Freeport Shark Diving???

[scubalisa]

Please excuse me for being such a chicken, but my dh is interested in the Enesxo(?) shark dive in Freeport. Has anyone been on this dive? Do you think it is safe? I would hate to get in the middle of a feeding frenzy and get hurt. Anyone have any experience with this type of diving? Thank you so much!

[augie]

My wife and I spent several days diving with Unexco a few years ago, and this was one of the "specialty" dives we did (the others being a dolphin dive and Theo's Wreck).

 

Nothing to worry about at all. It is very apparent that the sharks know what's in the feeding tube and THAT is all they are interested in.

 

As a matter of fact, after a few minutes of kneeling in the sand watching the sharks swarm around the feeder I was bored.

 

I'd much rather see a shark during a chance encounter out in the open ocean than watch a bunch of semi-trained ones being hand fed.

 

The video we bought is pretty cool though (it has the dolphin dive on it as well) and people we know that don't dive think it looks dangerous when they watch it.

[bruce-r]

Please excuse me for being such a chicken, but my dh is interested in the Enesxo(?) shark dive in Freeport.

You mean the shark dive at Enexso. I haven't done it, but it looks fascinating. I would do it myself if I was going there. If you do go, be sure to take a camera. If you don't own an underwater camera, I suggest you get one of the disposable UW kind just for this dive. Even the ones that say they are good to only 15 feet are usually good to 40ft. but there are some disposables that are rated deeper. You will want to be able to show people that you were "that close" to a shark and you weren't bit.

 

Do you think it is safe? I would hate to get in the middle of a feeding frenzy and get hurt.

I think it is safe, as long as everyone follows the directions given before the dive. Definitely safer than surfing in parts of California. In general, most species of shark are not the man eaters that hollywood would have us believe. The dive operators wouldn't be doing this dive if customers got hurt.

 

The photos I've seen of shark dives usually show a frozen block of fish parts anchored about 10 feet off the bottom with divers on the sand in a ring a ways back from the chumcicle. The diver in the photo from the Unexco web site is the guide. He is usually the only one to hand feed the sharks because he will have on the stainless steel shark suit.

[NM_Eman]

Just my two cents worth on any kind of "shark dive" not this one in particular - shark dives are the moral equivalent of feeding the bears in Yellowstone, not good for people (..." lets look at the nice animals just like Seaworld, I wonder if they jump through hoops") and not good for the sharks!

Kent

PADI OWSI

[bruce-r]

NW Eman, that is certainly a valid opinion. Let me ask you this, what do you think of feeding the stingrays in GCM? I am of the opinion that it has gone on so long that it has become the "natural" environment for the stingrays and to discontinue feeding them would be cruel punishment to them. They are now dependent on humans feeding them. To start a new feeding program where there wasn't one to being with I feel would be wrong, but in the case of the stingrays, I feel stopping it would now be wrong. Perhaps the regular shark feed programs that have been going on for a long time are similar.

 

Now, don't even get me started about captive dolphin "edutainment" programs.

[Hilary]

We did the shark dive in the Bahamas this past December and it was quite fascinating. Basically you kneel on the bottom while 2 or 3 guys in chain mail feed the sharks chunks of fish they have previously prepared. The sharks basically ignore those that are kneeling, but you get a very close up view of them as they pass over and near you, often touching you as they pass.

 

I agree that wild animal feeding is generally a bad practice, and really hate it when snorkelers feed the fish human food. However, I also see the benefit to providing humans with out of the ordinary, safe experiences with wildlife that is often demonized and misunderstood. And at least in the case of our shark dive, they were being fed their normal diet of fish, and not "cheese in a can".

 

Sharks are in extreme danger in our oceans due to finning and fishing, and by getting people into close proximity in a controlled environment, you can do a lot toward education. That's what SeaWorld, zoos, and aquariums are all about, HOWEVER I think the impact of being able to be in the animal's world is much stronger.

[NM_Eman]

Seaworld is NOT about education - it IS about making money! Orcas and dolphins jumping through hoops and beaching themselves to give the handler a "kiss" is not education. It has nothing to do with the animal's place in the ecosystem. You notice they show lots of dolphins which are very easy to anthropomorphize but not many toad fish that most people find really ugly.

 

As to the educational value of shark feeding dives, they reinforce the public preception of a "mindless eating machine" in a feeding frenzy. Shark behavior is very complex, the feedings pull them out of their natural behaviors no matter what the food is. So what if its not cheeze whiz, how many frozen blocks of fish guts and blood have you seen rolling along the sea bed?:eek: The stingray feeds in GCM and Belize started as areas where fishermen cleaned their catches. At this point the rays are fully conditioned. I suspect that if the feedings stopped today some of the rays would not eat but most of them would revert to wild feeding. The rest would become food themselves. Everything in the ocean eats something else. We just happen to be at the top of the food chain and have the luxury of playing with our food.:rolleyes: