Well, DUH!!

[Earth Walker]

Florida fad puts sharks into a feeding frenzy

MIAMI -- Shark attacks off Florida are averaging one per week
this summer.
But along with the fear that keeps many people out of the
water, there is also anger.
The anger has been triggered by the phenomenal growth of
the newest tourist industry in an area visited annually by some
50 million tourists: Scuba or snorkeling dives in which people
spend 15 minutes underwater watching as professional divers
feed bull, reef and hammerhead sharks.
But with shark attacks on the rise worldwide -- and half of them
off the Bahamas and Florida, where three surfers were attacked
on the weekend -- there is rising concern that the shark-feeding
dives are partly to blame.
Experts are divided on the issue.
But George Burgess, of the international Shark Attack File at the
University of Florida, believes such dives attract more sharks than
would occur naturally.
"Where you have feeding operations and the animals have
become trained to the feeding the shark population rises," he
said. "The chances are enhanced for an occasional attack."
A group of professional divers say the dives are not only
profiting from the public's morbid fascination with fear but are
training sharks to be incredibly aggressive to humans.
--- Daily Telegraph

[Myst]

lol let me echo that DUHHHHH!

[loopy]

:( I once heard someone say that if people knew the real number of shark attacks per year they would never go near the ocean again.

I would think these divers *are* a little to blame for this. I mean, that's why they have those signs at the zoo, right? "Don't Feed the Animals"?

[Krystil_Mist]

If people actually knew how many sharks were in the water near the beaches they wouldn't go swimming.

I saw on t.v. a guy went up in a helicopter over a Florida beach. He filmed about 30 sharks swimming about 50-60 FEET from where people were swimming. No one saw them and they weren't bothering the people but just the thougt of that many near where you are swimming with you and/or your kids would definately keep me out of the water.
The little kid who recemtly got his his arm bitten off from a (bull??) shark in Florida. It weighed 200 lbs. and was 6 FEET long. It's favorite place to swim is in SHALLOW water at dusk. I mean jeeze how scary is that??

[Danustouch]

I've been watching Discovery Channels Shark week.....

Here's some more scary facts. For all of the shark attacks that DO get reported, world wide....there are HUNDREDS that go un reported each year. Mostly in third world countries, where they accept these attacks as "a fact of life".

For instance, In India, and in South America.

Some of these shark attacks, are from Bull Sharks. Which are indiscriminate feeders. Unlike Great Whites, and other sharks, they do not have one particular item in their diet. They will eat ANYTHING. Bull Sharks, have the a-typical ability, to live in FRESH WATER. They can survive in fresh water for up to four years. They spawn in fresh water, as a matter of fact. In 1916, on July 12th, THREE people were killed by Bull sharks, in the SAME day, in a river in Mattawan New Jersey!!!! This is a true historical fact. Bull Shark attacks are also common place in the Ganges in India. And they've been spotted in rivers in Asia, and in the Mississippi, the Amazon....you name it..they've been there.

And just one more tiny detail....Most shark attacks happen in under five feet of water.

These people who are feeding the sharks, are just ASKING for trouble, IMO. What's worse, is that they are conditioning the animals to associate Food, with Humans. A deadly combination. IMO.

However, as much as I fear sharks, (enough fear to keep me OUT of oceans..AND rivers)...I think that we need to educate ourselves about them, and thier feeding habits. The shark-fin industry is a horribly cruel practice, and one that might lead to the extinction of these amazing, and ancient animals. And while I do not consider myself any great friend to the sharks, myself.....We must realize that they are a part of a MUCH larger food chain. And we cannot blame them, for doing "Shark" things. We need to blame the stupidity of certain human beings, who've developed the attitude that ALL in life, exists merely for THEIR entertainment.

[bloodstone20]

they're in the bahamas 2. 2 in one week, both right outside my hotel :eek:!

[bloodstone20]

no the divers aren't. If you want to dive on a dive sponsered by a company, then you have to get certified. You read an agonisingly long manuel, learn how to use all the charts you have to to plan your dive, and have a certifed Dive Master train you. You do 4 open water dives and one confied water training period. You learn how to not get attacked by sharks, attrack sharks, or bother sharks.
Almost all attacks by any ocean creature are defensive. If you see a shark in the water when you are snorkaling, diving, whatever. Don't go near it. Freeze if you are diving and just don't do anything to provoke it and you should be fine.

