“He’s Just Misunderstood Is All”

As a dive instructor in the tropics I am asked on a nearly daily basis: “Are there sharks in the water?” to which I reply: “Yes, but they are small and harmless”, which immediately invokes the response: “But what if they get angry, or are hungry, or I intrude on their territory, or they have just lost their winning lottery ticket and are angry and try to KILL MEEEEEEE??!!!”

It's Time To Get Over That Fear, Otherwise You Might End Up As Liability When You're Down There!

So, for all those super-duper nervous types out there I implore you to get better informed about this must misunderstood animal. Look at the facts and arm yourself with knowledge, because ignorance about a subject is what leads people to make malformed opinions about things. This is a very bad trait in SCUBA diving because you need to keep a cool head when your down there. The fastest way I know of blasting through your air is to simply focus on the wrong things and get yourself worked up over nothing, anxiety leads to stress which leads to elevated physiological responses such as adrenaline release and increased breathing. What I’m saying here is there is no point in ruining a great dive by imagining Jaws coming at you from all directions, learn the basics, understand sharks and you will loose the fear.

And because I’m such a nice guy, I’ve compiled a list of interesting, surprising and enlightening facts about sharks which I’ve split into topics. I’ve intentionally included a list of facts relating to shark attacks to assuage your irrational fears. I’ve also highlighted my favorite facts by italicising them, some of them are really amazing!

General Information, Facts And Odd Behavior

Sharks do cool stuff and have been around for ages, so I felt we should start our shark tour with a little familiarization with the species as a whole.

Sharks have been around for about 400 million years – long before dinosaurs even existed.

Sharks will often eat other sharks.

The Whale Shark is the worlds biggest Shark and fish. It can reach the same length as one and a half buses!

He Might Have A Big Gob, But He's A Softy When You Get To Know Him!

The Mako Shark is known to leap clear out of the water, and sometimes into boats.

A Mako Shark Is A Stunningly Powerful Creature That Literally Launches Out The Water!

In Germany and Japan, shark skin was used on sword handles for a non-slip grip. (A shark sword is gonna make you the baddest guy on the block for sure!)

There are 355 confirmed species of Shark ranging in length from 15cm to 15 meters.

A fossil of a “cladoelache” is determined to be the oldest known ancestor of the Sharks. It is 350 million years old.

The Swell Shark, found in New Zealand, barks like a dog.

The smallest shark is the spined pygmy shark that grows to around 15cm long, the same size as a chocolate bar.

The Size Of A Chocolate Bar, But I Have A Feeling This Bar Might Nip Back!

Tiger sharks have such a varied diet they have earned the nickname ‘garbage can sharks’. They will eat almost anything they encounter in the water: bony fish, sharks, seabirds, turtles, lobsters, cats, dogs, number plates and octopuses.

The biggest sharks in the sea, the whale shark and the basking shark, are completely harmless. They feed on small shrimps that they strain from the water using their gills while swimming along with their huge mouths open.

Anatomy

There is a reason that sharks are so widely revered, feared and studied – their anatomy is a marvel of natural engineering, they are truly magnificent creatures!

Sharks have the most powerful jaws on the planet.

Sharks never run out of teeth – when one is lost another spins forward from the rows of backup teeth.

A shark may use over 30,000 teeth during its life.

A Shark Can Use Up To 30,000 Teeth In Its Life, I Think This Shark Has All Of Them At Once!

Two-thirds of a Sharks brain is dedicated to the sense of smell. Sometimes a shark is called “a swimming nose”, for its great sense of smell. Sharks can easily detect prey that is in the sand, as well as at night.

A shark also has a remarkable sensitivity to vibrations in the water. It can feel the movements made by other animals that are hundreds of feet away.  They can hear sounds from thousands of feet away. Sharks can tell the direction from where the sound is coming from, too.

Most species of sharks can swim up to 20-40 miles per hour. A Mako Shark has been recorded at more than 60 miles per hour.

