what should i do if

[pyithar]

i'm sorry if it's a stupid question but i'd just like to prepare before it happens. what should i do if i see a shark or sharks while scuba diving or snorkeling? be very happy, chill out and take videos? or try to figure out what kind of sharks they are since some sharks like bull shark, tiger shark, great white, mako, etc can attack me? what do you usually do? thanks!

 

[G_Sanab922]

If you see a shark such as a bull/tiger/great white, staying calm is the most important thing you can do if you are not used to their presence. Stay calm and slowly kick yourself back towards the boat, never give them your back. I say kick because when you use your arms you tend to splash a lot more, especially with people who panic.

If they are just passing by then just leave them be. If they are circling an area you are close to then just go back to the boat.

When I see them (normally just reef sharks) I'm normally spearfishing so I tend to just let them be but when I have a fish on me that's bleeding, they might get close so I just poke them with my gun. While I'm doing that I'm already close by the boat so I just throw the fish into the boat.
Assuming you will be just snorkeling or diving, buy a knife you can strap to your leg if you are worried. If you are doing more scuba diving then I recommend to get that knife anyways.
Not only will you be able to poke the sharks if they get too friendly and want to give you a hug, but you can easily cut rope/fishing line or anything else if you become entangled under water.

Where is it that you plan to dive/snorkel?
This will give everyone a better idea on what types of sharks you will possibly encounter. For example, here in the Caribbean we have a lot of nurse sharks. People freak out about them but they are one of the most harmless sharks out there and they normally stay at the bottom.


Add-on: If it's bigger than you it's probably best to head to the boat. If it's small then pull out the camera and enjoy the sighting.

 

[pyithar]

thank you for the reply. now i know what to do when/if i see a shark. i think I'll freak out anyway when i see a large shark and it'd be impossible for me to figure out what kind of shark i'm seeing. there're too many kinds of sharks and it seems like all of them could attack human including hammerheads! i thought they were human safe. my plan is to dive in gulf of thailand, andaman sea, komodo, raja ampat, sipadan, southern leyte for now. these places are not very far from my country.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Sharks are opportunistic scavengers for the most part. They can tell there is blood in the water from a long, long way off. And when they arrive, if they find a critter (fish, seal, human, whatever) struggling, splashing and generally looking distressed, it gets the sharks attention and they will try to investigate. That usually means swimming up close, circling, bumping it's nose into that critter and maybe even taking a bite to see if it's edible.

Most people don't deal well with sharks or adrenaline, and when a shark gets really close, most people's adrenaline levels go through the roof. It's a bad mix.

But IMHO, the best thing you can do is keep an eye on the shark and stay calm (I read that somewhere recently... (see post #2). I've seen a couple of good size sharks while snorkeling out on open water reefs (as opposed to shallow water patch reefs). And even with dozens of snorkelers in the water, the sharks showed no attention and just swam by. This is probably the case in 99.99% of shark sightings by snorkelers and divers. And most sharks that snorkelers see aren't big enough to want to try to attack a human. In 15 years in Florida and snorkeling on average 4 or 5 long weekends a year, I've never seen a shark that was more than 6' to 8' long.

If one started to circle me I'd temporarily stop swimming and moving as little as possible while watching the shark and trying to keep it in front of me. If I think it's just looking and not seriously interested (like I can read the shark's mind) I'd slowly start to head for the boat trying not to make any more commotion or splashing than absolutely necessary. If the circling is more menacing then I'd try to keep arms and legs pulled in toward my body as much as possible making for less easy things for the shark to bite. If it swims at me, I'll do my best to be ready to try and move off to the side of the shark and as it goes past, punch it in the side. In the gill slits or the eye may even be better, but just get the punch in. Sharks aren't fighters, if you get in a good blow they are far more likely to swim off and leave you alone than to turn and attack you again. They are opportunists not fighters. But once they feel you are food, usually after they have bitten and there is a lot of blood in the water, they are not inclined to give up easily.

Here is some helpful info from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission:
http://myfwc.com/research/saltwater/sharks-rays/shark-attacks/

From 1882 thru 2015 in Monroe County (the Florida Keys) there have been just 19 reported shark attacks on humans. That averages out to 1 shark attack every 7 years!