[silvermoon]

The numbers of shark attacks are rising which is an indication that the numbers of sharks are finally increasing after years of decline due to fishing pressure on the populations.

Sharks in many parts of the world have been protected from commercial fishers thus allowing their numbers to grow. Sharks are coming closer to shore as they are following and/or are searching for food. A lot of their food source is itself heavily fished. Thus can the growing shark population be really at fault when they don't know any better and just searching for food to survive.

While we humans do know better and this is a result of our effects on the total fish population (from sharks to feeder fish). And if an area is known to be a feeding ground for sharks you take your life into your own hands when swimming in that area.

If you haven't guessed I'm on the side of the sharks as the number of attacks by sharks on humans is insignificant when compared to the numbers of sharks killed worldwide by humans for delicacy meals suvh as shark fin soup. Speaking of shark fin soup, the shark is taken aboard the ship the fin cut off and then the shark is dumped back into the water where it struggles and dies a horrible death so someone in Tokyo or where-ever can indulge in shark fin soup delicacy.

By the way the majority of shark species are harmless to humans ie.they are NOT man-eaters. I am not heartless, my heart goes out to victims of shark attacks and their families as last summer here in Australia we had some attacks as well. But sharks, through evolution, are the perfect predators of the deep.

And PLEASE remember to be careful when swimming 'COS WE ARE TRESPASSING IN THEIR BACKYARD.

[Danustouch]

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the waters.....
***********************************************

EW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. (Aug. 20) - Almost half of the world's shark attacks this year have occurred along a single stretch of Florida's coastline long considered one of the finest surfing spots in the state.

While the area's pristine beaches and good waves attract surfers, experts say the green waters teeming with baitfish - ballyhoo, mullet, pilchards - are what draw the predators.

``It's a smorgasbord of food coming back and forth,'' said George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File in Gainesville.

Six people were bitten by sharks off New Smyrna Beach over the weekend, raising to 15 the total of attacks along more than 50 miles of Volusia County's beaches this year, Burgess said. The Volusia County Beach Patrol has a higher figure - 17.

Forty shark attacks have occurred worldwide since January. Twenty-nine of them have been in the United States.

Last year, there were 79 shark attacks worldwide, 51 in the United States, 34 in Florida and 12 in Volusia County, Burgess said. The county is now on track to surpass its record of 18 shark attacks, set in 1996.

Lifeguards on Monday temporarily closed a quarter-mile stretch of New Smyrna Beach for a third day in a row after a shark was spotted swimming in the surf.

The precaution followed the beach patrol's standard policy of clearing the water for up to an hour after a sighting, said Capt. Robert Horster.

Surfers, lifeguards and shark experts are quick to point out that encounters in Volusia County are nothing new. Surfers and kayakers regularly see sharks in the surf. Last Easter weekend, there were seven attacks over a two-day period.

``They're always there. You just have to be careful and know what's around,'' said surfer Leonardo Pedreros, 18.

A combination of murky water, caused by recent heavy rains pouring runoff into the water, and an unusually crowded beach because of a surfing contest over the weekend, may have caused the sharks to mistake humans for fish.

``When the water is clean, there is no problem because the sharks can see,'' said Dan Jacocks, 44, who kayaks every morning off New Smyrna Beach, about 15 miles south of Daytona Beach.

On Saturday, a shark bit 19-year-old Jaison Valentin's left hand for food while he was surfing off New Smyrna Beach. The animal left a 2-inch gash on the back of his hand, requiring surgery to repair torn tendons and ligaments.

``It took a nice big chunk out of my hand,'' said Valentin, who said he plans to return to surfing once his hand is healed. ``I knew to get the hell out of the water.''

Another victim, 17-year-old Becky Chapman underwent surgery after being bitten in the leg. She was in good condition Monday.

Sharks also have been on the attack this month in the Bahamas, where two Americans were bitten in the leg. Both are recovering at a Miami hospital, one after having his leg amputated.

An 8-year-old boy was attacked by a bull shark in July in Pensacola, on Florida's Gulf Coast, about 400 miles away. Jessie Arbogast's arm was severed and he lost nearly all his blood. The arm was reattached but Jessie remains in a light coma.

Surfer Sean Nolan saw one advantage to the shark attacks.

``It thins the line,'' said Nolan, 24, a student. ``Usually it is so crowded. Maybe this will keep people away.''

AP-NY-08-20-01 2128EDT