A shark has three types of fins. They have two dorsal fins on their back, one fin beneath their body, called the pectoral fin (not all species have it), and the caudal fin is the tail.

Sharks are fishes, but unlike most fish their skeletons are made of cartilage, which is lighter and more flexible than bone.

Having No Bones Makes Sharks Ideal For Cuddling! (Though You Could Actually Cause The Shark Harm By Touching It, The Bacteria On Our Hands Is Harmful To Marine Animals)

Although fishes are generally cold blooded, some fast-swimming sharks maintain a body temperature higher than the sea water around them.

Sharks cannot hover in the water like a goldfish and they must keep swimming forward to stop themselves sinking. Some sharks, however, habitually lie on the bottom of the sea.

Shark skins are covered in tiny teeth called denticles. This helps them swim more efficiently. Speedo worked with scientists at the Museum to develop a high performance swimsuit that copied this idea from sharks.

Sharks have very different types of teeth depending on their diet. The grinding pavement teeth of the Port Jackson shark are used to crush sea urchins, invertebrates and small fish and the pointed teeth of the kitefin shark help it to eat fish.

Reproduction

Sharks aren’t just normal fish, they have different styles of reproduction too. The final fact in this section literally had me gasping “wow” out loud!

Baby Sharks are called pups.

Sharks do not care for their babies after they are born.

Some sharks can’t reproduce until the age of 20 or above.

Most sharks have six to twelve babies at a time, but the Hammerhead and Tiger Shark can have as many as 40 babies at a time.

Some sharks produce live young while others lay special egg-cases on the sea bed.

The sand tiger shark pups developing inside the mother will eat each other until just one survives. This is called intra-uterine cannibalism. Survival of the fittest…in the womb!

Shark Attacks

Ok, so here’s the really important part; you’ve just read how sharks are the fiercest predators in the sea and how they are basically unstoppable forces of nature, now you should read why they are simply not that dangerous. Bear in mind, any wild animal is a danger, and that all animals should be treated with respect so don’t take this next section as an excuse to go abusing sharks…it simply means that you can go and dive with them, and enjoy their grace and power:

The most harmless sharks tend to be the largest, such as the Basking Shark, the Whale Shark and the Megamouth Shark.

There are more reported attacks on humans by Great White Sharks than any other type of shark.

Jaws Was A Little Over-Exaggerated, If A Great White Comes At You The Just Push It Away!

Great White Sharks can go up to three months without eating.

More people are killed each year by pigs than by Sharks.

Sharks attack around 50 people each year worldwide, with perhaps 8-12 fatalities, according to data compiled in the International Shark Attack File (ISAF). To put that into context; think how many people go swimming in the sea off of one busy beach in one day… it would be hundreds, maybe thousands. Now think of how many beaches there are in one country, again hundreds. Now think of how many countries have beaches…then include divers, surfers, fishermen along with those swimmers and you are looking at more than a hundred million people that use the sea a year and of those people, around fifty people are harmed a year?! It’s hardly likely is it? This is the occasion where you have to let logic prevail over Hollywood, you just aren’t that likely to get attacked by sharks.

Of the 460 different kinds of shark in the world, only three occasionally attack humans, most feed on shellfish and small fishes. Crocodiles, dogs and pigs kill more people each year than sharks do.

Almost any shark 1.8 m or longer is a potential danger, but three species have been identified repeatedly in attacks: the Great white, Tiger, and Bull sharks. All three are found worldwide, reach large sizes and eat large prey such as marine mammals or sea turtles.

More attacks on swimmers, free divers, scuba divers, surfers and boats have been reported for the great white shark than for any other species. However, some 80% of all shark attacks probably occur in the tropics and subtropics, where other shark species dominate and Great white sharks are relatively rare.

Humans kill up to a hundred million sharks every year through fishing activities.

