Shark tip

[kmo]

I've just been on a brief camping trip with a guy who used to dive and fish professionaly out of northern Queensland in Australia. He is pretty experienced and has captained a few boats in his time.

He gave me the tip that when you pull up to a spot to dive, you should turn your engine off for about ten minutes before you jump in. Apparently a lot of shark attacks occur almost as soon as the diver hits the water because a lot of fish and sharks are drawn to the noise of the engine.

Whether this is curiousity or a learnt response from professional fishing boats processing fish at sea I'm not sure, but I'm reading a book on shark attacks at the moment and it seems to fit pretty well with quite a few attacks on divers.

Anyway, I'm posting this here to see if many others have heard similiar ideas and what opinions you guys have on this?

I think that chumming and fighting bleeding fish are probably more dangerous than diving straight off the boat, but if it makes you feel more comfortable about entering the water then its worth trying.

 

[Poida]

Yeah KMO
I would do the same as some half back flankers go out feeding sharks from boats to attract them for the tourists on board. They begin to recognise the vibrations of the engine as food.

If your wife dives with you it is best to get her to jump in first.

We have had sharks here in WA attacking the props on boats.

 

[John A]

Very interesting, I saw this happen to me this past summer. On about 3 or 4 occasions (drift diving), I would hit the water from a “running” boat and as soon as I got to the bottom I would be met by 1 or 2 bull sharks (one time about 10 bulls in the span of 2 min, but that is another story). I thought it was just a coincidence!

John

 

[seaman]

Yeah KMO ...

If your wife dives with you it is best to get her to jump in first..

rofl rofl rofl rofl

I had always the impulse to invite my mother in law to a diving trip, now i have a purpose!!!