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/isaf/shark-attacks-maps-data/north-america/florida/

 

[hogfanreefer]

As above, the #1 thing is to relax. Most of the time I've encountered reef sharks they have been very shy and afraid of that big black thing blowing bubbles. Be still, control your bouyancy and stay close to the bottom or the wall to help you keep track of them.

I get excited when I see sharks (not fearful excited). It's a treat to get to see them.

 

[nuttyd]

As others said calm is key. Less movement the better. Always try to face them and I like to swim towards them slowly. Most sharks avoid confrontation to minimize injuries to themselves. I spearfish also, and we often will chase a shark to keep our catch. Most of the time it works too.

 

[G_Sanab922]

And even with dozens of snorkelers in the water, the sharks showed no attention and just swam by. This is probably the case in 99.99% of shark sightings by snorkelers and divers. And most sharks that snorkelers see aren't big enough to want to try to attack a human. In 15 years in Florida and snorkeling on average 4 or 5 long weekends a year, I've never seen a shark that was more than 6' to 8' long.

Want to emphasize what Ron said here.
Most just swim by.
And the chances of seeing a shark 6ft+ is unlikely. I've seen a 8ft shark, but it was a nurse shark, so I just pet him lol

 

[pyithar]

thank you guys. so to recap:

(if i'm lucky), i'm more likely to see juvenile sharks or sharks that are about 6' to 8' long. they're safer than the big ones regardless of shark species. so i should be able to enjoy the moment. they're just gonna swim by.

(if i'm lucky/or unlucky ), when i see a large shark, stay calm and don't let the shark out of sight. if i'm near the boat, swim calmly back to the boat without splashing. if i'm away from boat, descend to bottom or wall and be motionless keeping hands and legs close to the body. they'll lose interest and swim away most of the time. but if they come in for a bite, be prepared to fight back and punch the gill slits or eyes.

 

[Ron Reefman]

I think you have a very good plan. Being calm and reducing movement to a minimum will work 99.999% of the time.

Last time I was out at Looe Key we saw a 4' to 5' shark swim by. One member of our group shouted "SHARK!" and pointed down in the water below him. About half of the 100+ people in the water started for their boats. A quarter of them just stayed calm and stayed where they were. The other quarter (including me and my wife) swam toward the guy while looking for the shark. It swam by along the bottom of a valley in the reef floor. We followed as best we could and got 1 decent photo of it as it was swimming away in front of us.

 

[pyithar]

very nice pic! is that a nurse shark Ron?

 

[Ron Reefman]

I honestly don't know. My wife was the one with the camera and she is looking now to see if she can ID it. We knew at the time that it definitely wasn't a nurse shark. After looking through a couple of books and online (she's a head reference librarian after all, she is pretty sure it's a common reef shark. They don't get too big (8' would be a huge reef shark) and although they are wary, they can be dangerous, especially to divers who are spear fishing.

If you want to hear a story about my wife and a close encounter with a nurse shark, just ask and I'll do my best to tell it.

 

[rf@gmail.com]

Local Florida dive club spearfishes in Gulf of Mexico at least once weekly and frequently see Bull Sharks. They claim they don't worry much about them unless a diver gets bumped while fish are on the stringer. In that case the shark frequently bites the stringer (bloody fish) which the diver gladly releases and then makes for the boat before the shark can finish his/her appetizer. Sounds a bit edgy to me (haven't dived personally in years and never spearfished) but this story comes from a dive shop owner who was trying to recruit a new club member; so it may be credible.

 

[WiDataTech]

Ron, I would like to hear the story of your wife's close encounter...we don't have many sharks up here in wis, but I have had a handful of close encounters with bears

 

[MikeyAl]

what should i do if

Great thread. Agree with a lot of what has been said. Where you will be diving your most deadly sharks are bull and tiger. Just do what others said. If you are really lucky you will encounter a leopard shark. They are docile and easy to approach. But again, if in doubt about the species its best just to watch them and get out of the way. I highly encourage you to research the Sharks of the areas. It can be an amazing experience diving with these remarkable creatures.


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[pyithar]

thank you both for the shark ID Ron. most shark species look very similar to me with the exception of black tip,white tip, mako, tiger and maybe bull if seen from the front. did the nurse shark try to attack your wife? i'd love to hear that story. please do tell us about it.