Final Thoughts

I put that last one in bold at the end there because that’s the only fact that I feel you must take away with you, sharks kill around ten people a year out of self defence and we kill up to a hundred million of them, that hardly seems fair to me. So, when you are next getting anxiety pangs about whether you will be attacked by sharks or not, just remember the sad and depressing fact that there is but a fraction of the animals left in the wild, so you probably won’t be lucky enough to see one…

Do you have an amazing fact about sharks that you love to share with folks on the boat? Have you ever dived with sharks, and if so what was it like? Are you still afraid of sharks, why? Please share your thoughts and feeling on the subject by using the comment section bellow.

Happy (well-informed) Bubbles!

By Jamie Campbell

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Scuba Diving in Roca Partida

Roca Partida mean Broken Rock in Spanish. This stark volcanic pinnacle rises from the depths of the Pacific 200 miles (320 km) off the tip of the Baja Peninsula. This is truly wild diving, with powerful swells, big currents, and large marine species at one of the most isolated dive sites in the world.

The most remote outcrop of the Archipelago of Revillagigedo (a group of four islands), Roca Partida rises starkly from the wild surface of the Pacific Ocean, its rugged silhouette reflecting the characteristics of the reefs beneath. Steep walls plunge into deep, dark water, with very little life encrusted on their barren surfaces.

The rock is gorgeous and I’m sure you’d be happy to watch it as longer as you can , however the smell of guano usually force you to make your immersion as soon as possible. Roca Partida is not big and its achievable to swim around it several times (the current and surge) during one dive.

There are several small caves on one side of the rock where whitetip sharks are usually sleep until being disturbed by divers. Large lobster can be seen quite often in this place. Going further away from the Roca Partida hammerhead sharks can be spotted in large numbers. Incidents where the hammerhead sharks approach very close to divers have been recording in past. The rich upwellings from deep water around Roca Partida provide plentiful nutrients and oxygen for circling fish shoals, including huge black jacks and dense schools of barracuda. These in turn attract silky, white-tip, silver-tip, and hammerhead sharks in great numbers. What makes this dive site so special, however, are the manta ray encounters, which are among the best to be had anywhere; these magnificent animals almost seem to seek out divers, resulting in some extraordinary interactions. It’s very likely that divers will meet this amazing creatures. It seems that they can be attracted by some divers,  sometimes they are even playing with divers , swirling around  and swimming directly toward them . Some people believe that mantas can identify you by looking into your eyes and will remember you when you’ll be back. Diving center SolmarV  video in which Manta Rays are playing with divers.

Whale sharks have also been spotted at Roca. Humpback whales are stopping in this place during their migration to and from Alaska. Roca Partida is a great diving destination and quite often is being compared with Darwin and Wolf dive site in the Galapagos islands.

The reputation of Roca Partida is spreading, and it is rapidly becoming
an iconic site in the diving world. Divers willing to make the journey to this remote and wild location will find themselves amply rewarded.

Water Temperature: 66–77°F (19–25°C)
Ecosystem:  Subtropical
Visibility: up to 30m
When to visit:  Roca Partida has good, year-round diving, but cooler winter water is best for shark diversity.
Expected to be seen:  Manta rays, sleeping whitetip and silver-tip sharks, black jacks.

Some Good Resources:

SolmarV Luxury live-aboard dive vessel
Provides good articles , photo gallery , video materials and much more

Nautilus at Sea
I liked this divers blogpost about Roca Patrida , mainly he is describing his dive at Roca Partida

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The existing global statistics about attacks of sharks are not entirely reliable as It has been changed significantly over the past decade. If we talk about the average value, then it is about nine unprovoked shark attacks per year. Slightly less than 20% of them are fatal cases.

In other words, a few million dives per annum with less than two fatal accidents because of shark attack. Deaths caused by lightning strikes are much more likely and I’m not talking about deaths caused from car accidents, but everyday we drive car not fearing about death, right?

In addition I want to add that there are areas where the chance of being attacked by shark is higher than in other places. The most frequent cases of attacks occurred on the continental shelf of the USA (mainly Florida and California), Australia, as well as two-thirds of the coast of South Africa.

