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18-01-2019, 10:42 AM
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Re: Divers swim with one of biggest great white sharks off Hawaii

Originally Posted by Mups ->
Sorry Floydy, but I would still say leave the poor buggers alone.

Why do humans always have to antagonise creatures for pleasure and another money-making game?
It's perfectly humane and licensed though Mups.
The boat trip owners feed the sharks well and they just swim around the cage which is only partially submerged.
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18-01-2019, 11:06 AM
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Re: Divers swim with one of biggest great white sharks off Hawaii

Why I Won’t Go Shark Cage Diving

Traveler Andrew Evans gives four reasons why he avoids the fishy fad.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/t...k-cage-diving/ (extract)

It’s Inauthentic

Sharks are, by nature, timid animals. Any diver who’s spent any significant time in the water with sharks (without a cage), knows that that they are inquisitive, but cautious creatures who will disappear at the sight of humans. Some larger sharks will approach for a better look, but in my experience, sharks very rarely stick around. They are busy predators hunting their next meal and need to get on with it.

But sharks acting naturally does not fit our schedules and itineraries, thus shark cage diving operators must resort to the only thing that will get sharks to overcome their apprehension and swim extremely close to boats and humans: blood.

As sophisticated predators, sharks can follow the scent of blood and fish oils in the water, or simply pick up the vibration of a struggling fish. When chum is dumped into the water, humans are triggering a response from all the sharks in the area, without delivering the payload that sharks would expect in the wild.

Not only is the very premise of these types of great white sharks’ encounters completely inauthentic, it’s repeating an unnatural situation for the sharks, over and over again.

It’s Unsustainable

In Gansbaai alone, there are 8 different shark cage diving operations, each averaging 3 trips a day. Depending on the most conservative numbers provided to me by locals, that equals 5,000 visitors per week. This adds up to over 250,000 human encounters with sharks per year, which equals an inordinate amount of blood and chum being dumped along the South African shoreline every day.

It also equals $30 million in annual business, and there lies the rub. A business is in the business of making more profit, which means there will always be the pressure for more boats, more outings, and more tourists. Though the shark cage diving operations are, for the most part, well-regulated, big money is often louder than reason.

Commodifying predators is problematic in any form.

Among wildlife professionals, there is a clear ethical standard that you should never bait a predator. In Banff National Park, feeding a bear will earn you a hefty fine or even land you in prison, and anyone entering areas that have been closed due to bear activity risks a fine of up to $25,000. A “fed bear is a dead bear” goes the saying, because once bears have associated humans with food, they will have a hard time keeping away.

Whether you can compare grizzlies to great whites is another argument, however nobody can dispute the fact that shark cage diving involves the active baiting of predators on a daily basis. In my opinion, luring great white sharks inshore, sometimes within a mile of some of the most popular beaches in South Africa, is sheer stupidity. Scientific organizations have shown that chumming does in fact, change great white shark behavior.

It Perpetuates Myths

Despite claims that such close encounters with great whites help “raise awareness”, the motivating factor and resulting reality of the entire shark cage diving industry is the thrill of recreating a “Jaws” moment for paying customers.

From what I’ve seen, tourists return home, not with a change of hearts towards great white sharks and a commitment towards saving them, but rather with their proud underwater photo or video next to the ocean’s apex predator—a phony symbol of bravado and fearlessness, not unlike the hunting trophies of the Victorian era’s great white hunters.

Advertising and selling testosterone-fueled “adventure” as a checkmark of courage or masculinity does not encourage a culture of tender feelings and awareness towards great white sharks, no matter how much rhetoric you cage it in.
That's the view of an expert and I agree with it .....
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18-01-2019, 11:45 AM
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Re: Divers swim with one of biggest great white sharks off Hawaii

Originally Posted by Mups ->
Sorry Floydy, but I would still say leave the poor buggers alone.

Why do humans always have to antagonise creatures for pleasure and another money-making game?
To be fair these shark cages don't antagonise the sharks, they come for a free feed. The complaint in South Australia is that they attract sharks who then nibble on surfers.



These are Tawny Sharks who can suck prey out of a shell or a rock. There is also a Bull Shark lurking there too. Not big sharks like Floydy wants to see but interesting enough.
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20-01-2019, 10:01 PM
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Re: Divers swim with one of biggest great white sharks off Hawaii

I have been swimming with sharks.
They were mainly nurse sharks - supposedly docile but have bitten people because they have been harassed by divers. We really shouldn't touch these sea creatures they are not pets but wild animals.
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21-01-2019, 07:49 AM
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Re: Divers swim with one of biggest great white sharks off Hawaii

Originally Posted by Bruce ->
To be fair these shark cages don't antagonise the sharks, they come for a free feed. The complaint in South Australia is that they attract sharks who then nibble on surfers.



These are Tawny Sharks who can suck prey out of a shell or a rock. There is also a Bull Shark lurking there too. Not big sharks like Floydy wants to see but interesting enough.
I have heard that Bull sharks are extremely agreessive and are responsible for many attacks on people .
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21-01-2019, 09:55 AM
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Re: Divers swim with one of biggest great white sharks off Hawaii

Originally Posted by Muddy ->
I have heard that Bull sharks are extremely agreessive and are responsible for many attacks on people .
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/a.../b/bull-shark/

Bull sharks are aggressive, common, and usually live near high-population areas like tropical shorelines. They are not bothered by brackish and freshwater, and even venture far inland via rivers and tributaries.

Human Encounters

Because of these characteristics, many experts consider bull sharks to be the most dangerous sharks in the world. Historically, they are joined by their more famous cousins, great whites and tiger sharks, as the three species most likely to attack humans.

Fast, agile predators, they will eat almost anything they see, including fish, dolphins, and even other sharks. Humans are not, per se, on their menus. However, they frequent the turbid waters of estuaries and bays, and often attack people inadvertently or out of curiosity.

Bull sharks have been seen leaping up river rapids, salmon-like, to reach inland lakes.
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21-01-2019, 11:11 AM
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Re: Divers swim with one of biggest great white sharks off Hawaii

Originally Posted by Muddy ->
I have heard that Bull sharks are extremely agreessive and are responsible for many attacks on people .
They are like playful pups, unfortunately they also have a mouthful of much bigger, sharper teeth than a pup.
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26-01-2019, 12:00 AM
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Re: Divers swim with one of biggest great white sharks off Hawaii

Talking of Bull Sharks. Don't let your dog paddle in the Brisbane river



Bull sharks inhabited estuarine areas, Mr Johnson said, which raised the possibility of interactions with humans, making them dangerous.

"By number of attacks they are often rated as the third most dangerous in the world.

"There has certainly been fatalities and they have a large powerful set of jaws and a robust set of triangular teeth that can do a lot of damage."

But he described bull sharks as inquisitive creatures and usually quite harmless.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-...river/10731866
 
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