Posted on 02/25/2008 11:02:52 AM PST by jazusamo
Edited on 02/25/2008 11:45:58 AM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
chumming the water for an open water dive is just asking for trouble......
I would not want to be in that water, even if I were a shark expert and knew exactly what to look for.
Chumming agitates them and makes a shark that otherwise be very peacful to humans instead attack if you are not careful.
Yeah the famous line that sharks don’t attack lawyers out of professional courtesy seems to have been waived in this instance.
One more thing,
Two years ago on a vacation around the country the family went to Priest Lake Idaho.
Talked to a guy who hunts grizleys with a bow and arrow.
I said that seems no problem I’d just hang a desert eagle on my hip in case of problems. He informed me if ya go during bow season ya can’t take any gun.
Not sure I’d do that now hear?
ap whack at it..
Man dies after shark attack off Florida
BRIAN SKOLOFF, Associated Press Writer
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080225/ap_on_re_us/shark_bite;_ylt=AoDQcGoZyAW9tVGQdsdgzsEPLBIF
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - An Austrian tourist died Monday after being bitten by a shark while diving near the Bahamas in waters that had been baited with bloody fish parts to attract the predators.
Markus Groh, 49, a Vienna lawyer and diving enthusiast, was on a commercial dive trip Sunday when he was bitten about 50 miles off the coast of Fort Lauderdale, said Karlick Arthur, Austrian counsel general in Miami.
The crew aboard the Shear Water, of Riviera Beach-based Scuba Adventures, immediately called the U.S. Coast Guard, which received a mayday from the vessel, said Petty Officer 3rd Class Nick Ameen.
Groh was airlifted to a hospital, where he died. Groh was bitten on the leg, Ameen said, but he could not be more specific about the extent of his injuries.
It was unclear what type of shark was involved in the attack. The shark got away before anyone could identify the species.
The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office declined to comment, citing an ongoing investigation by the Miami-Dade Police Department. A telephone message left for police was not immediately returned.
A woman who answered the telephone at Scuba Adventures on Monday said the company had no comment.
The company’s Web site says it offers the opportunity to get “face to face” with sharks. The site explains that its hammerhead and tiger shark expeditions in the Bahamas are “unique shark trips ... run exclusively for shark enthusiasts and photographers.”
To ensure “the best results we will be ‘chumming’ the water with fish and fish parts,” the Web site explains. “Consequently, there will be food in the water at the same time as the divers. Please be aware that these are not ‘cage’ dives, they are open water experiences.”
It was unclear what type of shark was involved in the attack. The shark got away before anyone could identify the species.
Thanks Norm, this piece said he was bitten on leg so it must have been a very nasty wound high and close the groin or you’d think they could have stopped blood flow with a tourniquet.
Shark bites Lawyer..
What happened to professional courtesy.
ping
Global warming
Way too funny.
I was formerly a partner with Jim as a Captain and dive boat operator in the late 1980s. Belive me when I tell you he does feed and dive with Tigers, Hammerheads, and Bull Sharks. The Discovery Channel Shark week had an excellent special showing him bringing in many large Tiger Sharks to dive with his guests at NIGHT!!
He has been doing this for over 20 years and does an excellent job reading sharks, however, he has been biten himself. Just last month one of his customers had a Tiger shark swim off with his dive camera in it’s mouth (which the owner used to fend off the shark).
The shark that bit this guy is the most dangerous shark that frequents Bahamian waters in my opinion. Bull sharks are much more aggressive than Hammerheads or even Tigers. Of course if a Tiger decides to bite, it will create truama similar to a Great White bite.
While Captain Abernathy is an expert at what he does, I still think it is a mistake to feed sharks. It is hard to resist when so many people are willing to pay for the experience. The problem is that sharks will congregate in the feeding areas, rather than naturally speading out keeping the reefs healthy. There is also the danger of the sharks becomming too used to human contact and becomming aggressive. Other boats go to and dive in the same areas and don’t have expert guides to brief them on safety procedures. It is a dangerous practice for the diving community as a whole and is unhealthy for the sharks.
Where ya based out of skipper? I used to tie up on Hendricks Isle in Lauderdale, and sailed over to Better in the Bahamas every chance I got.
I formerly owned and operated a 65 foot live aboard dive boat out of Palm Beach. I ran diving charters to the same areas as the Shearwater and I used to Captain that boat as well, prior to Jim Abernathy’s ownership. I have been on many, many shark dives and have been pursued by aggressive sharks frequently. It can easily happen when you add spearfishing or chum and bait to the equation. Of all the shark species, none is more aggressive than the Bull Shark. Discovery Channel correctly reported it on the list of the top ten most dangerous sharks as number 1. The only other shark that comes close is the Great White and people just don’t spend as much time in their enviornment as they do with the Bull Sharks of temperate waters.
As I indicated, I think Captain Abernathy is a highly experienced operator, and this is certainly a regretable tragedy, but setting up shark dive sites all over the Bahamas is not in the best interest of divers or sharks.
Clarification: “Way Too Funny” in my previous post referred to the Timothy Treadwell picture and caption: “This guy’s brother?”
Probably too old for a Darwin Award but there could be some other kind of stupidity award.
that movie kept me and the kids up late one night watching in disbelief as he totally lost it on camera. Absolutely nuts. At least his kind of “nuts” didn’t affect a bunch of innocent people, though. :(
Thanks skipper. Fair winds etc.
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