Sharks are one the most mysterious creatures of Ocean waters and still there are many thing which are not even investigated. They exist for over ten million years and during this period they changed very little.

There are about 370 varieties of sharks, ranging from 15 cm (Dwarf Lanternfish aka Etmopterus perryi ) and reaching up to 13 m ( Whale sharks ) .

Sharks are fearsome predators, with amazingly sharp sensory system. They can feel very weak electric fields, low frequency sounds (such as issued by dying or wounded animal). Sharks are able to detect the smell of single drop of blood which dissolved in million drops of water. At the same time the vision of sharks are not well developed.

Most of sharks are not dangerous for humans at all. There are only about 42 species of sharks which have ever been detected during attacks. Mostly attacks occur with presence of Great White Shark (call me crazy, but I adore this animal). According to ocean researchers, these sharks are often taking people for seals (their traditional food). In fact, people are not “good choice” for them. They pay much more attention to animal with rich fat such as seals and sea lions. After the Great White Sharks, Tiger and Bull sharks are leading.

Attacks mainly occur from the bottom or from rear, thus sharks are not visible by diver. But if the diver is able to see the shark, he can understand sharks intention from its be. Usually nervous shark is S-bending his body while swimming: Curving it’s back, pectorals descent, the tail fin is straining, sometimes (rarely) it is possible fluctuation of head from side to side.

What to do when a shark becomes aggressive

If you see a shark, who have taken the above posture, try to go back to the boat, if it is possible, if no, slowly go to the bottom, or push yourself to the wall reef.

If a shark is approaching very close to you, let the train of bubbles from your scuba gear directly on the fish, as well try to scream.

If nothing helps and shark still approaching you, try to hit its face, but only if you have gloves on hands or any solid object (eg, camera). The skin of many sharks is very rough and can easily make your hand to bleed ( there no need to describe what will happen in that case )
How to avoid shark attacks

You can reduce the already tiny chance of an attack by following these simple tips

* Do not dive in places where there fishing is taking place, particularly near the submarine hunters. Diving seabirds are good indicators of such activities.
* Immerse with group and not alone. – Sharks most often attack lone individuals
* Do not open the deep and shallow places near stall deep.
* Avoid the water at night, dawn, or dusk – Many sharks are most active at these times and are better able to find you than you are to see them.
* Do not dive in troubled waters.
* Avoid wearing shiny jewelry and dresses with contrasting colors. – The reflected light looks like shining fish scales.
* Do not disturb sharks.
* Do not dive if you have a bleeding wound.
* Go back to the boat when the shark becomes too inquisitive or take an aggressive posture.

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Port St. Johns, South Africa. Recently, a shark killed a 16 year old surfer, very close to the place where tiger sharks are regularly hand fed.

Most likely the case is that the local dive guides are constantly hand feeding tiger sharks, and marine predators are beginning to associate man with food, so perhaps they are indirectly responsible for the attack.

Although the authorities banned, but they are not able to verify all the dive operators who bait and feed tiger sharks almost every day. Hand feeding sharks, dive operators are seeking profits through the sensations and underwater photographers who need a guaranteed meeting with sharks. But these marine animals, which are great and beautiful, are also extremely dangerous, and they are used to hunt for people for food.

Scientists argue that the feeding sharks both bad for people and for the sharks. «Feeding sharks alter their behavior. The same situation with the bears in YelloStown National Park. They learn to associate people with food. This makes the animal more aggressive, and thus endanger people».

Scientists opposed to shark feeding, not because of the danger of feeding itself, but because it trains sharks to expect food from people, not to be afraid of them. Predators lose their natural habit of avoiding people. For the same reason, it is not advised to feed the alligators or bears. This changes the behavior of sharks and environmental picture, concentrating sharks in one area.