 

[pyithar]

thank you MikeyAl. i did some reading about the sharks around the area that i plan to dive and it seems that most of them are black tip reef sharks and gray reef sharks but blue shark, mako, tiger, white tip, great white and bull sharks can sometimes visit as well. :fish2: i think i wanna see the small sharks not the big ones i once took a glass bottom boat to watch the sharks and just seeing those big sharks cruising around the boat with their dorsal fins showing up on the water surface sent chills down my spine. :facepalm:

 

[MikeyAl]

Gotcha. Blues and makos are deep water sharks. I think your biggest concern would be the big 3. If you are not an experienced diver (and even if you are) it's best to dive on days with good visibility.


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[Ron Reefman]

OK, here is the story. In Nov of 2013 Elaine and I decided to go snorkeling at Bahia Honda State Park. It's Nov so the water is pretty cool and a weekday so virtually nobody on the beach. We both had on our heavy wetsuits and about an hour in, after swimming against the current (in coming tide washing along the beach and around the end of the island) Elaine tells me she is getting chilly and tired so we are going to just drift back to our spot on the beach.

We are in water that is about 3 feet deep and 150 feet off the beach. While drifting along we have become separated by 50 feet or so and I hear my name being called. Not a scream, or a call for help, just trying to get my attention. I stand up and Elaine, in waist deep water points between her and the beach and says, "Ron, there's a shark over there." Again, no panic, no real urgency, just information being delivered. I start to swim to her and think to myself, by the time I get there it will probably be gone and I won't get to see anything.

So I get to Elaine and she points out about 20 to 30 feet away, between us and the beach, there is a sandy hole that is bright compared to the dark rocks. And in that sandy circle of sand is a dark, backwards letter 'C'. She says it's a 4' nurse shark sleeping in the sand. Her camera battery is dead and she asks me to stay and watch the shark while she gets to shore and gets new batteries. I say OK.

Elaine leaves and I move in closer to get a better look at the shark. From the original spot where we were standing, I couldn't even see it while underwater. I got close enough to get a good look and then moved back away so as not to disturb it. As Elaine was on her way back out to me, the shark woke up and swam off away from Elaine into the current.

When Elaine got out to me I asked her how in the world she could see the shark from so far away (she is great at seeing things underwater that I can totally miss). She tells me, "Oh, I didn't see it from here. I was drifting along looking straight down at the bottom looking for anything interesting. Then out of the corner of my eye I saw something dark and as I looked over, there was this nurse shark and in less than 3 feet of water I drifted right over it. I could have reached out and pet it." No fear or anxiety in her voice at all.

I told her I was proud of her and she asked why? I told her 95% of swimmers at this beach would have totally freaked out if they saw the shark. And 99% of all women (not meaning to be sexist) in this country would have gotten up out of the water and walked... no, run on top of it to the beach and would never get back in. But you get so close you could have touched it and you calmly swim out to deeper water and call me over to see it too. Her response was, "Ron, it was just a 4' nurse shark."

That's it.

Back in 2000 when I moved to Florida, seeing a shark in the water would have seriously unnerved me. But every year I get more and more accustom to sharing the water with them. Two years ago a little 3' nurse shark got caught between me and a rocky wall. I was 2' out from the wall and the shark came up from behind and swam past me, between me and the wall. For half a second I was spooked because it caught me totally off guard. But then I realized how small it was and I was fine.

This winter I caught a small sharpnose shark with my bare hands in the surf washing up on the beach of Sanibel Island in SW Florida. We took a couple of pics and then I carried it out into deeper water and released it. It just swam away like it was no big deal. However, if somebody had told me that morning I would catch and rescue a 18" to 2' shark in the water with my bare hands... I'd have told them they were crazy. A) I probably wouldn't even try. B) What are the chances of a small shark being washed up toward the beach by big waves and having trouble swimming back out... 1,000,000 to 1? I'm just glad my wife took a photo! :fun4:

 

[snorvich]

Cool story, Ron Reefman

 

[Maritimer]

I've snorkeled with nurse sharks in FL and blues in RI. Neither had any interest in me, but both were amazing and awesome to see underwater, in their world.

Get excited. Feel the rush. Enjoy the majesty of one of natures greatest predators in its own environment - and count yourself lucky to have the encounter.

~Bruce