however, that the diving is done responsibly.
As divers, we assume a crucial duty whenever we
enter the water with sharks: We must always act with
the utmost caution and refrain from taking careless
risks. Incidents in which sharks harm scuba divers are
very uncommon, and when they do occur they often
involve negligent or even reckless behavior by the diver.
The result of these unfortunate incidents, however,
is public condemnation of sharks. Because incidents
involving sharks and misconceptions about sharks
have such dire consequences for the animals, we must
at all costs avoid inappropriate and careless behaviors
when diving with them. It may seem macho to get the
up-close-and-personal bite shot with a fisheye lens only
inches from the teeth, but risky behavior — as well as
photography that reinforces negative stereotypes — does
a great disservice to sharks. Easily avoidable actions
can quickly spiral into out-of-control overreactions,
from local bans against shark diving to culling (as we’ve
recently seen in the Red Sea and Réunion Island).
I don’t mean to suggest that diving with sharks
requires highly specialized skills or talents though.
Anyone can dive with sharks; in fact, I hope you
do. But we owe it to ourselves, the sharks and the
oceans they keep healthy to educate ourselves about
how to do so safely.
To that end, Shark Angels, an advocacy group
dedicated to protecting sharks through grassroots
efforts, has created a set of best practices for divers
based on our diverse, collective experience. It is our
hope that these guidelines will promote responsible,
respectful interactions. The following are a few of the
best practices:
• Listen to your dive guide, and stay within sight of
him/her during the entire dive.
• Enter and exit the water quietly.
• Wear gloves and a hood.
• Keep your gear streamlined.
• Make eye contact to let the shark know you see it.
• Keep your hands close to your body.
• Stay close to your buddy, and point out sharks that
he or she doesn’t see coming.
• Respect the sharks’ space. Never touch, poke, prod,
chase, ride or otherwise antagonize the sharks.
• Keep looking around. Don’t focus so much on
taking pictures, for example, that you lose track of
what’s going on around you.
• If you experience problems, exit the water rather
than making adjustments on the surface. Keep your
head in the water and your eyes on the sharks until
you get out of the water.
• Don’t touch the bait or attempt to hand feed a shark.
• Shark diving is not the time to learn new gear or a
new camera. Stay focused on the shark interactions.
• Don’t allow chum to permeate your wetsuit or
gloves by being too close to a bait container or
downstream of a chum slick.
People tend to protect only things they understand,
and sharks are largely out of the public eye and mind.
Shark Angels believes that getting more people into
the water with sharks for responsible interactions
is crucial for their survival. As sharks continue to
be fished toward the brink of extinction, it is more
important than ever to encourage people to gain an
appreciation for their true nature while helping coastal
communities realize the value of living sharks.
Shark diving may not be for everyone, and some
controversy around activities that involve using bait
or altering natural behaviors is inevitable. That is
a valid discussion, and we do not advocate shark
diving for anyone who is not physically, mentally and
philosophically prepared to do so. But for those of
us who choose to dive with sharks, we owe it to the
sharks to do so safely, responsibly and with a large
measure of respect.
AD
Julie Andersen is the founder and executive director of
Shark Angels, a U.S. nonprofit organization dedicated
to the protection of sharks. For more information, visit
.
Sharks need all the supporters they can get;
100 million are killed by humans every year.
Opposite: Julie Andersen dives with
Caribbean reef sharks in Bimini.
MARKO DIMITRIJEVIC
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learned or other words of wisdom to share with your fellow divers? Alert
Diver wants your story! Email it to
, or mail it to “Member
to Member,” c/o Alert Diver, 6 W. Colony Place, Durham, NC 27705.
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