Videos on YouTube (honestly, the adrenaline in the blood from one view only):

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During two hours Klas Craig wrestled with 3.6 meter predator spearing it seven time. Mr Klas fished for yellowfin tuna in the Gulf of Mexico in the company with the fisherman Cameron Kirkonnelom, photographer and film director Ryan Shtrantsem MakInnsom. The group was already leaving, when a tiger shark appeared. The tiger shark looked interested in Mr. MakInnsom. Not wasting time to reflect, Klas grabbed his gun and rushed to help his friend.

«I put myself between Ryan and the shark, and had moment delay, hoping that it will leave, – explained the 32 year old diver – I noticed that the shark, circled around us, coming ever closer, and behaves aggressively. The shark made a roll and looked like it was going to charge us so I just went ahead and took the conservative route and put a shaft through its gills.

And Cameron, and I have are many years familiar with the sharks, experience is enought. But this time I had a special feeling. I clearly felt that a shark is looking for a lunch, but I was not satisfied that role. After the first shot in the gills, I realized that I need to bring the case to the end.

I shot at this fish, as in any other, and made every effort to kill her so quickly and humanely as possible. To harpoon a shark in the gills would have died anyway, so I tried to get into his head to achieve it rapidly. I shot her six times, but I was not lucky, so the process was delayed. Sharks are very tenacious of life – no wonder they have survived for millions of years. The best and fastest way to kill the shark – that tie her to the tail to the boat and drag it along until it dies. In the end had to finish her with a knife as soon as I was able to pick up quite close to him – after attempting to drown her».

Mr Klas is a freediver and underwater hunter, born in Mississippi, raised in a fishing family, and is an expert in all fishing disciplines.

Despite the experience, Dr. Klas m not very happy with the outcome. «This is one of those moments, which then you are sorry – explains Dr. Klas – Personally, I never kill what I do not want to eat. We saved the tail and head, cut a big piece and ate part of it.

I’m not going to hunt the shark, it was a protective effect, and I will do it again. Unfortunately, it was necessary, but it is not something to be proud of. So the circumstances. It was one of the rare cases where it was necessary to defend themselves.

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The dive is being conducted in a channel called «La Boca» in Cuba. Duration of immersion is usually 45 minutes. Immersion of group is being started from the platform (number 1 in pic). Further diver diving gradually along the vertical walls of the underwater channel. The group gathering all together at depth of 7 meters, where already can be found wrecks of Spanish vessel «Nuevo Mortera», sunken in 1905 and moreover this wreck is considered the best preserved of all the steel vessel which were sunken at that time. After reaching a depth of 25 meters, instructor distributes the divers along the banks on the right side of the wreck (number 2 in pic). At the same time, diver-supporter and video operator taking already predetermined positions. Participants separated from each other’s position with distance of 6 meters in depth of 26 meters. Typically, as soon as the instructor begins to cut the fish, immediately appear sharks that swim close to the seafloor, though they are keeping a distance from the divers (only at the beginning).

Then the sharks take direction to the instructor. It seems like he is inviting them to have a dinner, moving the bleeding fish which he holds in his hand. It does not take a lot of time, as sharks already know what’s going on.

At some point, one of the shark goes straight to the instructor. Being in motion whole time, it opens powerful jaws and takes the fish directly from the hands of diver, and then either turn toward or continue to float above the diver. The sharks swim slowly all the time and behave “peacefully” in relation to the other sharks. Sometimes the lens of camera attract their attention and they even touch the camera with nose. Sharks usually swim near to the instructor in whose hands there is a fish. At the end of immersion, the sharks continuing to «dance» in the place where they feel the smell of blood. Usually sharks are not willing to follow group. The return of the group occurs in the following order. The instructor ask the participants to return for which they have to pass screw of the sunken ship and start to climb along the left side of it. It provides protection from currents. Immersion ends at the nose of the wreck, after which all of the follow to the point 3 ( on pic ) where they need to stop for at least 3 minutes for decompression. After decompression, everybody rise on a platform with help of stairwell.

