.

I will say that my best diving experience ever involved a shark. Quite a massive one too...






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[Thatguy]

Originally Posted by Abdullah71601

You’ll be lucky to see sharks on open circuit scuba. It’s a blessing when you can get close to them. People pay top dollar for shark dives. If you dont want to see sharks, tell your dive operator and they can make that happen in most locales.

This. It’s rare to see sharks most places and usually your breathing bubbles scare them off. Here is a pic of a Mako shark I took after the water was chummed for 2 hours and we waited until the sharks showed up before we got in the water. Only a few showed up and only stuck around about 20 minutes with 4 of us in the water.


Basically, sharks will avoid you unless you are splashing around on the surface or diving with bloody fish. Divers don’t look like any of their natural prey.


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