Several years ago when the kid (Jesse Arbogast?) was bitten, Florida banned these kinds of O/W shark dives on the supposition that shark dives 20+ miles off the coast encourage sharks to bite bathers at the beach. Dumb theory; dumber legislation.
Shark dives of the type are still allowed in the Bahamas. The sharks involved are usually reef & nurse sharks that are conditioned to the feeding. These sharks tend to be territorial, so when you dive a certain spot you see the same ones time & again. It’s not totally without risk, but that’s the lure.
As for the website reference to Tiger & Bull Sharks. This diver’s opinion is that only an idiot would mess with those types of sharks. I would bet that the website refers to occaisional ‘sightings’ of the more dangerous sharks & that the reporter is confusing that with the reef sharks that are deliberately being fed. If a man-eater shows up, shark feeding ceases & the bait can gets sealed.
This is a garbled report. No question in my mind. The dive operator’s competitors are doing a little bit of piling-on, and they know it.
I think you’re probably right about the most common type being nurse and reef sharks, if they were tigers and bulls the attacks would be a weekly occurence.
I dunno...I have nothing against shark dives either, but going to Abernethy’s website, it appears that the reports are accurate. This guy is taking people out to see hammerheads, bulls and tigers in a chummed environment just like the standard shark dives, except actively seeking the far more dangerous sharks.
This is from his website:
http://www.scuba-adventures.com/bahamas_itineraries.shtml
“Great Hammerhead and Tiger Shark Expeditions in the Bahamas
These unique shark trips are being run exclusively for shark enthusiasts and photographers. The emphasis will be on getting quality in-water time and photo opportunities; space is therefore limited to a maximum of ten people. This is a fantastic opportunity you will find nowhere else, and with over 25 years experience in diving with sharks, Jim Abernethy can assure you the very best up close encounters. We are in our 5th season and the shark action has never been better! We have numerous new locations, and we’re seeing a lot of the same sharks at each site, along with many new sharks every day. We are starting our very own identification catalog and and look forward to sharing our encounters with you!
Our primary goal is to interact with great hammerhead sharks. These spectacular animals are among the most impressive yet rarely observed of oceanic predators. For many years, the great hammerhead has eluded underwater photographers. In 2000, following a hunch, we set off on our first dedicated shark expedition to find and photograph the King Kong of hammerheads, which can grow to a colossal 18 feet in length. The great hammerhead should not to be confused with the smaller and more common scalloped hammerhead, which can be seen schooling in many locations around the world. Encountering the great hammerhead with its spectacular angularity, its Orca-like dorsal fin, and its bristle-toothed mouth is at the very pinnacle of wildlife adventure.
In addition to great hammerheads, we are also in search of the tiger shark.Although the tiger shark tends to be more cautious than the great hammerhead, we regularly encounter tiger sharks from 6-18 feet in length. The giant of the tropical shark world, this awesome predator will sometimes cruise past in bulky silhouette, approaching the baits with fearless purpose, an exhilarating experience!
Our secret locations are often frequented by Caribbean reef sharks, bull sharks, lemon and nurse sharks while occasionally being visited by something more exotic such as a dusky shark or its little cousin, the silky. At the end of a good day, we have had as many as twenty sharks of as many as six different species.
To insure the best results we will be “chumming” the water with fish and fish parts. 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. We will have crew members in the water at all times to insure diver safety. A thorough briefing will be given for each dive site that we visit and each type of shark that you will encounter. We do not move the boat after each dive, unless we are not having much luck at one site, then we may decide to move, but we generally stay in one location overnight and all day.”
IMO, there is a HUGE difference between chumming for reef sharks, and stopping when a hammerhead or tiger shows up, and chumming for the purpose of diving with tigers, hammerheads, bulls, etc.
Seems to me that this really was an “it’s a matter of when” deal based not just on him competitors’ comments, but based on his own website!