In some days, there was the presence of up to 14 sharks. More often 5-8 sharks can be seen during the show. Some of them reach up to 3 meters length.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR Diving

* strictly keep the position specified by instructor
* Keep your hands crossed or slightly explore the sand
* Keep calm and refrain from unnecessary sudden movements
* Reaching the feeding place, try to maintain buoyancy and keep close to the bottom. So you’ll do not need to use the flippers to keep buoyancy and your actions will not lead to a deterioration in visibility.

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE SHARKS

Type: Bull Shark or tub head.

Scientific name: Carcharhinus Leucas

Color: The back is gray. Abdomen has white color. Fins gray with a blackish tinge.

Length: Up to 360 centimeters.

Weight: Up to 230 kg.

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Sharks have millions of years of history behind them and they haven’t changed much since then.

In the minds of ours myths are mixed with reality, and we don’t differ facts from superstitions, and all this is because of usual human fear before the unknown.
Divers respect sharks as they are very smart animals, and at the same time are primitive predators. We admire and fear, while observing these creatures in their natural habitat, forcing divers again and again seek a meeting with them. If we add to diving with sharks a little more knowledge, it only increases its value and fun. Below are twenty real facts from the life of sharks:

1. A large white shark grows about 25 centimeters in a year. Adult great white shark can have a length of more than 12 meters.
2. More people die from the attacks of dogs, pigs and deer, than from attacks by sharks.
3. Shark bite has a pressure of six and a half tons per square centimeter.
4. Sharks change their teeth constantly, replacement of teeth of sharks occur at a frequency of once every eight days.
5. During their life, some species of sharks can replace up to thirty thousand teeth.
6. A whale shark has approximately three hundred rows of teeth. Each of these series contains hundreds of tiny teeth.
7. Dried shark skin in the past was used as sandpaper. In Germany and Japan, shark skin was used in the decoration of handles of swords.
8. In 1937 the discovery was made that shark visceral fat is very rich with vitamin A. For the production of vitamin A shark fishing was very active until 1950 – when was developed a method of synthesis of vitamin A.
9. The typical life duration of sharks is 25 years. However, some sharks can live up to 100 years.
10. Some sharks are called «dog», for their habit of attacking the prey dense with a bunch, as do dogs.
11. Great white sharks can live without food for up to three months.
12. Not all types of sharks need to move constantly to breathe.
13. Book sharks can live in water of varying salinity and can often be found in freshwater rivers and lakes in Africa and South America.
14. The maximum size of sharks Pygmies is 30 cm.
15. A shark has no bones. The skeleton of sharks consists of cartilage tissue.
16. In the world there are over 340 known types of sharks.
17. The first fossil traces of sharks date back 400 million years.
18. A significant difference between the modern sharks and shark antiquity is their longer jaw. It provides modern sharks with a much more bite force and makes them dangerous than their ancient predecessors.
19. Shark skin is covered with leather similar to the teeth.
20. Shark Mako is probably the fastest creature in the world ocean: its speed can reach up to 100 – 120 kilometers per hour.

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10-year ban on shark fishing in parts of  Maldives islands was distributed over the entire island group.

This moratorium was adopted in 1998 regarding seven atolls and now with its extension 12 nautical miles from Maldives are covered.

Maldives Government has taken a step in the face of evidence that shark populations in the region were under threat from fishing practices.

Nasir Abdullah, Fisheries Ministry permanent secretary, said: “The Fisheries Act clearly tells us that we can protect marine species, if we believe that there are threatened or endangered sorts for any reason.”

Maldives attractes diving tourists by its reputation of healthy population of sharks, including hammerheads.

Recognizing that shark groups “are very important for tourism,” Nasir added that his ministry “is working on” establishing a moratorium on permanent basis in the law to ban shark fishing and the export of shark products in the next year.

Environmental organizations welcomed the move – but warned that the process should be monitored.

Maldives reef ecologist Marie Saleem, welcoming the statement by the Government, said that the reef shark populations will require careful assessment to determine the effect of the ban.

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