Hello all,
At what time (if ever) should I spear an aggressive shark?
Backstory: My buddy and I were out in the water. We use 2 meter (6 foot) polespears for hunting reef fish on a small remote subtropical Pacific island.
At about 4:30pm, toward the end of our day (7+ fish in our bag), we were approached by an aggressive white tip shark. White tips are usual by us and not a cause for alarm. They frequently check us out, see what's going on, and move along.
This guy was different. White tips near us will usually check us out while staying near or at the sea floor. This guy came up to the surface. He continually circled us, venturing nearer and nearer, coming within 2-3 meters (6 - 10 feet). My buddy and I had stopped diving down at this point and were about 6 feet apart from one another. The white tip swam toward us and it seemed his intended course was to go between me and my buddy. He didn't, swerving at the last moment, continuing to encircle us. My buddy and I soon after got out of the water and finished our day.
Later, after talking about and considering the encounter, I thought that if this were to happen again, I would choose to spear the white tip if he tried to swim between my buddy and me. I have no desire to spear the white tips as they are generally friendly and beautiful. Although, the spears we use do not have the power to kill the shark, and I wonder if simply spearing him would provoke him. My end goal is simply to get the white tip to f%$k off.
What course of action do you recommend?
At what time (if ever) should I spear an aggressive shark?
Backstory: My buddy and I were out in the water. We use 2 meter (6 foot) polespears for hunting reef fish on a small remote subtropical Pacific island.
At about 4:30pm, toward the end of our day (7+ fish in our bag), we were approached by an aggressive white tip shark. White tips are usual by us and not a cause for alarm. They frequently check us out, see what's going on, and move along.
This guy was different. White tips near us will usually check us out while staying near or at the sea floor. This guy came up to the surface. He continually circled us, venturing nearer and nearer, coming within 2-3 meters (6 - 10 feet). My buddy and I had stopped diving down at this point and were about 6 feet apart from one another. The white tip swam toward us and it seemed his intended course was to go between me and my buddy. He didn't, swerving at the last moment, continuing to encircle us. My buddy and I soon after got out of the water and finished our day.
Later, after talking about and considering the encounter, I thought that if this were to happen again, I would choose to spear the white tip if he tried to swim between my buddy and me. I have no desire to spear the white tips as they are generally friendly and beautiful. Although, the spears we use do not have the power to kill the shark, and I wonder if simply spearing him would provoke him. My end goal is simply to get the white tip to f%$k off.
What course of action do you recommend?