A friend used a GoPro to capture the events of a shark attack that, fortunately for the victim, resulted in only a head injury.
The human protagonists were fishing, and this must have excited the shark, which heard the freshly harpooned fish struggling and decided to taste a diver. I emphasize taste, because sharks often taste their prey before deciding whether it's worth wasting their time.
The shark's lunge is impressive. In this case, fortunately for the diver, it evidently missed the bite and immediately realized its mistake, that it hadn't bitten a tasty fish but a disgusting diver, and allowed him to return to the boat for treatment.
What can we learn from the shark incident?
First of all, we (humans) aren't the food the shark was looking for. Sharks are mostly piscivorous, they eat fish, and they don't attack humans to eat them (if they did, there probably wouldn't be any swimming in the sea).
The other important lesson is that sharks are extremely strong and powerful, that they live in their natural habitat, that they can do us serious harm, and that they are wild, carnivorous, and unpredictable animals. Think of your cat, who exposes his belly to you to be petted, and a moment later has torn your hand to pieces... And luckily he was just a cat.
Sharks are magnificent, imposing animals, and are definitely worth the money we spend to see them in their natural habitat. They very rarely attack, and this incident, if we look closely, was caused by divers who harpooned fish in their natural habitat. However, they are still wild animals, very strong and powerful. Let's always treat them with due respect, and always rely on serious and experienced professionals when approaching them.
4 comments on “Shark Incident in the Bahamas”
Doesn't the shark incident also teach us that the presence of fish (dead or dying) near divers makes sharks much more aggressive and willing to eat? Because if the answer were yes, it would follow that shark chumming, practiced in many places, is not only (as it certainly is) harmful to the ecosystem, but also dangerous for divers.
In theory, you're right; in practice, it's very difficult to generalize. In a situation where animals already know where and how they'll get their food, paradoxically, they're calmer and can selectively head for the fish they're interested in. In a situation where everything is random, like a fishing trip, the shark is more likely to attack suddenly and without fully assessing who or what it's attacking.
As with everything, I repeat, the professionalism of the operators is important; it's essential that those who do it know what they're doing...
It's true, there are no hard and fast rules at sea with these animals, though I still believe that truly professional operators, regardless of their clients' safety, shouldn't implement practices that transform the ecosystem and its rules, turning a super-predator into a sort of beggar accustomed to flocking to where he knows he'll find someone to feed him.
In a perfect world, your statement would be absolutely correct. But in a world where only the economic value of things matters, a live shark is worth more than a dead one only if it can be shown to generate a flow of money through the divers who visit it. Often, the alternative for the shark is to become a clown (as you say) and generate money, or to be fished, killed, and deprived of its fins (which are highly valuable in Eastern markets, as an ingredient in soup). What do you think is best for the shark?
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