THE SCUBA SHOP |
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SHARK DIVES |
The word SHARK stirs up the most primal fear in people. Our fears are based
on the Jaws type movies and the few shark attack stories we read or hear about. The
thought of swimming or scuba diving with them just seems absurd to the public.
In reality, fewer than 15%
of attacks are fatal. More people are killed by heart attacks or drowning.
Divers are rarely attacked.
The world’s ecosystem
depends on sharks! Without them disease and bacteria could wipe out an entire fish
population. As it is in nature, the strong survive and reproduce and each generation
gets healthier as the weak are preyed upon.
Sharks are killed by the thousand for a worthless reason called
finning. The dorsal fin is cut off and the shark is thrown back into the water and
left for dead. The fins are used to make shark fin soup.
We decided to feed our
sharks for a couple of reasons. First off, we love watching them and diving with
them. Secondly, we want to educate divers on how important sharks are to the future
of the Eco-system. In addition, we want to dispel and relieve people’s
irrational fear of sharks.
Since we love our
‘shark buddies’, we do not want to harm them in any way. In order to
preserve their natural feeding instincts, we only feed them every other day and with a
small chumsickle. The feed takes 17- 35 minutes depending on ‘who’ comes
for lunch.
So far we get 10-15 Grey
Reef Sharks per feed and almost all female. They range from 2- 10 ft long. Big
Mama, Scratch, and Notch are just a few of our named regulars.
To participate in our
Shark Dive, you must do at least one regular dive with us and your air consumption needs
to be good. The Shark Dive is very safe and easy. It lasts 30-40
minutes.
If you have any questions,
please e us at: dives@thescubashop.net
For more information
on shark research and study, you can visit some websites:
www.elasmo.org
www.projectaware.org